Evening star., 1948-01-18
Jews and Arabs Clash
AT ; Villages in Area
Where IS Were Slain
BY the A.soeiofed Press


JERUSALEM, Jan. 17.-Jews
and Arabs clashed tonight in a
new battle over a 15-mile tri-
angle in the Judean hills near
the section where As persons
were slain earlier in a Jewish
raid and an Arab ambush.
Police reports from the desolate
country between Bethlehem and
Hebron said the Jewish fighters had
surrounded and opened fire on three
Arab villages. The firing was con-
tinuing.
The villages were listed as Del
Yaban, IS miles southwest Of Jeru-
salem; Belt Nattif, 10 miles farther
south, and Sakariya, near Jaba.
British troops and police apparently
were not On the scene and only
sketchy accounts OF the fighting
were available.
IS Killed i'm Ambush.
A broadcast by Hagana, the Jew
ish militia, did not mention those
villages, but listed one Jew and one
Arab killed in fighting near Artouf,
less than FIVE miles north OF
Deiraban.
Only a few hours before Pales-
tines fercest communal fight had
died down In the same region. At
least IS young Jewish men and
women were killed in the Arab am
bush which climaxed that battle,
police said.
Hagana said there had been 40
Jews in the annbushed party. The
inference was that five Jews were
missing. There had been uncon-
firmed reports during the day that
the Arabs had taken some prisoners.
The ambushed Jews had stumbled
into an Arab trap along a camel
track near Jaba, four miles of the
Bethlehem-Hebron road. Machine
gun fire from several directions
moved them down. -Four Arabs were
killed in the fight.
Arab Village Raided.
Three miles to the south Jewish
fighters had raided the village OF
Surf, killing six Arabs.
Scattered fighting elsewhere In
the Holy Land brought to SIS the
known death toll Tailed during the
last "a hours. In the 40 days since
the United Nations voted for par.
tition a total of 1888 persons have
been killed in Palestine, an un-
official tabulation showed.
This sequence of events in the
first battle in the Judean hills was
pieced together from the versions
Of both sides and reports trickline
in to police and the British army:
At dawn yesterday 100 Jews LASH
ed out at the Arabs. The Jews
either were heading south to re-
inforce the cooperative community
Of Kefar Etzion, which has been
besieged by the Arabs, or were
striking out from Kefar Etzion in
a reprisal raid against Surf. Jews
fired 500 rounds of ammunition as
they attacked Surf. In addition to
the six Arabs killed there, six or
eight others were wounded. The
Jews finally Withdrew with nc
known dead after fighting had
ragged in the village for most OF
the morning.
Shepherd Boy Gives Tip.
Around noon an Arab shepherd
boy sighted IS Jews wandering
through q rocky wadi below his
hocks., He ran with a warning that
brought the Arabs into position fol
the ambush along the camel track.
Hagana, the Jewish militia, sale
the group was on its way to reinforce
kefar Etzion but apparently hac
lost its way in the hills while seek.
ing to keep off of roads through
Arab territory.
The Jews have mot been seer
since" Hagana said. Police sub.
sequently announced the finding o1
the bodies of the 35 Jews.
Earlier the Arabs had estima tee
that between 40 and 49 Jews had
died in the ambush. Considerable
confusion attended the gathering o1
details of the fighting.
The Judean battle pointed up g
situation which mas become more
apparent in the last few days. Unit
recently the British were able te
provide official version of most ol
the battles which have ragged ir
Palestine. Where official versions
were lacking, correspondents willing
to take the risk could 60 see fol
themselves or talk to persons who
had witnessed the action
Official Accounts Sketchy.
In the near anarchy which now
prevails British troops and police
often are not present when Jews anc
Arabs are fighting Ordinary Sc.
eurity forces cannot penetrate the
back country, and members of these
forces are under instructions MOI
to interfere by taking sides. Thus
official accounts have become
sketchy. Telephone communications
now are often interrupted and cor.
respondents are finding it difficult te
get first hand reports.
AS the British prepare to ternli.
nate their mandate on or before
May Is, the Palestine government
can be expected to lose further con-
tact with the situation
While attention centered on thu
battle in the Bethlehem Hebron
area, British troops equipped with
machine guns and artillery foiled &
new attempt by Syrian Arabs tx
cross the border and attack two
Jewish settlements in Northern
Palestine, military sources said.
The show of British force appar.
entity ended the Arab plans to strike
into the northern finger of Pales.
tine which runs up between Lebanon
and Syria. The first major Arab in.
vaSion from Syria was made in tht
same general area several days ago
On that occasion British troop
hurled the attackers back acros.
the border.
Frontier Force Withdrawn.
1t was announced that the las
of the Trans-Jordan frontier force
made up of Arabs Offered by
Britons, had been withdrawn tt
Trans-Jordan. British troops re-
placed frontier force units which
had been manning the border be.
tween Palestine and Lebanon ane