Like men walking on eggs, negotiators were threading their delicate way toward solution of the Palestine problem. British-Arab talks had ended quietly after a month of discussion, to be resumed Dec. 16 (with Jewish participation, it was hoped). In London the Jewish Agency dickered for release of its leaders in Palestine, in return for a promise to suppress terrorists. Arabs announced a plan (unacceptable to the Jews) to make Palestine a permanent Arab state; nevertheless, behind the scenes, Jews and Arabs were closer to compromise than they had been for months.
At that...