Day 414 of 599 of מלחמת העצמאות MILḤEMET HAʾAẒMAʾUT (War of Independence)

משה דיין MOŜE DAYAN and אליהו ששון ELIYAHU SASSON met the king of the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan on January 16. The focused study compares the British account transmitted in a January 19 American telegram with Ben-Gurion’s January 17 record of the delegation’s report. Access to עזה AZA, prisoners, ירושלים YERUŜALAYIM, and relations with the United Kingdom were discussed. No completed treaty or territorial transfer is established.¹²

The January 16 diary records ולטר Eitan WALTER’s proposal to remove sick and wounded Egyptian soldiers immediately and consider releasing half the surrounded force. Ben-Gurion, משה שרת MOŜE SHARETT and יגאל ידין YIGAL YADIN opposed early release of half the army before military lines were settled. Humanitarian removal and general military evacuation were separate questions.³

The convoy study follows the distinction through the January 18 permission and January 21 arrival. An objection to the larger military withdrawal cannot be transformed into a refusal of treatment without evidence concerning medical assistance itself.

Ben-Gurion consulted יעקב דורי YAʾAKOV DORI and Yadin about possible British intervention and fortification around באר שבע BEʾER ŜEVA and عين حصب ʿEIN ḤUṢUB. Discussion of possible action in other sectors was conditional on intervention. It establishes a contingency plan, not attacks launched that day or proof that British intervention occurred.⁴

The diary records an initial proposal to house 1,000 arrivals in צפת ẒEFAT, using buildings occupied by the army. Forecasts of 65,000–75,000 arrivals over January–March show the scale officials expected. They do not establish arrivals or completed placement of those households. Klir’s water-project discussion likewise concerns development ambitions rather than water delivered that day.⁵⁶

This is Day 414 of the 599-day civil-date series: 1949-01-16. Its daytime public route is ט״ו בטבת ה׳תש״ט 15th 𝑜𝑓 Tevet, AM 5709; an occurrence after local sunset belongs to ט״ז בטבת ה׳תש״ט 16th 𝑜𝑓 Tevet, AM 5709. The route dates this civil-day rundown, not every occurrence or report mentioned in it. The king’s meeting is dated January 16 by later diplomatic reporting; the January 16 diary records other same-day discussions and proposed actions, not their completion. ⁷

• What makes the January 16 meeting date stronger than the January 17 diary heading?
• How would completed housing and arrival records test the forecasts?