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Britain Massing 1,000,000 Men in Near East to Defend Palestine and Arab States

February 18, 1942
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A force of 1,000,000 men is now massed in the Near East ready to swing into action, should the Nazis attempt to invade Turkey and penetrate into Syria and Palestine, it was learned here today.

British military authorities are paying special attention to the increased pro-Axis propaganda among Arabs directed by the ex-Mufti of Jerusalem from his offices in Athens, Rome and Berlin and through his agents in Turkey. It is admitted here that his influence is great even though the Arabs on the whole are considered to be pro-British.

Axis radio stations indicate in their broadcasts that Germany and Italy consider the ex-Mufti to be a candidate for the Caliphate, which united the Arabs into a political entity for many centuries. England, working for the establishment of an Arab Federation, has been backing young King Farouk of Egypt for the Caliphate, which was abolished in 1924 by Mustapha Kemal of Turkey.

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