British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Supplement - Page 16

"It will be recalled that in the Statement of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of November 13, 1945, it was made clear that His Majesty's Government could not divest themselves of the duties and responsibilities under the Mandate while the Mandate continued. They therefore proposed' that they would consult with the Arabs with a view to an arrangement which would ensure that pending the receipt of the ad interim recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry there would be no interruption of Jewish immigration at the present monthly rate. These consultations with the Arabs have been proceeding over a long period and have reached no conclusive result.

In these circumstances His Majesty's Government have now decided for cogent reasons that they must allow immigration to continue provisionally at the proposed rate of 1,500 a month. Preference will be given to those European Jews who have a special claim such as those to whom the Palestine Government have already undertaken obligations, and relatives in Europe of Jews already established in Palestine. Illegal immigrants will, of course, continue to be deducted from quotas."

The policy of monthly quotas regulating Jewish immigration and Arab and other immigration has continued from 15th December, 1945, up to the present time.

The number of Jewish immigrants to be admitted is 1,500 monthly whilst the number of Arab and other immigrants was, from 15th December, 1945, to the 14th September, 1946, laid down at 100 monthly and from 15th September, 1946, up to the present time at 200 immigrants monthly.

The certificates issued under the Jewish immigration account from 15th December, 1945, to 14th March, 1947, were as follows:-

Quota for fifteen months

Commitments under the White Paper Policy

22,500

790

Legal immigrants Illegal immigrants

7 ,721 13,989

22,500

The illegal immigrants deducted from the monthly quotas include those who have entered on immigration certificates ex detention camps in Cyprus (2,550) and 1,014 who were admitted as immigrants ex s.s. 'FEDE' and s.s. 'FENICE'.

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