Jerusalem Jews Apprehensive New Truce May Precede Capture of Old City by Israelis

The possibility that Israeli military operations may end before the Old City is recaptured — “because of the imminent United Nations truce order from Lake Success — is disturbing to the average Jew in Jerusalem. Further aggravating the situation is the fact that no definite news about, such an order has been received from the United Nations or from the Israel Government.

Heavy explosions, incessant machine-gun fire and mortar shelling rocked Jerusalem last night. Although it was generally expected that the Israeli Army would attack and overrun the Old City at any moment, no such development occurred. Instead Jewish troops seized the Arab village of Malcha, on Jerusalem’s outskirts.

Jewish supply convoys from Tel Aviv are still using the so-called Burma Road which the Israelis blasted out of rock when they found it impossible to use the main Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway — but the by-pass is being subjected to continually increasing Arab Legion artillery fire.

A terse Israeli communique said that several Arab villages were seized during the past 48 hours. They were described as “not important in themselves,” but valuable for possible future operations. The seizure yesterday of Suba was termed by a Jewish Army spokesman today as “strengthening the control over the main road and neutralizing the enemy threat to the highway from the south.”