July 12, 1948 Calm in Lydda Shattered
“The calm in Lydda was shattered at 11:30 hours, 12 July, when two or three Arab Legion armored cars, commanded by Lt. Hamadallah al ‘Abdullah, either lost or on reconnaissance or seeking a missing officer, entered the town. A firefight erupted and, eventually, the armored cars withdrew. BUT THE NOISE OF THE SKIRMISH SPARKED SNIPING BY ARMED LYDDA TOWNSPEOPLE AGAINST THE OCCUPYING TROOPS; SOME TOWNSPEOPLE PROBABLY BELIEVED THAT THE LEGION WAS COUNTER-ATTACKING AND TRIED TO ASSIST.
THE 300-400 ISRAELI TROOPS IN THE TOWN, DISPERSED IN SEMI-ISOLATED POCKETS IN THE MIDST OF THOUSANDS OF HOSTILE TOWNSPEOPLE, SOME STILL ARMED, FELT THREATENED, VULNERABLE AND ANGRY: THEY HAD UNDERSTOOD THAT THE TOWN HAD SURRENDERED.”
Source: Morris, Benny, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisted. (p. 427, 429); 1st Battalion HQ to chief of staff, Arab Legoin, ‘Following are the memoirs of 1st Battalion Officer Arshid Marshud on the Battles of the 1st Battalion in Palestine’, 9 Dec. 1948, IDFA 922\75\\693
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