Kennedy Enters Refugee Dispute

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WASHINGTON-Israel and Arab leaders are being sounded out on a far-reaching pian by President Kennedy to solve the long-fester- ing Palesline refugee problem. The President personally dis- cussed this proposal with Pre mier Ben-Gurion during their re- cent meeling in New York.

The Israeli leader indicated he fa- vored the con- cept "in princi- p/C." President Nas- ser and other Arab leaders are being ap proached through, diplo-ROBT. & ALLEN matic channels.

If tiese over- tures prove en- coliraging, Nas- ser will be in- viled to Wash- inglen later this year to discuss this and other explosive Middle East: problems with Presidenl Ken- Kennedy Enters Refugee Dispute By RobertS. Allen and Paul Scott repatrialing 14 percent of the Arab refugees and compensating all of them for part of their prop erly losses.

The United Nations to establish a new refugee resettlement agency to replace the Palestine Concilia- Lion Commission.

This new UN agency would direct resettlement of the refugees in Arab and other countries, and provide long-term low interest loans for thal pur- Two leaders of PAUL SCOTT the influential Senate Forcign Re. lations Committee are playing im- portant roles in these backstage negolialions - J. Wiliam Ful chairntan, Hubert Humphrey, Minn, Dem- ocratic Whip.

Last year, the Fresident, then a member of the Foreign Rela- Linns Committee, worked with Ful- bright and Humphrey in drafting a plan lo deal with the tragic and strife breeding Palestine re- fugee problem. Their proposal is very similar to the one the Present is now pulling up to the Arabs and Israel.

Is principal provisions are: Israel to repatriate some 10 per cent of the 900,000 Arabs who left Palestine more than 13 years agu. and to pay parl of Lie prop- crty losses they claim. The Arab countries to reselle and inlegrate the remaining re- fugees.

Approximalely half of them are in Jordan, the only Arab country to grant them citi- zenship, Another 300,000 are in camps and villages in the Gaza Strip controlled by Egypt The U.S. to give Israel long- term los increst foans to help pay ils share of this program - Latin American countries to be asked to accept a portion of the reigees as permanent settlers.

UN Ambassador Adali Stevenson is already submitting this phase of the plan to authorities of the South American countries he is visiting. This is one of the un- announced but important missions of his trip, HOPEFUL ATMOSPHERE - Estimated cost of this program is heliceen $400 and'$600 million.

Also. the reseltlement and re- patrialion of the 900,000 relugees is expected to take at least Eise In December 1948, the UN Gen- eral Assembly voled. *The Arab refugees wishing to relurn to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be per- mitted to do so at the earliest practical date, and compensation should be paid for lhe properly of those choosing not to return and for the loss of or damage lo property which, under the princi- ples of international law, should be made good by lie govert- ments or authorities responsible." In 1540, Israel offered to repat- riale 100,000 refugees, reserving the right to seltle them in cer- tain areas.

This proposal was wilhdraw when hostilities again broke out with the Arabs. President Nasser has indicated, in talks with officials of the World Bank, that he is willing lo have President Kennedy under- take to settle the long-festering refuge problem.

The LAR chief stressed he is prepared to con- sider a plan "that is consistent with Arab national dignity and the interests of my counlry." Nasser maintaied. that the "right of the relugees lo repat- riation or compensation is a basic tenel of Arab dignity." President Kennedy belives Mid. dle East conditions now favor a solution of the long-pending re- fugee problem.

Ile feels that neith- er Israci nor the Arabs want to resume warring. and that both aro primarily preoccupied with pressing economic and other meslie problems and projects. Outstanding examples Egypt's billion-dollar-plus Aswan poser and irrigation dam, and isare!'s development of the bar- ren Neger region and the port of Elath on the Red Sea.

Also deemed an important fav- orable facler is the bitter clash- ing belween Cairo and Moscow over Nasser's lough repression o Communists in Egypl and Syria. The Kremlin and its controlled press are bilterly assailing the FAR ruler. and his press is replying in kind.

Sereral days ago, a leading Cairo nevs. paper quoted Khrushchev as cas- ligating Nasser to a visiting Egy- plian official al a diplomalie re- ception in Boscow - which he immediately left in high dudgeon. The Soviet is financing greal Aswan Dam project, and has armed Egypt to the leeth with modern weapons.

Khrush- cher is making it clear he fecis that for this reason the Reds should have a free hand in the VAR. Nasser is hotly rejecting thal demand, and sehement words are being exchanged (Distributed 1961 by The Hall Syndicate, Ine.)

(All Righis Reserved) SO THEY SAY- There has been no discrimi- nation, and there is no discrimi- nalion, against the colored tace, as a race, in Louisiana. —Louisiana Altorney General Jack Gremillion. Bolster Inferio By Dr. George IV. C CASE J - 415: Nancy N.. ageri 27, has been married 6 years. "Dr. Crane." her angry hus- harl began, "I can't live with Nancy any longer.

"She is a sex-mad female who doesn't have any sense at She alL nol only tries to seduce strange men, but she also has affairs with my close associates in business. "I've caught ber in unfaithful- Mess on several occasions. She always cries and pleads that she will change. But she dever does. "Our doctor told me she is just

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"Kennedy Enters Refugee Dispute," The Olympian, 23 May 1961. Covering Palestine archive, CP-1961-004. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-1961-004