Thirty armed Jews, including one woman, who are believed to have participated in last night’s attack on the Palestine railway network, during which the lines between Jerusalem and Cairo and Haifa and Beirut were cut, were captured this morning by British troops.
The 30 were spotted by an RAF reconnaissance plane in the vicinity of Ashdod, which was the scene of one of the attacks. In an exchange of gunfire with the troops, prior to their capture, two of the groups were seriously wounded and 12 other suffered slight injuries. A quantity of arms was found in their possession.
It was announced later today that the body of an unidentified Jew was found buried near the railroad track about a mile from the Arab village of Shukriery. The body had several recent bullet wounds.
During last night’s attacks one Arab policeman is reported to have been killed, several were injured and a British officer and two soldiers wounded. The encounters centered around Tel Aviv and Arcs.
According to an official communique, a blockhouse and bridge near the village of Yavnah, not far from Tel Aviv, were attacked, while the lines were cut at that point and a railway bridge was seriously damaged. Telephone lines in the vicinity were also out. During an exchange of fire, the attackers slightly wounded two policemen. A military patrol which was rushing to the scene exploded a land mine planted by the terrorists, resulting in the destruction of one truck and the injury of several of its occupants.
About the same time, the communique said, “20 armed Jews disguised as Arabs,” held up a police guard and blew up a railroad bridge between Haifa and Acre. A short time afterwards, a large party of armed Jews is reported to have attacked the railroad station at Ashdod, killing one policeman, Bombs were planted in a locomotive and a signal tower, both of which were severely damaged. Five guards at Ashdod were over-powered and deprived of their weapons.
This morning, heavily guarded repair crews were at work attempting to restore service with Egypt and Lebanon.
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.
