1948 Defeat of Arabs in 1948 Came as a Surprise for Arab World

The defeat of the Arabs in the 1948 war took them by surprise.  Many of them had underestimated the strength of the Jewish community and boasted that the job would be an easy one: Most military circles believed, or at least hoped, that the war would be a walkover.

At the trials of the members of the old regime in the military court, , speaking of the decision to start hostilities, recalled that Prime Minister Nuqrashi had told the Chamber of Deputies that the war would be a picnic, a promenade.

Source: “Auzha” al-Ahram, Nuzha al-Arit Vol VI p655  June 3, 1951, quoted by Niqula al-Durr, p. 94