Military control was tonight proclaimed in Na(##)ya and 20 outlying settlements as the 7 p.m. deadline set by the government for return of two British sergeants kidnapped there Saturday passed with no word of men.
House curfew was immediately proclaimed in the district pending further no(##)e, and troops began moving in and establishing barbed wire entanglements and enclo(##)es for screening people. Military headquarters were established in the building the municipal council.
It was expected that house-to-house searches would begin in Nathanya momently, as it had been announced earlier that they would take place coincident with the (##)mping down of control. Persons entering or leaving the Nathanya area earlier were (##)rched and questioned.
Martial rule was clamped down despite an eleventh hour plea by Mayor Oved Ben The proclamation had been delayed twice before to give the Haganah more time to (##)ce the abducted men. As soon as it went into effect the resistance forces with(##)w from the search.
Earlier, as Jewish Agency spokesman told correspondents that the Agency felt at the imposition of controls would be a grave blunder since the entire population aiding the hunt for the abducted men and military control would only hamper them. addition, he pointed out that declaring Nathanya a controlled area and disrupting (##) economic life virtually means collective punishment of people who are not respon(##)ble for the kidnappings.
HAGENAH IN NIGH-LONG CONFERENCE IN VAIN EFFORT TO FREE BRITONS
It was learned here this morning that the Haganah’s high command engaged in night-long round of conferences with Irgun leaders in an effort to secure the release the Britons. Today’s events demonstrate the fruitlessness of the parleys. The Ir{SPAN}(##){/SPAN} this morning issued a statement that it would not deliver up the soldiers until {SPAN}(##){/SPAN} sentences of the three condemned Irgunists were commuted. It declared that the {SPAN}(##){/SPAN} were unharmed and “in a place where they can be kept a month or more.”
As the news of the proclamation became known a rumor swept the country to the (##)fect that the three doomed Irgunists were to be hanged tonight. Although it was au(##)oritatively denied, the possibility of their being executed before the end of the (##)eek was not ruled out.
The controlled area will be commanded by Brigadier General Sir Humphrey Gale, (##)ho was in charge of Tel Aviv when it was under martial law. The area–in which (##)5,000 to 20,000 persons live–comprises, in addition to Nathanya, Avichail, Ramath (##)omkin, Neve Ittamar, Ein Hatcheleth, Neve Oved, Neve Shalom and a number of smaller (##)ommunities. The official communique announcing control listed a number of reasons(##)ll terrorist attacks–for the action.
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.
