TENSION RISES

Chronicle (Levin), 15 May 1948, Page 5

TENSION RISES

— Reuter ,

Egyptians Move Across Frontier As British Quit Palestine

(N.Z.P.A.-

Copyright)

Received Saturday, 1 a.m. LONDON, May 14. The Arab League General Secretariat issued a formal declaration of a "state of war" against Palestine Jewry, says the Associated Press correspondent at Damascus. The Secretariat requested the public to accept current developments in the spirit of a state of war which the Arab countries were facing and "against an enemy prepared for many years to seize all Palestine by force". General Cunningham's standard was struck and a piper played on the roof as he left Government House to fly to Haifa. He flew in a twin-engined R.A.F. Anson escorted by Spitfires and Lancaster. Tt. is officially announced that Egyptian army forees will begin moving across tho Palestine frontier at one minute past midnight tonight (Friday). Jerusalem was cut off from the outsicle world last night 24 hours before the British mandate for Palestine comes to an end. Facilities for sending eahles no longer exist and no direet communication has been received from Reuter 's Jerusalem correspondent for the past 24 hours. The British Pnited Press correspondent at Tel Aviv, quoting Jewish reports says Syrian armoured units launched an attack on the settlement of Ban near the frontier. The Associated Press Tel Aviv correspondent says that the TTagannah has announced that the Arab attack has split in two the Ki'ar Etzion settlements near Hebron, south of Bethlehem, and Arab Legion forees have ponotraled TCfar Etzion ibself. The Tlagannah said "great numbers" of Jews had been killed and wounded.