Palestine Government Holds Quiet Restored, Refugees May Return

On the eve of the fifth Friday, the Moslem Sabbath, since the fateful Friday of August 23, the state of mind of the Palestine population, both Jewish and Arab, was far from calm. Wild rumors were current in Palestine’s capital several hours before the villagers from the immediate vicinity were to assemble in the Mosque of Omar for their weekly prayers. Rumors were spread that a well-planned attack on the Jews will recur on Friday or Saturday.

The origin of this alarmist report is, surprisingly, the Arab police force. The Palestine authorities are aware of these rumors and have taken the usual Friday precautionary measures. The police posts were doubled, and Arabs coming into Jerusalem were searched for weapons.

An incident which occurred Thursday on the Jaffa Road tended to increase the alarm. An Arab youth was reported stabbed by an unknown assailant. Immediately an Arab agent circulated throughout the Old City, calling on the Arabs to take revenge on the Jews. The youth’s father came to the office of the District Commissioner demanding of Mr. Keith-Roach to track down the malefactor. He also asked for “blood money.”

PROPAGANDA OF HATRED BEING CONTINUED

Reliable reports received here state that Arab agitators continue their inflammatory propaganda against the Jews of Palestine. One well-known

sheik is touring the district of Haifa and another is visiting the district of Hebron, inciting the Moslem population to new disturbances. The correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency learns that these and other mischief makers are under government surveillance and it is possible that several very important Arab personages will be implicated.

SUPPRESSED HEBREW DAILY PERMITTED TO APPEAR, ARAB PAPERS SUSPENDED

The ban on the Jerusalem Hebrew morning daily, “Doar Ha’yom,” was lifted. The paper will reappear on Sunday.

The Arab organ “El Akdam” of Jaffa, formerly a bi-weekly, which appeared daily since the disturbances, has been suppressed by an order of the government. The Arab paper “Felestin,” which carried on rabid anti-Jewish propaganda, was suppressed following the editor’s ignoring of the second warning.

GOVERNMENT SEES COMPLETE QUIET, PLANS FOR RETURN OF REFUGEES

The official view held here is that complete quiet has been restored throughout the country. The government considers it safe for all refugees to return to their homes, including the Old City in Jerusalem, with the exception of the refugees from Hebron, Motza and other devastated Jewish colonies.

The distribution of rations to all refugees whose return home is considered safe is being discontinued today.

With the arrival of the newly-recruited British policemen, the British section of the police is expected to be increased to four hundred, pending the reorganization of the entire force on the presumed basis of one-third being British, one-third Arab and one-third Jewish. The additional forces are said to provide further security.

ARAB VILLAGES QUARREL AMONG THEMSELVES

The ordinance promulgated by the Palestine government providing for collective punishment of guilty villages by imposing fines upon them, has had the effect of a growing number of quarrels among the Arab villages in the country. The controversies are largely between those villages which participated in the disturbances and those which did not. Especially violent are the quarrels among villages in the neighborhood of Safed, where some villages claim that they did not participate in the disturbances and will therefore resist the imposition of a fine upon them. In order to save themselves, they threaten to divulge the names of the perpetrators in the guilty villages.

ANGLO-PALESTINE BANK SUFFERED NO LOSS

The Anglo-Palestine Bank in the country suffered no losses during the disturbances, the bank announced. A new branch is being opened at Petach Tikvah.