THE WAR IN PALESTINE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26776, 20 May 1948, Page 5

THE WAR IN PALESTINE

CAUTIOUS LEADERS ' Both Sides Consolidate Positions NO MAJOR ENCOUNTERS New Zealand Press Association—Copyright Rec. 10 p.m. . LONDON, May, 19. Summing up the military situation in Palestine last night the military correspondent of The Timas said that apart from the capture of Acre by the Jews, which was not unexpected, and the reported entry of two sections of the Arab Legion into the Jewish quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, there was no appreciable change. Neither side, the correspondent points out, has done more than consolidate itself in territory within its natural area. In other words, both appear to be commanded by very cautious men, who so far have belied the expectations of rapid action, and nowhere has there been any real clash. But the country is so small and so very narrow from east to west that a major encounter could be brought on by Arab forces between first light and noon. Haganah Claims Victory in Acre

Haganah announced that all Arab forces in Acre surrendered after a 22-hour battle. The surrender terms included the handing over of all arms and all foreign Arab troops in the town. Agency correspondents point out that the Arab surrender of Acre means that the Jews now control the whole of the Northern Palestine coast line with the exception of Haifa, which the British are using as an evacuation port. The British United Press correspondent in Haifa says the old walled city of Acre has been festering with typhoid for weeks. The odour of death and accumulated filth hung over the city when the white flag went up and Haganah men warily entered it. It is estimated that 4000 Arabs remain in the city. Two sections of the Arab Legion this evening took over positions in the Jewish quarter of the old city of Jerusalem, states a Transjordan De-

fence Ministry communique. Arab Legion forces moved up to the northern side of Jerusalem and placed artillery in a dominating position. The rest of Jerusalem is held by a combined force of many thousands of Haganah, Irgun Zvai Leumi, and Stern Gang fighters, who are themselves cut off from contact with the main Jewish forces estimated at 50,000, which are on the coastal plain around Tel-Aviv. Legion troops have occupied the pclice post in the centre of Bethlehem near the Church of the Nativity. Glubb Pasha, commander of the Transjordan Arab Legion, inspected