BOMB EXPLODES IN JEWISH AGENCY H.Q.

Northern Advocate, 12 March 1948, Page 5

BOMB EXPLODES IN JEWISH AGENCY H.Q.

JERUSALEM, Thu. (noon). —Eleven were killed and 90 injured when a bomb exploded in the right wing of the heavilyguarded Jewish Agency headquarters in Jerusalem.

Jewish Agency reports say an Arab attacker, using a car stolen earlier from the American Consulate, took the bomb into the Agency compound. A thousand armed Haganah men. wearing battledress, cordoned the entire Jewish section of Jerusalem as a result of the explosion. Hundreds of Jews work in tho building, but no member of the Jewish Agency Executive was inside when the explosion occurred. It is stated that a post office car was seen to draw up at the building, which is three storeys high, and explode. Flames arose, smoke poured out and there was great confusion as rescuers tried to make their way into the debris.

The Haganah and other Jewish organisations began rescue work promptly. As in the case of the Ben Yehuda Street explosion, stories are being spread that the British were responsible.

British police and Iroops rushed to give help, but remained outside the cordon because of this hostility. The Colonial Secretary (Mr A. Creech Jones) confronted the House of Commons last night with the possibility that the United Nations Commission may not be able to take over in Palestine when the British mandate ends on May 15. The Minister of State (Mr McNeil) replied that after May 15 Britain would take only such action for the maintenance of law and order as was necessary to facilitate the completion of the withdrawal of her forces. Their position after May 15 would be that of armed forces in a foreign territory.

A correspondent who was on the scene a few minutes later saw an enormous cloud of black smoke and flames rising out of the Irgun Zvai Leumi wing of the building. The flames were spreading rapidly.