Office of the Historian

501.BB Palestine/11–1848: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Douglas) to the Secretary of State, at Paris

top secret   urgent
niact
London, November 18, 1948—8 p. m.

893. Personal for the Secretary (eyes only) no circulation.

1.
Have seen the Prime Minister and have discussed Palestine at length with him. I have also seen other officials at the FonOff. Reports on these conversations, together with my (Embtel 4908, repeated Paris 887, November 17 and Embtel 4922, repeated Paris 892, November 18) comments, have been sent Paris and Washington. This cable is a supplement for your information only, to be used according to your judgment. Because of the very personal and confidential nature of this information, I suggest that it be distributed only to your most intimate advisers. You will observe that I am not even sending it to Washington, for I think you can protect its circulation in Washington better than I can.
2.
I spent two hours with Eden1 today discussing Palestine. His attitude is far more flexible than is that of the present Government. He believes that the Jews should have more of the Negev. He agrees with me that the problem is one of arriving at a settlement of frontiers which will, on the one hand, give the Israeli reasonable satisfaction and, on the other hand, allow us to hold the Arab world intact on our side. He thinks it of vital importance that the US–UK stand together in such a way as to eliminate the danger of Israeli attack upon Transjordan. This, in Eden’s opinion, might be a shattering blow to both of us.
3.
Eden is seeing his old friends in the FonOff for the purpose of trying to make them take a more flexible attitude in regard to frontiers.
4.
In view of the above, I hope that we will keep our position in the light of Telmar 148 and my cables to Paris 887, Nov 17, and 892, Nov 18, sufficiently flexible and sufficiently conciliatory vis-á-vis the British to give us a little time to try to bring this matter to rest on some solid foundation of US–UK accord. If both the US and UK can keep the doors open toward each other in their speeches on the matter in Committee One, I do not yet despair of bringing the British more toward our side. We possess enough ingenuity and persuasiveness to resolve what I think is one of the most, if not the most critical Issue we now face with the United Kingdom.
Douglas
  1. Anthony Eden, former British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.↩