Jewish Agency Denies Haganah-irgun Merger Talkes; Arabs Getting Arms Taken from Jews

The Jewish Agency today denied reports circulaing throughout Palestine that intensive negotiations have been proceeding for a mer## of the Haganah and the Irgun. Other sources said negotiations had been initiated, ## had fallen through.

A Haganah broadcast tonight charged that arms found on two Arabs Killed last night in an exchange with a Haganah by patrol in the vicinity of the Hebrew University had been earlier scized from Haganah by the British police. The broad writer asked “how did Jewish defense arms get into the hands of Arab bands.” It said that the two dead Arabs were well known leaders of Arab terrorist units during ## ’36-’39 outbreaks and gave their names as Muhammed Saleh Halai and Abdullah el##.

The broadcast also said that Arab bands operating around Jerusalem had planed to invade the Jewish quarters of the Old City and wipe out the inhabitants, but had been repulsed by the Haganah. It repeated its warning to the population to ##ars of British spies, who, it said, were posing as members of the Haganah and seeking ##tal information.

TRUCE BETWEEN JEWISH TOWN AND ARAB VILLAGES BROKEN WHEN JEW KILLED

A truce between the Jewish town of Holon, south of Tel Aviv, and neighboring Arab villages, which was negotiated under dramatic circumstances yesterday through the intervention of the local British district commissioner, was broken this morning when Arab snipers killed one Jew and wounded another. The truce, originally set to allow the Arabs to evacuate ill and aged persons from the no-man’s land around Holon and to enable the Jews to search for the body of a Holon resident who had been killed {SPAN}##{/SPAN} a skirmish several days ago, was extended for what was intended to be an indefinite period when the Arab and Jewish mayors agreed to the commissioner’s suggestion.

Other casualties reported today were Emanuel Weiner, 38, who was found ##ad this morning near the Arab village of Siluan, outside the Old City, and an untentified Arab whose body was found near the New gate walls in Jerusalem. Three Arabs were wounded by police when they attacked a freight train between Rassel Ain and ##dda. An oil dump was fired by explosives in the Arab village of Tayibeh and the ##llage’s water supply cut.It was reported today that Emil Ghouri, a leading member of the Arab Higher Committee, was manhandled by an Arab crowd last Saturday when he arrived at the ##cens of an explosion near Damacus gate where an Irgun grenade killed several Arabs. Thouting “you’re to blame for this,” the angered Arabs beat up both Ghouri and his bodyguard.

Although the Moslem Brotherhood’s office in Jerusalem has been serving for two weeks as the main rallying center for Arab bands operating in the city and the main distribution point for arms, it was only today that police actually discovered Arabs obtaining arms there. A police detachment spied Arabs loading arms from the office into a stolen taxi. When they approached, the Arabs sped off, leaving ##nd a sack of rifle ammunition.

A British officer in charge of a supply depot in Jerusalem was stabbed today at the Jaffa Gate by a gang of Arabs wearing armbands. The self-styled guards to the Arab quarters halted the officer and forced him to identify himself after ##ch they attacked him.

JEWISH POLICE SEIZE LEBANESE ARABS INFILTRATING ACROSS BORDER

Jewish settlement police at the Dan settlement on Palestine’s northern border arrested three Lebanese Arabs, one possessing arms, on lands belonging to the colony. This is the first confirmation of reports that Lebanese have been making their way into Palestine to join guerrilla bands.

The Arab press almost daily reports “successful desertions” of Arab ##icemen who take arms and ammunition with them whem they flee to join roving gangs of gunmen. Today the newspapers told of five supernumerary policemen who fled with ## rifles and 1,000 rounds of ammunition. They reported that a 40-minute battle ##sued when British policemen attempted to halt them. The Arabs eventually escaped ##sing only three rifles.It is known that many supernumerary policemen have deserted with their Arms–in one case with several hundred weapons–but the British are not announcing the fact. When confronted by pointed questions from newspapermen, a government information officer stated that a supernumerary policeman is not judged a deserter until ## is missing for 21 days.

HAGANAH PLANES SEEK ARAB GUERRILLA HIDEOUTS IN NEGEV

Revisionist leader Arish Altman at a press conference today in Tel Aviv, charged the Jewish Agency with failure to effectively defend the Jewish community. He demanded an immediate change in defense tacties and accused the Agency of having ##purned negotiations for unity between the Haganah and the Irgun. Altman also demanded the immediate establishment of a Supreme Jewish Council to deal with emergency matters arising out of the present situation.