AT THE GATES OF JERUSALEM

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 65, 10 December 1917, Page 5

AT THE GATES OF JERUSALEM

BRITISH CAPTURE HEBRON TURKS BAFFLED BY ALLENBY'S CLEVER TACTICS \ ■ (Rec. December 9, 5.5 p.m.) . London. December 7. An official report from Palestine states that General Allenby lias occupied Hebron.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Beuter. THE JERUSALEM HILLS. (Rec. December 9, 5.5 p.m.) ' ' London, December 8. lleuter's correspondent at British Headquarters in Palestine states:— "We have forced back the Turks from the last line they can occupy west of Jerusalem. The hills around the city are of high military value, because they command the approaches to Jerusalem, some thousand feet high on either sido of the road. Boldly defended, well-supplied, they could have held out for woeks, yet General Allenby forced the Turks to abandon the positions without n blow !>y contiimel outflanking, tye are now up the passes. The struggle centres about a few places which command the whole of the country. Some of theso places aro already ours. The fighting is strong and bitter, but our progress is quite satisfactory. Another wonderful feat is tho turning of goat-tracks into motor roads essential for our supplies. Everything is beinp: dono with the energy which characterised our advance from tho GazaBeersheba line. The British canturenf tho ridge between Shilta and El Buri was a sterling pieco of work. Tho rjdgo covered the Jaffa Road, and six hundred picked Turks held tho position, but the Lowknders overwhelmed them, killing largo numbers, practioally a whole Turkish battalion being wiped out. The tomb of the Prophet Samuel is now a mass of ruins."— Reuter. \