Inquiries concerning the recent hunger strike of Jewish prisoners held for illegal entry into Palestine were made in the House of Commons today and brought a reply from Colonial Secretary Cunliffe-Lister.
Cunliffe-Lister quoted a report from the High Commissioner of Palestine, saying that the strikers gave false names and concealed their passports. They declared themselves Russians in order that the Palestine administration would have nowhere to deport them. The Palestine government has good reason to believe, however, that they are not citizens of Russia. The identity of forty of them has already been established, most of them being Polish, the report from the Palestine High Commissioner was quoted as stating.
The Palestine High Commissioner has also, according to Cunliffe-Lister, asked foreign consuls in Palestine to expedite return of these citizens to the countries of their origin.
Colonel Wedgewood asked how long the prisoners would continue to be kept in jail. Mr. Lister replied that it was well known that illegal entry into a country was against the law. It is in the interests of those who reside in Palestine legally that the immigration
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