Four British soldiers, one British demolition expert, a Palestine police constable and an Arab were killed, and more than a score of persons injured today in renewed outbreaks throughout the country which began at dawn today following the lull l which prevailed during the elections for the World Zionist Congress.
One wing of the Jerusalem railway station was destroyed by three bombs. The curfew in Jerusalem, which was the scene of most of the attacks, was extended to include the hours from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m.
In the dawn attack in which three British soldiers were killed and eleven wounded, a truck carrying soldiers, to curfew duty was ambushed on a road bridge on the Mt. Scopus road and blown to smithereens by an electrically-detonated landmine. One Arab in a civilian vehicle also caught in the same blast was seriously wounded and six Arabs working near the scene were injured by splinters from the bomb and the wrecked vehicles. The truck was apparently stopped by a burst of rifle fire and then the mine was detonated.
The east wing of the central railway station here was completely wrecked in the afternoon by three bombs which exploded about twenty minutes after the police carried out a surprise identity check in the neighborhood. The constable was killed while examining a suitcase containing a bomb which was brought in by a “girl in red” who raced away from the station in a taxi. A telephone call warned the station-master a half-hour earlier that an explosion would take place.
The demolitions expert was killed in one of the subsequent blasts which tore up the station and started a fire. The customs house adjoining the station was also damaged by one of the blasts. Rescue squads were searching the wreckage late tonight for possible undiscovered casualties.
BRITISH TROOPS FIGHT A PITCHED BATTLE WITH JEWISH YOUTHS
Following the station explosions, British troops, policeman and Arab Legionnaires fought a pitched battle with a group of Jewish youths in the nearby Yemin Moshe district. One soldier was killed by a rifle bullet. Three wounded Jews were arrested following the encounter. An Arab bystander was killed when three man in a taxi drove past the railroad station and opened fire with a submachine gun. It is reported that they were later captured by police in pursuing radio cars. It is believed that the girl who planted the bombs in the station was also arrested.
Two bombs exploded near the Jerusalem detention barracks, but no details are available. A motorcyclist said to be carrying explosives was arrested near the bar- racks of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, a regiment which has been engaging in looting and mistreating Jews during curfew hours.
Another group carried out a daring robbery in Tel Aviv where they escaped with $2,000 taken from two cashiers. The robbers escaped after setting off smoke bombs to confuse the police. In their haste to flee they missed a satchel with $48,000 dollars. No casualties were suffered in this raid.
MILITARY JEEPS BLOWN UP; SOLDIERS LOOT JEWISH HOMES
A military jeep was blown up on the Ramallah-Nablus road injuring two soldiers. Near Raanana another jeep was destroyed by a bomb but no one was injured. Dynamite charges had been set on both sides of the road and were detonated electrically.
Shortly before the Mt. Scopus road explosion, a Hadassah car passed the scene of the ambush, but was not molested. Police dogs were used to trace the ambushers, who had been hiding near the road, but lost the track in the Sanhedria quarter. Three Arabs originally believed missing from the scene of the explosion were later discovered safe some distance away.
It was reported today that an arms cache was unearthed in the Jewish industrial quarter of Givat Shaul during searches there. Reports continue to mount of numerous instances of “spot looting” by British troops during curfew hours. The troops break into homes demanding money and liquor. In one case an aged Jewish woman was robbed of her last few dollars. Complaints to the police are to no avail.
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.
