ZIONISTS’ QUICK ATTACK THREATENS THE CONQUEST OF WHOLE OF PALESTINE

Grey River Argus, 11 May 1948, Page 5

ZIONISTS’ QUICK ATTACK THREATENS THE CONQUEST OF WHOLE OF PALESTINE

MAST HOPES NOW MUST REST IN PROLONGED CAMPAIGN (Rec. 9.50) ' LONDON, May 10. The Times has an article summing up the military and tactical situation in Palestine. It refers to the advantages which the Jews possess in these respects. It points out that the Jews struck quickly. They seized parts of the city of Haifa as soon as the-’ British forces there had withdrawn. The Jews also launched a formidable attack on the city and port of Jaffa. Thereby they are threatening to cut off on the Arabs their supplies from the coast. The Tinies continues: “The Arabs, on the other hand, have mismanaged their campaign, by dissipating their strength in costly attacks upon fortified . positions, and also by engaging in pitched battles against better equipped and better disciplined Jewish troops. They did this instead of retaining their guerrilla tactics.” The Times also said that the forces of the Zionists were already threatening to conquer the whole' of Palestine. But a long war would wreck the hopes of the Zionists. FIRST JEWISH STATE FOR 2000 YEARS NOW PREDICTED. (Rec. 9.50) JERUSALEM ,May 10. ' David Ben, Gurion, who is the chairman of the Jewish Agency and also is the Prime Minister in the Jewish Shadow Cabinet, addressed a mass meeting here. He said: “I believe that, in a few days,' a Jewish State will be founded in Palestine after two thousand years of an interruption.” Premier Ben Gurion claimed that not a single Jewish locality has been lost in the fighting during the past few weeks. 24,000 JEWS TO GO FROM CYPRUS TO PALESTINE (Rec. 9.50) JERUSALEM, May 10. There are twenty-four thousand illegal Jewish immigrants at present detained in vamps on the Island of Cyprus, north of Palestine. These Jews are to be sent to Palestine immediately after the British mandate expires on Saturday next. The Daily Telegraph’s diplomatic correspondent makes this statement. He adds: “It has been stated officially in London that there can be no political objection to these Jews in Cyprus being sent to Palestine, but there has been no acceptance of a Jewish contention that these immigrants should be . taken there in British ships. The Jewish Agency is known to be ready to supply the necessary ships, and * it has already ear-marked camps in Palestine to receive such new arrivals.” ARAB PEOPLES WILL ASSEMBLE TO OPPOSE JEWISH STATE (Rec. 9.50) JERUSALEM, May 10. The Prime Minister of Lebanon, Said El Solh Bey, said King Ibn Saud has decided that Saudi Arabia shall join the other Arab States in military action to prevent the establishment of .a Zionist State in Palestine. A military source in Cairo says: “The Commander of the Egyptian Air Force has flown to the Palestine border with a number of planes.

Departure of British Police from Holy City

(Rec 9.55) JERUSALEM, May 10. The greater part of Palestine’s police headquarters in the “fortress” area of Jerusalem has been moved to the Arab port of Haifa. It went yesterday, in a convoy of 25 vehicles. A Jewish source said: The British radio control centre has been dismantled and the dailv bulletins on incidents throughout Palestin p have been discontinued.. -

TRUCE TERMS FOR JERUSALEM

LONDON, May 9.

Reuter’s Jerusalem correspondent says the British High Commissioner, General Sir Alan Cunningham, sent the Jews and Arabs the Government’s draft proposals for the Jerusalem truce.

The chief Palestine delegate of the International Red Cross has proposed to the Truce Commission that the Red Cross should take all Jerusalem under its protection. General Cunningham said the Government would approve the scheme if rhe Jews and Arabs formally requested it.

BATTLE 14 MILES FROM HOLY CITY

LONDON, May 9 Ten thousand Arabs and Jews are reported to be involved in a battle near Bab el Wad, 14 miles irom Jerusalem. . , . , An official Jewish source claimed that crack troops of tne Jewish - almach (Haganah commandos; launched an offensive in darkness against Arabs holding the heights aminating the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road, near Bab el Wad The main objective in the attack is to clear a joao-block, which the Arabs formed by blasting 10(10 tons of reek on to the road. The Jewish Agencv was unable to attend the suggested truce talks today. All tlmee representatives, whom the High Commissioner. General Sir Alan Cunningham, wished to see. were out of Jerusalem.

Saudi Arabs to Join in War

LONDON. Mav 9 King Abdullah of Transjordan has received a telegram from King Ibn Saud, promising Saudi Arabian troops for war in Palestine, says the Associated Press Amman correspondent. A palace source said that thousands or Sau<v Arabian regulars had joined the Egyptian Army garrison near the soutnern Palestine frontier. A correspondent says that Riad el Solh BeyyNhe Lebanese Premier, in confirming King Ibn Saud’s promise to King Abdullah, said that King Ibn Saud had approved the decision of the Arab States’ military conference at Amman. Saudi Arabian armies would join the Arab League armies in time for military action to prevent the establishment of a Zionist State in Palestine, and wo> d estaolish an independent Arab State there. The correspondent adds that King Ibn Saud was recently silent about the possible support for the Palestine Arabs. King Abdullah’s relations with King Ibn Saud nave long been strained, because after the 1914-18 war the Hedjaz, then ruled by King Abdullah’s father, Hussein, was occupied by King Ibn Saud. King Ibn Saud depends for defonc? mainly on levies, but the elements of a small British-trained regular army with a few aircraft have recently been brought together in the Hedjaz. ARABS IN JERICHO REGION "LONDON, MJy 9 The British United Press Jerusa’em correspondent says that Arab Legion troops to-dav assumed control of the Palestine side of the Allenby bridge over the Jordan, five miles east of Jericho, following the withdrawal of the British guards. Food Convoyed Under Truce (Rec 9.30) JERUSALEM, May 10. The first food convoy since the Jews and Arabs arranged a truce which is now enabling the convoys to reach Jewish and Arab settlements in North Palestine, reached Acre from Haifa, yestereday. Jerusalem Jews Fear for Water Supply (From Seaghan Maynes, Reuters Correspondent). JERUSALEM (By Airmail)—The

fear of Jerusalem’s estimated 100,000 Jews that they will be deprived of water from their main supply sources at Ras el Ain in Arab-occu-pied territory about 35 miles northwest of Jerusalem is expected to lead to heavy fighting for control of the water source and pipeline. Most Jews, their eyes anxiously turned to water taps, expect the Arabs to cut the water supplies, thus adding to' the nresent food shortage the danger of thirst and disease. Although the Jews have been preparing to meet a shortage by installing emergency water tanks, they know that a water blockade would affect the Jewish community . much more than the 60,000 Arab inhabitants of the Holy City. Inside the Old Walled City of Jerusalem, where there live about 25,000 Arabs and some 1,000 Jews, nearly every house has its own cistern. In the 'modern new Jerusalem, most of the Arab houses use • their cisterns, while most of the Jewish houses rely on tap water supolied through the Romena resevoir in the all-Jewish quarter. This resevoir, with the capacity of about ine million gallons is fed by the pipeline from Ras el Ain and by another- pipeline from a smaller water source at Ain Farah about six miles north-east of Jerusalem—which is purely Arab territory. Destruction of the Ras el Ain puhiping station and pipeline iS a possible auxiliary to the Arab blockade of Jerusalem, in the opinion of some British observers here. They state that the Arab population, in addition to house cisterns can draw from a spring near the holy Garden of Gethsemane, from wells in many Arab villages fringing the I-lolv City and from the Ain Farah pipeline. ' Water supplies are also available from the biblical King Solomon’s Pools near Bethlehem. Both Jewish and Arab authorities have drawn up plans to meet a water emergency.

POST & TELEGRAPH RESTRICTIONS

The Chief Postmaster at Greymouth (Mr H. C. Rowe) has been informed that telegraph service tn Palestine is suspended in respect of all areas excent Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Traffic to Jerusalem is limited to (a) Government, (b) press and (c) full rate telegrams addressed to Consulates and bj.nks. Traffic to Haifa and Tel Aviv is limited to (a) ordinary, (b) L.S., and (c) C.D.E. telegrams. In addition Mr Rowe has been advised that effective immediately correspondence for Palestine will be accented at the senders’, risk, and that postal service which is restricted to unregistered letters, air or surface, and newspapers, provides for the despatch to Cairo only where, mail matter will be forwarded as opportunity offers.