There are at present more than 10,000 Arabs in Palestine who entered the country illegally, an official Government estimate revealed today. Most of these illegal immigrants are concentrated in the Haifa district, the Government said.
The Hebrew press and Jewish leaders today protested the refusal of British military authorities to allow male settlers from nearby colonies to replace, temporarily, the men of the colony of Biriya, who were arrested Friday, following an alleged attack on an Arab Legion camp in the vicinity of the colony.
The officer commanding the Galilee district allowed 20 settlers from neighboring villages to work in Biriya during the day yesterday, but they were compelled to return to their homes at nightfall, leaving the colony without protection.
The press also reports that J.J. Somerville, Assistant District Commissioner in the Nazareth area, has been advising Arabs not to sell lands to Jews. Somerville is quoted as declaring at an auction of Arab lands, which were purchased by the Jewish National Fund that “I cannot comprehend how you tolerate the transfer of Arab land to Jews.”
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