Arabs Own Ten Percent of Palestine’s Tractors; Break Virgin Land in South

Emphasizing the benefits which Arabs in Palestine are now enjoying due to Jewish immigration, the London Economist, leading British weekly on economic affairs, today publishes an article from its Jerusalem correspondent warning that “Arab-Jewish antagonism is not fading away” and revealing that Arab leaders in Palestine are determined to have the Palestine Government permit the reestablishment of the Arab National Committee which was dissolved by the authorities after the disturbances of 1937.

The correspondent analyzes Arab economy in Palestine and points out that the old feudal structure is rapidly giving way to new social forms. Arabs now own ten percent of all the tractors in Palestine and are using them for breaking large tracts of virgin land in the southern part of the country, he reports. “Jewish immigration,” he declares, “has thus not only created a new external demand for land in Palestine, but also enabled Arab farmers and capitalists to extract increased revenue from landed property.”