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The telegram stated that the ammunition we had sent from Cairo by plane had arrived at the right time and that the large aircraft cargo revived hopes. It pressed for five aircraft loads to be sent the following day to win the battle, along with the remaining field guns and their ammunition, Mills bombs, and large quantities of mortar shells.

The telegram then added that the Belgian consul in Jerusalem was now negotiating with the Arab fighters’ command to accept the surrender of the Jews in the Old City. At that time I was in Damascus. The Syrian consul in Jerusalem, acting on behalf of the diplomatic missions there, met me and informed me of the Jews’ desire to surrender and that he had come to Damascus specifically to discuss the matter.

To warn the fighters against attacking religious sites of every kind, killing women, children, old men, and prisoners, and mistreating foreign communities, political bodies and institutions, and their offices and property, we issued the following Communiqué No. 6, whose image and text are reproduced here:

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Image of Communiqué No. 6 addressed to the commanders of the fighters