PALESTINE PROBLEMS

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20511, 30 May 1938, Page 13

PALESTINE PROBLEMS

ORGANISED TERRORISM ARAB GUNMEN AND GANGSTERS GOVERNMENT'S DIFFICULTIES (From a Correspondent) LONDON. March 31. What is happening in Palestine 1 asks the Jerusalem correspondent oi the Times; that British officer-s need to go about armed, that armoured cars with machine-guns are a common sight in the streets, that armed police patrol the towns and countryside, that the frontiers have to be guarded rigidly, and that in spite of these pre- ■ cautions the roads are unsafe after t dark, sabotage of railways and telephone wires i-s frequent, Jews and Arabs fear to enter each other's quarters, Jewish colonists sleep behind barbed-wire entanglements with armed watchmen. Arab villagers .-eek police protection, and no one knows where some new outrage may be perpetrated? This is the terror in Palestine, which has lasted almost two years, and still perplexes the Government.

Deep-seated Political Disease Terrorism in Falestine is the symptom of a deep-seated political disease: Arab fear of Zionism, and distrust, of the impartiality of His Majesty's Government. The efforts now heins made to curb terrorism and restore* respect for Government are proving increasingly successful, but repressive measures alone cannot be wholly successful. Something must be done to remove the underlying cause of trouble. It is hopeless to go on indefinitely saying that order must first be restored and that then will be a time to discuss the future of Palestine: the fact is that restoration of order depends upon the re-establishment of confidence by making the intentions of the British Government unmistakably clear. 'The delay in solving the problem has had significant r<?sults. The Arabs have extended tJieir antipathy from the Jews to the Government which allowd the Jews to enter; and the dislike of Britain, increased by the effects of repressive measures, is becoming deeper. Coincident with this change in temper there are changes in method. Cold-blooded assassinations of individual officers, Jews, and Arabs have brought the threat of death into the streets of busy towns in broad daylight. And the small bands of armed men which in 1936 attacked any convenient objective with a minimum of organisation now perj iodically loalesce into well-organised gangs, sometimes numbering hundreds, which terrorise particular sections of the country. And like the assassin, the gang is now a threat to the Arab population as well as to Jew and official, for if large bands are 'to be fed and harboured ruthless exactions from the villagers are necessary. Terrorism is the work of two distinct groups, one operating from Jerusalem and the other in Galilee with Syria as a base. From these centres come the money and the leadership. While it has been impossible so far to apprehend the men at the top, many subordinates have been arrested. Steps have been taken to break up the organisation through which terrorism is financed. This explains many arrests of business men, and even Arab Government officials. It is not necessary to look abroad for the source of the funds used to pay gangs and individual assassins. £2OO For Murdering Official

The individual assassin who shoots policemen or throws a bomb is a paid gunman, who is supplied with arms by the organiser of this type of terrorism, and rewarded in proportion to the importance of his victim. Five pounds has been the remuneration for killing a casual Jew, and £2OO has been offered for the life of a British official or of a prominent Arab whose policy is opposed to that of the instigator of the crime. The comparative immunity which this type of. criminal enjoyed until lately has been jeopardised by the measures recently taken in Jerusalem. When it became known that the old city was the base of operations, the old city gates, which had not been used for decades, were blocked for practically a week, and every person entering or leaving was rigorously searched for arms This vigilance showed that the gunmen could not go about with impunity, and after the gate* were opened again surprise searches were instituted which made it unsafe for anyone to go about armed and risk the death penalty under the Emergency Regulations. There has been a perceptible improvement in and about Jerusalem as a result of these measures. No one thinks that every gap has been stopped, but assassination is now less easy. The recruiting of the organised gangs is different. There is a welldefined gang at work in the Hebron area, another in the so-called “red triangle” in Samaria, and in Northern Galilee with a base in Syria. It is estimated that there are as manyarmed men engaged now as in 1936, but instead of operating singly or in small groups, and harrying the nearest colony, they have combined into large bands which are presumably better able to cope with the troops who have been combing the country for them. The use of the police and military has been increasingly* effective, in spite of the difficult nature of the terrain and the ready refuge which the terrorists can secure" among the villagers. The discovery that a band is operating in a certain area is a signal "for the military and police to enter the district and police the villages to protect the people, to drive the gangsters into the open. This generally results in a clash when the gang attacks a patrol or other small unit. This brings the troops into action, the Air Force is sent for, and the hunt begins in earnest. The Yamoun combat began with an attack upon a company and led to a running fight in which the Royal Air Force aeroplanes flew low over the hands and used their machine-guns and bombs with deadly effect. One Encouraging Factor So the struggle goes on. Repressive measures are becoming more efficient as experience is gained and information improves. But there is a ceivin futility in attacking terrorism solely by repression. The problem is a political one.; it

demands a prompt and wise solution. The encouraging factor is that the average Arab still has confidence, though to be sure a steadily diminishing one, in the ultimate justice of the British people. It is sad reflection that Arabs can say that as long as they confined their protests against the Mandatory policy i to legal channels their voice was not j heard in London or Geneva, and that | only when they resorted to lawless- ; ness was their plaint heeded. Now ( they say that if they lay down their ! arms it will be assumed that they acquiesce in the partition of Palestine; i whereas if they still resist they will ! delay that event, or at least secure a better scheme. The British Governi ment should need no such pressure to j give full and fair consideration to | either Arab or Jewish claims.