General Allenby in Palestine resumed his advance northward from Jerusalem
on Monday week. Moving his centre on a wide front astride of the Shechem road, he pushed steadily through the rough hill-country of Judaea. Last Saturday he advanced his right wing in the Jordan Valley, taking a ridge eight miles north of Jericho, while the centre took Tel Astir (Baal Hazor), a high hill commanding the Shechem road, and beat off several counter-attacks. Last Sunday the centre pushed on through " most precipitous and difficult country and in face of obstinate resistance," taking the ridges immediately south of Mount Ephraim and Shiloh. By Tuesday our troops were within eleven miles of Shechem, the chief Turkish base. On that day General Allenby moved forward his left wing on a wide front from the coast towards Mount Ephraim, on either side of the railway, and advanced three miles, despite stubborn resistance. The irresistible advance of our Army on a front of about forty miles is thus steadily driving the Turks out of Southern Palestine. In Mesopotamia last Saturday General Marshall occupied Hit on the Euphrates, a hundred miles west, of Baghdad.
