A concerted effort on the part of British officials to end illegal immigration into Palestine tightened here today when a mass hunt, directed exclusively against Jewish newcomers, was started.
The campaign, which is assuming the proportions of a large-scale pursuit of violators, is in line with a pronouncement made in the British House of Commons by Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister, Secretary of State for the Colonies in the Cabinet, last Thursday, that vigorous steps would be taken to prevent illegal immigration.
Special motorboat patrols were detailed in the vicinity of Haifa, while British and Arab constables, assisted by peasants, engaged themselves in scouring the coastwise territory for smuggling of Jewish immigrants. A reward was announced by the government for the capture of culprits.
Along the northern frontier of the Holy Land, control of traffic was tightened, but only passports held by Jews were carefully examined.
The new regulations governing immigration require a deposit of sixty pounds as surety from Jewish tourists coming from certain countries. This is intended to preclude the possibility that they will overstay.
Tourists now in Palestine are to be questioned, while prospective visitors will be obliged henceforth to undergo examinations. Legal immigration by means of certificates is not to be affected.
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