Political report of the Executive of the Jewish Agency submitted to the ... Zionist Congress and the ... session of the Council of the Jewish Agency · 1937-08-01 · 8.1937 · p. Seite 70

70 ory by Article 6 of the Mandate," the enquiry to be "comprehensive in scope" and "include the whole land resources of Palestine". Paragraph 13 expressed the Mandatory Governments "definite intention to initiate an active policy of development which it is believed will result in substantial and lasting benefit to both Jews and Arabs." Finally, in paragraph 12 and 13 of the letter it was laid down that such control of land transfers as might be resorted to would be first, "regulative and not prohibitory", and secondly, it would be of limited duration and operative only within the framework of a development scheme: it was expressly stated that the control would be applied only during "such interim period as may reasonably be necessary to place the development scheme upon a firm foundation", and that only those transactions would be prevented which would be found "inconsistent with the tenor of the scheme". As against these clear provisions what is now proposed to introduce is a prohibitory and not a regulative measure which is, moreover, not connected with any development scheme or any programme of assistance to Jewish settlement, nor has been preceded by any enquhy as to the areas available for Jewish settlement. 5. It is the contention of the Government that the prohibition of the sale of subsistence areas is necessary for the protection of the present and future interests of the class of Arab small landowners. The Jewish Agency denies that such is the case. Arab agriculturists of all classes have not suffered but, on the contrary, benefited from the sale of their surplus land to the Jews. It waSj only m this wäy that they were enabled to obtain the capital necessary for the improvement of their farms. The whole process of development which has taken place in recent years in the costal plain bears a striking testimony to the benificent part played by Jewish land purchase and colonisation in raising the standard of life of, and promoting the introduction of more intensive methods of cultivation in, the Arab villages. No system of agricultural credit, nor any other palliative measure of agricultural relief and improvement such as have been undertaken by the Government can serve as an effective substitute for the operation of this factor which has supplied the fellah with investment capital for the improvement of the balance of his land. The prohibition of the sale of subsistence areas, the size of which is to be fixed on the basis of existing agricultural conditions, must necessarily stabilise the condition of the fellah upon the present level and block the road to further progress. 6. The Jewish Agency wishes to state that no facts have been communicated to it to prove that the condition of the fellah class has deteriorated as a result of the sale of land to the Jews. If a few years ago, following upon the report of the Shaw Commission