Speech #890268162

Of the remaining 30%. the Jews owned 9% and those Arabs who remained where they were owned at least 4%. which means that only about 17% of the land could accurately be described as abandoned. Israel has repeatedly offered to sit down with the Arab owners of this land and discuss compensation (most of these Arabs were wealthy absentee landlords whose land was tilled by sharecroppers) but the Arab states have consistently refused to allow this. Sir Alexander Galloway. the former head of the UNRWA in Jordan is on record as having stated: "The Arab states do not want to solve the refugee problem. They want to keep it as an open sore. as an affront to the United Nations. and as a weapon against Israel. The Arab leaders dont give a damn whether the refugees live or die." (As quoted in the New York Herald Tribune. Aug. 8th. 1958). "The fact that there are these refugees." declared Emil Choury. the Secretary of the Arab Higher Committee. as quoted in the Beirut Telegraph of Sept. 6th. 1948. "is a direct consequence of the action of the Arab states in opposing partition and the Jewish State. The Arab states agreed on this policy unanimously. and they must share in the solution of the problem." This has been the point of view of the Congress as well. On June 7th. 1957. notice was served by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that it would not continue indefinitely providing relief for the refugees. The Foreign Aid bill adopted by the Senate that year reads: "In determining whether or not to continue furnishing assistance for Palestine refugees in the Near East. the President shall take into account whether the Arab host governments are taking steps toward the resettlement of the refugees . . ." The following year the committee reiterated its stand: "It is the committees view that the United States is not going to continue indefinitely to contribute to relief with no concrete evidence on the part of the states directly concerned that they are willing to take steps for the resolution of the problem. The Committee intends to reexamine this situation very carefully next year to ascertain whether continuation of this assistance is justified." This "agonizing reappraisal" has been going on from year to year. The House of Representatives. too. which passes on all fiscal matters has consistently called for resettlement of the refugees "in lands where there is room and opportunity for them" but each year. at the urging of the State Department additional sums are voted for refugee relief. The State Department takes the attitude that if the situation deteriorates in the camps. the refugees will turn to Communism and will try to overthrow existing regimes. The Arab leaders. too. warn of this danger. However. it is clear to even a child that If the refugees revolt. the first ones to hang will be the Arab leaders. and that if they want to have their necks. the refugee problem must be solved. But they are resolutely against solving it. Some of their comments are instructive.