Seizure of Explosives And Incendiary Articles During 1945, (c) Armed Bands and Illegal Organizations in Palestine before 1948 (Nakba), British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 597. Chapter XV: Law and Order : (b) Arms Traffic : Table 7

CHAPTER XV.

escaping but the woman was arrested and sentenced by a military court to four years imprisonment.

31. Table 7 shows the quantities of explosives and incendiary articles seized from Arabs and Jews respectively during 1945.

Table 7,

SEIZURE OF EXPLOSIVES AND INCENDIARY ARTICLES DURING 1945.

Arabs
Turkish shell

94 sticks of gelignite 84.105 Kgs. gunpowder 3 cases gun powder

1 tin gunpowder

250 grm. dynamite

1. 7 50 metres fuze 26 pieces fuze

50 detonators

120 percussion caps 1 primer

1 slab gun cotton

Jews

19 mines

30 home-made mortars

26 home-made mortar shells 8 mortar shells

100 unexploded charges for telegraph poles

5. 700 Kgs. gelignite

114 sticks gelignite

12 pieces gelignite

1.830 Kgs. gunpowder

1 large tin gunpowder 1,293. 700 Kgs. ammonal

1 tin ammonal 14 lengths fuze 22 fuzes

1 tin safety fuzes 220 detonators

23 bottles acid

1 primer

(c) Armed bands and illegal organizations.

32. Throughout historical times, banditry has been endemic in the greater part of what is now Palestine. The decay of the Ottoman Empire from the eighteenth century onwards and the consequential weakening of its authority In outlying provinces may be assumed to have stimulated existing tendencies towards turbulence among the population of Palestine. Nineteenth century records contain abundant evidence of lawlessness and violence, not, however, amounting to organized rejection of Ottoman suzerainty. Moreover, the nomadic people to the east and north-east of Palestine had generally taken the opportunity of resuming their ancient practice of raiding the settled country whenever The central authorities were sufficiently distracted by local troubles. As is apparent from Lord Samuel's report quoted at The beginning of this chapter the confusion following the collapse of the Turkish armies in Palestine offered renewed licence to The native turbulence

597