Israeli jets roared into action this evening to silence Jordanian artillery that had been maintaining a heavy barrage for hours against Israeli settlements in the Beisan Valley. The fighting, in which Israeli artillery and tanks returned the Jordanian fire, was the fiercest in weeks. But, at last reports, no Israeli casualties were suffered, all planes returned safely to their bases, and the front was quiet.
An Israeli soldier was killed earlier in the day and four border policemen were injured when their jeep hit a mine east of the settlement of Gesher, in the northern Beisan Valley. No casualties were suffered when an Israeli half-track struck a mine in the Gaza Strip, south of Rafah today. The vehicle, however, was damaged. Another mine was discovered less than a mile away and was safely dismantled, a military spokesman reported.
Today’s battle of the Beisan started when Jordanians opened fire on Jewish National Fund workers in the southern part of the valley, switching from small arms to heavy artillery. Israeli tanks and artillery replied, and that exchange ended in two hours. A half hour later, however, Jordanians began shelling the settlements of Kfar Ruppin and Maoz Chaim in the Beisan Valley, and soon extended their fire to other sections of the area. Israeli tanks and artillery again returned the fire, then called on the Air Force to silence the Jordanian guns.
There were no reports tonight of the extent of the damage suffered by the settlements. Security authorities here believe that the attack was planned by the Jordanian high command because the use of heavy artillery is permitted only on a divisional level, and Arab Legion general headquarters were fully aware of the attack. Circles here said tonight that Jordan was apparently trying to demonstrate to the other Arab states that rumors of a possible accord between Amman and Jerusalem are false.
(At the United Nations, Israel informed the Security Council today that it had ordered limited air action against Jordanian artillery positions this afternoon to stop “uninterrupted, intense and indiscriminate” shelling of the Israeli villages of Kfar Ruppin and Maoz Chaim, and its attendant danger to life and property. The statement was contained in a letter which Ambassador Gideon Rafael of Israel asked be circulated among members of the Council, but he did not request a Council meeting. The letter also said that the Israeli Government “holds the Jordanian authorise responsible for these deliberate and unprovoked attacks.”)
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