Further Outbreaks in Palestine Will Be “vigorously” Suppressed, Commons is Told

Under-Secretary for Colonies Arthur Creech-Jones told the House of Commons today that further outbreaks of violence in Palestine will be met “with the utmost vigour.” He said that the government had no intention of discontinuing action against illegal organizations.

Creech-Jones disclosed that 2,675 Jews were arrested in the raids beginning on June 29. Of these, 677 had been released as of yesterday, leaving 1,998 still detained.

It was reported here today without confirmation that the government would make an interim statement on Palestine in the House of Commons within the next two weeks. The statement is expected to be issued before the deliberations of the Anglo-American committee of experts have concluded, and will outline the basic British stand on details of implementing the inquiry report, rather than lay down a final policy for Palestine.

According to a well informed source here, the British experts hope to get American agreement to a compromise immigration figure of possibly 3,000 to 4,000 a month. The strategy behind this proposal, which apparently has not yet been advanced to the Americans, according to circles here, is that the British can obtain Arab consent to such a modest figure. It is understood that this proposal involved British selection of the immigrants rather than selection by the Jewish Agency as heretofore.

Under such a plan, the British would select only old people, thus providing them with a double argument–one, directed at the Jews, that their aged need succor most and, the other directed at the Arabs, that these oldsters are harmless and would not reproduce. Unofficial conversations between the British and the Arabs along these lines are understood to be currently in progress at Cairo and elsewhere.