40 Killed, 61 Injured in Train Blast in Palestine; 40 Arabs Killed in Battles

At least 40 persons were killed and 61 injured when an express train bound for Haifa from Cairo hit a landmine near the Jewish settlement of Benyamina, on the coastal plain of Samaria. The engine and the first four coaches were derailed. Most of the casualties were Arabs. About 40 British troops were also on the train. A road curfew for Jewish vehicles was immediately imposed.

Fighting between Jews and Arabs continued today in the Old City of Jerusalem, in the Ramath Hakovesh area near Tel Aviv, and in the vicinity of Bishon L’Zion, one of the oldest Jewish settlements in the country. At least 40 Arabs lost their lives in scattered fighting today, while many were wounded. The number of Jewish casualties was small.

The battle in the Old City started after the Arabs blew up a Jewish house there. Haganah members in the quarter counter-attacked, driving the raiders from their strongholds. Eleven Arabs were killed and 17 wounded. British troops had previously evacuated this area in the Old City.

The battle near Remath Hakovesh resulted in the killing of three Arabs and one Jew. It lasted two days during which a strong Iraqi bend continuously attacked the settlement and the nearby Jewish colony of Kalmania. The Arabs were finally forced to retreat.

Eight Arabs were killed in the vicinity of Rishon L’Zion by Irgun forces, while three were killed in the center of Jerusalem today when Haganah men returned the fire of Arab snipers shooting from the Moslem cemetery. Several Arabs were killed and wounded in a fight which led to the capture by Haganah forces of a bus carrying Arabs from Hebron to Jerusalem.

About 30 Arabs were killed and wounded When Haganah forces blew up a bridge over which three trucks carrying armed Arabs were to pass. All three trucks were destroyed in the explosion, while three Jewish engineers lost their lives in the operation.