WHO STARTED THE WAR IN 1947?
"…..The 'all or nothing' policy was behind [Jerusalem's Grand Mufti] Haj Amin Al-Huseini's rejection of the Peel Commission [1937] [decision] to grant the Palestinians 80% of the land of Palestine, and of the 1947 UN resolution to grant the Palestinians 45% of Palestine. This policy also motivated Hafez Al-Assad, at the end of the summit conference with president Clinton in 2000, to refuse [the offer to regain the Golan Heights except for 200 meters on the eastern bank of the Sea of Galilee, claiming that when he was in the army, he used to wade and fish in the lake! And what was the result? Great difficulty for his successor in regaining even a single meter in the foreseeable future, save for concessions that the Israeli leadership only ever dreamed of…
" Columnist 'Adel Zaid Al-Tarifi Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), May 14, 2003.
“We will do everything in our power to maintain peace, and establish a cooperation gainful to both [Jews and Arabs]. It is now, here and now, from Jerusalem itself, that a call must go out to the Arab nations to join forces with Jewry and the destined Jewish State and work shoulder to shoulder for our common good, for the peace and progress of sovereign equals.”
The Assembly of Palestine Jewry, October 2, 1947:
"On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a Resolution calling for the establishment of an independent Jewish State in Eretz-Israel, and called upon the inhabitants of the country to take such steps as may be necessary on their part to put the plan into effect.
"This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish people to establish their independent State is irrevocable. This right is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign State.
"ACCORDINGLY, WE, MEMBERS OF THE PEOPLE'S COUNCIL, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF ERETZ-ISRAEL AND OF THE ZIONIST MOVEMENT, ARE HERE ASSEMBLED ON THE DAY OF THE TERMINATION OF THE BRITISH MANDATE OVER ERETZ-ISRAEL AND, BY VIRTUE OF OUR NATURAL AND HISTORIC RIGHT AND ON THE STRENGTH OF THE RESOLUTION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HEREBY DECLARE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A JEWISH STATE IN ERETZ-ISRAEL, TO BE KNOWN AS THE STATE OF ISRAEL.
"WE HEREBY DECLARE that, with effect from the moment of the termination of the Mandate being tonight, the eve of Sabbath, the 6th Iyar, 5708 (15th May, 1948), and until the setting up of the duly elected bodies of the State in accordance with a Constitution, to be drawn up by the Elected Constituent Assembly not later than the first day of October, 1948, the People's Council shall act as a Provisional Council of State, and its executive organ, the People's Administration, shall constitute the Provisional Government of the Jewish State, to be called "Israel...........".
".....WE APPEAL- in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months - to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to return to the ways of peace and play their part in the upbuilding of the State, on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its bodies and institutions - provisional or permanent.
“WE EXTEND our hand of peace and unity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.”
From Israel's Declaration of Independence, Friday 14th May 1948 - Erev Shabbat 5th Iyar 5708
“With the removal of political friction which we hope will eventually result from the setting up of these two independent States, each people master in its own home, it should be possible to usher in an era of progress and regeneration which would be a boon to all the peoples in that important part of the world. The Jewish State, when it is established, will respect the sovereignty of its neighbour states as fully as it will defend its own." Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, member of the Jewish Agency executive. (October, 1947)
"In the name of my government, I wish to state that it feels that this decision is anti-democratic, illegal,… Iraq does not recognize the validity of this decision." Ambassador Jamali of Iraq after the UN vote to partition Palestine 1947.
"My country will never recognize such a decision. It will never agree to be responsible for it.” Ambassador Amir Arslan of Syria after the UN vote on partion 1947.
"Unless the Palestine problem is settled, we shall have difficulty in protecting and safeguarding the Jews in the Arab world.” Syrian delegate, Faris el-Khouri, New York Times, February 19, 1947
"It is tragic that many of the present casualties comprise innocent and harmless people going about their daily business. They are picked off while riding in buses, walking along the streets and stray shots even find them while asleep in their beds. A Jewish woman, mother of five children, was shot in Jerusalem while hanging out clothes on the roof. The ambulance rushing her to the hospital was machine gunned and finally the mourners following her to the funeral were attacked and one of them was stabbed to death." Mordechai Palzur, the former chief of protocol at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, quoting a report published in Foreign Relations of the United States 1947 by Robert Macatee, consul general of Jerusalem:
The Jews now sought to win over the Arabs to partition. But all efforts to meet with the Arabs failed. Then one morning in London Jon Kimche, a pro-Zionist British journalist, telephone David Horowitz of the Jewish Agency and asked if he would like to talk with Abdul Rahman Azzam Pasha.
Horowitz was incredulous. As secretary-general of the Arab League Azzam Pasha, an Egyptian, was one of the most influential Arab leaders…
The next day, Horowitz, Kimche, and Aubrey (Abba) Eban, another Jewish Agency official, drove to the Savoy Hotel and were courteously received by the tall, lean-faced Arab diplomat in his suite…Horowitz opened the conversation by stating his view of the UNSCOP (United Nations Special Committee on Palestine) report. Then he went on: “The Jews are a fait accompli in the Middle East. Sooner or later the Arabs will have to reconcile themselves to the fact and accept it. You Arabs cannot wipe out over half a million people. We, for our part, are genuinely desirous of an agreement with the Arabs and are prepared to make sacrifices for one…”
Horowitz then proposed a plan embracing a political arrangement, security guarantees, and an economic program for joint development of the Middle East.
Azzam Pasha responded dryly: “The Arab world is not in a compromising mood. It’s likely, Mr. Horowitz, that your plan is rational and logical, but the fate of nations is not decided by rational logic. Nations never concede; they fight. You won’t get anything by peaceful means or compromise. You can, perhaps, get something, but only by force of arms. We shall try to defeat you. I’m not sure we’ll succeed, but we’ll try…But it’s too late to talk of peaceful solutions.”
Eban commented: “The UNSCOP report established the possibility of a satisfactory compromise. Why shouldn’t we at least make an effort to reach an agreement on those lines? At all events, our proposal is a first draft only and we shall welcome any counterproposal from your side.”
“An agreement will only be acceptable on our terms,” Azzam calmly retorted. “The Arab world regards you as invaders and is ready to fight you. The conflict of interests among nations is, for the most part, not amenable to anything except an armed clash.”
Astonished, Horowitz interrupted, “Then you believe in force of arms alone…?”
“It is in the nature of peoples,” replied Azzam, “to aspire to expansion and to fight for what they think is vital…We don’t need economic development with your assistance. We have only one test, the test of strength…”
Azzam smiled again, sadly. His listeners detected no hatred in his tone; he had referred to the Jews over and over again as “cousins.” Not once during the two-hour conversation had he expressed an unkind thought or used a hostile expression about the Jews. But the visitors shivered. For Azzam had confirmed what they viewed as the terrifying character of the majority Arab position, a position found unashamedly not on logic – not even the logic of rancor – but on a blind fatalism, ungovernable as the wind.*
Account of the meeting between Abba Eban, David Horwitz and Azzam Pasha on September 16, 1947.Condensed from “State in the Making”, by David Horowitz. Copyright 1953 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
"This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the massacres of the Crusades". Azzam Pasha, the Arab League General Secretary after the 5 Arab Armies attacked Israel in 1948.
"When the delegation entered the conference room it proudly refused to sign the truce and asked that the evacuation of the Arab population and their transfer to neighboring Arab countries be facilitated...The military and civil authorities and the Jewish representatives expressed their profound regret. The mayor of Haifa (Mr. Shabtai Levi) adjourned the meeting with a passionate appeal to the Arab population to reconsider its decision..."
Memorandum to the Arab governments, Haifa, 27 April 1948, from the Arab National Committee.
"Early in January, the first detachments of the Arab Liberation Army began to infiltrate into Palestine from Syria. Some came through Jordan and even through Amman . . . They were in reality to strike the first blow in the ruin of the Arabs of Palestine." The British commander of Jordan's Arab Legion, John Bagot Glubb 1947
"Organized efforts are being made by strong Arab elements inside and outside Palestine to prevent the implementation of the Assembly's plan of partition and to thwart its objectives by threats and acts of violence, including armed incursions into Palestinian territory... This Commission now finds itself confronted with an attempt to defeat its purposes, and to nullify the resolution of the General Assembly." UNSCOP report to the Security Council on 16 February 1948:
“The representative of the Jewish Agency told us yesterday that they were not the attackers, that the Arabs had begun the fighting. We did not deny this. We told the whole world that we were going to fight.” Jamal Husseini before the Security Council, April 16, 1948
“All our efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Palestine problem have failed. The only way left for us is war. I will have the pleasure and honor to save Palestine.” Transjordan's King Abdullah, April 26, 1948
"This is not the first time that the Arab states, which organized the invasion of Palestine, have ignored a decision of the Security Council or of the General Assembly. The USSR delegation deems it essential that the council should state its opinion more clearly and more firmly with regard to this attitude of the Arab states toward decisions of the Security Council." Soviet delegate Andrei Gromyko told the Security Council, May 29, 1948:
"You have made a foolish decision. Think it over, as you’ll regret it afterward. You must accept the conditions of the Jews. They are fair enough. Don’t permit life to be destroyed senselessly. After all, it was you who began the fighting, and the Jews have won"
British commander Major-General Hugh Stockwell 1948.
The (United Nations) Security Council,
Taking into consideration that the Provisional Government of Israel has indicated its acceptance in principle of a prolongation of the truce in Palestine, that the States members of the Arab League have rejected successive appeals of the United Nations Mediator, and of the Security Council in its resolution 53 (1948) of 7 July 1948, for the prolongation of the truce in Palestine; and that there has consequently developed a renewal of hostilities in Palestine,
1. Determines that the situation in Palestine constitutes a threat to the peace within the meaning of Article 39 of the Charter of the United Nations;
2. Orders the Governments and authorities concerned, pursuant to Article 40 of the Charter, to desist from further military action and to this end to issue cease-fire orders to their military and paramilitary forces, to hike effect at a time to be determined by the Mediator, but in any event not later than three days from the date of the adoption of this resolution;
3. Declares that failure by any of the Governments or authorities concerned to comply with the preceding paragraph of this resolution would demonstrate the existence of a breach of the peace within the meaning of Article 39 of the Charter requiting immediate consideration by the Security Council with a view to such further action under Chapter VII of the Charter as may be decided upon by the Council......
UN Resolution 54, adopted on 15 July, 1948,
"I do not want to impugn anybody but only to help the refugees. The fact that there are these refugees is the direct consequence of the action of the Arab States in opposing Partition and the Jewish State. The Arab States agreed upon this policy unanimously and they must share in the solution of the problem.",- Emile Ghoury, Secretary of the Arab Higher Committee, the official leadership of the Palestinian Arabs, in the Beirut newspaper, Daily Telegraph, September 6, 1948
THE ARAB - ISRAELI CONFLICT
WHO STARTED THE WAR IN 1947 ?
WHY DID THE ARABS LEAVE ISRAEL?
HOW MANY ARABS FLED ?
ARAB HELP FOR THEIR REFUGEES.
ARE THE JEWISH SETTLEMENTS ILLEGAL?
WHAT IF THE JEWS LOST ANY WAR ?
For further, more detailed information click on www.adespicabletruce.org.uk