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Lifting of Curfew Greeted Joyfully by Palestine Jews; Many Suspected Terrorists Seized

April 4, 1944
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The lifting of the curfew, which has kept the bulk of Palestine’s Jewish population confined to their homes for 12 of every 24 hours, was greeted joyfully today by the residents of Tel Aviv and the Jewish sections of Jerusalem and Haifa, the quarters which had been affected by it. It had been expected that the curfew would remain in force for another two weeks.

Among those who joined in the rejoicing at the return to normal were hundreds of Allied soldiers on leave. Tel Aviv, which is a center of recreation for the troops, had been an almost dead city after five 5 p.m. More important to the residents of Tel Aviv and the other affected areas was the fact that normal business activities could be resumed. The curfew had seriously hindered all trade and commerce.

Immediately after announcing the lifting of the curfew yesterday, the authorities revealed that they had arrested 60 persons in various sections of the country for participation in the recent outbreaks. Names of those arrested were not disclosed, but it is understood that among them are several leaders of the New Zionist Organization. Meanwhile, the grenade which killed a Jewish policeman in Haifa on Saturday took another victim today when the unnamed youth who threw it died from his wounds.

As the outbreaks of terror subside, the extremist groups are resorting to mimeographed appeals to the population to support their cause. Both the Irgun Zvai Leumi and the “Stern Gang” are flooding the country with leaflets. They are delivered to all editors, correspondents, consulates and government offices, and dropped from roofs on to the main streets of the principal cities. A nine-point appeal issued by the Stern group compares its activities with those of the European underground, and seeks to romanticize the terror in a bid for support.

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