§ Mr. Keelingasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has considered the announcement made by the assistant district commissioner of police at Tiberias that for every Jewish illegal immigrant entering Palestine 50 Arabs are crossing the frontier without permits; whether it was with his approval that this announcement was made; and what steps he proposes to take as a result.
§ Mr. George HallI have made inquiries into the alleged statement and find that it has been misrepresented. The facts are that at an interview with a delegation of Jewish settlers it was alleged that thousands of Arabs entered Palestine without permits. The Assistant Superintendent of Police who was present replied that he thought the figures were grossly exaggerated and that, during the five months that he had served at Tiberias only 50 Arabs, who had crossed the border for casual labour without permits, had been detected and deported. In view of the above no action on my part is required.