A battle on the approaches to Jerusalem, begun yesterday with a six-hour engagement during which the car of the British military commander was blown up by Arabs, was resumed today at dawn by a large concentration Arab guerrillas.
The battle this morning, centering about the Jewish settlement of Maquis ## Neve Ilan, about 10 miles west of Jerusalem, lasted for more than three hours fore British troops arrived. The Arabs, led by experienced Syrian and Iraqi officers and also reportedly by several Germans, swooped down on Maquis from the surrounding hills. The settlers counterattacked and divided the Arab forces in half, dealing defectively with one part and leaving the remainder to a Haganah detachment summoned ##om nearby Kiryat Anavim.
Simultaneously, another Arab force fell on Neve Ilan from the rear. Before Haganah troops came to their rescue, the embattled villagers lost three men. the Haganah reinforcements inflicted heavy casualties on the Arabs.
The battle ended shortly after the troops arrived. Armed with two-pound ##nnon and heavy machine guns they soon routed the attackers. Later, the troops ?aposed of landmines strewn all over the roads by the Arabs.
ELEVEN ARABS, ONE JEW KILLED IN CLASH; PARCEL POST SERVICE SUSPENDED
In yesterday’s fighting, which was also concentrated close to Neve Ilan, the Arabs lost eleven dead and twenty, while the only reported Jewish casualties ?ere one dead and four wounded. The battle began with attacks on Jewish convoys between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem during which the car of the Palestine military commander, which was part of one convoy, was fired on and blown up.
The RAF today handed over the Gaza airfield to the municipality of Gaza. Haganah intelligence has reported that a number of Yugoslav Moslem pilots have recently arrived in Palestine and have been giving ground instruction to Palestine Arab flying students. The Arabs expect to receive two planes from Syria shortly or what they boast will be the “bombing of Tel Aviv.”
In view of the approaching withdrawal of the British administration, the post office today issued an order halting the reception of parcel post mail destined for Palestine as of March 15, but will deliver whatever is in transit at that time. Parcel post from Palestine will be accepted for an indefinite period. Another government statement today revealed that arrangements have been made to ensure the Delivery of needed bread and flour products for the period up to the end of the Man-?ate and short time afterwards. Attempts are being made to continue the flow of supplies after that period, the communique added.
Two Jews were wounded and they and two other Jews were arrested when they tried unsuccessfully to crash through a British Army roadblock near Haifa today. A fifth occupant of the car escaped. Meanwhile, British police agents are operating in the Rehovoth area attempting to ferret out the Sternists responsible for the bombing Sunday of a troop train, in which 28 soldiers died.
A British military court today began trying six Syrian Arabs captured near Rosh Pina on February 2 during a fight between Arabs and Jews, which was broken up by troops. The defense attorney challenged the legality of the court, maintaining that Britain’s legal position as Mandatory died with the League of Nations. The court overruled defense counsel on this point.
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.
