Evening star., 1948-05-02


Y, NAY 4, ls4s.
thumb Of the Holy Land which juts
northward between Syria and
Lebanon. One invading force
crossed the Lebanese frontier and
the other moved across the Syrian
border a few miles away.
Fighting their way forward the
Arab armor reached the defense
rings around Dafne, Dan and Ramot
Naftali. Dafne and Dan are ada
cent villages located two to three
miles inside Palestine from the
Syrian frontier. Ramot Naftai to
the southwest is four miles inside
Palestine from the Lebanese from
tier.
THE attackers are using guns.
mortars, machineguns and armored
cars, Hagana said. "At Ramot Naf-
tall six Lebanese tanks have reached
the settlement defenses."
The Hagana announcement said
this was the first outright inva-
sion carried out by neighboring Arab
states. But the thumb was the
scene of an organized raid by Arab
volunteers several weeks ago when
villages In the area were attacked.
Arabs Hold Council Of War.
Five of the Arab states held a
council Of war in Trans-Jordan.
An Associated Press dispatch from
Amman quoted King Abdullah as
saying the Arab military leaders
we're planning operations which
will tighten the ring around the
Jewish enemy"
The time when the Arabs will
be masters in Palestine is near"
Abdullah's statement said. I'm the
past there always have been dis
agreements and mistrust between
the various Arab countries, but these
have been settled by the Palestine
issue"
The statement repeated pre-
vious offer Of peace to the Jews
If they would accept an Arab ma
jority state in Palestine and aban-
don the idea Of Jewish nation.
High Arab officials in Amman
gave this summary Of the plans:
The Egyptian Army will be auton-
omous as regards the other Arab
forces and will be responsible for
protecting Arab interests in South
ern Palestine up to and including
Jaffa. Approximately 20 Egyptian
war planes may operate over the
Holy Land. They will be used for
reconnaissance only unless the Jews
make air attacks.
Armored Cars Dispatched.
Iraq is said to be sending two
brigades Of armored cars by way
of Trans-Jordan for service IN
Palestine. Syria and Lebanon are
counted on mainly for infantrymen.
Trans-Jordans crack Arab Legion
now has 5000 men on police duty
in Palestine under the British.
Three thousand more may be avail
able but this would severely tax the
legion's resources. Three thousand
others must be retained to police
Trans-Jordan itself.
Arab sentiment favors having the
legion's British commander, John
Bagot Club Pasha, remain in
Trans-Jordan together with all the
other British officers in the legion.
If this is done the command of the
legion units in Palestine will fall to
Maj Gen. Bdul Khador Guindi
Pasha, the No. Arab officer.
The Arab governments have no
intention of formally declaring war.
The informants said the operations
would be in the form of police &C
tions."
A supreme Arab commander in
chief f~may never be named. and such
Coordination ss. is required may
be left in the ehands of a war
council. Iraqi Gen. 1smail Sawfat
Pasha has been named stop-gap
choice for chief of staff of the
Arab forces under the war council.
Gen Sawfat Pasha has been titular
commander OF Arab irregular volu-
teers in Palestine.
Egyptian Forces Concentrated.
An Egyptian officer in Cairo esti-
mated his country had concentrated
10000 men in Rafah and Ell Arish
in the Sinai Peninsula along the
Palestine border. These consist of
unit of field artillery, mainly
rs Founders; an anti-tank unit; an
armored unit; an engineers bat
talon, and a reconnaissance unit.
Arab forces in the Jerusalem area
shelled Jewish held northern sub
urban areas tonight. Eight Jews
were reported wounded, including
some in a German Lutheran or
phanage in which Hagana had es-
tablished a headquarters. The
Arabs fired from gun positions
on a Judean mountaintop over
looking the city.
In the southern part Of Jerusalem
Hagana units consolidated their
hold on high ground commanding
the strategic Katamon quarter. The
Jews were firmly entrenched in st.
Simeon's Greek Orthodox Monas-
terry on the eastern edge Of the
quarter and had driven a 600-yard
wedge in the western side.
Originally the Katamon district
was a mixed Arab-Jewish area, but
the Jewish residents were driven
out many weeks ago. Royal Air
Force Spitfires few over the area