British troops supported by eight Royal Air Force planes tonight were battling a band of about 100 Arabs between Acre and Safed in northern Palestine. Unconfirmed reports said 32 Arabs were killed.
The engagement began in the afternoon when the troops encountered the terrorist band. The clash continued after darkness, with the troops using very light to spot the Arabs.
The battle began shortly after Assistant district commissioner James H.H. Pollock had called 100 Mukhtars (Government-appointed village chiefs) of the Nablus and Jenin districts to Jenin and asked them to use their influence to end the disturbances.
Announcing that he had proof that the inhabitants were assisting the terrorists and that 85 percent of the bandsmen were recruited from that district, he warned that the government had enough troops and airplanes to liquidate the disturbances by force.
He proposed establishment of a committee representing the villages to mediate between the troops and the inhabitants during the military occupation. The Mukhtars replied that they were unable to control individuals and that the only step toward peace would be to recall Arab leaders exiled to the Seychelles Island and Syria and to negotiate with them.
The Assistant district commissioner interrupted to declare that the entire country was quiet except for Jenin and Nablus. “First peace and then negotiations,” he said. One Mukhtar replied, “We are between the hammer and the anvil.”
Meanwhile, the Haifa Military Court sentenced to death Mohammed Abdul Rahin, one of the 14 terrorists captured in the sanguinary battle near Jenin last weekend. The soldier-judges disregarded his plea that 800 uniformed brigands had conscripted him and forced him to carry a rifle under threat of death.
Early this morning the police station and government offices in the center of Tulkarem were heavily fired upon for half an hour. The police replied with machine-gun fire. No casualties were reported.
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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.
