Military forces occupying the settlement of Birya, whose entire male population was sentenced to prison on June 1 following their conviction on the charge of illegal possession of arms, today evacuated the colony.
The district officer and high military and police officials returned the settlement to its inhabitants together with a formal announcement that the three and one-half months occupation was ended. The colony was occupied on Feb. 28 when British military and police forces raided it following an alleged attack on an Arab Legion camp nearby.
Many Jews gathered from neighboring villages and settlements to witness the event. At night Jewish youths from the surrounding district of Galilee marched on Birya carrying torches, dancing the horah and singing; “Birya is ours.”
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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.
