Eight Israeli Army officers who refused to “go into section against the Irgun Zvai Leumi” during a clash have been acquitted by a military court, it was announced here today. No other details of the trial were released.
Peter Bergson, chairman of the American Hebrew Committee for National Liberation, Isaac Meridor, Irgun second-in-command, end three other Irgunists, all of whom have been detained since the Irgun gun-runner, Altalena, attempted to land a cargo of ## off Tel Aviv during the first U.N. truce agreement, threatened to start a hunger strike this Thursday if they are not released or brought before a court on specific charges.
The detainees’ attorney, Max Seligman, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he did not believe they would be released by Thursday. A writ of habeas corpus will be heard in the case tomorrow in a Tel Aviv court, ho said. At the same time, Dr. Arieh Altman, Revisionist leader, visited Bergson and the other detainees today and reported afterwards that the prisoners complained to him over their “unjustified detention without specific charges.”
M. Benyamini an attorney who visited the detainees over the week-end today instituted libel proceedings against Mordecai Bentov, formerly editor-in-chief of Al Hamishmar and at present Labor Minister in the Provisional Government, for printing a report that Bergson was arrested by the military police for evading Israeli military service. The libel suit is for $20,000.
The five Britons detained by the Israel Government on charges of espionage will probably go on trial on Wednesday, although there may be an additional delay due to the fact that the prosecution has not as yet completed preparation of its case. The trial will take place in a small courtroom seating only 40 persons.Almost all of the available room has already been apportioned to news correspondents.
850 JEWS NOW IMPRISONED IN ARAB CAMPS, ISRAEL OFFICIAL REPORTS
Dr. Arieh Steinberg, Israeli liaison with the International Red Cross in Palestine, revealed today that 850 Jewish war prisoners are at present in Arab hands, with 670 of these detained in Transjordan, 130 in Egypt and the remainder in Syria. The Red Cross, he said, has brought four shipments of food and medical supplies to the detained Jews and has also arranged for them to receive and send mail.
Within the next ten days, Dr. Steinberg asserted, all women and children PCW’s, as well as wounded prisoners, will be released from the Arab camps. Some members of the Red Cross medical aid teams were wounded during the recent fighting while they were removing the bodies of Jews and Arabs from the battle areas, he said.
An official communique said over the week-end that in accordance with the Geneva convention on warfare, the Israeli Defense Army set up a medical commission to examine Arab war prisoners and, after establishing that among the PCW’s there were a member of invalids, older persons and youngsters under military age, the commission released 214 Arabs and transferred them to Arab-held territory.
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