1948 Palestinian Refugees British Lieutenant General John Glubb

“THE ARABS THOUGHT THEY WOULD WIN IN LESS THAN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE AND THAT IT WOULD TAKE NO MORE THAN A DAY OR TWO FROM THE TIME THE ARAB ARMIES CROSSED THE BORDER UNTIL ALL THEIR COLONIES WERE CONQUERED AND THE ENEMY WOULD THROW DOWN HIS ARMS AND CAST HIMSELF ON THEIR MERCY.”

Source: Nuzha al-Arit Vol VI p655 June 3, 1951

British Lieutenant General John Glubb

“The Arab states thought that the Jews of Palestine were the same as the Jews of the Baghdad Bazaar in Iraq or the inhabitants of Wadi Abu Jamil in Beifut.”

Source:  Interview of General John Glubb by al-Din al-Bashashibi in Newspaper Akkin Sa’a July 1, 1953

“To the [Arab] Kings and Presidents: Poverty is killing us… yet you are still searching for the way to provide aid… like the armies of your predecessors in the year of 1948, who forced us to leave [Israel], on the pretext of clearing the battlefields of civilians… “

Source: Fuad Abu Higla, columnist official PA daily Al Hayat Al Jadida, in an article before an Arab Summit, critical of Arab leaders for a series of failures. March 19, 2001]

The Prime Minister of Syria in 1948, Khaled al-Azem, in his memoirs, listed what he thought were the reasons for the Arab failure in 1948:

“… the fifth factor (e.g. for the Arab failure in 1948) was the call by the Arab governments to the inhabitants of Palestine to evacuate it and leave for the bordering Arab countries … We brought destruction upon a million Arab refugees by calling on them and pleading with them to leave their land.”

Source: Eretzyisroel.org. “ A collection of Historical Quotations Relating to the Arab Refugees.” Joseph E. Katz. http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/quotes.html.