Israeli circles speculated today why Arabs–and which ones–blew up yesterday the Damiya Bridge, one of the two remaining spans linking the East and West banks of the Jordan River. The Jordanian end of the structure was demolished by an explosion shortly after mortar and artillery fire was opened up on an Israeli tractor on the West Bank.
Some Israeli sources believe the span was destroyed by terrorists acting independently of Jordanian authorities. Others said that the explosion might have been accidental. They said it could have been touched off by a mortar shell that hit explosives cached under the bridge by Jordanian forces in the eventuality of an Israeli invasion. (A military spokesman in Amman blamed Israeli mortar and artillery fire for destroying the bridge and denied any Arab involvement.)
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.
