From a Zionist Correspondent
Jerusalem, Aug. 31
Published: September 1, 1948
Neither Jews nor Arabs have yet evacuated their positions around the Red Cross zone near the former Government House in eastern Jerusalem.
This zone has been the scene of severe clashes between the Israel Defence Army and Egyptian armed forces, resulting in the re-capture by Jewish forces of the girls’ agricultural college farm. The mediator’s representatives have ordered both sides to withdraw from their positions in order to create a “security zone” surrounding the Red Cross zone, thus avoiding the possibility of further clashes, but three hours after the expiration of the time limit both sides were still in their positions, and heavy firing continued in the area.
During Sunday night Egyptian artillery shelled the southern parts of Jerusalem, while Arab Legion forces in northern Jerusalem shelled Jewish residential quarters. The Israel Defence Army returned the fire and claimed to have silenced the Arab artillery.
Mr. James Light, chief communications officer of the American consulate in Jerusalem was wounded by Arab snipers at the Uron citadel, near the Y.M.C.A. building where Mr. Thomas Wasson, the American consul-general, was killed three months ago. Ten minutes later a Jewish labourer was killed near the same place. During the night’s shelling of northern Jerusalem a family of five were seriously injured.
The date of the trial of Mr. Sylvester and Mr. Hawkins, employees of the Jerusalem Electric Corporation, on charges of espionage before the Jerusalem district court has not yet been settled, as formal charges have not yet been registered by the Attorney General. It is, however, expected to open in the middle of September before three Jewish judges of the newly established district court—presided over by Mr. Benjamin Levi, who was a magistrate under the mandatory Government, with Mr. Gad Stulz and Mr. Eliahu Mani, a Jerusalem-born barrister, as the other judges. A British K.C. [1]is reported to have been briefed by the Jerusalem Electric Corporation to assist the Haifa barrister, Mr. Jacob Salomon, in defending the two Britons, who are detained in Jerusalem prison.
[1] King’s Counsel (senior British barrister/attorney)
