From 18 April 1948, the British ceased escorting convoys from Jerusalem to the northern shore facilities. As the prospect of war between the Arabs and the Zionists increased at the close of the British Mandate, Novomeysky tried to foster peace with Abdullah, attempting to strike a deal that would spare the potash works due to their value to both sides as well as the British. Having twice flown to Amman for negotiations, on 13 May 1948 an agreement was reached with the Transjordanian delegation whereby a neutral zone would be created to protect the facilities. He travelled to Tel Aviv on 14 May in order to share these results with David Ben-Gurion, the Zionist leader and soon Prime Minister of Israel.