Actions and false promises are creating Palestinian refugees - opinion

• Author: ANDREW LOEWY
• Published date: 16 May 2023
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Following the passage of the Partition Plan in November 1947, Arab riots broke out and a civil war erupted. During the ensuing fighting, local Arab leaders encouraged Palestinian Arabs to flee. A prime example could be seen in what transpired in Haifa. In January 1948, Hajj Amin al Husseini instructed a delegation of Arabs in Haifa to "remove the women and children from the danger areas in order to reduce the number of casualties."

In March, Haifa's Arab Committee echoed a similar message, calling for an orderly evacuation of the women and children. When the Hagana arrived in Haifa on April 21, 1948, only about half of the city's inhabitants remained. The Times of London, reporting on the events transpiring on April 22 recounted that "the Jewish Hagana asked (using loudspeakers) Arabs to remain at their homes but most of the Arab population followed their leaders who asked them to leave the country."

Similarly, Time magazine reported in a May 3, 1948 article that, "the mass evacuation, prompted partly by fear, partly by order of Arab leaders, left the Arab quarter of Haifa a ghost city... By withdrawing...