Lieut. Gen. John Greer Dill arrived here today to take command of British forces in an effort to put down Arab disorders, which entered their twenty-second week. He disembarked at Haifa from the destroyer Douglas.
With reinforcements on their way or preparing to leave to bring the Holy Land garrison to a strength of 30,000 — the largest British expeditionary force since the World War — Gen. Dill’s arrival was interpreted as foreshadowing possible proclamation of martial law.
(British soldiers will be rushed from Egypt to Palestine if disorders increase before the arrival of 15,000 fresh troops from England, according to reports received by the Havas News Agency. Havas said that military authorities were busy directing the construction of barracks, drill grounds and other equipment for the new forces.)
Meier Dizengoff, 75-year-old mayor of Tel Aviv, welcomed Gen. Dill in behalf of the all-Jewish city and himself with an open letter calling him a “savior” and a “second Allenby.”
The letter said:
“Before the British occupation, Palestine was subjected to the hardships of the Turkish regime and all eyes were raised to Great Britain, whence salvation was expected. Thanks to Allenby’s victory (the late Marshal Edmund Allenby, wartime conqueror of Palestine), Palestine has prospered, and its inhabitants, without distinction, have benefited from the progress.
“Today the Holy Land is again suffering from anarchy and insubordination of law and order. Our eyes again are raised to the Thames. You, general, come as a savior, a second Allenby. We pray you may succeed in bringing order and obedience to law soon.”
ARABS BLAME JEWS, GOVERNMENT
The Arab Supreme Committee, avoiding a definite stand on cessation of the general strike, stated today after all-day conferences that the Jews and the Government were responsible for 21-week-old disorders.
The committee decided to leave a final decision on termination of the Nationalist strike to be taken by local strike committees on Thursday on the ground that it had not initiated the movement.
Its statement said that Arab demands for stoppage of Jewish immigration, prohibition of land sales to Jews and a national government were not inconsistent with the League of Nations mandate.
The committee disclaimed responsibility for the current disturbances and denied any hostility toward mediation of Arab demands by foreign Arab rulers. It declared that the British Royal Commission of inquiry was not sufficient to pacify the Arabs.
The disorders began in the all-Jewish city of Tel Aviv, not in predominantly Arab Jaffa, the statement held, citing a statement of J.H. Thomas, former British Colonial Secretary, in support of its contention.
Yesterday, High Commissioner Sir Arthur Wauchope, continuing last-minute efforts to obtain a peaceful settlement of the revolt, conferred for almost two hours with all ten members of the Arab Supreme Committee.
Although the subject of the interview was veiled in secrecy, it was learned that Sir Arthur handed each of the members of the committee a written questionnaire, to which he demanded written answers.
2 SOLDIERS, 17 ARABS SLAIN
Sergeant Sweeney and Private Byworth of the Loyal regiment and sixteen Arabs were killed in an engagement Friday between troops and rebels on the slopes of Mt. Carmel, an official communique reported.
One Arab was killed yesterday while trying to escape capture during a military raid on the village of Lubya. The raid netted 26 members of rebel bands and two agitators.
Two Jewish children, aged 3 and 4, an Arab girl and ten others were wounded by stones thrown at them while they helped extinguish a fire on the Jaffa-Tel Aviv highway.
(The Havas News Agency said two workers were injured when a salvo of rifleshots was fired at a group of employes of the Palestine Potash Works and the attackers ran away when the workers fired back. Twenty airplanes were sent to the Ramleh airdrome, from which they will patrol the Northern part of Palestine, where terrorist activities are now concentrated following the arrival of Syrian, Transjordanian and Iraq agitators trained in the tactics of guerilla warfare.)
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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.
