U.N. Officials Trace Negev Bus Murderers to Jordan Border

Premier Moshe Sharett, Defense Minister Pinchas Lavon and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Moshe Dayan travelled to Beersheba early this morning to. visit the wounded survivors of yesterday’s bus massacre in the Negev and to hear an eye witness account from the lips of Miriam Lesser, 20-year-old survivor of the Jordanian massacre.

Meanwhile, United Nations observers today reached the scene of the murders and with a bloodhound tracked the marauders to the Jordan border at a point about 12 and one-half miles away. It was learned today that an Arab headgear, of the type worn in Jordan, was found in the bloody bus.

Israeli military and police officials accompanying the UN observers in their retracing of the path of the murders pointed out that the deep penetration of Israel territory over extremely difficult terrain indicated that the Jordanian unit consisted of well-trained men. The accuracy of the shooting and the care with which the ambush was prepared was seen as further evidence that the gang was not the usual infiltrating band bent on thievery.

Foreign Ministry officials worked all through the night after the emergency Cabinet meeting last evening on the incident. It was learned that the Ministry has been sending instructions to its representatives in all countries to bring to the attention of the governments to which they are accredited, information about the massacre and to point out that Israel has protested repeatedly against arms deliveries to the Arab states because they lead to such incidents.

The corpses of the 11 victims were removed from the bus early this morning and brought to a morgue near here. Ten of the 11 have been identified. Among them was the bus driver, Kalman Esroni, his wife mother-in-law and 10-year-old son, all of whom were on the bus. His young daughter escaped the massacre by pretending to be dead, and a three-month-old baby was left behind in Eilath when the family embarked on the fatal trip.