Four Arab saboteurs were killed yesterday and a fifth was wounded and surrendered following a clash with an Israeli patrol near Umm Sidra, a crossing-point of the Jordan River. A heavy artillery barrage from the Jordanian side of the river was believed intended to cover the crossing of the saboteurs whose bodies were found today along with a large quantity of weapons. Two Israeli soldiers were injured yesterday when an Army halftrack was attacked by bazooka fire, machine guns and hand grenades near a southern suburb of Gaza. A military spokesman said a curfew was imposed on parts of Gaza while an investigation was conducted.
Israeli mortars hit Jordanian positions hard near the village of Bakoura on the East Bank following a mortar attack on Israeli forces near Ashdod Yaacov in the Beisan Valley. The exchange lasted a half hour, a military spokesman reported. Two Israeli cars were attacked on a road near Al Hamma in the southern Golan Heights. The firing came from the Jordanian side of the demarcation line. There were no casualties.
The encounter near Umm Sidra indicated an increase in sabotage activities. Security circles believe they are connected with rumors of possible peace contacts between Israel and Jordan. The saboteurs are trying to show that no arrangements can be made without their consent, it is believed.
A 30-year prison sentence was imposed by a military tribunal today on Abdoul Kamia Moustafa, sole survivor of a band of Arab saboteurs from Jordan. He was wounded and captured in an encounter with an Israeli patrol in which his five companions were killed. According to testimony, his group planned to mine roads and attack vehicles and settlements with bazooka fire.
A military tribunal yesterday imposed life sentences on three members of an Arab version of Murder, Inc. which had been operating in Nablus against West Bank Arabs suspected of collaborating with Israel. Two other gang members received 15 year and five year sentences. The group was convicted of the murder of a Nablus taxi-driver who had been “sentenced” by El Fatah as an alleged collaborator. It had a list of other Arabs marked for “elimination.”
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.
