Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-03-17
Planes Join Battle
Near Sea of GuIiIec
IsroeI-Syrio
Clash Worst
In 2 Years

In z Years
TEL AVN, Israel, Mar. IT /
(AP).-Israeli and Syrian forces 1
clashed on the eastern shore 4
of the Sea of Galilee in a night !
battle that ragged until early i
today. Both sides claimed VIC
tory in the gravest frontier /
fighting in two years.
At least two Israeli planes
joined the battle and one b
Syrian plane. reported to be a
Soviet-made Might jet. also
swung into action. Syria
charged Israel attacked with \
tanks and four were knocked &
out. But an Israeli spokesman
said no tanks were in action
and the tanks actually were
trucks disabled by land mines.
An Israeli army spokesman
claimed at least 80 Syrians, in
GLIDING a company commander,
were killed as Israeli forces
launched a hit-run invasion of I
Syria, knocking out gun posi-
tionS. He placed Israeli troop
loses at five dead and six seri-
ously wounded. The Israeli
force also captured a large
amount of Syrian arms and
ammunition. the spokesman
said.
Aggression Charged
A Syrian army spokesman
said in Damascus that only one
Syrian was killed and five
wounded in the battle along
the tense frontier. He claimed
the 1sraelis suffered greater
losses, adding that they lost
four tanks and eight other We
hicleS.
Five buses and five ambu-
laceS were seen carrying Israeli
casualties from the battlefield"
the Arab spokesman said.
He Tabled the clash q "treach-
erous Israeli aggression"
against Syrian outposts on the
eastern shore.
The Israeli spokesman said
the attack was supported by
bombers which struck at Syrian
troops dug in north of the
Israeli settlement of Nukev.
The Syrians replied with a
heavy artillery barrage on the
Jewish collective settlement of
Elm Gev south of Nukev.
U. N. Reported Ignored
The Israeli planes struck, the
spokesman said. only after the
Syrians ignored a United Ma
lions observers ceaSe-fire order
and Syrian aircraft penetrated
Israeli ar space over the Jor-
dan valley. He also accused
the Syrians of repeated at
tackS on Israeli fisherman and
accompanying police boats"
A Syrian Army spokesman
said in Damascus that Syrian
troops had battled two Israeli
gunboats on the sea of Galilee
for two straight days.
He claimed that the Israeli
boats had violated the de-
militarized water zone on Cali
lee Sea and opened automatic
and mortar gunfire on the
unarmed Arab village Of Douga"
on the eastern shore. Syrian
gunfire finally drove the Israeli
boats back, he said, and one
Arab girl was wounded in the
clash.
Protests to Thant
The Israeli spokesman said
that after two Israeli police
men were wounded by Syrian
fire March 8, Israel proposed
that patrol boats manned by
U. N. observers be operated on
the eastern part Of the sea. At L
the time Israel also sent a pro-
test to the mixed armistice
headquarters in Jerusalem and
to acting U. N. Secretary-Gen-
eral U Thant.
The spokesman accused syri-
ans OF making two more at
tackS on March 1916. He
charged that Syrians have been
interfering for the past 10 years
with Israeli fishing on the Sea
OF Galilee which Is within
Israeli territory.
The last serious outbreak was
TWO years ago when an Israeli
unit destroyed Syrian positions /
around Tufik village southeast I
OF the Sea of Galilee after
charging that Israeli workers !
in the Telkazir area had been
attacked.