Major Battle Takes Place in Haifa; Arab Casualties Heavy; British Attack Arab Gangs

What bids fair to be the bloodiest battle thus far in the Arab war on the Jews has been raging in Haifa and its environs all day today with British troops joining the battle to throw back Arab snipers and raiders in Haifa and on one of the major approaches to the city.

Complete casualty figures are not known, but at least four Jewish dead and 15 wounded have been counted and the Arab casualties are believed to number tens of dead and scores of wounded. The British suffered nine wounded soldiers and two policemen as of late this afternoon. The task of accounting for all the Arab dead has been hampered by the fact that the government mortuary is already completely full and bodies are being placed in the corridors and on the rear steps of the building.

The battle, which followed on the heels of sniping in various parts of the city yesterday, which cost the lives of four Arabs and two Jews, one of whom was a young woman hanging her laundry in her backyard, opened this morning when scattered Arab bands attacked in various parts of the city and in the Haifa Bay area. In the latter section they were soon repulsed with casualties.

A British patrol became involved in the early sniping, but the Tommies did not become involved in the battle until about noon. At that time, the Arab gangs, which had been driven out of the northern section of the city by the Jews, took up new positions in the southern sections and resumed their withering fire.

The early shooting in the city was apparently set off by an attack on a Jewish truck, to whose aid Haganah units sped and engaged a strong Arab band. In this and scores of other mopping-up operations before noon, the Haganah counted 17 Arab dead. The wounded and some of their dead were carried off by the Arabs. Mobile Haganah units moved from one sniper’s nest to another, occasionally being forced to dynamite it before the Arabs could be dislodged.

ARABS MAKE ATTEMPT TO CUT CITY OFF FROM HINTERLANDS

At noon, the Arabs made a strong attempt to cut the city off from its hinterlands and from possible aid from other parts of the country by setting up a roadblock at Wadi Rushmieh, on the main road to the city. The Haganah, realizing the strategic importance of keeping the road open, had stationed a strong Palmach force near Wadi Rushmieh and immediately attacked the Arabs. Shortly afterwards, the British, also appreciating the strategic position of the road, joined the battle against the Arabs from another direction.

The main Arab body withdrew when the fighting became too fierce and left behind strongly entrenched snipers who had to be uprooted one at a time. Late in the afternoon reports from that area indicated that the firing was lessening.

Among the Jewish dead who have been identified are Israel Rosenberg, who was killed while driving a truck from Kfar Hachoresh to Haifa in what seens to be who the first attack of the day. A Jewish woman, Moharra Bachbud, was killed by snipers. At least five Jews were wounded in a bus caught in the Wadi Rushmieh battle. The wounded Jews have been taken to a government hospital.

The Haganah has been concentrating strong units in the vicinity of Haifa for a number of days, apparently expecting a major battle. The Arab gangs seem to have drawn their strength from recently-arrived Syrians.

ARAB VILLAGES ASK HAGANAH NOT TO ATTACK; SAY RAIDERS ARE FOREIGNERS

A Haganah spokesman said today that many delegations from various Arab villages have been coming into the Jewish settlements asking the Jews not to attack them since they are not responsible for attacks on Jews, which they assert are made by bands of Arabs from outside Palestine. The spokesman added that Palestine Arabs have been taking a very small part in the anti-Jewish disturbances, which he pointed out have been conducted chiefly by Syrians resident in the country and, recently, also by a continuant of several hundred gunmen who have infiltrated into Palestine. He added that there is a considerable shortage of arms among Arabs. The Haganah spokesman said that the Arabs expect a large shipment of arms to arrive shortly from Syria.

Six Arabs were killed and fifteen wounded in a pitched battle near Holon, in the Tel Aviv area, last night after a raid from the adjoining Arab village of Tel Aris resulted in two Jews killed. The Jewish dead are Jacob Gruber, 19, and Carmi Rabinovitz, 19.

Three Jewish prisoners in the Jaffa jail were wounded today when a hand grenade was thrown into the courtyard where they were taking their exercise. Yesterday four Jewish policemen, a British truck driver and a Jewish prisoner were wounded when a truck in which Jewish prisoners were being transferred from the Jaffa prison to Tel Aviv was attacked by Arabs using hand grenades and guns.

An Arab orange grove near Tel Aviv which was the base of several Arab bands was attacked last night by a Haganan squad, but as the Jews advanced a terrific explosion occurred, apparently caused by Arab-laid mines. One Arab was killed and several escaped, while the Jews suffered no casualties.

Eliahu Katz, 46, formerly a well-known athlete who was employed as a motion-picture operator in a military camp near Gaza, was shot dead from ambush today, within sight of the camp.

At Bat Yam, South of Jaffa, where Arabs have been attacking Jews on and off for several days from the protection of nearby sand dunes, fighting has again broken out. The renewal of hostilities came shortly after a second truce negotiated by the British district commissioner was again broken by the Arabs, The head of the settlement council has renewed his appeal to the British authorities to halt the shooting. The local military commander is alleged to have stated that he never heard of Jews being killed by Arabs, but always the reverse.

GOVT. WILL NOT TRANSFER ARAB LEGION, DISLIKES CONVOY SYSTEM, SPOKESMAN SAYS

A government spokesman told a press conference yesterday that the Palestine Government does not consider it necessary to transfer the Arab Legion to areas where its units are not likely to be involved in incidents provoking Jewish protest. “The government,” he said, “intends to keep order in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv at all costs by foot patrols and vehicles. The Government considers the convoy system ineffective since it only irritates the Arabs and leads to reprisals.” The official also revealed that the Palestine Government rejected the application of the Jewish

Four correspondents, including Moyor Levin, former Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent, who arrived in Palestine aboard the blockade runner “You Can’t Frighten US,” have been ordered expelled despite the fact that they possess Palestine visas. A government spokesman said they are charged with aiding and abetting “illegal” immigration.

Mayor Israel Rokach of Tel Aviv left for the United States, accompanied by Abraham Hartzfeld, Histadruth leader and Benjamin Minz, security expert. Before leaving, Rokach told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he will try to “bring the urgency of the needs of the Jews of Palestine to the attention of the American Jewish community.”

The Arab press reports that 93 volunteers from Spain have arrived in Nablus to fight against the Jews. The newspapers added that a group of Turkish officers will arrive in Palestine shortly to join the Arab forces. The Cairo radio announced that 400 “Arab fighters who completed their training in Syria” have entered Palestine and are being quartered in Arab villages in the northern section.

Announcement of the formation of an “Arab Military Organization,” apparently organized along the lines of the Irgun, was made today. In a pamphlet issued to British troops and police in Palestine, the group was urged that they remain neutral in the Arab-Jewish fighting, warning that they will all be killed if they interfere.