Palestinian Refugees

The reality of the Nakba (catastrophe) is that the Palestinian refugees were largely defenceless, and sought to avoid getting caught in the fighting. A significant proportion of the population was terrorized into leaving. At first this was the results of threats, intimidation and acts of terror, in cities like Jaffa and Jerusalem, carried out by Jewish terror organizations. Of such acts the most notorious occured on 9 April 1948 at the village of Deir Yassin on the western side of Jerusalem, when 254 villagers were killed, some in a terrible manner.

There were also deliberate efforts to force the Palestinians to leave their homes. During the summer months of 1948 a decision was taken to prevent Palestinian villagers, both in the forward battle area and behind Jewish lines, from harvesting their summer and winter crops in 1948. Others were directly expelled. In July Jewish forces resolved to seize the two Palestinian towns of Lydda and Ramla, both designated for the putative Arab state.

From the start, the operations against the two towns were designed to induce civilian panic and flight. In Lydda fear led to panic, and many were shot down in what amounted to a large-scale massacre of probably 200-300 men, women and children after the town had surrendered. Approximately 70,000 Palestinian inhabitants of the two towns were then driven out, almost 10 percent of the refugee total. They were forced to march to Arab Legion lines in the foothills to the east through the heat of the day. Many, possibly hundreds, died on that march.