Capture of Haifa in 1948
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Haifa, called by the Jewish forces Operation Bi'ur Hametz was a Haganah
operation carried out on 21–22 April 1948. The objective of the operation was the capture of the Arab neighborhoods of Haifa
and was a major event in the final stages of the civil war in Palestine
, leading up to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
.
coast at the north-western edge of the Sharon plain, was a strategic location in Palestine. In 1948, Haifa was a mixed city with a population of 135,000, split between Palestinian Jews (70,000) and Palestinian Arabs (65,000). The Arab proportion of the population had, since early 1948 started to dwindle. The main Palestinian Jewish areas of the city were Hadar HaCarmel
and Neve Sha'anan
; with, Khalisa and Wadi Nisnas
being predominantly Palestinian Arab. Haifa was the country's largest deep water port, The head of the spur line
to the Hejaz railway, was the oil terminal for the Mosul
/Haifa pipe line (which the Iraq
i Government had closed in April) and home to the Consolidated Refineries oil refinery
. With the capture of the port of Haifa it would be possible for the Haganah
to receive supplies and armaments during the impending Arab Israeli conflict. The leadership of the Provisional government of Israel
therefore considered it vital for the welfare of the new state. Moreover, Haifa was within the area allocated to a Jewish state under the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. The civil war in Palestine escalated with the final stages of the British Mandate. British firms such as Iraq Petroleum Company
and Steel Brothers, transferred their offices and employees to the Lebanon
. In Jerusalem by January 1947 the British had evacuated 2,000 subjects for their own safety. In the wake of the British civil evacuation the families of well to do Arabs and many of the Arab civic leaders also decamped. It is claimed that the Arab leaders encouraged the Palestinian Arabs to leave by running away themselves; then so frightened the leaderless mass, who had stayed behind, with atrocity propaganda
that it fled as well and finally, it is claimed that they prevented a truce settlement in Haifa. The refusal of the “Arab League
“ to intervene had been a cause of widespread demoralisation of the Palestinian Arab population. By mid March 25,000 to 30,000 Palestinian Arabs had already evacuated from Haifa. The Haganah April offensive appeared to take the Arab Higher Committee
(AHC) by surprise.
The Haifa Arab National Committee (NC) in communique number 7, 22 February, demanded of the Palestinian Arab inhabitants that they cease all shooting and return to regular work. The Palestinian Arab half of Haifa was remote from other Major Palestinian Arab centres and that contact had been cut off by the Palestinian Jewish villages along the approach roads to Haifa. The Businesses and workshops had closed with no prospect of continued employment in the Jewish areas. The unemployment was rife and the cost of food had escalated.
as the provisional Government of Palestine.
On 17 March 1948 Mohammad bin Hammad Al Huneiti, commander of the town's Arab militia, was killed in an ambush of a convoy bringing 15 tons of arms and explosives. His death left his followers demoralised. According to Jon Kimche the Haganah had a highly placed informer and were able intercept nine of eleven convoys into Haifa.
The Arab garrison for the Palestinian Arab areas of the city was commanded by Captain Amin Izz al-Din who had been appointed by the Arab Liberation Army's
(ALA) military committee on the 27 March in Damascus
. Through the next month his original force of 450 was depleted by desertion until it was no longer a fighting force.
The British had previously controlled the city and maintained a buffer between the Jewish and Arab populations. On the same day as the fall of Tiberias 18 April 1948, Major-General Hugh Stockwell
, British Commanding Officer, Northern sector, Haifa, summoned Harry Beilin, the Jewish Agency liaison officer to the British Army, to his headquarters. Stockwell informed Beilin of his intention to immediately start to evacuate the British forces from the borders and no-man's-land zones in Haifa and that the evacuation would be completed by the 20 April. The original British Government intentions had been to evacuate Palestine gradually using Haifa as the embarkation port from south to north of Palestine, to be completed by mid May. The Haganah
saw this as an opportunity and quickly prepared a plan for a 3-pronged attack on the Arab neighborhoods of Wadi Nisnas
, Wadi Salib
and Khalisa.
The German Colony at Waldheim
and Bethlehem had been confined until 18 April 1948 when Haganah forces attacked the area killing two un-armed internees and wounding four others and occupying the German Colony
, the internees then requested evacuation to Australia. The 270–300 internees were evacuated to Egypt on 20 April for transit to Australia as a matter of urgency. The remaining 50 Templers
emigrated after the establishment of the State of Israel.
On 20 April Captain Amin Bey Izz al-Din and Beilin were summoned to the British HQ and were advised of the British intention to withdraw as per the previous meeting where only Beilin and Stockwell had attended on the 18 April. Izz al-Din promptly left for Damascus to report to the Military Committee of the ALA and handed over command to Yunnis Naffa, a Palestinian sanitary engineer. The departure of Izz al-Din led to demoralisation and on 21 April prominent members of the Haifa NC (Hakim Khalil and Ahmad Bay Khalil) evacuated.
The sudden British deployment caused the Carmeli commanders to re-work the details of the operation (previously a plan called Operation Misparayim or Operation Scissors) and the re-worked plan was named Mivtza Bi'ur Hametz (Operation Passover Cleaning).
's force consisted of 5 companies from the Field Corps
, one Palmach
company, as well as a contingent of the Guard Corps
. The Palestinian Jewish forces attacked Wadi Salib and Wadi Nisnas from Hadar HaCarmel
, while the bulk of the attack on Khalisa came from Neve Sha'anan
. The Arab headquarters were in the center of the city, near the port and the railway depot.
Commenting on the use of 'psychological warfare broadcasts' and military tactics in Haifa, Benny Morris
writes:
Jon Kimche
also describes the "psychological blitz on Arab quarters" until "the Arab nerve broke and the flight from the town assumed panic proportions".
The first attack was on the Rushmiyya Bridge area cutting the Arab areas off. Prior to the main thrust from the higher ground, of the Palestinian Jewish neighbourhood, Hadar HaCarmel
, the Arab Muslim neighborhood of Khalisa came under mortar shell bombardment. The 3,500–5,000 Arab irregulars could not mount a real defense. The following day the Arab National Committee of Haifa were prepared to ask for a truce via Stockwell. Stockwell agreed to meet with the Israelis, and returned 15 minutes later; however, the terms proposed by the Haganah – complete disarmament, surrender of weapons, and a curfew – were not accepted by the Arab leadership.
That afternoon, a meeting was held in the town hall to discuss terms of the truce. Due to the inability of the National Committee (Haifa) to guarantee that no incidents would occur, the Arab delegation declared their inability to endorse the proposed truce and requested protection for the evacuation of Haifa's Palestinian Arab citizens. It was noted by The Times
that the Haganah had made use of Arabic language broadcasts using Haganah Radio and loudspeaker vans calling on the inhabitants to 'kick out the foreign criminals'. Similarly the Haganah had broadcast that the Palestinian Arab population should 'evacuate the women, the children and the old immediately and sent them to a safe haven'.
By 22 April 1948 the British were only in control of the Haifa port area. The rest of the city was in the hands of the Carmeli Brigade of the Haganah, commanded by Moshe Carmel.
The banner headlines of the Palestine Post on 23 April 1948 announced "Haifa Pivotal Points fall to Haganah forces in 30 hour battle"... the report continued that Haganah crushed all resistance, occupied many major buildings forcing thousands of Arabs to flee by the only open route-the sea". The report was written up on the 21 April but not printed until the 30 April, presumedly for security reasons.
Estimates of the number of Arabs killed vary; one Jewish source puts the number at 300.
declared Martial Law
in the town. On the same day units from the Irgun
moved into parts of downtown Haifa. Two days later the Haganah forced them to withdraw in a confrontation that resulted in some Irgun casualties.
Some reports speak of looting and attacks on civilians.
Moshe Dayan
was appointed to administer abandoned Arab property in the city. He instituted a policy of collecting anything the army could use and storing in Zahal warehouses and the rest to be distributed amongst Jewish agricultural settlements. Golda Meir
, who was consulted, agreed with this policy.
15,000 civilians were evacuated from Haifa during 21–22 April. Leaving some 30–45,000 non-Jewish citizens. By mid-May 4000 Palestinian Arabs remained in Haifa. These were concentrated in Wadi Nisnas and Wadi Salib whilst the systematic destruction of Arab housing in certain areas, was implemented by Haifa's Technical and Urban Development departments in cooperation with the IDF's city commander Ya'akov Lublini.
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
operation carried out on 21–22 April 1948. The objective of the operation was the capture of the Arab neighborhoods of Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
and was a major event in the final stages of the civil war in Palestine
1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine
The 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine lasted from 30 November 1947, the date of the United Nations vote in favour of the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the UN Partition Plan, to the termination of the British Mandate itself on 14 May 1948.This period constitutes the...
, leading up to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
.
Background
The city of Haifa, on the MediterraneanMediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
coast at the north-western edge of the Sharon plain, was a strategic location in Palestine. In 1948, Haifa was a mixed city with a population of 135,000, split between Palestinian Jews (70,000) and Palestinian Arabs (65,000). The Arab proportion of the population had, since early 1948 started to dwindle. The main Palestinian Jewish areas of the city were Hadar HaCarmel
Hadar HaCarmel
Hadar Hacarmel is a neighborhood of Haifa, Israel. Located on the northern slope of Mount Carmel between the upper and lower city, overlooking the Port of Haifa and Haifa Bay, it was once the commercial center of Haifa.-History:...
and Neve Sha'anan
Neve Sha'anan (Haifa)
Neve Sha'anan is a neighborhood in eastern Haifa, Israel that extends from the lower inclines of Mount Carmel to midway across its slopes.-History:Neve Sha'anan was founded in 1922. The name is based on a verse in the Bible...
; with, Khalisa and Wadi Nisnas
Wadi Nisnas
Wadi Nisnas is an Arab neighborhood in the city of Haifa in northern Israel. Nisnas is the Arabic word for mongoose, an indigenous animal. The wadi has a population of about 8,000 inhabitants....
being predominantly Palestinian Arab. Haifa was the country's largest deep water port, The head of the spur line
Jezreel Valley railway
The Jezreel Valley railway, or simply the Valley railway refers to a historical railroad in Ottoman and British Palestine, which was part of the larger Hejaz railway and ran along the Jezreel Valley....
to the Hejaz railway, was the oil terminal for the Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
/Haifa pipe line (which the Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i Government had closed in April) and home to the Consolidated Refineries oil refinery
Refinery
A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.-Types of refineries:Different types of refineries are as follows:...
. With the capture of the port of Haifa it would be possible for the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
to receive supplies and armaments during the impending Arab Israeli conflict. The leadership of the Provisional government of Israel
Provisional government of Israel
The provisional government of Israel was the temporary cabinet which governed Israel from shortly before independence until the formation of the first government in March 1949 following the first Knesset elections in January that year....
therefore considered it vital for the welfare of the new state. Moreover, Haifa was within the area allocated to a Jewish state under the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. The civil war in Palestine escalated with the final stages of the British Mandate. British firms such as Iraq Petroleum Company
Iraq Petroleum Company
The Iraq Petroleum Company , until 1929 called Turkish Petroleum Company , was an oil company jointly owned by some of the world's largest oil companies, which had virtual monopoly on all oil exploration and production in Iraq from 1925 to 1961...
and Steel Brothers, transferred their offices and employees to the Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. In Jerusalem by January 1947 the British had evacuated 2,000 subjects for their own safety. In the wake of the British civil evacuation the families of well to do Arabs and many of the Arab civic leaders also decamped. It is claimed that the Arab leaders encouraged the Palestinian Arabs to leave by running away themselves; then so frightened the leaderless mass, who had stayed behind, with atrocity propaganda
Deir Yassin massacre
The Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the Irgun Zevai Leumi and Lohamei Herut Israel Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, a Palestinian-Arab village of roughly 600 people...
that it fled as well and finally, it is claimed that they prevented a truce settlement in Haifa. The refusal of the “Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
“ to intervene had been a cause of widespread demoralisation of the Palestinian Arab population. By mid March 25,000 to 30,000 Palestinian Arabs had already evacuated from Haifa. The Haganah April offensive appeared to take the Arab Higher Committee
Arab Higher Committee
The Arab Higher Committee was the central political organ of the Arab community of Mandate Palestine. It was established on 25 April 1936, on the initiative of Hajj Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, and comprised the leaders of Palestinian Arab clans under the mufti's...
(AHC) by surprise.
The Haifa Arab National Committee (NC) in communique number 7, 22 February, demanded of the Palestinian Arab inhabitants that they cease all shooting and return to regular work. The Palestinian Arab half of Haifa was remote from other Major Palestinian Arab centres and that contact had been cut off by the Palestinian Jewish villages along the approach roads to Haifa. The Businesses and workshops had closed with no prospect of continued employment in the Jewish areas. The unemployment was rife and the cost of food had escalated.
Preparations
In preparation for the total evacuation of all British forces from the mandate, the British began an evacuation of troops through the port of Haifa in early April. A volunteer police force had been established in preparation of handing over to the United Nations Palestine CommissionUnited Nations Palestine Commission
The United Nations Palestine Commission was created by United Nations Resolution 181. It was responsible for implementing the UN Partition Plan of Palestine and acting as the Provisional Government of Palestine...
as the provisional Government of Palestine.
On 17 March 1948 Mohammad bin Hammad Al Huneiti, commander of the town's Arab militia, was killed in an ambush of a convoy bringing 15 tons of arms and explosives. His death left his followers demoralised. According to Jon Kimche the Haganah had a highly placed informer and were able intercept nine of eleven convoys into Haifa.
The Arab garrison for the Palestinian Arab areas of the city was commanded by Captain Amin Izz al-Din who had been appointed by the Arab Liberation Army's
Arab Liberation Army
The Arab Liberation Army , also translated as Arab Salvation Army, was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji...
(ALA) military committee on the 27 March in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. Through the next month his original force of 450 was depleted by desertion until it was no longer a fighting force.
The British had previously controlled the city and maintained a buffer between the Jewish and Arab populations. On the same day as the fall of Tiberias 18 April 1948, Major-General Hugh Stockwell
Hugh Stockwell
General Sir Hugh Charles Stockwell GCB, KBE, DSO & Bar was a British soldier, most remembered for commanding the Anglo-French ground forces during the Suez Crisis and his service as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1960 to 1964.-Early life:Stockwell was born in Jersey, but spent...
, British Commanding Officer, Northern sector, Haifa, summoned Harry Beilin, the Jewish Agency liaison officer to the British Army, to his headquarters. Stockwell informed Beilin of his intention to immediately start to evacuate the British forces from the borders and no-man's-land zones in Haifa and that the evacuation would be completed by the 20 April. The original British Government intentions had been to evacuate Palestine gradually using Haifa as the embarkation port from south to north of Palestine, to be completed by mid May. The Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
saw this as an opportunity and quickly prepared a plan for a 3-pronged attack on the Arab neighborhoods of Wadi Nisnas
Wadi Nisnas
Wadi Nisnas is an Arab neighborhood in the city of Haifa in northern Israel. Nisnas is the Arabic word for mongoose, an indigenous animal. The wadi has a population of about 8,000 inhabitants....
, Wadi Salib
Wadi Salib
Wadi Salib is a neighbourhood located in the heart of Downtown Haifa, Israel, on the lower northeastern slope of Mount Carmel, between the Hadar HaCarmel and the city's historic center and CBD.-History:...
and Khalisa.
The German Colony at Waldheim
Waldheim
- Places :* Waldheim, Saskatchewan, a town in Saskatchewan, Canada* Waldheim, Saxony, a town in Saxony, Germany* Waldheim , a suburban district of Hanover, Germany...
and Bethlehem had been confined until 18 April 1948 when Haganah forces attacked the area killing two un-armed internees and wounding four others and occupying the German Colony
German Colony, Haifa
The German Colony was established in Haifa in 1868 by the German Templers. It was the first of several colonies established by the group in the Holy Land...
, the internees then requested evacuation to Australia. The 270–300 internees were evacuated to Egypt on 20 April for transit to Australia as a matter of urgency. The remaining 50 Templers
Templers (religious believers)
Templers are members of the Temple Society , a German Protestant sect with roots in the Pietist movement of the Lutheran Church. The Templers were expelled from the church in 1858 because of their millennial beliefs. Their aim was to realize the apocalyptic visions of the prophets of Israel in the...
emigrated after the establishment of the State of Israel.
On 20 April Captain Amin Bey Izz al-Din and Beilin were summoned to the British HQ and were advised of the British intention to withdraw as per the previous meeting where only Beilin and Stockwell had attended on the 18 April. Izz al-Din promptly left for Damascus to report to the Military Committee of the ALA and handed over command to Yunnis Naffa, a Palestinian sanitary engineer. The departure of Izz al-Din led to demoralisation and on 21 April prominent members of the Haifa NC (Hakim Khalil and Ahmad Bay Khalil) evacuated.
The sudden British deployment caused the Carmeli commanders to re-work the details of the operation (previously a plan called Operation Misparayim or Operation Scissors) and the re-worked plan was named Mivtza Bi'ur Hametz (Operation Passover Cleaning).
The battle
The HaganahHaganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
's force consisted of 5 companies from the Field Corps
HISH
The Hish was a corps formed by the Haganah in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1939 following the disbandment of the smaller mobilized force known as the Fosh. It was the Haganah's main surface corps, alongside Him and the Palmach....
, one Palmach
Palmach
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
company, as well as a contingent of the Guard Corps
Guard Corps (Haganah)
The Guard Corps , also Guard Force, was the stationary military unit of the Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary organization in Mandatory Palestine. It was responsible for guarding the Jewish villages from attacks, especially by Arab gangs....
. The Palestinian Jewish forces attacked Wadi Salib and Wadi Nisnas from Hadar HaCarmel
Hadar HaCarmel
Hadar Hacarmel is a neighborhood of Haifa, Israel. Located on the northern slope of Mount Carmel between the upper and lower city, overlooking the Port of Haifa and Haifa Bay, it was once the commercial center of Haifa.-History:...
, while the bulk of the attack on Khalisa came from Neve Sha'anan
Neve Sha'anan (Haifa)
Neve Sha'anan is a neighborhood in eastern Haifa, Israel that extends from the lower inclines of Mount Carmel to midway across its slopes.-History:Neve Sha'anan was founded in 1922. The name is based on a verse in the Bible...
. The Arab headquarters were in the center of the city, near the port and the railway depot.
Commenting on the use of 'psychological warfare broadcasts' and military tactics in Haifa, Benny Morris
Benny Morris
Benny Morris is professor of History in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel...
writes:
Throughout the Haganah made effective use of Arabic language broadcasts and loudspeaker vans. Haganah Radio announced that 'the day of judgement had arrived' and called on inhabitants to 'kick out the foreign criminals' and to 'move away from every house and street, from every neighbourhood occupied by foreign criminals'. The Haganah broadcasts called on the populace to 'evacuate the women, the children and the old immediately, and send them to a safe haven'... Jewish tactics in the battle were designed to stun and quickly overpower opposition; demoralisation was a primary aim. It was deemed just as important to the outcome as the physical destruction of the Arab units. The mortar barrages and the psychological warfare broadcasts and announcements, and the tactics employed by the infantry companies, advancing from house to house, were all geared to this goal. The orders of Carmeli's 22nd Battalion were 'to kill every [adult male] Arab encountered' and to set alight with fire-bombs 'all objectives that can be set alight. I am sending you posters in Arabic; disperse on route'.
Jon Kimche
Jon Kimche
Jon Kimche was a journalist and historian . A Swiss Jew, he arrived in England at the age of 12, becoming involved in the Independent Labour Party as a young man. In 1934–35, he worked with George Orwell in a Hampstead bookshop, Booklover’s Corner, and he later managed the ILP's bookshop at 35...
also describes the "psychological blitz on Arab quarters" until "the Arab nerve broke and the flight from the town assumed panic proportions".
The first attack was on the Rushmiyya Bridge area cutting the Arab areas off. Prior to the main thrust from the higher ground, of the Palestinian Jewish neighbourhood, Hadar HaCarmel
Hadar HaCarmel
Hadar Hacarmel is a neighborhood of Haifa, Israel. Located on the northern slope of Mount Carmel between the upper and lower city, overlooking the Port of Haifa and Haifa Bay, it was once the commercial center of Haifa.-History:...
, the Arab Muslim neighborhood of Khalisa came under mortar shell bombardment. The 3,500–5,000 Arab irregulars could not mount a real defense. The following day the Arab National Committee of Haifa were prepared to ask for a truce via Stockwell. Stockwell agreed to meet with the Israelis, and returned 15 minutes later; however, the terms proposed by the Haganah – complete disarmament, surrender of weapons, and a curfew – were not accepted by the Arab leadership.
- 1. After the release of prisoners from Haifa lock-up, the Arab legion took over the building some time later.
- 2. By 10:15, Arab casualties had been admitted to the Amin Hospital.
- 3. Hospital staff and casualties were then evacuated to the Government Hospital in the city.
- 4. Towards Midday, the fighting slackened considerably. The Jews had complete control of the Xhamra square and Stanton Street and were firing from positions in the Suq (market) area. They have also appeared in strength in the eastern quarter of the town from Wadi Husimiyah Bridge to Tel Amal.
- 5. Arab women, children and others were still being evacuated from the Suq area through the port of Haifa and other safe areas.
- 6. Arabs were by this time suing for a truce and the Jews replied that they were prepared to consider it if the Arabs stopped shooting.
- 7. At 17:00 general Arab resistance had ceased in the eastern area with the exception of a few isolated spots and the Jews were in possession of the Suq as far as the eastern gate.
- 8. In the Wadi Miamr area the battle was still going on. Arab casualties in this area are believed to be considerable
- 9. At 18:00 the Arab leaders met to consider final terms laid down at a joint meeting of Arab and Jews.
That afternoon, a meeting was held in the town hall to discuss terms of the truce. Due to the inability of the National Committee (Haifa) to guarantee that no incidents would occur, the Arab delegation declared their inability to endorse the proposed truce and requested protection for the evacuation of Haifa's Palestinian Arab citizens. It was noted by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
that the Haganah had made use of Arabic language broadcasts using Haganah Radio and loudspeaker vans calling on the inhabitants to 'kick out the foreign criminals'. Similarly the Haganah had broadcast that the Palestinian Arab population should 'evacuate the women, the children and the old immediately and sent them to a safe haven'.
By 22 April 1948 the British were only in control of the Haifa port area. The rest of the city was in the hands of the Carmeli Brigade of the Haganah, commanded by Moshe Carmel.
The banner headlines of the Palestine Post on 23 April 1948 announced "Haifa Pivotal Points fall to Haganah forces in 30 hour battle"... the report continued that Haganah crushed all resistance, occupied many major buildings forcing thousands of Arabs to flee by the only open route-the sea". The report was written up on the 21 April but not printed until the 30 April, presumedly for security reasons.
Estimates of the number of Arabs killed vary; one Jewish source puts the number at 300.
Aftermath
On 23 April Moshe CarmelMoshe Carmel
Moshe Carmel was an Israeli soldier and politician who served as Minister of Transportation for eight years.-Background:Born in Mińsk Mazowiecki in the Russian Empire , Carmel emigrated to Mandate Palestine in 1924 when he was 13 years old. He was a founding member of kibbutz Na'an, and was...
declared Martial Law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
in the town. On the same day units from the Irgun
Irgun
The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...
moved into parts of downtown Haifa. Two days later the Haganah forced them to withdraw in a confrontation that resulted in some Irgun casualties.
Some reports speak of looting and attacks on civilians.
Moshe Dayan
Moshe Dayan
Moshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
was appointed to administer abandoned Arab property in the city. He instituted a policy of collecting anything the army could use and storing in Zahal warehouses and the rest to be distributed amongst Jewish agricultural settlements. Golda Meir
Golda Meir
Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel....
, who was consulted, agreed with this policy.
15,000 civilians were evacuated from Haifa during 21–22 April. Leaving some 30–45,000 non-Jewish citizens. By mid-May 4000 Palestinian Arabs remained in Haifa. These were concentrated in Wadi Nisnas and Wadi Salib whilst the systematic destruction of Arab housing in certain areas, was implemented by Haifa's Technical and Urban Development departments in cooperation with the IDF's city commander Ya'akov Lublini.
"general situation Palestine deteriorating rapidly stop government departments closing daily stop and normal activities country coming to a stand still stop the Jewish agency is action as a general organizing body for Palestinian Jewish areas and attempting to replace suspended governmental activities stop Arab areas are depending on municipal authorities within townships and villages without any central authority stop telegraph facilities ceased in most areas as have telephone trunk lines stop telephones still work locally but with decreasing efficiency stop Lydda airport is out of operation and regular air communication and airmail service in and out of country have stopped stop intensity of fighting is increasing steadily stop camps and other important areas vacated by British forces immediately become battle grounds stop operations on larger and more important scale than Haifa expected shortly stop rumors tending to increase the nervous tension in the county.
See also
- List of Israeli military operations in the 1948 Palestine war
- 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory PalestineThe 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine lasted from 30 November 1947, the date of the United Nations vote in favour of the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the UN Partition Plan, to the termination of the British Mandate itself on 14 May 1948.This period constitutes the...
External links
- Google Books Benny Morris, Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. (2004)
- Shay Fogelman, Port in a Storm, Ha'aretz, 3 June 2011. The battle and its historiography.