Domestic events in Israel as well as those abroad are being overshadowed by the mounting gravity of the situation in Jerusalem. The renewal of hostilities there, on a larger scale than before, appears almost inevitable.
Reports circulating here indicate that even today may be the Arab D-Day for a renewed large-scale attach on Jerusalem although the assault may come a few days later, according to some informants.
Continuous troop movements have been observed north and south of Jerusalem during recent months and the Israeli High Command is convinced that the Arabs are determined to make one big effort to capture all of Jerusalem and wipe out, accordingly, all earlier defeats.
Though it is known that there are considerable differences among members of the Arab League political committee, it appears that there is agreement over the attack on Jerusalem. Command of the assault will be entrusted to the Iraqi and the main attack, it is reported, will be executed by combined Iraqi and Transjordan forces, supported by irregulars recently organized by the Mufti of Jerusalem.
None of the three consular powers, the United States, Belgium and France, is in a position to provide forces to make Jerusalem a genuinely international city. And the latest Russian proposal, supporting internationalization, is seen as chiefly a proposal to embarrass the other powers rather than one designed specifically to solve the Jerusalem deadlock.
ARAB FORCES CONSIDERABLY REINFORCED: NEW FORTIFICATIONS ERECTED
While there is certainty of renewed fighting in and about Jerusalem, it remains uncertain whether the fighting will spread to the other fronts. There has been no similar offensive maneuvering by either the Egyptians in the south or the Syrians in the north. But both have considerably reinforced their armies and have constructed new and substantial field fortifications.
The Israeli High Command estimated today that, during the period of the second truce, Arab forces on the Palestine front have been increased from less than 30,000 men, when the last full-scale fighting ended, to about 40,000 regulars and irregulars.
(Britain is shipping ammunition, weapons and uniforms to the Arab states whose armies have invaded Palestine, the New York Star, quoting “unimpeachable sources,” reported today from Tel Aviv. A ship carrying 140 tons of ammunition and weapons has just docked at Beirut, the report said.)
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
