Fourteen Arab rebels were reported killed today when Jewish settlers and British troops joined in repulsing an attack on the colony of Kfar Sirkin, near Petach-Tikvah.
Meanwhile Jews, defying Government disapproval, continued to push colonization activities in the dangerous Beisan valley. Jewish pioneer “shock troops,” moving with the greatest secrecy, on Thursday night established a new settlement northeast of Beisan, making the tenth such colony founded in the valley during the past three years and the twelfth in Palestine since issuance of the British White Paper under which an independent Palestine state would be set up with the Jews fixed as a one-third minority.
British troops dispatched to prevent establishment of the colony arrived too late. Settlement was effected without the usual advance preparations, such as trail cutting, bridge building and erection of a watch tower. No flashlights were used and hammers were muffled. Amazed Arab neighbors saw the colony only at dawn, the sun having set the night before upon a wilderness. The colony occupies a hilltop site on Jewish National Fund land and commands a good view of the neighboring region.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
