Control of Jerusalem, United Press, San Francisco Chronicle, July 27, 1948.

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TEL AVIV, July 26-The government of Israel today apparently rejected Arab claims to the modern city of Jerusalem by declaring the city to be “Israeli-occupied territory”

A special announcement said Israeli laws will apply to the Holy City and an Israeli Governor will be appointed for it shortly. The Israeli government also will attempt to control activities of Irgun Zvai Leumi and the Stern Gang in Jerusalem, the announcement said.

No mention was made of the old walled city, which is now controlled by Arabs.

(A New York Times dispatch from Jerusalem Sunday indicated both Irgun and the Stern Gang would renew fighting if Jerusalem were placed under international authority.)

In effect, the Israeli announcement also seemed to reject the Arab League agreement to demilitarize Palestine. The agreement was made public yesterday in Beirut, Lebanon, by Abdul Rahman Azzam Pasha, the League’s secretary general. Azzam Pasha, however, had attached conditions asking that the Jews halt immigration, allow Arab refugees to return and refrain from importing arms.

The Israeli declaration was made shortly after Count Folke Bernadotte, United Nations mediator, left Tel Aviv by plane for Rhodes.

Later in Rhodes Bernadotte said that although there will be no conferences there between Jews and Arabs at present, he hopes to have something concrete to present to the General Assembly in Paris in September.

Bernadotte said that within the next few days he will revisit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Alexandria and Amman in an effort to bring peace to Palestine.

In Tel Aviv Bernadotte conferred with Moshe Shertok, Israel’s Foreign Minister. He said these were the subjects discussed-

1-Supervision of the truce.

2-Demilitarization of Jerusalem.

3-Return of Arab refugees to Israel.

4-Jewish immigration to Israel.

5-Procedure of converting the truce into an armistice.

Only on the fourth point were Bernadotte and Shertok said to have agreed. Both asserted the need for freedom of Jewish immigration.