July 24, 1948 Israel Offers Peace

“Most of the inhabitants of these towns, near Tel Aviv, fled toward near-by Arab communities before the recent capture of the places by Israeli forces and from these communities to Transjordan.

The Israeli Government has invited them back under certain conditions.

They are free to return to their vineyards and orange groves as long as they respect Israeli hospitality.  Most of them are Palestinians and wish only to live in peace.

Some of them have no homes to return to because their villages were leveled by themselves, by sabotage or by attacking forces.  The orange groves, however, are still there, and Arab peasants are not exacting on dwelling conditions.

The first influx to the towns was made by Fawzi el-Kawukji’s so-called irregulars.  Undisciplined and untrained troops, adventurers at hear, moved from one village to another, sapping the resources of each.  The villagers tolerated it as long as they were convinced it was a matter of life and death, but the conviction weakened as they in turn fled.  They have been moved since then, in many cases out of Palestine.”

Source: New York Times, July 25, 1948