Meanwhile, a blockade-runner, “Besieged Jerusalem,” carrying 650 visaless Jewish immigrants, was brought to Haifa under British escort and it is expected that transfer of the refugees to Cyprus will begin tonight. The vessel was spotted by B.A.F. planes and was seized without opposition.
A government spokesman announced today that negotiations among Christian Jewish and Moslem religious leaders to declare the Old City an open city were nearing completion. The spokesman added that the government would welcome the quick approval of the U.N. draft statute for Jerusalem, which would transform it into an international demilitarized city.
Arabic-speaking Haganah members touring the mixed Arab-Jewish Talbieh quarter from a loud-speaker truck warned all Arabs to evacuate the quarter immediately. The same warning was also sent to the owner of the Jasmine House, a prominent hotel which serves as headquarters for foreign correspondents here. Some 60 Christian Arab families in Talbieh began to move out of the quarter, while the Jasmine House is planning to close down, it was reported.
David Kagan, a Jewish youth, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment by a military court for carrying arms and explosive. Five Arabs received one-day sentences for the same offense.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
