In the face of this complexity. it would be very convenient if there were one key to unlock the door to peace and it could be found. whether it be supplying water. distributing land and wealth. or having some of the ambitious leaders pass from the scene. and so on. I have studied this question for years as a Member of the House. and a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. In 1956 I even had the opportunity personally to interview many of the Arab refugees in the Gaza strip. It will be remembered that there was for a short time the capability of getting in thereagainst all this background I have come away with a definite conclusion that there is no single key to peace In the Near East. and that the path of realism is to seek stability in that area. confident that peace will follow as selfinterest will then dictate. There is no magic formula by which peace may be achieved. Nonetheless. notwithstanding the fact that I do not believe that any single formula can bring peace. I believe that a series of achievements dealing with PalestineArab refugees and the clear pronouncement as to the integrity of access to countries and waterways in that area can bring about some stability. It seems to me that within such context we can very properly design American policy. Such a course would not mean defeatism or that we should cease to act in that area. It does mean that we should act realistically and that we should act upon those matters which have the most promise for bringing stability. Yet I think there is some wishful thinking going on right now in the Department of State. and perhaps in some Senate quarters as well. with respect to the Arab refugee problem. This wishful thinking is based upon the assumption that the existence of the State of Israel is itself a major cause of Near East tension. and that settlement of the PalestineArab refugee problem will open the way to peace between the Arab States and Israel. I do not believe that this is so. notwithstanding the fact that we must indefatigably pursue the objective of bringing stability through remedying these problems insofar as we possibly can. Also the views of what we call the wishful thinkers are premised on the assumption that settlement would mean that refugees must be given a free choice between repatriation to Israel and compensation. because that is what the refugees allegedly want. The advocates of this type of action point to article XI of the U.N. resolution of 1948. which called for an ArabIsrael peace. and created the Palestine Conciliation Commission to bring it about. a Commission consisting of the United States. France and Turkey. In the text of that resolution it was stated: Refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date and that compensation should be paid for the properties of those choosing not to return. The words that are omitted by the wishful thinkers are the words "to live at peace with their neighbors." for. Mr. President. it is inconceivable that Israel can open its doors wide to the return of a fifth column to Israel which might be even greater than the total number of people who are active in Israel as adults now. The Arab leaders rejected this very U.N. resolution to which I referred. They insisted on maintaining a state of war with Israel. and they have refused to participate in any plan for the solution of the refugee problem short of the dismemberment and destruction of the State of Israel. In short. what they could not accomplish by military action. they now seek to win by persuading the free world nations to exert the pressure that they themselves are unable to bring against Israel. Since the Arabs refused to negotiate. the Israelis have rejected repatriation. but they have offered compensation to those whose properties were left in Israel. Two points give the problem particular urgency: First. ever since the Lebanese episode. we have begun to understand the critical importance to us of Israel as a dependable anchor for the free world in military and strategic terms in the Middle East and Mediterranean. Second. there will be a renewed debate on the Arab refugee question in the U.N. Assembly this fall. when the future of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency will be decided. that being the agency which looks after the refugees. So it is very important that our policy be in focus. Finally. we shall be dealing with mutual security authorizations shortly. and they should contain adequate recitals to deal with the subject of free transit through international waterways for the ships of all nations and removal of discrimination against Americans of Jewish faith in Arab lands. For all those reasons. the present inquiry becomes extremely pertinent right now. We have invested very heavily in the job of alleviating the hardship and suffering of the Arab refugees in the 11 years of UNRWAs existence. Of the $350 million which has been expended by this United Nations agency. the United States has contributed 70 percent. nearly $250 million. The United Kingdom has contributed about 20 percent. Those contributions are 90 percent of the total. The Soviet Union. which likes to describe itself as a friend of the Arab people. has never offered to pay a single ruble toward the relief of the refugees. Dispassionate organs of opinion like Time magazine have concluded that the refugees are much better off materially in the camps than they could possibly have been in most Arab communities. In Jordan. where there are the largest number of refugees. many have been integrated into the countrys economy. Many are fulltime government employees. and there are nearly 400 refugees studying in universities on scholarships furnished by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. On the Arab refugee rolls of UNRWA there are 867.505. It is very tragic that because of the refusal of Arab countries to resettle the refugees. and because these rations rolls often are very padded with the names of those who have died. and whose death has never been reported. it has been impossible to give rations even to refugee children born in Jordan. for example. since February 1951. Indeed. almost all the reports that we have on the ArabIsrael situation cite instances of lack of cooperation on the part of the host Arab countries. including even on some occasions a worsening of conditions under which the Arab refugees exist. through the circulation by Arab agitators of false statements about United Nations activities which are carried on for their relief. The United Nations agencys rehabilitation and resettlement programs have been imaginative but ineffective. because the Arab governments have blocked them. They have often been denounced by Arab agitators. and efforts have been made by Arab countries to prevent people from leaving the Gaza strip and other places. Nonetheless. the United Nations success has been quite remarkable. and these efforts have led increasing numbers of refugees along the road to resettlement. It has been reported that some 80 permanent settlements have been built in Jordan. Syria.
Keywords matched
Refugees refugee refugees