British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Supplement - Page 141

endeavouring to solve in order to unify the national effort are still outstanding, namely the existence of two separate schemes for the "saving" of Arab lands and of two rival youth organisations. Further information on both these matters is given below.

The Arab Higher Committee was invited by H.M. Government to nominate a delegation to the London Conference on Palestine in January, 1947. The invitation was accepted and the following delegation attended the Conference :-

Jamal Eff. el Husseini (Arab Higher Committee)

Emile Eff. el Ghoury (Arab Higher Committee)

Dr. Hussein el Khalidi (Arab Higher Committee)

Sarni Eff. Taha (Palestine Arab Workers' Society)

Dr. Omar el Khalil (Left wing)

Yusef Eff. Sahyoun (Palestine Arab Party).

Since the formation of the fourth Arab Higher Comrnitte one or more of its members have represented the Arabs of Palestine as observers at meetings of the Arab League.

LAND SAVING SCHEMES.

These are two :-

(a) The Arab National Fund, headed by Ahmed Hilmi Pasha and therefore closely allied to the Arab Higher Committee. It is concerned with the various aspects of rural development and in particular with the acquisition of land, the sale of which to Jews is threatened, and its transfer to peasant cultivators. It raises its funds by voluntary subscriptions and has already acquired substantial areas of land.

(b) The Constructive Scheme, which is the second of Musa Eff. el Alami's activities, is concerned with rural development and in particular with the improvement of agricultural methods. Like the Arab Offices it arises from the protocol of the Alexandria Conference and is supported by the Arab League. It was intended that the Arab States should supply the funds but it has as yet not started to function on a wide scale.

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YOUTH MOVEMENTS.

The Arab youth of Palestine have, like the youth of the rest of the world, increasingly felt the attraction of uniformed national or nationalistic organisation. The recognised Scout Movement (described in paragraph ll4 of Chapter XVI of the Survey of Palestine) has not hitherto succeeded in meeting the need felt for such organisation and there have consequently arisen a number of independent movements modelled on Scout lines but

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