The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-10-19
Arab Rebel Hordes
 Terrorizing People
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1 burned and sacked, and snipers com- manded the streets until 1t was not safe to venture out of doors day or night.
 Similar Plight
 They were prisoners amid ageless, sacred shrines-the Church of the Holy sepulcher, the Wailing Wall, the mosques of Omar and Aksa- and although modern fighting air- planes scared above and machine guns were trained down on them from outside the walls, their plight was little different from that of their ancestors in the centuries be- fore Christ when Josuah, Nebuchad- resza and Titus laid siege.
 The Arabs revolt, Q protest against the influx of Jews under the British mandate, had gained such hold on the country that the governmen could claim undisputably only the immediate regions around military headquarters.
 The provisional Arab govern. ment," organization of the rebels, was operating SO boldly in most of Palestine, 1t announced that hence- forth 1t would assume responsibility for Jaw and order, life and limb" in It's territory.
 Region in Arab Control
 The region controlled by rebels extended eastward from Jerusalem in 6 crescent shape, beginning with the important towns of Nablus, He- bron and Nazareth; large area of north Palestine surrounding and in- cluding Tiberias; another large area of south Palestine surrounding and including Gaza, and Q section of the Jerusaiem- -JaH highway, Jerusalem's route to the sea. They also controlled all important railways in Palestine.
 Although British troop reinforce ments were able to deploy through the country, they were in peril of snipers, and after they had passed the rebels closed in on the roads again.
 They were holding court in mosques both in their own territory and the few remaining regions controlled by the British. Armed bands of Arabs served subpenas on defendants and witnesses, and escorted them to trials. Persons in the vicinity of Jerusalem's Americ colony said they had been halted in the daytime and taken past civil policemen, who watched passiveiy. The prisoners were in all cases tried with violating provisional Arab government" laws Since the rebels had no jails, they generally placed defendants and witnesses under bail and released them.
 Arab Lawyers Threatened
 Arab lawyers, even in Jerusalem, were sent threatening letters, warn- ing them not to appear in any regu- lar government courts except when they were defending Arabs in nili- tary courts.
 The rebel courts arrogated them selves with powers of life and death, as was demonstrated last week when two headless bodies were found at Jericho, with notes pinned to them saying the heads would be placed on the Jaffa and Damascus gates, in accordance with the ancient Euro pean and the medieval eastern custom. The heads were found two days later, with notes attached reading:
 Such is the fate of traitors" Just Like Gangsters
 The rebels were maintaining their government with taxes for "protec- tion," system that reminded Americans of the operations of gangsters. E uropean land and orange grove owners complained of the assessments without results. British troops. reinforced in the past two weeks to more than 10000, were strengthened by the addition of 4,000 civil policemen and Jewish supernumeraries Although the &C., tive rebels were estimated to num- Der more than 10000, their guerilla tactics and the passive support of their countrymen who had ruled Palestine for 1,400 years before the British took over after the World war, the rebel government was growing stronger daily.