Sharp pitched battle between Arab rebels and special Jewish policemen guarding colonies were reported today.
A forty-minute engagement was fought at Kfar Ivri, near Jerusalem, when well-armed Arab bands opened fire from several directions at a distance of four hundred meters. The Arabs were repelled by the guards.
A similar attack, lasting half an hour, occurred at Ramat Kovesh, the rebels retreating under fire. The Arabs stopped long enough, however, to set fire to crops at Meshek Kalmania.
The Jericho-Jerusalem road late last night was the scene of a bitter skirmish between police and Arab snipers who attacked a convoyed caravan of seven motor busses of the Palestine Potash Company. An Arab policeman was killed in the battle, which lasted three hours before the snipers took to the hills.
One of the Arabs wounded in yesterday’s bombing at the Jaffa gate died today. A Sephardic Jew, Shabbatai Mordechai, is being detained in connection with the bombing, which resulted in the wounding of 25 Arabs and Armenians. Mordecai Eliash, noted attorney, is representing him.
Investigation to determine who threw the bomb is still under way. Arabs charge it was thrown by Jews while the latter aver it was aimed by Arabs at Jewish passersby and landed instead among a group of Arabs and Armenians.
An Arab carrying a revolver and ammunition was arrested in the Neve Shaanon suburb of Jerusalem.
Jewish buses were again fired at near Jazur and Ben Shemen. No casualties were reported.
More than 170 Jewish special policemen were mobilized for emergency service. Sixty of them were detailed to Jerusalem and the remainder to other parts of the country.
A military station was established at Lifta, scene of an all-night battle between Government forces and Arab marauders. The station will ensure greater safety on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road.
The Jewish Agency for Palestine has advised its London executive to invite Rabbi Moshe Blau, of the Agudath Israel, extreme orthodox organization, to go to London, it was learned.
The Government reaffirmed last night its determination not to yield to Arab disorders, aimed partly against Jewish immigration, which are continuing in their eighth week.
A Government spokesman stated over the official radio station: “The Arab press reports that the High Commissioner is ready to restrict immigration is void of foundation.”
A false rumor that Jewish immigration had been halted caused Jaffa Arabs to hold celebrations in the streets.
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.
