Trigger -happy guards at the El Fatah base at Karameh, on the East Bank of the Jordan, opened fire on three visiting members of Parliament yesterday who turned their car around and sped off, abandoning what was to have been a fact-finding mission at the encampment. The incident was reported by the London Daily Telegraph’s Amman correspondent who accompanied the MPs on their visit and drove with them earlier to Jerusalem. The three were identified as Dr. Ernest Davies, Colin Jackson and Dr. David Owen, all Laborites. Mr. Jackson is known for his pro-Arab views.
The Telegraph’s correspondent attributed the hostile reception to “jumpiness” on the part of El Fatah members who fear that Israel will mount night commando raids and plant mines in Jordan in line with a new counter-terrorist strategy. The correspondent said that Arabs in Jerusalem confirmed that there has been a marked reduction in El Fatah raids on the West Bank since Israel’s March 21 attack on the Karameh base.
The former Jordanian Governor, Anwar Khatib, told the Telegraph correspondent that he was compiling “a long list” of charges against Israel which he will present to the UN Secretary General’s new emissary who is to investigate the conditions of Arab civilians in Israel-occupied areas. He said “I am including ill-treatment, torture and mutilation” of Palestinian Arabs detained by Israel.
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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.
