The United Nations truce commission’s 4 P.M. headline set for Jewish and Arab forces to withdraw from the security belt draw around the Red Cross zone in southern Jerusalem, passed without any indications today from either the Jews or Arabs that they would comply with the U.N. order.
The belligerents were ordered yesterday by U.N. headquarters at Haifa to withdraw from the Red Cross area. In addition, the Arab Legion was told to retreat to lines held at the beginning of the truce on Mt. Zion and elsewhere. Six previous U.N. attempts to make the Arabs withdraw have failed.
The Jews have not withdrawn their troops because they are awaiting orders from the high command at Tel Aviv, an Israel Army spokesman said. Dr. Bernard Joseph, military governor of Jerusalem, has stated that the Jews have consistently Jews now appear to be waiting to see what the Arabs will do before making a move.
The Holy City spent one of its quietest days during the second truce, following one of the worst bombardments in its history yesterday. It was also reported that beginning Tuesday Jewish Jerusalem will begin receiving larger rations of kerosene, and for the first time since the beginning of the fighting, will also receive rations of gasoline. An agreement has been signed with the Socony Vacuum Company and the British Shell Companies to bring fuel to Jerusalem. Prices will be controlled, and rations fixed, by the military governor of Jerusalem.
An Israeli official broadcast here, commenting on the situation of Palestine and the Middle East, reported that Lebanon now faces a severe economic crisis and bankruptcy. While other sources of income vanished, Lebanon has legalized the cultivation and export of hashish, in an attempt to bolster its economic system, the broadcast said.
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.
