Israel. 1948 Egyptian seizure of mail to Israel: 22-3-1948 surface mailed registered cover from CHELYABINSK (USSR) to BEIT ALFA (scarce destination), franked 1.90R & tied by 3 strikes of local postmark; backstamped 31-3-48 MOSCOW transit; as surface mail cover probably routed via UK on to EGYPT (as mail origin located East of Palestine), where as of early April mail to Jews in Palestine is seized, censored & returned to sender, as done here - opened/resealed using K-type-A label (though without censor handstamp). Such mail was generally held by Egypt 3-4 months before being returned: no further USSR postal markings but apparently resent as cover backstamped 24-4-1949 HAIFA & next day AFFULA transits - 399 day transit time (longest recorded of this type of mail). Intriguing cover: as registered mail the re-dispatch should have been stamped in the Soviet Union.

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Israel. 1948 Egyptian seizure of mail to Israel: 24 IV 1948 airmail cover from BASEL to HAIFA, franked 70c & tied by strike of local postmark; dispatched 2 days before all airmail to Palestine got returned due to service suspensions: here transported via CAIRO, where since early April mail to Jews in Palestine was seized, censored & returned to sender, as done here - opened/resealed using K-type-A censor label & marked by Type-1 (#53) censor handstamp. Such mail was generally held by Egypt 3-4 months before being returned, hence backstamped 2 VIII 48 GENEVA arrival; cover resent: backstamped 24 IX 48 BASEL dispatch postmark tied to 40c frank (as dissimilar to original franking, probably due to change in rates - otherwise none needed per UPU regulations regarding re-sent returned mail).

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Israel. 1948-49 War Israeli marked "Destinaire Parti" mail: 8 IV 1948 registered cover in Arabic from BEYROUTH (return addressed "Rashad Elmaghrby Dar Ghouth, Beirut") to [unclear address] JERUSALEM, franked 50p & tied by 2 strikes of local postmark; cover reached JERUSALEM before full siege began on 20 April: marked twice by JERUSALEM Post Office "Destinaire Parti" Mandate Post instructional marking handstamp K-Type-II as addressee no longer at his address (i.e. fled/evacuated) - very rare: less than 10 covers known marked by T-II, & "Return to" instructional marking on back; cover remained in JERUSALEM until transferred to TEL AVIV (eg. by 18/21 June convoys or any time after end of siege, 21 June), where opened/sealed by Tav-1009 (Gladstone unlisted) & tied by circular Israeli military censor approved handstamp of Tav-15; backstamped 17-1-1949 JERUSALEM-3 (Sorting Office) transit + 30 JAN 1949 dated "Ministry of Transportation | Department of Postage, Telegraph & Telephones | Office for Postage Claims" handstamp (text of which obliterated, as often seen on such covers unable to be returned to sender) - this being equivalent to Dead Letter Office: unusual procedure as the actual DLO was located in JAFFA (i.e. next to Tel Aviv).

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Israel. 1948 Israeli "no service" marks on mail from Arab countries: 16(?) AP 1948 surface mail commercial cover on letterhead stationary of Patriarch of Coptic Orthodox Church from CAIRO to Bishop Jacobus, Archbishop of JERUSALEM, franked 22m & tied by 3 weak strikes of local postmark; backstamped same day KANTARA-T (Travel = ordinary mail) transit postmark. Posted the day after commencement of termination of Mandate postal services & before military confrontation between Egypt and Israel, but ongoing transmission within Palestine probably delayed by changes in the postal administration as cover subsequently opened & resealed in TEL AVIV by [Israeli] military censor Tav 1008 (unrecorded in Gladstone & Kibble) using red on orange label - due to siege, all foreign mail to JERUSALEM passed through TEL AVIV; as country of origin by then an enemy territory and addressee located in Old City of JERUSALEM presently under military contention, front-stamped twice by the 1st Israeli French-language "Pas de Service via Israel" handstamp (of the Tel Aviv Post Office) K-Type-T-I in black ink (Kibble unlisted) - unique in this case as all of the covers known to Kibble marked by this instructional marking were also marked "Destinare Parti" (Addressee Left) + tied by the 2-line Mandate English "No Service" instructional marking. Probably not returned to sender (as not possible); opened gently at back. Rare: fewer than 20 covers known stamped by T-I marking.

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Israel. 1948 Israeli "no service"/Destinaire Parti marks on mail from Arab countries: 22 IV 1948 surface mail commercial cover on letterhead stationary of Paul Seminary ("Sverge" manufacture) from DARAOUN-HARISSA Lebanon to Yousef Jubran Al Shuraim at Court of Justice [JERUSALEM], franked 25p & tied by 2 strikes of local hexigonal postmark; cover posted 7 days after commencement of termination of Mandate postal services & before military confrontation between Lebanon and Israel, but ongoing transmission within Palestine probably delayed by changes in the postal administration as cover subsequently censored by Israeli military in TEL AVIV (i.e. after Israel's independence) as per Tav 1 circular cachet (due to siege, all foreign mail to JERUSALEM passed through TEL AVIV); as country of origin by then an enemy territory and addressee located in area of JERUSALEM under military contention, front/back-stamped by 1st Israeli French-language "Pas de Service via Israel" handstamp (of the Tel Aviv Post Office) K-Type-T-I in black ink (Kibble unlisted). Of Note: the Mandate-era French-language "DESTINAIRE PARTI" (addressee left [without leaving forwarding address] K-Type-I instructional marking handstamp of TEL AVIV Head Post Office is said by Kibble to have been applied still by the Mandate Post - but this in regards to Jaffo-area Arab addressees (locale was captured by Israel between 25 April - 12 May); here, JERUSALEM was under siege from 20 April until 20 June & as cover lacks Mandate-era "Israeli" forerunner 2-line English "No Service" instructional marking handstamp, the Destinaire Parti mark probably applied by Israeli post in Tel Aviv (this unrecorded in Kibble on K-Type-T-I marked covers). Opened gently at back, a few peripheral tears. Probably not returned to sender (as not possible). Rare: fewer than 20 covers known stamped by either of the two instructional marking markings. Addressee may be a relative of former Israeli Supreme Court deputy Chief Justice, Salim Joubran (born Haifa 1947, fled with family to Beirut 1948 & returned).

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