Jordanian forces shelled Jericho today, wounding one Arab and leaving four shops in flames, a military spokesman said. The ancient city, saved from damage during the Six-Day War, was attacked shortly after midnight by guerrillas who lobbed six Katyusha 240-mm. rockets into the downtown area. Saleh Abdo, mayor of the Arab city, announced he would send a delegation to Amman to ask commandos to refrain from attacking the city.
Israeli sources said the mission would not succeed since Arab terrorist policy is to incite the local Arab population. (The Israeli Government instructed the UN mission to file a complaint with the Security Council.)
In other developments, Katyusha shells were also fired at potash works near the Dead Sea, causing no damage. Israeli fire was returned. Five members of a sabotage gang captured in Wadi Kelt near Jericho, after a battle in which an Israeli colonel was killed, were sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor. The court said they should have received death sentences, as international law permits capital punishment in such cases, but decided not to make martyrs of them.
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