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JERUSALEM, Jan. 27 (U.P)-British authorities tonight ordered all American ships bound for Jewish Tel Aviv to dock instead at Haifa, where they can be searched for contraband war material.
The port director’s blanket order came after British officials directed a 4900-ton American ship already anchored at Tel Aviv to sail to Haifa for inspection.
Officials strongly suspected that among the 600 tons of general cargo carried by the vessel, identified as the American Export Lines freighter Exford, were war materials intended for the Jewish defense army Haganah.
The Exford’s master refused to say whether he was aware the ship carried contraband arms and ammunition.
A reliable source said the British inspection order was based on an agreement with American officials, presumably negotiated after U. S. authorities discovered 65,000 pounds of TNT on a Jersey City dock just as it was about to be loaded into the hold of another American Export Lines ship.
Arab-Jewish fighting continued, meanwhile, resulting in seven deaths during the day.
A Royal Air Force sergeant was killed and a British corporal slightly injured by snipers as they attempted to remove a roadblock near Zion Gate.
Four Arabs were killed and one British soldier slightly injured in an exchange of fire between British and Arabs near Gaza.
A British corporal and a Jewish truck driver were ambushed and slain by an Arab gang on the Tel Aviv-Haifa road.