220 A Short History of the Middle East
crew and the passengers fiercely resisted and broadcast a com-
mentary for the benefit of the Committee. On 31 August, while
a minority of three made proposals approximating to the Anglo-
American Federal Plan of July 1946, a majority of seven of the
eleven members recommended to the General Assembly a sharper
partition on the lines of the Royal Commission Report of 1937,
though the two states so formed would remain in economic union.
They proposed to award to the Jewish state, in addition to rounding
off its present holdings, the whole of the Beersheba sub-district of
Southern Palestine and Eastern Galilee, though the Arabs were to
keep Western Galilee. In the transitional period of two years
150,000 Jews were to be admitted, as against the 100,000 proposed
for the same period by Britain in January, and the Land Transfer
Regulations were to cease in the area of the Jewish state. The
scheme contemplated that Britain would continue to administer
the country during the transitional period under the auspices of the
U.N., and if so desired with the assistance of members of the U.N.
The difficulties inherent in the scheme were obvious: while the
Zionists' immediate aims were largely met, half-a-niillion AraJbs
were to be included in the area of the Jewish state, and by the loss
ofjaff&the Arabs were to Be left without a port of their own; they
were to accept in the interim period an even higher rate of immi-
I gration than in the peak years 1934-35 before the Arab Rebellion,
k with no guarantee that the subsequently unrestricted population of
the Jewish state might not at some suitable opportunity erupt in
their direction; all this without any compensation except their in-
dependence, recognition of which was to be conditional on their
guaranteeing fundamental liberties, non-discrimination, and
signing the treaty of economic union with the Jewish state; this
treaty of economic union would presumably take precedence over
any desires the Arabs might have for closer union with other Arab
states. Finally, although the six weeks before the publishing of the
Report had been marked by the worst riots between the two
communities in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area since the Arab Rebellion
the two states were to be presented with an immense problem of
policing, since their modest areas would each consist of three
separate sectors, touching only by means of two specially-created
'points of intersection*.
On 26 September the Colonial Secretary made it clear that
Britain would not feel able to implement a policy not acceptable