Page "1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine" Paragraph 58

A cordon round the area to be searched is first established either by troops or aircraft and the inhabitants are warned that anybody trying to break through the cordon is likely to be shot.

As literally hundreds of villages have been searched, in some cases more than once, during the past six months this procedure is well-known and it can be safely assumed that cordon-breakers have good reasons for wishing to avoid the troops.

A number of such cordon-breakers have been shot during searches and it is probable that such cases form the basis of the propaganda that Arab prisoners are shot in cold blood and reported as " killed while trying to escape ".

After the cordon is established the troops enter the village and all male inhabitants are collected for identification and interrogation.