Nine measures being taken by the Palestine government to check illegal Jewish immigration into Palestine were outlined last night in an official communique reporting verbatim the interview which the High Commissioner, Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope, had with six Arab mayors who visited him to voice Arab grievances.
The communique also revealed Sir Arthur’s decision to have a commission, under the presidency of Sir William Murison, investigate police activities during the recent Arab rioting. Arab leaders have vigorously protested against the alleged severity of police measures to maintain order.
Mayor Nashishibi of Jerusalem alleged that Jewish immigrants who seek entry to the country in the classification of capitalists having at least a thousand pounds, fraudulently pass the required sum to each other to obtain permits. He also alleged that, contrary to Jewish claims of a dearth of workers, there is Jewish unemployment and distress.
He demanded that a representative form of government be established in Palestine and that Jewish immigration should be curtailed.
The Arab mayors of Nablus, Haifa and Ramleh also spoke. One of the six mayors was a Christian Arab.
After hearing the six mayors, the High Commissioner pointed out the gradual elimination of illegal immigration and affirmed the existence of “illicit settlement of very large numbers of Jews with tourist visas.”
He outlined the following measures being undertaken against the illegal settlement of Jews in Palestine: deportation, fines, imprisonment, confiscation of the tourist bond of sixty pounds now required of travelers from certain countries, demand for production of return tickets by tourists, restriction of entry of third and fourth-class passengers from Europe and America to the ports of Haifa and Jaffa, withholding of visas of passports such as the Nansen, League of Nations, passports which are issued to men without citizenship in any country, employment of a special staff to check up on illegal settlers in the country, and visas only for immigrants in the capitalist class with certificates of deposit from a selected list of banks.
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