Chapter 7 - ZIONIST CRIMES AND TERRORISM IN PALESTINE 1948
Part 1 of 5

In 1948 the Jewish terrorists in Palestine became increasingly ruthless and committed more massacres, such as the one at the Semiramis Hotel. Hagana terrorists attacked the hotel at 1 o'clock in the morning of January 5, 1948. As a result of the bombs they planted in its basement, the whole building collapsed on top of its residents, killing more than 25 men, women and children and injuring 16.

On April 9, 1948, the Irgun Z'vai Leumi and the Stern Gang, in coordination with the Hagana,'committed the infamous massacre of Deir Yassin, where 250 men, women and children were butchered and many of their houses blown up over their heads.

Another important crime committed in 1948 was the assassination of Count Folke Bernadotte, the United Nations Mediator for Palestine, and Colonel Serot of his staff. Dr. Ralph Bunche, representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations attached to the Mediator's staff, sent a telegram describing the murder:

Count Folke Bernadotte, United Nations Mediator on Palestine, brutally assassinated by Jewish assailants of unknown identity, in planned, cold-blooded attack in the New City of Jerusalem at 14.05 G.M.T. today, Friday, 17th September.

Count Bernadotte was assassinated by the Stern Gang, and it is a well established fact that Yitzhak Shamir (alias Ysernitzsky) was one of the three leaders of the Stern Gang who plotted and executed the assassination.

The Stern Gang (LEHI) was led by a triumvirate comprising Israel Eldad (alias Scheib), Nathan Yellin-Mor (alias Friedman), and Yitzhak Shamir (alias Yzemitzsky). The Sunday Observer published an article on September 18, 1988, with the title "Death Warrant Returns to Haunt Shamir," by Eric Silver from Jerusalem:

A former leader of the Stern Gang has named Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir as one of those who authorised the assassination of Count Folke Bernadotte, the Swedish United Nations mediator on Palestine, 40 years ago this weekend.

Israel Eldad, one of the three who commanded the Jewish terrorist group after the death of its founder, Avraharn Stern, at the hands of the British police, said last week the decision to "execute" Count Bernadotte was taken at two clandestine meetings in June and September 1948.

Shamir, another of the triumvirate, was at the first meeting, which agreed in principle that the mediator had to be killed. The second meeting gave the order to go ahead.

Three men involved in the assassination broke a 40-year vow of silence last week and talked about it to the Israeli media. They were Eldad, the fanatical theoretician of the Stern Gang, now aged 78 and still dreaming of a Jewish State on both banks of the Jordan; Yehoshua Zettler, the gang's Jerusalem commander who initiated and planned the operation; and Meshulam Makover, one of the two survivors of the four-man hit squad. Their revelations prompted Sweden to demand that the case be reopened.

The disclosures come at an embarrassing time for Shamir, who is projecting himself in this autumn's election campaign as an elder statesman. But he has not denied his pan in the murder.

Shamir's spokesman, Josef Ahimeir, said: "The Prime Minister is concentrating on the present and future problems of the State of Israel. We don't want to deal with this affair. All that can be said has been said."

Count Bernadotte, a cousin of the Swedish royal family, became a target after he published a plan proposing the intemationalisation of Jerusalem and a re-drawing of the partition borders which would have reduced the area of the Jewish State. Israelis detected the hand of their old foe, the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, in a plot to increase the foothold of Britain's protege, King Abdullah, west of the Jordan.

The Stern Gang veterans are as convinced today as they were forty years ago that the Count had to die. "Bernadotte's plan was to dismantle the State of Israel," Eldad told the Observer. "He was an agent of Bevin. We saved Jerusalem and possibly the State of Israel."

Zettler, who is now in his early seventies and runs a garage in Jaffa, told the evening paper, Yediot Ahronot: "There was a real fear for the fate of Jerusalem.

"We believed that the man (Bernadotte) was dangerous, that he meant to determine historical facts which would seal our fate. We demonstrated against him and when we saw that the demonstrations didn't help there was no alternative but to decide on his execution."

The new account identifies Yehoshua Cohen as the gunman who commanded the operation and fired the fatal shots when Bernadotte's car was ambushed in a West Jerusalem suburb on 17 September. Cohen, who died in 1986, had earlier trained the two Jews who assassinated the British Minister of State, Lord Moyne, in Cairo in 1944.

Zettler and Makover said last week that they had decided to break their silence because the integrity of Israel was again under threat, apparently a reference to the Labour Party and others on the Left who are ready to bargain territory for peace.

The Jerusalem Post said last Friday that this "could only be interpreted as a hint that this threat may again require personal terror in the Stern Gang fashion."(1)

Shamir's role in the assassination of Count Bernadotte was described in Dan Kurzman's book, Genesis 1948:

On the muggy afternoon of Friday, September 10, a car sped from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv carrying twomen on a fateful mission. Yehoshua Zetler was driving Israel Sheib to a conference with Nathan Friedman-Yellin and Yitshak Yizernitzky, the two other members of the Stern Group's Central Committee. And Sheib was determined to leave the meeting with unanimous agreement on a "solution" to the Bernadotte threat - a solution that he had had in mind ever since the Sternist demonstration against the mediator a month before.

As the car halted before a rundown apartment building on Ben Yehuda Street in Tel Aviv, Sheib told Zetler to wait for word from him. Then he climbed the stairs to Friedman- Yellin's apartment, where his two colleagues were waiting for him. In the simply furnished living room, the three men began to discuss the expected new Bernadotte Plan.

"If the world listens to Bernadotte and pressures our weakling government into making compromises, we will have lost our state," Sheib said. "We can't let this happen. We must show the world that it is just as futile for the United Nations to interfere in our affairs as it was for the British. Demonstrations are not enough."

Yizemitzky agreed. His view had always been, as he had explained to Stern members, that "a man who goes forth to kill another whom he does not know must believe one thing only - that by his act he will change the course of history."

The three men (according to Sheib and Yizernitzky) then discussed Count Bernadotte in the light of this philosophy. And as they exchanged ideas over wine and fruit, it seemed that the clock had been set back four years -to that day in Spring, 1944, when the same three men had met in another dingy room to consider assassinating Sir Harold MacMichael, the British High Commissioner in Palestine, and Lord Moyne, the British Minister of State in the Middle East.

Within months, MacMichael had been wounded in an assassination attempt, and Lord Moyne murdered.

After a long discussion (as Sheib and Yizernitzky relate it) the three men agreed to order Bernadotte's assassination.(2)

The details of the crimes committed by Zionist terrorist organizations in 1948 are recorded in this chapter by date and are verbatim reports photocopied from the War Office, Colonial Office and Foreign Office files i d Public Record Office, Kew Gardens, Surrey, the United Kingdom. Following is a summary of the types of crimes committed by Zionist terrorists in 1948:

1. Sneak attacks on many Arab villages, resulting in the death of many men, women and children.

2. Blowing up of bridges in different parts of the country.

3. Blowing up of Arab houses and hotels.

4. Firing on Arab cars and killing many Arabs.

5. Robbery of Barclay's Bank.

6. Assaulting British officers walking alone.

7. Firing into cafes and streets and cars, killing many innocent civilians.

8. Blowing up Arab trucks and killing occupants.

9. Attacking Arab shepherds and stealing their flocks.

10. Throwing hand grenades into churches.

11. Robbery of arms, ammunition, trucks, provisions and equipment from British Army depots.

12. Throwing bombs into Arab markets, killing and injuring many men, women and children.

13. Blowing up of trains and killing many passengers; in one incident alone, 40 Arabs were killed.

Jewish terrorism was the subject of many debates in the House of Commons. On March 1, 1948, Mr. Anthony Eden asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he had any statement to make on the mining of the Cairo-Haifa train the previous day. The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Rees-Williams, replied as follows(3):

It is with the deepest possible regret that His Majesty's Government announce that at approximately 8.40 in the morning of 29th February the passenger train from Kantara to Haifa was blown up by unknown persons a short distance north of Rehovoth railway station. The train consisted of 13 coaches, five of which were military, and the last three coaches which contained military personnel only were completely wrecked. The following casualties, all British Service personnel, were caused by the explosion: dead 27; dangerously wounded, six; seriously wounded, nine; slightly wounded, 20. The casualties were cleared by 10.30 a.m. and were admitted to the British Military Hospital at Beer Yaacov. On investigation it was found that four charges had been laid under sleepers approximately 10 yards apart. Three of these had been detonated and the fourth, which failed to explode, was found to contain 100 Ibs. of ammonal in sandbags. All four charges were wired to an ignition point in an orange grove 300 yards from the track. No assistance was given to military personnel who were carrying out investigations, by persons in the locality. There is as yet no information available as to the identity of persons responsible for this outrage, except a report that the Stern Gang have claimed responsibility.

I wish, on behalf of His Majesty's Government and the Government of Palestine, to express deep sympathy with the relatives of those who lost their lives as a result of this shocking outrage.

A statement has been issued by the Government of Palestine in Jerusalem today recalling the catalogue of enormities perpetrated by Jewish terrorists in recentmonths, anddrawing attention to the failure of the Jewish community to assist in bringing the guilty to justice and, in particular, the refusal to give evidence in the official police inquiries into the Ben Yehuda Street explosion.

The statement declares:

"The leaders of the Jewish community have felt themselves unable, for political reasons, to take any steps to bring to justice the persons responsible for these crimes and have thus facilitated the spread of lawlessness and disorder to a point at which the community itself is threatened with destruction by elements within itself. In this neglect of its responsibilities the Jewish Agency has attempted to excuse itself by resort to calculated innuendoes, falsehoods and propaganda directed against British members of the Security Forces who are, in fact, every day protecting Jewish property and saving hundreds of civilian lives, even at the risk of their own."

Referring to the Ben Yehuda Street outrage the statement points out that "in spite of official denials the Jewish Agency has repeated that it was a British Army convoy that was responsible," and continues: "...nobody outside Jewish circles believes this, and there can be no other purpose in repeating it other than to stir up racial hatred. The fact is that the vehicles responsible for this outrage were no more a British Army convoy than the vehicles stolen from time to time by Jews and used by them on numerous occasions for the murder of many more neonle than were killed in Ben Yehuda Street .... "

The Government, mindful of the duty of the Security Forces to maintain law and order, and confronted with the deliberate policy of the Jewish Agency to render their task as difficult as possible, desires now to bring once more to the serious attention of the Jewish community in Palestine the fact that the continuance of indiscriminate murder and condoned terrorism can lead only to the forfeiture by the community of all right in the eyes of the world to be numbered among civilised peoples."

On April 12, 1948, the outrages committed by Jewish terrorists were debated in the House of Commons. Mr. Oliver Stanley, member of the House of Commons from Bristol, asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he had any statement to make about the capture of Deir Yassin by Jews the previous Friday and the reports of a widespread massacre of the villagers, including many women and children. The Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Creech Jones, stated(4):

I still await adetailed report from the High Commissioner about this matter. He informed me on Saturday that investigations were proceeding as rapidly as possible. His preliminary report states that approximately 200 Jews attacked the Arab village of Deir Yassin in the Jerusalem district on the 9th of April. Eight armoured vehicles drove into the village and laid explosive charges, which destroyed five houses. In a Press conference given by a Jewish spokesman for the Irgun Zvai Leumi and Stern Group near Jerusalem in the evening of 9th April to American and ewish correspondents, it was claimed that of the 700 Arab i f habitants of the village 200 had been killed, approximately half of whom were women and children, and 200 wounded. One hundred and forty had been taken prisoner, removed to Jerusalem and later released. The remainder escaped into the hills.

The whole affair points to another brutal and appallingly cruel outrage. I can hardly express the horror with which His Majesty's Government regard such barbarous action. These acts shock the world and arouse deep anger and bitterness and make the prospect of settlement recede still further. As soon as I receive a further report from the High Commissioner I will arrange for another statement to be made to the House.

The following discussion ensued(5):

Mr. Lipson: Does the Colonial Secretary propose to ask the Jewish Agency to follow up their condemnation of this outrage by giving every possible assistance to get hold of the perpetrators?

Mr. Creech Jones: I am afraid it is of little use asking the Jewish Agency to do anything further. From time to time we have appealed to them for the fullest cooperation with the civil authorities in rooting out terrorism and bringing to our notice these conspiracies, which are calculated to create so much havoc among the Jewish and Arab peoples

Earl Winterton: Will the right hon. Gentleman explain how it is that one set of Jewish terrorists claim credit, if it is credit, for this, and another set of Jewish terrorists, mainly the Haganah, controlled by the Jewish Agency, regret it? Is it fact that these two sets of thugs are fighting each other, instead of the Arabs?

Mr. Creech Jones: If the noble Lord will await the statement, I think it is possible he will discover that the Haganah are to some extent involved in these operations.

Colonel Gomme-Duncan: Did I understand the right hon. Gentleman to say that the perpetrators of these outrages were in the possession of 14 armoured vehicles? If so, can he give any information where they came from?

Mr. Creech Jones: They were in possession of eight armoured vehicles, but I have no knowledge of their origin.

Mr. Peter Thorneycroft: If I heard aright, the right hon. Gentleman said that the Irgun had a more or less official Press conference, at which they announced that they had successfully perpetrated this outrage and correspondents, British and American, attended. If this took place, why were no arrests made on the spot?

Mr. Creech Jones: What I said was that a Jewish representative had met American and Jewish correspondents and had conveyed the information to these correspondents of this battle in the hills, but beyond that we have no knowledge.

Mr. Swingler: Is it not clear that there is open warfare in Palestine now, and that our military commanders are given an impossible task? Would it not be far better to admit the situation, and tell the United Nations organisation what are the facts?

Major Beamish: While fully appreciating the immense difficulties under which British troops have to operate in Palestine, may I ask if the fact that no British troops were able to go to a village within five minutes' drive of Jerusalem to stop this massacre means that no mobile troops are left in Jerusalem?

Mr. Creech Jones: I think that question must be left - (Hon Members: "No.") As to the disposition of troops in Palestine during this very difficult situation, I ask the House to remember that not only are the troops engaged in guarding frontiers and keeping open lines of communication, preventing civil war and defending various villages and settlements, but are also in packing up and preparing for withdrawal. This is a very heavy task on the military at present.

Earl Winterton: Cannot the right hon. Gentleman tell us who these Jewish correspondents were who claim to have interviewed these self-confessed murderers, scoundrels and anarchists who confessed that they had murdered women and children? Why cannot these so-called Jewish correspondents be arrested?

Mr. Creech Jones: I have no information. I must ask the noble Lord to await my further statement.

On April 19, 1948, Jewish outrages in Palestine were discussed in the British House of Commons. The Secretary of State for the Colonies was asked if he had any further statements to make about the capture of the Arab village of Deir Yassin in Palestine by Jews on the 9th of April, 1948. Mr. McNeil of the Colonial Office answered as follows(6):

I have been asked to reply. My right hon. Friend has now received additional information from the High Commissioner. The figure of Arab casualties given to the House on 12th April has been confirmed by a visit to the village by a representative of the International Red Cross, who has stated that in one cave he saw the heaped bodies of some 150 Arabs, men, women and children, whilst in a well a further 50 bodies were found. The approaches to the village are strongly held by Hagana and the Palestine Police could not enter to conduct investigations without a considerable show of force. The terrorist groups claim that Hagana facilitated the mounting of their attack on Deir Yassin, although the Jewish Agency issued astatementon 12th April expressing horror and disgust at the barbarity of the manner in which this action had been carried out by the terrorists. The Zionist General Council, however, meeting in Tel Aviv on the same day, ratified an agreement for cooperation between the Hagana and the Irgun Zvai Leumi. Units of the Hagana have now taken over occupation of Deir Yassin from the members of the terrorist groups who originally attacked the village.

nvitations to the Press conference given by a Jewish spokesman for the Irgun Zvai Leumi and the Stern Group, which took place in the heavily guarded Jewish settlement of Givat Shaul, near Deir Yassin, were issued by telephone to selected American and Jewish correspondents. The fact that this conference had taken place was not known to the authorities until the following day. No correspondents of British newspapers were invited.

Again, on the 20th of April, 1948, the question of Jewish terrorism was raised in the House of Commons. The following discussion took place(7)

Major Tufton Beamish (asked) the Secretary of State for War if he will describe the steps taken by the anti-tank unit, whose camp was raided by Jewish terrorists at Pardus Hanna recently, and by other units, to recover the arms stolen from them, to capture the vehicles used by these terrorists and to kill or capture those responsible for the attack; and what success has attended these efforts.

Mr. A. R. W. Low (asked) the Secretary of State for War how many sentries were on duty at the Pardus Hanna Camp of the 12th Anti-Tank Regiment when it was attacked by Jewish terrorists on 6th April; whether they had anti-tank weapons immediately available; and what anti-tank obstacles there were to prevent the camp gates being rushed.

Mr. Shinwell: The unit had four sentries on duty at the gate. The obstacles were perimeter wire and a drop-bar entrance. It must be realised that entry to the camp was effected by subterfuge. The terrorists arrived in Army and police vehicles dressed as officers and other ranks in correct British R.A.S.C., R.E.M.E. and Palestine Police uniforms. The unit was preparing to move and was expecting R.A.S.C. transport to arrive. Officers and soldiers made for the spot instantly the alarm was raised. Although no anti-tank weapons were immediately available covering the gate, on hearing the shooting officers in the car park ordered selfpropelled anti-tank guns to be set up, and move inwards. This caused the terrorists to abandon the attack, and withdraw. As they withdrew they were engaged by small arms, and subsequently by 17-pounder high explosives, which killed one terrorist and wounded an unknown number. The military and civil authorities were at once notified and the whole area surrounding the camp was systematically searched, but this was hindered for about an hour by fire from nearby orange groves. Acurfew was imposed in theneighbourhood. It seems clear that the unit concerned and other available units took all conceivable steps open to them.

On the 5th of May, 1948, the question of the attack by the Irgun Z'vai Leumi on Jaffa was raised. The Secretary of State for the Colonies was asked whether he had any statement to make on the present situation in Jaffa. Mr. Rees-Williams, the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies answered as follows(8):

In the early hours of 28th April a heavy attack on the Arab town of Jaffa was made by the Irgun Zvai Leumi, the method adopted being an indiscriminate mortar bombardment, apparently designed to create panic among the civilian inhabitants. British forces intervened, supported by aircraft, and in the course of the afternoon the Jews retired to their original positions. By nightfall the border was quiet except for occasional sniping. A cease-fire was ordered for both sides by the military commander and was observed. British troops then occupied a line between Arabs and Jews on the Tel-Aviv- Jaffa border. On the evening of 30th April, the cease-fire order was broken by fire from the Jewish side, which was quickly silenced by military action. Latest reports indicate that the town is now quiet. As a rough estimate, some 30,000 Arabs left Jaffaand more are leaving. The Arab mayor is still in Jaffa and municipal services are functioning, although with difficulty. Casualties suffered by British forces were one noncommissioned officer killed, and five other ranks wounded.

REPORTS FROM THE PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON 1948

Note: LHI = the Stern Gang
IZL = the Irgun Z'vai Leumi
NMO = the National Military Organization

1 JANUARY 1948
At about one o'clock in the morning the villagers of Balad El-Sheikh and Hanasa were asleep. Haganah men disguised in British uniforms made a surprise attack bombing and demolishing houses, shooting and killing the villagers indiscriminately, men, women and children. Among those killed were a pregnant woman, 35 years old, a child 11 years old, and five other men, while 32 were wounded, 25 seriously, among them many women and children.
United Nations Security Council Official Records, Supplements - 1948.

1 JANUARY 1948
In our special report on the CRL massacre, we forecast that the most likely form of any retaliatory action by the Jews would be an attack on the village of Balad es Sheikh, from which many of the Arab laborers at the CRL came. Early on the morning of 1 January, 1948, Haganah patrols, in fact, carried out an attack on Balad es Sheikh. While one group of about 15 Jews disguised in white Arab head-dresses gave covering fire from the hills overlooking the village, a second party, somewhat larger than the first, entered the outskirts and attacked several houses with grenades and sub-machine gun fire. 14 Arabs were killed and 11 seriously wounded. Although the inhabitants of Balad es Sheikh claimed to have killed and wounded some of the attackers, no bodies were handed over to the police. This is somewhat strange, since confirmation of the Arab report was supplied in the Palestine Post when Major Levin (late of IJI ship "Unafraid") wrote an article in the memory of Haim Ben-Dor who was killed in the attack.
WO 275/79

1 JANUARY 1948
Haifa. 0825 hours, Urban. Shots were fired by the occupant of a Jewish 'bus travelling along Carmel Avenue, wounding Fawzi Sayar Hamad, aged 18 of Haifa, and Awad Hamad Ghazi, aged 21 of Haifa, who were standing near the Kildawi Garage. At the junction of Carmel Avenue, and Vine Street, the 'bus occupant again fired, wounding Hanna Minah, aged 55 of Haifa. The three injured persons were conveyed to the Government Hospital where their conditions are reported to be not serious.
CO 537/3855

1 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. 0920 hours, Tel Aviv. Between 3014.0 Jews entered 3 Ahad Haam Street, which houses the Polish Red Cross and is occupied by a Polish Delegate, and smashed furniture to the value of LP.2,000.
CO 537/3855

1 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. 1130 hours, Petah Tiqva. In Stanter Street, Arabs returning to their homes with their monthly issue of flour and sugar from the Petah Tiqva Municipality were stopped by Jews who emptied some of the sacks on to the ground. The Arabs themselves were not attacked.
537/3855

1 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. 1200 hours, Tel Aviv. In Kudeira Street, a party of armed Jews held up the Jewish wife of a British Constable and took her husband's issue, .38 calibre Enfield revolver no. B. 90, which was loaded with six rounds of ammunition from her handbag. The robbers claimed that they were members of the Haganah.
CO 537/3855

1 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. 1200 hours, Jaffa. An explosion occurred in an Arab owned block of flats in Suq El Yehud, near Manshieh Police Station. The flats were completely demolished and slight damage was caused to the police station. Mohammed Ahmed Ismail, aged 20 of Manshieh Quarter, was slightly injured in the hand by glass splinters and was discharged after treatment. An Arab has reported to police that earlier he had seen four Jews carrying a barrel-shaped object.
CO 537/3855

1 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. Approximately 1330 hours, Jaffa. A W.D. armoured vehicle travelling down Salameh Road towards Abu Kebir closely followed by a blue jeep containing six men in military uniform. The driver was wearing an Officer's badges of rank. On the jeep were mounted two bren guns, one forward and the other on a stand at the rear, and the occupants of the vehicle were armed with Sten guns. The jeep followed the armoured car through a road block in Salameh Road and, near the Post Office, the driver of the jeep turned the vehicle round and drove back along Salameh Road. Opposite the Salameh Garage, the occupants of the jeep opened fire at an Armenian cafe, and also at Arab police at a road block. Owing to the fire power being directed at them, the police were unable to reply but did fire when the jeep had passed the road block and was making towards Tel Aviv. The rear Bren-gunner was seen to fall back into the jeep and is stated to have been hit by a bullet. The occupants of the vehicle wore regimental badges of the Royal IrishFusiliers but are believed to have been Jews. The following casualties resulted from the attack: Dead - Hamed Marouf Abdul Khader (27) of Jaffa; Ali Mansour Ali (35) of Trans-Jordan. Injured - Sharna bint Abdul Najid (30) of Jerusalem, condition not serious; Lewti Assour (25) of Jaffa, condition serious; Ibrahim Said Massoud (25) of Jaffa, condition serious; Nimer Akyelieh (1 1) of Jaffa, condition serious; Ibrahim Hussein Eissa (21) of Abbasaiya village, condition serious; Abdulla Ezra Allweh (20) of Jaffa, condition serious; Ismail Moussa Mahmous (1 1) of Jaffa, condition serious; Hassan Jaber (27) of Salameh village, condition serious.
All these casualties were removed to Dajani Hospital.
CO 537/3855

1 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 1330 hours, Urban. A grenade was thrown from an armoured Jewish 'bus No. M 1845 which was passing through Sheikh Jarrah Quarter on its way to the Hadassah Hospital. The bomb exploded and shots were then directed at the 'bus by Arabs. There were no casualties. The 'bus was stopped by police and searched and the driver, Gustan Hist, of 73, Zichron Moshe Street, was arrested.
CO 537/3855

1 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. 1400 hours, Jaffa. Fire was directed at Jaffa Railway Station from a Jewish house some 300 yards from the station. No casualties have been reported.
CO 537/3855

1 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. 1555 hours, Rehovoth. Following a report that an armed Jewish party was operating at the Aqir crossroads, a police party went to the scene but, on arrival, found that they had left in a westerly direction. Police followed and, on passing through an orange grove to the south of Havatzelet Hash-Sharon Colony, men were observedpassing through the perimeter fence of the colony. Two of these, Daniel Zusmanobitz and Yehuda Yoash, both of Rishon Le Zion, were arrested. A search of the grove revealed the following: 1 Mk. 1 Bren gun No. M.497; 4 Sten guns Nos. 205999,20546,20699 and 20366; 6 grenades, American type; 3 S.M.L.E. rifles Nos. K.4822, P.1642 and S.4886: 6 Sten gun magazines; 69 Rounds of .303 ammunition in clips; 161 rounds of 9.mm. ammunition.
During a search, a house in the colony, owned by a certain Weisspaun, was found to be unoccupied, and this building is believed to be a hide-out for a terrorist party. A box containing new bread and tins of bully-beef and sardines were found in the house.
CO 537/3855

1 JANUARY 1948
During the afternoon of 1 January, a bunch of Irgun Z'vai Leumi thugs dressed in battledress and steel helmets drove at speed through Jaffa and fired at Arabs sitting outside a cafe. They killed two and wounded nine others before crashing through an Arab road block and disappearing into Tel Aviv. To emphasize the illusion that the British are responsible for all disorder in the country, they were wearing the flashes of the Royal Irish Fusiliers. WO 275/64

1 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 1730 hours, Urban. In Jews Street, Old City, Abdul Rahman Kassim Bader was beaten by a crowd of Jews and sustained head injuries. It is stated that Bader has been living in Hebron and that he had returned to inspect his house which is situated in the Jewish Quarter, Old City. Bader was rescued by a police patrol but the extent of his injuries are not yet known.
CO 537/3855

1 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 1930 hours, Urban. A party of Jews attacked Waar El Katamon, fired several shots, threw grenades and placed bombs at the following places: At the house of Eissa Zaboura, causing severe damage. Zaboura was absent at the time. At the house of Salim Telleghraf, causing severe damage to the front of the building, Telleghraf and his wife were seriously injured. At the house of George Tabelaw, causing slight damage. Eissa Dughman, who was in the house at the time, was seriously injured.
CO 537/3855

1 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 2 145 hours, Urban. In the Old City, unknown persons threw two grenades from the Jewish Quarter into the Arab Quarter, No damage or casualties have been reported.
CO 537/3855

1 JANUARY 1948
Small party of Jews entered block of flats 40 yards in rear Shell Petrol Station, Jaffa, and placed a bomb which demolished the block of flats. So far, 1 Arab injured by flying debris. WO 275/64

1 JANUARY 1948
Jews blow up rear of block of flats in St. Paul's Road, Jerusalem, causing extensive damage. 5 rifles, 1 Sten and an assortment of bombs and ammunition found. WO 275/64

1 JANUARY 1948
Jeep containing 6 men in Battledress wearing R Ir F badges, believed to be Jews, fired on Arabs, killing 2 and seriously injuring 7. WO 275/64

1 JANUARY 1948
Jewish terrorists in a stolen armoured police car passed by the triangle crossing of Mamilla Road, Princess Mary Avenue and St. Julian Way and threw a bomb into a crowded Arab street. The bomb exploded, killing 15 Arabs and seriously injuring 42. One of the victims killed was a popular traffic policeman, Hassan, well known to Jerusalemites as the "humorous policeman". United Nations Security Council Official Records, Supplements - 1948.

2 JANUARY 1948
Haifa. 0001 hours. Mohammed Aref Shamer (24) of Shabre Steps, was shot by unknown persons in Kingsway. He was removed to the Government Hospital, Haifa, where his condition is reported to be not serious.
CO 537/3855

2 JANUARY 1948
Haifa. 0730 hours. In Ender Street, Yusef Saleh Ibrahim (22) of Nablus was fired upon from the direction of the New Business Centre and was injured in the foot. He was conveyed to Government Hospital - condition not serious.
CO 537/3855

2 JANUARY 1948
1220 hours, King George V Avenue, Haifa, 3 m e d Jews entered Arab's house. 1 Arab shot and wounded.
WO 261/573

2 JANUARY 1948
1550 hours, Non-Commissioned Officer of 2 R Lincolns shot and killed by sniper from Manshiya Quarter, Tel Aviv, during building of road block, at 1285 1632. 1 British Noncommissioned Officer killed-
WO 26 II573

2 JANUARY 1948
Small party of Jews in British unifom attacked Ein Zeitim. Two houses blown up. 1 Arab killed.
WO 275/64

2 JANUARY 1948
Police cars fired on Lydda-Petah Tiqva road. Area cordoned. 2 armed Jewish watchmen found. Casualties - 1 British Constable seriously injured, 1 Arab killed and 4 wounded.
WO 261/573

3 JANUARY 1948
0330 hours, 20 Jews attacked Abu Shusha. 1 Arab male killed, 1 Arab female seriously wounded and 1 Jew killed. Dead Jewish attacker was found later on outskirts of village.
WO 261/573

3 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 1900 hours, Rural. At kilo 6.500 on the Jerusalem/Ramallah road, an Arab taxi travelling to Jerusalem was stopped by a road block consisting of stones. The driver got out of the vehicle to remove the stones, and as he was about to drive away, unknown persons fired a number of shots at the vehicle. A passenger, Saleh Rimaweh of Beit Rima village, was wounded in the right thigh. He was removed to the French Hospital, where his condition is stated to be not serious. At the scene, four expended .303 calibre cartridge cases were found.
CO 537/3855

3 JANUARY 1948
Galilee. 2240 hours, Acre. At the Nahariya cross-roads, one shot was fired at a military vehicle by unknown persons slightly wounding Private Woodhall of the 3rd Para. Regiment.
CO 537/3855

3 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. Before midnight, Urban. No. 2378 British Constable Keown and No. 2536 British Constable Newman? both of C.P.S., Jerusalem, were acting as guides to a military ambulance proceeding to pick up two soldiers who had been shot in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. Whilst there, British Constable Keown was shot in the stomach and seriously wounded; British Constable Newman was slightly injured. Both were removed to the Station Hospital, Talbiya. The two soldiers, Private McLean and Private McFarland of 'B' Company, Highland Light Infantry, were both wounded in the legs shortly before midnight in the same quarter of the Old City. They were also removed to the Station Hospital? Talbiya, where their conditions are reported as not serious.
CO 537/3855

4 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 07 15 hours, Urban. Whilst No. 19 12% 19 Private Shields of the Highland Light Infantry was walking along Jew Street in the Old City, he was shot in the leg by unknown persons. He was removed to the Station Hospital, Talbiya, where his condition is stated to be not serious,
CO 537/3855

4 JANUARY 1948
During morning, Non-Commissioned Officer of 2 R Lincolns shot at and slightly wounded South Manshiya area, Tel Aviv, 1 British Non-Commissioned Officer wounded. Quantity of Piat bombs found near Manshiya Police Station.
WO 261/573

4 JANUARY 1948
At 12:25 p.m. two Jewish terrorists, one driving a truck loaded with time bombs and the other driving a jeep, both as usual in British uniforms, drove to the end of a lane between the Arab welfare and relief centre in Jaffa housing children and the Barclay's Bank. The truck was driven in the lane and left there, and the driver was picked up by the jeep driver who was waiting for him. As they drove away, the whole town was rocked by a powerful explosion and many distant buildings were damaged by the concussion. The welfare centre was demolished. Seventeen Arabs were killed in this coldblooded murderous attack and 106 were wounded. Among those killed and seriously wounded were women and children.
United Nations Security Council Official Records, Supplements - 1948.

4 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. 1240 hours, Jaffa. The Old Serrai in Clock Tower Square which houses the offices of the Arab National Committee, was completely destroyed by an explosion which killed 15 and injured 98 persons. Buildings nearby including Barclay's Bank, the Central Police Station and several shops and houses were also extensively damaged. Full details of how the attack was carried out are not yet available, but it is believed the attackers arrived at the scene in two vehicles? a 3-ton truck laden with orange boxes and a saloon car. Proceeding up Bustros Street towards Clock Tower Square? the truck turned left into the narrow lane between Barclay's Bank and the Old Serrai. The saloon car was seen to park some 20 metres north of Central P.S. near the road leading to the port area. The truck was parked at a point about 20 yards along the above mentioned lane. Two persons, dressed as Arabs, were seen to alight from the truck and walk across the square. They got into the waiting car which drove off in the direction of the Ajami Quarter. Almost immediately following the departure of the car, the explosion occurred. Tons of masonry from the Old Serrai building completely blocked the land running beside it, A fire subsequently broke out in Barclay's Bank but was extinguished. A strong-room situated in the upper storey of the bank was blown in and a considerable amount of money was salvaged and taken into police custody. The entire area was wired off to facilitate salvage operations and to prevent looting. It is reported from TeI Aviv that Irgun Z'vai Leumi have claimed responsibility for this outrage. Tension has risen to a high pitch in Jaffa as a result of this attack, and a certain degree of anti-Government feeling has been expressed. Details of the casualties are as follows:- Dead: 1) Mohammed Abdul Hallak (12); 2) Abudul Sattah Wahab Jaber (20); 3) Ali Kastika; 4) Mohammed Said Abu Hassan (40); 5) Ahamad Derdanji (45); 6) Ahmad Hawari; 7) Yusef Abu Sheikh (25); 8) Ahmad Faris Shehadi (25); 9) Sa'ad Abil Majid Zein (25); 10) 15 unidentified. Injured: 1) Said Kheber Said (25) - serious; 2) Abed Ahmad Duknak ( 10) - serious; 3) Abed Mahmoud Shulayeh (17) - serious; 4) Ashraf Tewfik Lufti (28) - serious; 5) Naji Said Mughrabi - serious; 6) Mohammed Ibrahim Mughrabi - serious; 7) Taha Abu Rabah (35) - serious; 8) Mohammed Hassan Ibrahim (20) - serious; 9) Rasmiyeh Saba (22) - serious; 10) Abed Mustafe Abu Wazni (30) - serious; 11) Hishan Alami (35) - not serious; 12) Ibrahim Mustafa Najar (25) - not serious. All the above named are in the Dajani Hospital. 13) Huda Abu Labm (20) - not serious; 14) Said Afif Atout (19) - not serious; 15) Rafik Salami (27) - not serious; The above three are in the Government Hospital, 16) Ahmad Mahmoud Taher (30) - serious; 17) Ahmad Ahmad Nel(25) - serious; 18) Ali Hassan Ashoura (20) - not serious; 19) Ahmad Ismail Abu Shabayeh (22) - not serious; 20) Rais Hassan Abu Chouleh (70) - not serious. The above-mentioned five are in the French Hospital. Seventy-eight other persons were treated in hospitals for slight injuries but were not detained.
CO 537/3855

4 JANUARY 1948
1400 hours, 4 unknown persons held up the guard at Naafi Bulk stores, Bat Gaillim, Haifa. 8 rifles and 20 rounds stolen.
WO 261/573

5 JANUARY 1948
Haganah terrorists made a most barbarous attack at one o'clock in the early morning of Monday, 5 January 1948, at the Semiramis hotel in the Katamon section of Jerusalem, killing innocent people and wounding many. The Jewish Agency terrorist forces blasted the entrance to the hotel by a small bomb and then placed bombs in the basement of the building. As a result of the explosions, the whole building collapsed with its residents. As the terrorists withdrew, they started shooting at the houses in the neighborhood. Those killed were: Subhi El-Taher, Moslem; Mary Masoud, Christian; Georgette Khoury, Christian; Abas Awad, Moslem; Nazira Lorenzo, Christian; Mary Lorenzo, Christian; Mohammed Saleh Ahmed, Moslem; Ashur Abed El Razik, Moslem; Ismail Abed El Aziz, Moslem; Ambeer Lorenzo, Christian; Raof Lorenzo, Christian; Abu Suwan, Christian family, seven members, husband, wife and five children. Beside those killed, 16 more were wounded, among them women and children.
United Nations Security Council Official Records, Supplements - 1948.

5 JANUARY 1948 Haifa. 1630 hours. Between Shell Bridge and the Acre crossroads, an Arab 'bus, travelling from Haifa, was fired upon by the occupants of a passing taxi. Mohammed Amin Khadoura, aged 43 of Haifa, the driver of the 'bus, was seriously wounded and Awad Suleiman Yusef, aged 57 of Haifa, a passenger, sustained slight injuries.
CO 537/3855

5 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 1739 hours, Urban. A party of 315 armed men, some of whom were masked, forced up the shutters at Mea Shearim Branch Post Office, told those present to turn their backs and face the wall and stole LP.1,046. The robbers, who spoke Hebrew, made off in an unknown direction. CO 537/855

5 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. 2130 hours, Tel Aviv. Three Jewish youths entered a store at No. 3, Hertzl Street, and threatened a Jew, Menashe Saleh, who is temporarily living there. The store is the property of acertain Clement Levi, but was rented to aperson named Ezra Babaik, who deals in Arab newspapers. The three youths set fire to a quantity of these and made off. Considerable damage was caused, but the value is as yet unknown.
CO 537/3855

5 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. 2300 hours, Tel Aviv. An explosion was heard in the direction of the railway line between Hertzl crossing and central Police Station, Tel Aviv. Investigations revealed that a section of the line had been blown up but the extent of the damage is not yet known. No casualties have been reported.
CO 537/3855

6 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. 0815 hours, Jaffa. Near the Hassan Dey Mosque, No. 428 British Constable Laxton J., of Manshieh P.S., was shot and seriously wounded whilst escorting an Arab, who was moving his furniture from Mea Shearim Street. The shot came from the direction of Karton Quarter. The constable died whilst being conveyed to the Government Hospital, Jaffa.
CO 537/3855

6 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 1015 hours, Urban. In Sanhedriya Road, Mahanayim Quarter, Khalil Moussa Rashi (9) of Lifta village, was shot by Jewish snipers. The boy died en route to the Government Hospital.
CO 537/3855

6 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 2330 hours, Rural. A party of Jews entered Malha village from the North-East and threw a number of grenades. Ibrahim Ahmen Odeh and Eissa Othman bashi, both of Malha, were wounded, the former seriously. Firing lasted for approximately one hour, and the Jews then retreated in the direction of Beit Vegan.
CO 537/3855

7 JANUARY 1948
Haifa. 0645 hours, Haifa-Jaffa mad. On the Haifa-Jaffa road, Faiz Safi Bibbass, aged 30 of Tira village, was wounded in the leg by shots fired at him by the occupants of a passing car. His condition is not serious.
CO 537fi855

7 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 0900 hours, Urban, Whilst visiting his stables in Bashiti Quarter, Old City, Hassan Ali Amar of Hebron was abducted by a party of Jews.
CO 537/3855

7 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem, 1200 hours, Jerusalem-Jaffa road, At kilo 9 on the Jaffa road, a Life Guard's patrol was fired upon by unknown persons. A nearby Jewish pill-box was searched and, in a hole in the floor the following arms were found: 1 Sten gun No. 1039Q 4 Sten gun magazines; 92 Rounds of 9 mm. calibre ammunition; 1 Mk. 4 S.M.L.E. rifle No. 20.C.453; 50 Rounds of -303 calibre ammunition; 4 grenades. Yashiya Kasowsky and Yeheskiel Tarja, both of Jerusalem, who weE found in the pill-box were detained.
CO 537/855

7 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. Approximately 1500 hours, Urban. Outside the Elite shop in King George Avenue, unknown persons shot and wounded two British soldiers, No. 14130641 Corporal Robinson W.T. of the Royal Corps of Signals was wounded twice in the neck and is in a serious condition. No. 14138636 Lieutenant/Corporal McGrath of the Palestine Command Signals was wounded in the leg; his condition is not serious.
CO 537/3855

7 JANUARY 1948
At 4:15 p.m. Jewish murderers drove an armoured police 167 car to that section of Jaffa gate in Jerusalem where Arab fruit peddlers park their carts and tossed a very powerful bomb into their midst, then speeded away swerving towards Mamilla Road. A 14 year old Arab, seeing what had happened, tossed a small bomb at the car which stopped it immediately. Three terrorists were killed and two were wounded. Arabs killed, 14: Isa Abou Halawa, Christian; Isah Kelbo, Moslem; Ahmed Taha el-Bazlit, Moslem; Hayk Jackian, Armenian Christian; Awad Mohammed, Moslem; Soubhi Rabah Barakat? Moslem; Hasan Mohammed Batroukh, Moslem; Mohmmed Mahmoud Jaber, Moslem; Mary May Majaj, Christian; Hanna Samain Abdo, Christian; Isa Tabnan, Christian; Zalek Ahmed Dana, Moslem, and many others whose identity was unknown. Those wounded were 35, some seriously. Among them were women and children.
United Nations Security Council Official Records, Supplements - 1948.

7 JANUARY 1948
5 Jews in vehicle threw bomb at Jaffa Gate. 17 Arabs killed and 41 injured. Police fired at escaping car. 3 Jews killed, other 2 captured. 1 Police Constable killed, 1 British Sergeant and 2 British Constables injured? 1 Police Constable seriously injured and 1 TAC slightly injured. 1 Jew later escaped.
WO 261/573

7 JANUARY 1948
2 Jews in pill box on Jaffa/Jerusalem road fired on patrol. 1 rifle and 4 grenades were found. No casualty.
WO 275/64

8 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. 0245 hours, Jaffa. Unknown persons placed a bomb against the house of Haj Abed El Jaber Lahloub, situated at the western side of Beit Dajan village. The bomb exploded causing extensive damage to the house? but no casualties.
CO 537/3855

8 JANUARY 1948
Galilee. 1430 hours; Safad. At kilo 205 on the Rosh PinnaISafad road, a taxi, driven by Subhi Agheaya of Safad, was fired upon by unknown persons. A passenger, Khalid Ahmed Es Says of Safad, was wounded in the chest and removed to the Governrnent Hospital, Safad; his condition is not serious.
CO 537/3855

8 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 1600 hours. A Pole, Michael Klizenzim (37) of Talpioth was shot and fatally wounded by unknown persons9 believed to be Jews, in the Sichel Cafe in Ben Yehud Street.
CO 537/3855

8 JANUARY 1948
Galilee. 1700 hours, Acre. Truck M406 driven by Salim Yusef Garnan of Haifa was following a pick-up on the road half a kilo south of Acre when two Jews fired bursts from a Sten gun at him from the rear of the pick-up, He was uninjured except for the glass cuts, but his windscreen was smashed and a number of bullets lodged in the truck's bodywork.
CO 537/3855

9 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. 0730 hours, Jaffa. Near Jaffa Railway Station; two 'buses conveying Arab railway employees to Lydda were fired upon from automatic weapons from Jewish houses overlooking their station. Hassan Hilu of Jaffa sustained a slight bullet wound in the leg, and two other Arabs were slightly injured by glass splinters.
CO 537/3855

9 JANUARY 1948
Haifa. 0840 hours, HaifaIJaffa road. Whilst driving a truck along the HaifaIJaffa road near Et Tireh village, Abed Eissa Kassim of El Fureidis village was passed by two taxis? believed to have contained Jews. The drivers turned the vehicles round and, as they overtook the truck, a grenade was thrown from one of the taxis which struck the side of the tmck and fell onto the road but failed to explode.
CO 537/3855

9 JANUARY 1948
1330 hours, bomb thrown from Jewish taxi at Jabour garage, Haifa. 1 Arab dead and 3 Arabs injured. Taxi later found in Hertzel Street, Haifa, and driver arrested.
WO 261/573

9 JANUARY 1948
Samaria. 1400 hours? Jenin. Whilst working on land under dispute north of his village, Hussein Khalid Hussein of Silat El Narithiya village was fired upon by four Jews armed with riflcs and wounded in the left leg. He died at 2000 hours.
CO 537/3855

9 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 1645 hours, Urban. Meir Mizrachi was attacked in Agrippa's Way by a crowd of Jews who mistook him for an Arab. He was only slightly injured.
CO 537/3855

9 JANUARY 1948
Galilee. 1700 hours, Safad. Whilst working in a field on the main Metulla/Khalsa road near Kefar Giladi, Ali Abu Fouad of Abil El Qamh was shot and killed, allegedly by three Jewish Settlement Police who alighted from an amoured car and fired some twenty shots at him.
CO 537/3855

9 JANUARY 1948
Haifa. Afternoon. The occupants of a black pick-up passing through Wadi Jamal are reported to have sniped at Arabs. One Arab was injured and taken to the Governrnent Hospital, but further particulars are not yet available.
CO 537/3855

9 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. 1705 hours, Salama. An Arab house in Salama village was blown up by unknown persons. No further particulars are yet available.
CO 537/3855

9 JANUARY 1948
Arabs working in fields Abil Alkarm 2045295 1 fired on by two Jews. 1 Arab killed and 1 Arab wounded.
WO 261/573

10 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 1630 hours, Urban. Mohamed El Waz (23) was admitted to the Government Hospital with bullet wounds in the chest, received in the Sheikh Jarrar Quarter. His condition is serious.
CO 537/3855

10 JANUARY 1948
Haifa, 2 135 hours. Fire from automatic weapons was directed at Western Police Station and the adjoining Palestinian Barracks from a passing taxi travelling along the Tel Aviv road towards Haifa. No casualties resulted.
CO 537/3855

10/11 JANUARY 1948
Gaza, 2130 hours. Shots are reported to have been fired from a passing vehicle into an orange grove on Sawafir Sharki lands near the main GadJaffa road. At 0800 hours on 11 January, 1948, the body of a labourer, Abdul Khader Mohammed En Nasri of Jaffa, was found in the grove. He has sustained bullet wounds.
CO 537/3855

11 JANUARY 1948
Haifa. 0900 hours. In Suq El Abyad, Abed Mohammed Juma, aged 21 of Haifa, was shot and fatally injured by unknown persons.
CO 537/3855

11 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. 1 150 hours. 0deh Mohammed Taher of Bureij village was shot in the chest and seriously injured on the HuldalKefar Uriya track; allegedly by the occupants of an armoured vehicle escorting a Jewish convoy from Hulda.
CO 537/3855

11 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. At 1300 hours, Jews from Kefar Uriya attacked Khirbet Beit Far in retaliation. Police armoured cars, arriving at the scene, found that the attack was still in progress; and some fifty Jews were arrested in possession of a large quantity of arms which included a two inch mortar, 6 mortar bombs, 2 bren guns, 26 sten guns, 6 grenades and several rifles. Casualties have not yet been ascertained. The Jews were permitted to return to their colony, and two police armoured cars are remaining there overnight.
CO 537/3855

11 JANUARY 1948
Lydda. Approximately 1800 hours, Ramle. At Sarafand El Amar on the Jerusalem/Jaffa road, the occupants of a passing car fired upon Abed Ahmen Ali Turk of Sarafand El Amar and Saleh Ibrahim Es Shishi of Ajjur village, wounding both men in the legs. Neither is in a serious condition.
CO 63713855

11 JANUARY 1948
Jerusalem. Approximately 1800 hours, Urban. Following firing in the Mustashfa area, a grenade was thrown into the house of Sa'ad, which exploded, setting fire to stored cattle food. A major explosion occurred shortly afterwards caused by a charge which had been placed by unknown persons in the house-of Hai Suleiman ~amidi, the ~ukhtar-of Sheikh Badr Quarter. Mahmoud Eissa Abu Said was seriously injured and later died, and it is believed that Ismain Ahmed Abu Said is still buried under the debris.
CO 537/3855

11 JANUARY 1948
Haifa. Jisr Benat Yacoub. Jisr Benat Yacoub bridge, which was damaged by an explosion on 11 January, 1948, is passable to pedestrians only. It is now reported that, at 1920 hours, police guards on the bridge heard movements in the wire at the approaches to the structure. Upon challenging, they were heavily fired upon from automatic weapons from the direction of Mishmar Hayarden Colony and the road leading to the tions revealed that the bridge had been blown up and that it had dropped about 8 feet. Shortly after midnight, police investigating were fired upon. No persons were seen during the exchange of fire, but persons were heard speaking in Hebrew.
CO 537/3855

11 JANUARY 1948
Galilee, 1930 hours, Jisr Banat Yacoub. At Jisr Banat Yacoub, firing was heard from the Mishmar Hayarden side of the bridge, and the guards reported hearing persons shouting in Hebrew. A loud explosion followed, causing extensive damage to the bridge. At 2015 hours, firing was reported to be still in progress.
CO 537/3855

11 JANUARY 1948
Gaza. 1930 hours. The occupants of three vehicles, allegedly Jewish, passing through Kaukaba village in a southerly direction, fired several shots, one of which fatally wounded Othinan Yusef Hussein, a villager.
CO 537/3855

11 JANUARY 1948
Bomb demolished house in Romema Quarter, Jerusalem. 1 Arab killed, another buried in debris.
WO 261/573

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