An Arab delegation made up of all Sheiks of the Beisan district in the Jordan Valley waited on Sir Herbert Samuel, to present a memorandum avowing their loyalty to the Government and declaring that they wish to live friendly with the Jews whom they are also anxious to sell some land in the valley.
In particular, the Sheiks protested against the Arab agitatore, including M. Bustani, Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Moslem Christian Union.
The land tracts in the Jordan Valley which the Arab cultivators are now anxious to sell to the Jews form part of the crown lands which, under the terms of the Mandate, were to have been given in keeping of the Zionist Organization. The Land Commission named by the High Commissioner decided, however that little if any of the land around Beisan was vacant since each of the cultivators was entitled to at least 100 dunams.
The natives, unable to cultivate the land or pay the taxes, are now eager to dispose of the land which they obtained as a virtual gift from the government.
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.
