Orange Lining to the Clouds of Spain and Palestine

Thursday 24^th September 1936

The attempt to apply a military solution of the problems in Palestine showed no sign of letting up. Detachments from two British infantry battalions with air support attacked what was described as a “concentration” of Arabs. Whilst the infantry tackled the outer ring of defences, the RAF addressed the main body, inflicting 41 casualties.

Arab leaders till professed to hope that the various sovereigns of the region would be able to affect some peaceable settlement by drafting a suitably worded appeal to the Palestinian Arabs. On a more practical level, optimists saw an unexpected potential benefit from the civil war in Spain, which had removed practically the country’s entire crop from the world market. The anticipated 60% surge in prices was seen as an incentive for Arab growers to abandon the strike. It was also hinted that any financial distress amongst Arab growers created by an unsold harvest would lead to forced sales of orange grows to Jewish buyers.