British military authorities in the Middle East today raced against time to head off reportedly imminent simultaneous German attacks against Palestine, Egypt and Cyprus.
What may have been the beginning of this drive was the heavy air-raid on the important port of Alexandria today in which more than 100 civilians were killed. The Transjordan capital of Amman was bombed yesterday by planes said by British authorities to be of the French type.
To forestall a Nazi push into Palestine from Syria, large contingents of British, commanded by General Wavell, together with Free French forces, were reported massing on the northern borders of Palestine and Transjordan for a drive into the French-mandated territory, now serving as a Nazi base. It is reported that the Germans have accumulated 15,000 men in Syria by infiltration through Turkey.
It appeared that the Allied forces in Palestine and the Axis forces in Syria were engaged in a race to gain the advantage by taking the offensive. The British have already declared Syria to be enemy-occupied territory, have reportedly concentrated heavy fleet units off the Syrian coast and the British Board of Trade today extended the blockade to the French-mandated territory.
General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French forces, is stated to be in Palestine, conducting staff conferences with British Commander Sir Henry Maitland Wilson. The British are planning to continue bombing of military objectives in Syria, following their raid yesterday on oil depots in Beirut.
The British radio said today that ‘reports are still coming in about French soldiers in Syria deserting and joining the Free French movement of General de Gaulle and more French planes from Syria are said to be landing at British bases.” The British radio also quoted the Free French news agency as reporting that the chief of the gendarmerie in Lebanon had joined the de Gaulle movement.
Depredations in Baghdad by looting, murdering bands left behind by the fleeing Premier Rashid Ali Beg Gailani took on an outspokenly anti-Jewish character, well-informed circles here said today. These sources said the disorders did not reflect the general attitude of the population and that the excesses were committed solely by hired hooligans.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
