By April 27, 2008 Read More →

Bernadotte Aide Accuses Israel of Violating Truce, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 25, 1948.

Count Folke BernadotteClick here to view the original article.

LAKE SUCCESS, Aug. 24 (AP)-Count Folke Bernadotte’s top aide formally accused the Israeli government today of violating the United Nations Palestine truce.

The charge was contained in a note which the U. N. mediator’s chief of staff, Swedish General Aage Lundstrom, sent to Moshe Shertok, Israeli Foreign Minister, concerning the Red Cross zone in Jerusalem.

General Lundstrom conducted an investigation after Israeli and Arab troops entered the Red Cross zone on the night of August 16-17. Since then a controversy has been carried on between the Arabs and Jews about evacuating the zone.

The U. N. was told Lundstrom had informed Shertok that Israeli troops, by entering the zone, had committed “a flagrant violation of the truce.”

U. S. Protests Stern Group Kidnapping of American

JERUSALEM, Aug. 24 (AP)-The U. S. Consul General here has protested to the Jewish governor of Jerusalem that the Stern group kidnapped and mistreated an American Consulate employee Sunday.

The Consul General, John J. Mac-Donald, said the Sternists seized George F. Paro, a confidential clerk in the Consulate and held him for seven hours, during which they handcuffed, blindfolded, slapped and questioned him.

An Israeli army source said the Sternists kidnapped Paro and called him a “damn British spy” because he bears a faint resemblance to a British detective who left Palestine four months ago.

After Paro, a 33-year-old resident of Granville, N. Y., was released by the Sternists he was held for another nine hours by Israeli military police. Asked why the army had held him so long a spokesman replied-

“To clear up such a mystery nine hours is not bad police work.”

MacDonald said he had filed a full report of the incident with the State Department and had sent a strongly worded protest to Dr.Bernard Joseph, the Jewish military governor in Jerusalem.

He demanded an investigation and “appropriate apologies,” and told Joseph-

“In reporting this matter to my Government I pointed out that this case is indicative of the inability of the military government to control the situation in Jerusalem and afford the usual protection expected against terrorist organizations.”

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