“NO SURRENDER.”

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 263, 5 October 1936, Page 7

“NO SURRENDER.”

REBELS’ TACTICS. The special correspondent of the Daily Herald at Jerusalem predicts that the Arabs’ reply to the British ultimatum will be, “No surrender,” and the rebels will not be deterred even by martial law. The Arabs have 4000 to 5000 men, with whom they are confident that, choosing their own form of warfare, they can resist 17,000 British troops. The Arabs believe in remaining mobile and carrying only light weapons. They regard machine guns and heavier weapons as encumbrances. Three thousand rebels are concentrated in the hills of northern Palestine, operating in groups of 50 to 60. They have fortified positions dominating the roads, and the caves they use for hiding are inaccessible to aerial attack'. This force is composed of Palestine Arabs, but, in other parts fo the country, the terrorists are mostly foreigners from Iraq and Syria. The whole force is divided into two sections —the Fighters in the Holy War and the Martyrs of the Cause. The whble outbreak has gained the character of a holy war. The Martyrs of the Cause have been given the task of harassing the Jewish settlements, cutting the telephone wires, and damaging the railways. The task of the fighters in the Holy AVar is to harass the British troops.

Early in September 300 Iraqis, armed with machine guns, crossed the frontier and camped in the Jordan Valley. One report says that the Arab forces include many deserters from the Iraq Army,