Palestinian Arabs, Embittered At War’s Course, Invites Abdullah To Act in Hope for Speedy Peace

By John Roderick, The Associated Press, Kyrenia, Cyprus

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Transcribed from the clipping

“(Editor’s note: The writer of the following dispatch backgrounding the situation in Arab Palestine has served several months in Arab capitals and with Arab armies in the Holy Land war.) KYRENIA, Cyprus-(AP)-Palestinian Arabs, disillusioned and embittered, are hoping for a speedy end to the war which has cut up the Holy Land and driven many of them from their homes.

It was in this mood that some invited King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan last month to take over the rule of Palestine. Why has Abdullah taken so long to answer? He is seeking a formula which would make the merger palatable to the outside world.

Through two tours of Arab areas, in which he was met with what certainly appeared to be a genuine welcome, he hoped to prove to the big powers as well as to his Arab allies that unity with Trans-Jordan is Palestine’s own choice.

His next step is expected to be an effort to mollify the United States and Russia, who could not be expected to recognize him as King of Palestine so long as a large part is patently occupied by the Jewish state of Israel. To get around this difficulty, he may seek to annex the Arab territory and proclaim himself king of an enlarged Hashimite kingdom of Jordan.

That would avoid any reference to Jewish-held Palestine. Abdullah made it plain in his most recent tour that he is making no promises. Palestinian Arabs vaguely hope, however, that he will recover cities and towns lost to Israeli forces and restore peace and order.

Thousands of unemployed clerks, government workers and peasants ask nothing more than a chance to resume their old way of life. Many recall the British mandate with a sigh that it ended.

Their feeling is, in asking Abdullah to set their house in order, that the British will be somewhere in the background… In any event, Abdullah’s Arab Legion has controlled most of Arab Palestine since August. Through a military government, he has given Palestinian Arabs services for education, health, transportation, communication and passports.”

Context added by this archive

The same AP dispatch the Ada Evening News ran that day, set in full. The subhead over the second half is “No Promises.”

Cite this clipping

"Palestinian Arabs, Embittered At War’s Course, Invites Abdullah To Act in Hope for Speedy Peace," Sun Journal, 11 January 1949, p. 1. Covering Palestine archive, CP-1949-015. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-1949-015