By April 27, 2008 Read More →

Israel Says Truce Broken; U.N. on Palestine, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, July 20, 1948.

Folke BernadotteClick here to view the original article.

CAIRO, July. 19-Israel charged Syria with widespread violation of the Palestine truce today, and an Israeli spokesman said “the Israeli army will consider itself at liberty to attack the Syrian army wherever they are.”

“The Haganah command has decided not to cease fighting until the Syrians are repulsed,” the spokesman added.

The truce, ordered for last night by United Nations Mediator Count Folke Bernadotte, was reported generally effective on the southern and central fronts.

The Syrian army’s communique late last night said the cease-fire order was given to its forces at 5-30 p. m? (EST) and went into effect at 6 p. m., EST (4 p. m., PDT). Count Bernadotte had set 10 a. m., EST (8 a. m., PDT) as the deadline.

The lateness of the Syrian cease-fire order probably contributed to other Jewish charges of truce violations in the first few hours after the U. N. deadline.

The Jews said the Syrians launched a post-truce attack on a hill near the Syrian border in Upper Galilee. The hill, taken a few days ago by the Jews, was the subject of an alleged Syrian truce violation during the previously Holy Land cease-fire.

Israeli reports also said Iraqi troops on the Jenin front were firing artillery at Jewish-held Zir ‘In, north of Jenin, and on Jewish positions at Lajjun.

The Jews said they were batting fiercely against both Syrians and Iraquis. A counterattack against a Syrian subsidiary action near the Mishmar Hay Yarden bridgehead was reported by Jewish sources in Haifa.

The only action reported outside of Northern Palestine was an attack by Arab irregulars on the on the Tel AvivHaifa highway. The Israeli government said it will be forced to undertake operations to insure the safety of highways for Jewish traffic.

Count Bernadotte arrived at his headquarters on the island of Rhodes. Earlier his headquarters announced receipt of Arab League acceptance of the truce order.

The brief message from Abdel Rahman Azzam Pasha, secretary-general to the seven-nation league, said-

“I wish to notify Your Excellency that the Arab state members of the Arab League issued orders to cease fire in Palestine as from Sunday, July 18, at 3 p. m., Greenwich Mean Time (8 a. m., PDT)

Three of the Arab states previously announced they had cabled separate acceptance to Rhodes. They were Egypt, Trans-Jordan and Syria, whose armies have been the most active in the Holy Land fighting.

(United Press said dispatches came from Arab capitals which disclosed the bitterness with which Arab leaders accepted the truce.

(A Beirut, Lebanon, dispatch quoted unofficial reports that Premier Mohammed El-Sadr had resigned because he was pressed, against his strenuous opposition, into accepting the truce.

(Propaganda Director Ahmad Hamid Saraf of Iraq said at Baghdad that both Iraq and Syria voted against the truce at the meeting of Arab leaders at Alei, Alei, Lebanon,)

Some of Iraq’s newspapers, denouncing the truce, appeared with black borders today.

A list of alleged truce violations by a spokesman in Tel Aviv included bombing of Jewish positions near Qaqun in the central Palestine Coastal plain and shelling of two Jewish-held villages in the same area.

But for sporadic shooting Jerusalem was comparatively quiet again after eight days of fighting. Four Jews were reported killed.

The U. N. truce commission began thrashing out details of the terms. No arrangements have been made for food and water for modern Jerusalem, and for travel over the road connecting Jerusalem with the coast.

All these were provided in the previous four-week truce, and. Count Bernadotte was expected to send word shortly about new terms.

Power was available again in the city last night. Downtown Jerusalem was gay and busy today. Thousands of women and children emerged to shop or merely to stroll and point out bomb pits to one another.

Tel Aviv had its first night and day free of air raids since the first truce came to an end, although a blackout still was in effect last night.

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