Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1936 THE SITUATION IN PALESTINE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 14 September 1936, Page 4

Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1936 THE SITUATION IN PALESTINE

THE information, published last week, of the British Government’s intention to despatch during the present month some fifteen or sixteen battalions of regular troops to Palestine, shows that il takes the situation in that country seriously. There are already some five thousand troops there, and it will be seen that the reinforcements will bring the British forces in Palestine to something like 20,000. The issue there is between the Arabs and the British, but the real cause of the trouble is the Arabs’ objection to the influx of Jews into the country. Britain is committed to the principle that a home for the Jews shall be established in Palestine. So also is the League of Nations. It will be seen, therefore, that the British Government has no option but to resist forcibly when the Arabs take up arms for the purpose of driving the Jews from the country. It is possible that the British troops in Palestine are confronted not merely by the Arabs of that country, but by Arabs from Transjordania and from Arabia —that is to say, by the Arab world. The Arabs’ hatred of the Jew is intense, and all Arabs are united in that hatred. So that the situation in Palestine might grow into something serious, if the British Government were to fail to take those strong measures which alone will meet the situation successfully. The British Government, however, is evidently determined to face the situation firmly, and it is to be anticipated that such a policy, if strongly supported by British public opinion, will uphold Britain’s prestige, and restore peace in Palestine.