By April 17, 2008 Read More →

New Palestine Raid Reported, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 11, 1948.

Irgun Zvai LeumiClick here to view the original article.

JERUSALEM, Jan. 10- The Jewish militia Haganah reported without confirmation that Arabs again had raided Northeastern Palestine from Syria today, and the government said 20 persons had been killed in the south in a battle of Jews, Arabs and British.

Haganah said several hundred Arabs had crossed the northern border near the village of Tel el Kadi in the same general vicinity as the first invasion from Syria yesterday, They were beaten back and one person was killed and at least on wounded, the organization said.

This report was not confirmed either by the British army or by news correspondents.

(United Press quoted advises from Cairo, Egypt, which reported that Arab troops could be expected to invade Northern Palestine again in a few days.)

The deadly battle in the south took place in orange groves near Gaza on the coastal plain.

TOWN BESIEGED

An Arab force, estimated by police to number 100 men, also laid siege to the Jewish settlement of Ramat Rachel on the outskirts of Jerusalem near the residence of General Sir Alan Cunningham, the Palestine High Commissioner.

Prior to the siege Major Nicholas Andronivitch, military attach of the United States Consul General, narrowly escaped injury when his horse was shot from under him while he was riding on a bridle path nearby.

In Jerusalem Jews began putting up road blocks around their section of the city similar to those which the Arabs have been using at the gates of the old city.

Four Arabs and four Jews killed during the day in other isolated disorders in Palestine brought to 678 the unofficial death count in the Holy Land since the United Nations voted for partition November 29.

REVENGE’

An official statement said the situation in Northeastern Palestine was “normal this morning.”

Police in the village of Rosh Pinna said the Arab smash over the border yesterday was a punitive raid launched by 62-year-old Sheikh Faour of Southern Syria as revenge for the killing of two of his tribes men by Haganah.

The raiders were led by the sheik’s son, who was wounded and carried back into Syria by his own men, police added.

(A British spokesman says the U. N. Palestine Commission will be asked not to enter the Holy Land until British rule ends. Page 8.)

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