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Arabs Attack Jerusalem Prison; Two Jews, Four Arabs Die in Haifa Violence

February 4, 1948
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The heavily-guarded Jerusalem Central Prison which is located in the center of the city in one of the British “security zones” was today attacked by a band of some 30 Arabs who succeeded in freeing two Arab prisoners and wounding one British prison guard before they were beaten off by police reinforcements.

The Arabs, who cut “barbed wire entanglements surrounding the prison walls, limbed the walls under the eyes of Arab prison guards and opened fire with automatic capons and bombs. Under cover of their fire, the two prisoners escaped. The central police station and the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Division, which are near the prison, were kept under fire to delay reinforcements. None of the Jewish prisoners were molested.

Meanwhile, a three-pronged Arab offensive was launched at the Jewish Jerusalem suburb of Mekor Haim late tonight. Shortly after the first Arab shots were tired, Haganah flares lit the night skies and the Jews located the raiders. The Haganah counter-attacked, but the results of the battle are still not known.

Two Jews, one a woman, were killed and at least 15 were wounded in the Neve ?aana suburb of Haifa, when Arab Legionnaires fired on a Jewish convoy. Two of the ?uses in the convoy went out of control when their drivers were shot, and overturned. The passengers scattered tinder heavy fire from the Arab soldiers. A British soldier was killed and a second wounded in Haifa when five Arabs attacked them for their ?rms.

Four Arabs were killed and three were injured when a terrific blast wrecked the offices of the Arab National Reform Society and several adjoining buildings in Haifa. The blast was caused by the explosion of a truckload of explosives parked outside the Society’s building.

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