Over 5,000 Jews were detained in various parts of Palestine today following an attack by Jewish terrorists last night on three Royal Air Force installations. At least twenty planes were destroyed and others were severely damaged. Although total casualty figures are not yet available, one of the attackers is known to have been killed. Damage is estimated at $3,000,000.
A twelve-hour curfew has been clamped down on all roads as of 6 p.m. this evening. Meanwhile, the underground Voice of Israel radio broadcast a statement that although the R.A.F. performed heroic feats during the war, it is now being used to prevent Jewish refugees from entering their homeland.
The attacks occurred shortly before midnight at the Lydda airdrome, between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem; at a plane dispersal area near Petach Tikvah and at an airfield at Quastina. In all three attacks, troops spotted the terrorists and opened fire, but A withering cross-fire prevented them from approaching the planes which were the terrorists’ targets.
A curfew has been imposed on Petach Tikvah and Rehovoth, where Dr. Chaim Weizmann is resting, and house-to-house searches are being made in the neighboring Jewish settlements. Haifa has been cut off from the rest of the country as a result of its phone service being suspended.
A serious incident threatened to develop at Givat Hashlosha, where settlers refused to admit troops searching for persons allegedly involved in the attacks. Troops surrounded the village at 5:30 a.m. this morning, but were refused admittance. They encamped nearby until 11 a.m. when, apparently under orders from headquarters, they broke through the settlement gates. They were stopped by the colonists, who formed a human chain. After an hour of fruitless parleying, the troops again withdrew.
Despite the many arrests in various sections of the country, no details have been released by the authorities, aside from a brief communique reporting the attacks on the air fields.
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