Arab Attack on Tel Aviv Repulsed; Jews Use Light Artillery; Haganah Remains Alert

Tel Aviv was on the alert today after a night of beating off attacks from all directions.

For the first time the Arabs used heavy concentrations of mortar fire in an attempt to break through the city’s perimeter defenses. However, they were completely unsuccessful and were repulsed by Haganah counterattacks supported by light artillery fire. There were no Jewish casualties in the fray, but it is believed that the Arabs suffered a number of wounded and dead.

Two Jews were killed and a third injured, as was a British soldier, when Aral guerrillas attacked a work party repairing a power line near Hadera. Five Arabs wore killed and five others injured when a landmine exploded under an Arab-owned bus in the vicinity of Safad. Witnesses said that the bus was attacked by a party of Jews using small arms. A Jew was killed and two others wounded by snipers near Holon.

In Jerusalem, Abraham Kirshebcim, who was wounded in repulsing an Arab attack Tuesday when he blew up six invaders attempting to break into the Yemin Moshe quarter, died of his wounds today. Another Jew was seriously wounded this morning by fire from the Arab quarter of Sheikh Jarach and Arabs blasted an unoccupied Jewish house in a burned out section of the commercial center of the city.

Eight Jews were injured when Arabs fired on a bus travelling between Jerusalem and the suburb of Talpiot. A Haganah squad blew up four Arab homes in the village of Kheria, near Ramleh, from which Tel Aviv-bound traffic has been attacked recently.

Haifa was the scene of two attacks on Jews, today. In one a bus was fired on and six Jews were wounded, while a hand grenade vas thrown at a Jewish-owned cafe and a British soldier was injured in the blast. One Jewish political prisoner escaped when all the Jews in the Latrun detention camp wore transferred to Athlit. In Tel Aviv a band of Jewish youths escaped with nearly $100,000 worth of jewelry after robbing a diamond factory.

GOVT. APPEALS TO JEWS AND ARABS FOR TRUCE IN “ECONOMIC WAR”

The district commissioner for the Lydda district today proposed a truce in the “economic war” between the Jews of Tel Aviv and the Arabs of Jaffa. The British official pointed oat that there were some 1,400 tons of goods destined for Jaffa which is standing on Tel Aviv docks whore it was unloaded and some 600 tons of freight in Jaffa which is intended for the Jewish city. Thus far, the workers in both cities have refused to touch cargo destined for the other and the district commissioner warned that much of the material is perishable foodstuffs.

No instructions have been issued to divert all American shipping from the Port of Tel Aviv to Haifa for inspection for smuggled arms and ammunition, it was officially announces last night, but individual vessels may be rerouted at the discretion of the British ports manager at Tel Aviv.