British Constable, Jew Slain As Violence Continues

Continuing violence, marked by bombing of the General Post Office here and an ambush in the Jewish cemetery atop the Mt. of Olives, claimed the lives today of a British constable and a Jewish grave-digger and resulted in injuries to 14 Jews and Arabs.

Three bombs, hidden in parcels, exploded in letter boxes in the post office. The constable was fatally wounded while trying to remove one of the bombs and eight Arab and Jewish postal employes were injured in the explosion. The constable, an arms expert, was scheduled to be a major witness in the trial of Rachel Hawartani, young Yemenite Jewess held on charges of planting a time-bomb in front of the Central Prison last week.

Five persons, including Chief Silver of the Jewish special police force and two other ghaffirs, were wounded in the explosion of two other bombs placed in letter boxes inside the post office. Later, another bomb was discovered in the post office garage. Searching for more explosives, the police closed the post office, even to press cables.

Four Arabs ambushed two Jewish grave-diggers in the Mount of Olives cemetery, fatally shooting Abraham Itzhak Mintz, 38. Mintz’s brother escaped by leaping into the grave on which they had been working. One Jew, Isaac Brat, 26, was seriously wounded in an attack on the Jewish colony of Yagur, near Haifa, which was repulsed. Brat had immigrated from Czechoslovakia a week ago.

Sporadic shooting broke out in various quarters of Jerusalem. Troops cordoned off the Zichron Moshe, Geula, Ruhama and Achva quarters, while police conducted a house-to-house search for arms.

Jewish buses, including school buses, were stopped and minutely searched by police, who even examined brief cases carried by frightened six-year old girls.

Mayor Azzam Bey of Jaffa escaped assassination the second time within a week when he was fired upon in a Jaffa street.

The authorities withdrew machine guns allotted last year to four exposed Jewish settlements in the Upper Galilee, Ayeleth Aschachar, Kfar Giladi, Yesod Hamaale and Mishmar Hayarden. The settlers expressed indignation at the withdrawal of their protection for the harvest.

Hebrew newspapers warned the Palestine Government not to implement the land sale restrictions as broadcast yesterday, the laborite Davar declaring that the Government was aware that the restrictions contradicted the mandate and was therefore hastening their enforcement before the expected observations by the League Mandates Commission, which is now in session. The Jewish National Fund announced the contributions during May, the month in which the White Paper was issued, reached the all-time record of $375,000 net.