One Jew Killed, One Near Death in Outbreak of Violence by British Troops in Palestine

A new outbreak of violence by British troops occurred in Jerusalem last night with one Jew killed and another beaten and shot so severely that he is not expected to live. The Jerusalem Jewish Community Council this morning protested the incidents in a letter to the authorities.

Moshe Cohen, 22, was shot and killed by British soldiers in the Mahne Yehuda quarter of the city. The soldiers maintained that they had challenged Cohen and had fired when he attempted to escape. The second Jewish victim, Itzhak Abrahamov, 17, was severely beaten and shot when unconscious.

A short time after the Abrahamov incident sentries posted near the Jewish Agency headquarters in the Rehavia district opened fire on the building after one of the soldiers thought he spotted a prowler on the roof. When a search party was finally sent into the building nobody was found there. In the meantime, all traffic had been stopped and passers-by were questioned.

The Jewish community’s letter to the authorities protested the shooting of “innocent citizens,” warning that “such incidents are bound to create a mood of retaliation.” It also demanded that the persons responsible for the attacks be punished.

Shortly before dawn this morning a military patrol on the road near Petach Tikvah stopped a truck and discovered in it 15 rifles, a machine gun, two Sten guns, two mortars, four shotguns and 15 pistols as well as a large quantity of ammunition and hand grenades. The driver and three other Jews in the vehicle were arrested. Immediately afterwards, a cordon was thrown around orange groves in the surrounding area and searches were carried out. No arms were found, and although 30 persons were questioned none were detained.

A terrific explosion rocked the center of Tel Aviv shortly before midnight yesterday, smashing windows in a large area and covering several blocks under a cloud of smoke. It is believed that an underground arms dump blew up.