Two ships, carrying between them more than 1,100 ##saless Jews, have been intercepted off Palestine by British destroyers and are ## route to Haifa under escort, it was announced here tonight.It is expected that at least one of the vessels will arrive during the ##ight or early tomorrow morning. The ships are the “Shivat Zion” (Return to Zion), concerning whose whereabouts there had been considerable apprehension since the first report of its interception on Thursday night, and the “Fourteen Victims of the ##zib Bridge,” named after a Haganah unit which was wiped out last year while engaged ##n blowing up bridges throughout the country.
It was reported unofficially that the new arrivals would be sent to Cyprus instead of being returned to their ports of embarkation, but the authorities refused to confirm or deny these reports. Meanwhile, preparations are being made in the harbor here to trans-ship the refugees as soon as they arrive, although at present the only transport in Haifa is the Empire Lifeguard, which is half-submerged as a result of a time bomb blast last week.
There has been no word from Cyprus since last Thursday when 550 deportees scheduled to be returned to Palestine under the regular monthly quota were removed from the ferry ships when news of the Empire Lifeguard blast was received. The decision as to when they are to be returned rests with the Palestine authorities.
The tension in the Cyprus camps is so great that the camp committee has requested the commandant not to send Britons inside the camp precincts for fear of violence. If a British guard or official must enter, a member of the camp committee will accompany him. Hundreds of refugees mass at the camps’ gates day and night awaiting news that they are to be returned to Palestine. A peaceful demonstration was held in Xylotymbou yesterday.
An official of the camp said last week, in connection with the Exodus incident, that there is room there for up to 20,000 internees. There are about 16,000 confined at present.
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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.
