Speech #850266795

I think Israel will be willing to make a constructive offer to absorb a certain number. But it would be unreasonable to expect Israel to absorb the full 700.000. The circumstances under which the Palestinian refugees left Israel are somewhat clouded. and probably there is a good deal of fault on both sides. but a nation of less than 2 million cannot be expected. when it already has 100.000 Arabs within its borders. to take an additional 700.000 more. and thus create within its borders a fifth column which would be approximately onethird of its total population. So the demand which is sometimes made that all the Arab refugees be resettled within the territorial borders of Israel is. to my mind. unrealistic and beside the point. As all students of the Middle East know. there are facilities available for the resettlement of the refugees in what was the Kingdom. and is now the Republic. of Iraq. Iraq is the seat of the old Babylonian and Assyrian Empires. which at their height 3.500 years ago had a total population of between 10 and 15 million. and where there is now a population of only 5 million. If the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates could be developed for the purposes of irrigation. I think there is no doubt that Iraq could absorb a vastly larger number of people. and that resettlement could be carried on. with the Arab refugees being moved out of the Gaza strip and out of Jordan. Those who were physically able to do so could be put to work on developing the irrigation projects and then. as the developments were completed. they could be settled on some of the land which was thus reclaimed. This would cost money. and we would be expected to put up some of it. despite the oil royalties of Iraq. However. it would be less expensive than war. and war is what is likely to occur unless some constructive solution is reached. So the resettlement of the refugees points out the necessity for the better development of the water resources of the Mideast. Along with the Senator from Vermont. I think it was highly unfortunate that we turned down the request of the Egyptian Government for additional funds to develop the Aswan Dam.