British Military Sets Up Planning Board to Map Evacuation of Palestine

British military headquarters here has appointed a special planning board to work out detailed plans for the evacuation of troops from this country. The board will set a date, indicate the rate of speed of the withdrawal and assign priority numbers to the various units. According to preliminary plans, it is intended to begin the evacuation in the purely Arab areas.

The first concrete step has been taken in Tel Aviv, where the owners of Citrus House, British military headquarters, have been notified that the building will soon be returned to them. It is understood that evacuation of troops from Tel Aviv will be one of the first steps in the withdrawal from the Jewish areas.

Chief Secretary Sir Henry L. Gurney told a meeting of government department heads this week that they should begin drawing up plans for rapid liquidation of their offices. He indicated that the final liquidation would take place within two to three months after the formal evacuation order had been promulgated.

It is learned that the British blueprint for withdrawal differs somewhat from the commonly accepted version. As soon as the evacuation order is announced, British troops will be concentrated in the vicinity of Jerusalem, Gaza, the Negev and Transjordan. The military authorities will then announce that they will not interfere in internal incidents. They will proceed, however, with the building of airdromes and camps designed to accommodate troops. The civil administration will be evacuated completely.

British military courts continue, meanwhile, to grind out sentences. Moshe and Abner Senior, brothers, were sentenced to seven years imprisonment today for allegedly printing Irgun leaflets in their Tel Aviv plant. A compositor at the plant, Itzhak Caro, received the same sentence.