British Retreat, United Press, San Francisco Chronicle, Mar. 14, 1948.

Troops Anxious to Quit Palestine; Colonial Policy Is Called ‘Fatal’

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A large part of the British administration is attempting to do the best job possible and doing everything to maintain law and order until the last official leaves. The position of the majority, however, is “we couldn’t care less.”

(This dispatch is by a United Press correspondent who has just returned to the United States after spending almost a year in the Middle East.)

By ROBERT C. MILLER

United Press Staff Writer

The main objective of the British forces remaining in Palestine is to evacuate troops and materiel with as small a loss of life as possible.

The British mandate in the Holy Land will be given up May 15, according to London announcements, and all troops are expected to be evacuated to Cyprus, Africa and other parts of the empire by August 15. The first of the 50,000 troops already have been shipped out and the operation will move faster now that the parts have been cleared of citrus shipments.

Few of Britain’s experts on the Middle East ever expected the chaos which now prevails in Palestine. They anticipated the partition vote would cause some rioting, but predicted the Arabs “were just bluffing,” would never fight and that their leaders were secretly reconciled to some form of partition.

The British Colonial Administration has found that rioting by stone throwing mobs in the Middle East has served as a safety valve for the highly emotional Arabs. Consequently they believed it wiser to allow the mobs to exhaust them selves with curses, brickbats and stones than to be suppressed and harbor ill feelings which might eventually develop into a full-grown revolution.

MISTAKE IN POLICY

Thus, when the Arab mobs in Jerusalem stormed out of the old city to burn, loot and destroy Jewish property, the British authorities did not intervene. They predicted all would be normal within a few days.

This mistake in administrative policy has been fatal. The Arabs, realizing that the British had no intention of arresting them, rolled up their sleeves and went to it with a vengeance. When the Palestine authorities finally attempted to clamp down on the trouble makers, it was too late. The disorders had spread throughout the Holy Land.

There was a natural partiality shown by the British for the Arabs when the civil war began. Scores of British police and soldiers had been murdered by Jewish terrorists. Everywhere the British were regarded by the Jewish populace as invaders and unwelcome rulers.

There were also anti-Semitic groups in the British occupation forces who increased the tension between the two groups.

CHANGE OF HEART

When the Jews began to suffer heavily at the hands of Arab mobs, there was a decided change of heart, and the traditional love of the underdog converted many a Britisher to the Jewish side. The affection was neither returned no long lived. The Jewish extremists continued to kill Britishers and none of the responsible heads of the Palestinian Jews schemed able to stop them.

The result has been a three-sided war. A large part of the British administration is attempting to do the best job possible and doing everything to maintain law and order until the last official leaves. The position of the majority, however, is “we couldn’t care less.”

There have been numerous instances of arms and ammunition being sold to Arabs by British solders and police. Some have even approached newsmen, offering pistols and rifles at $100 each.

There is considerable Arab boasting of bribes paid to British soldiers and policemen who shut their eyes to arms and ammunition being smuggled into Palestine. Jews tell of being forced to pay large sums to police armored car quads who run a “taxi” service through danger zones.

There have been repeated in stances of British authorities disarming Jewish convoys along the highways which a few miles farther were attacked and destroyed by Arab bands.

The British have seldom been able to do anything right during the rioting. If their actions were approved by the Jews they were damned by the Arabs, or vice versa. To every Britisher Palestine has become an ache and a pain which they would be most happy to forget.