May 29, 1948 King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan

“The Arabs said that 3,000 of their men were battling on that front, of which half were members of the Arab Legion.

A broadcast said, ‘ If we lose this battle we shall be beaten on all fronts, for we shall be cut off from the Egyptians.  It will mean the loss of Jerusalem.’ …

The Arabs also let it be known that King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan had visited Jerusalem, Ramallah and Nablus, and had told his men to hold their line at any cost.  Apparently the line was being held because there was still a blackout of news from Jerusalem and Latrun although everyone conceded that soething was going on there.

Israeli forces retrieved their position in the Latrun area somewhat by air attacks on artillery positions near Biddu that had been shelling nearby settlements.  Planes also bombed Arab concentrations at Ramallah and set four large fires, according to the Haganah.  The air force struck at the Arab Legion camp near Tulkarm, scoring direct hits on petrol dumps,  the Haganah said…

Reports from the south said that a column of the Egyptian Army had reached Isdud, an Arab village north of Gaza [Isdud is twenty-two miles south of Tel Aviv.]”

Source: New York Times, May 30, 1948