Nadene Goldfoot
Jews did not expel the Arabs from their villages in Palestine.
When Israel announced that they became a state, which was on May 14, 1948; the date the 30 year mandate had been held by the British and was up, their becoming a state was already cleared through
the League of Nations in the 1920s, and then cleared again with the United Nations for this date in 1948.
However, the leaders of the Arabs attacked within minutes and told the Arabs to leave their homes as they were commencing to attack, and that within hours they could return and take over the Jewish homes as they would win and drive the Jews into the sea.
They didn't win, even though they had been shooting at Jews since November 29, 1947 when the UN created a partition resolution. In April 1948, before the announcement that their state had been created and accepted, units of Arab irregulars came to attack from Syria, Lebanon and Egypt to reinforce the local Arabs in their attacks on Jewish towns, and they even tried to block the main roads. Israel was created with only 650,000 people. It had a poorly equipped army quickly slapped together, but they drove back the invading forces. One girl and an old man drove back the Syrians from Kibbutz Degania Aleph and left a tank which is still there to see todaiy. The new Israelis drove back the invading forces. The Israeli amy penetrated into the Sinai peninsula in the process of driving out the Egyptian invaders.
So, on the 14th of May, Israel was immediately invaded by the regular armies of Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and the Saudi Arabians even sent a contingent of fighters. They tried to exterminate the Jews. They planned on massacring everyone. 6,000 Israelis were killed in this War of Independence ----more than in all the subsequent wars combined.
This was said by Azzam Pasha, Secretary-General of the Arab League. He proclaimed from Cairo that "This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and Crusades."
This attack on Israel went on into 1949, and of course the Arab leaders told the Arabs who had left their homes to stay in refugee camps where they remain today. Those that didn't leave became citizens of Israel along with the Jews. There are 1.7 million Arab citizens of Israel today.
After the Arab armies had been driven back, a truce was called and negotiations for an armistice began. In the course of 1949, separate armistice agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. In each agreement it was laid down that the purpose was "to facilitate the transition from the present truce to permanent peace.
In 1949, nobody foresaw that, instead of leading to peace, the armistice agreement with Egypt would, after 7 years, end in war; and the agreements with Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, after remaining in force for 18 years , also ended in war, each time started by the Arabs again.
Since May 14, 1948, PEACE has been a permanent part of the policy of every Government of Israel. The policy of the Arab States was diametrically opposite to Israel's. They did not reconcile themselves to Israel's existence and refused to recognize Israel. Today only Egypt and Jordan are on good terms with Israel and have signed peace pacts.
What reason has Israel to think that Abbas's Palestine, made up of present day terrorists armed with rockets, mortars and missiles, this United Palestine made up of Fatah and Hamas terrorists, will be any different? The only difference is that there would then be 23 nearby Muslim Arab states instead of 22 with Palestine on Israel's doorstep, more like a murderous boarder rather than a neighbor.
I say murderous since they keep trying and often accomplish it. Yesterday a lone knifer managed to knife 12 people on a bus; women included with 4 very seriously injured. (shown on CNN TV this morning.) The knifer was a 23 year old Palestinian who had illegally entered Israel. He was video-taped running after a woman from the bus when it stopped and hitting her back with his knife.
Resource: facts about israel 1973 Published by the Division of Information, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem
http://news.yahoo.com/police-shoot-man-stabbed-passengers-tel-aviv-bus-060800485.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/1948_War.html
Jews did not expel the Arabs from their villages in Palestine.
When Israel announced that they became a state, which was on May 14, 1948; the date the 30 year mandate had been held by the British and was up, their becoming a state was already cleared through
the League of Nations in the 1920s, and then cleared again with the United Nations for this date in 1948.
 |
| Jews just arrived from Holocaust DP camps, tired and hungry-fighting within days against attacking Arabs May 1948 |
However, the leaders of the Arabs attacked within minutes and told the Arabs to leave their homes as they were commencing to attack, and that within hours they could return and take over the Jewish homes as they would win and drive the Jews into the sea.
.jpg%2BWar%2Bof%2Bindependence%2B1948.jpg) |
| Israel's War of Independence: 1947-49 |
They didn't win, even though they had been shooting at Jews since November 29, 1947 when the UN created a partition resolution. In April 1948, before the announcement that their state had been created and accepted, units of Arab irregulars came to attack from Syria, Lebanon and Egypt to reinforce the local Arabs in their attacks on Jewish towns, and they even tried to block the main roads. Israel was created with only 650,000 people. It had a poorly equipped army quickly slapped together, but they drove back the invading forces. One girl and an old man drove back the Syrians from Kibbutz Degania Aleph and left a tank which is still there to see todaiy. The new Israelis drove back the invading forces. The Israeli amy penetrated into the Sinai peninsula in the process of driving out the Egyptian invaders.
So, on the 14th of May, Israel was immediately invaded by the regular armies of Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and the Saudi Arabians even sent a contingent of fighters. They tried to exterminate the Jews. They planned on massacring everyone. 6,000 Israelis were killed in this War of Independence ----more than in all the subsequent wars combined.
This was said by Azzam Pasha, Secretary-General of the Arab League. He proclaimed from Cairo that "This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and Crusades."
.jpg%2B%2BDruze%2BIDF.jpg) |
| Druse Arabs of IDF protecting Israel |
This attack on Israel went on into 1949, and of course the Arab leaders told the Arabs who had left their homes to stay in refugee camps where they remain today. Those that didn't leave became citizens of Israel along with the Jews. There are 1.7 million Arab citizens of Israel today.
After the Arab armies had been driven back, a truce was called and negotiations for an armistice began. In the course of 1949, separate armistice agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. In each agreement it was laid down that the purpose was "to facilitate the transition from the present truce to permanent peace.
In 1949, nobody foresaw that, instead of leading to peace, the armistice agreement with Egypt would, after 7 years, end in war; and the agreements with Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, after remaining in force for 18 years , also ended in war, each time started by the Arabs again.
Since May 14, 1948, PEACE has been a permanent part of the policy of every Government of Israel. The policy of the Arab States was diametrically opposite to Israel's. They did not reconcile themselves to Israel's existence and refused to recognize Israel. Today only Egypt and Jordan are on good terms with Israel and have signed peace pacts.
What reason has Israel to think that Abbas's Palestine, made up of present day terrorists armed with rockets, mortars and missiles, this United Palestine made up of Fatah and Hamas terrorists, will be any different? The only difference is that there would then be 23 nearby Muslim Arab states instead of 22 with Palestine on Israel's doorstep, more like a murderous boarder rather than a neighbor.
I say murderous since they keep trying and often accomplish it. Yesterday a lone knifer managed to knife 12 people on a bus; women included with 4 very seriously injured. (shown on CNN TV this morning.) The knifer was a 23 year old Palestinian who had illegally entered Israel. He was video-taped running after a woman from the bus when it stopped and hitting her back with his knife.
Resource: facts about israel 1973 Published by the Division of Information, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem
http://news.yahoo.com/police-shoot-man-stabbed-passengers-tel-aviv-bus-060800485.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/1948_War.html
Comment sent to me from the Palestinian version of events:
ReplyDeleteTen years of research into the 1947-49 war
The expulsion of the Palestinians re-examined
Fifty years ago the UN decided to partition Palestine into two states, one Arab, one Jewish. The ensuing Arab-Israeli war ended with Israel expanding its share of the land by a third, while what remained to the Arabs was occupied by Egypt and Jordan. Several thousand Palestinians fled their homes, becoming the refugees at the heart of the conflict. Israel has always denied that they were expelled, either forcibly or as a matter of policy. Israel’s “new historians” have been re-examining that denial and have put an end to a number of myths.
by Dominique Vidal
Doninique, the UN partition I mentioned that was offered was denied by the Palestinian leaders and they opted for more fighting. That was their decision. More fighting may have resulted in more land acquired by Israel. Look at the map on my article; there wasn't much at all for Israel-that's because Abdullah of TransJordan helped himself to 80% of what was earmarked as the Jewish Homeland by the League of Nations- something not for the Palestinian Arabs to decide on. So Israel's 80% was taken away from the Jews at its birth. What remained? Well, Egypt had control of Gaza for years, and Transjordan was renamed Jordan and you know the Hashemite Dynasty is the head of that with Abdullah II reigning today. Benny Morris is the historian you are referring to, and since his early years has changed his tune about his first impressions. He's learned more history.
Regarding the charge of “ethnic cleansing” as part of “Plan D”, many Israel-haters are fond of citing Pappe and Morris to back up their claims. Morris, however, sets the record straight in a letter to The Irish Times:
ReplyDeleteMost of Palestine’s 700,000 “refugees” fled their homes because of the flail of war (and in the expectation that they would shortly return to their homes on the backs of victorious Arab invaders).
There was no Zionist “plan” or blanket policy of evicting the Arab population, or of “ethnic cleansing”. Plan Dalet of March 10, 1948, was the master plan of the Haganah – the Jewish military force that became the Israel Defence Forces – to counter the expected pan-Arab assault on the emergent Jewish state. And the invasion of the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq duly occurred, on May 15.
It is true that Plan D gave the regional commanders carte blanche to occupy and garrison or expel and destroy the Arab villages along and behind the front lines and the anticipated Arab armies’ invasion routes. And it is also true that midway in the 1948 war the Israeli leaders decided to bar the return of the “refugees” (those “refugees” who had just assaulted the Jewish community), viewing them as a potential fifth column and threat to the Jewish state’s existence. I for one cannot fault their fears or logic.