The number of Palestinian Arabs fleeing their homes during the 1948 war has constituted one of the most intractable bones of contentions of the Arab-Israeli conflict, not least since the Palestinians have insisted on the “right of return” of these individuals and their descendants to territory that has long been part of the state of Israel.
More than a half-century later, these exaggerated initial numbers have swollen still further: as of June 2000, according to UNRWA, the total had climbed close to three and three-quarters million, though it readily admits that the statistics are largely inflated. For its part the PLO set a still higher figure of 5 million refugees, while Israel has unofficially estimated the current number of refugees and their families at closer to 2 million.
Using a wealth of declassified Arab, Israeli, and British documents, this article seeks to provide as comprehensive and accurate an estimate as possible of the actual number of refugees in the wake of the 1948 war.
At the end of the war, the Israeli government set the number of Palestinian refugees at 550,000-600,000; the British Foreign Office leaned toward the higher end of this estimate. But within a year, as large masses of people sought to benefit from the unprecedented influx of international funds to the area, some 962,000 alleged refugees had been registered with the newly-established UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Paradoxically it was the Israelis who initially came with the highest, and most accurate, estimates. In early June Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion was told by Yossef Weitz of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) that “some 123,000 Arabs left 155 villages in the Jewish state’s territory; another 22,000 left 35 villages outside the Jewish state: a total of 145,000 evacuees and 190 villages. Seventy-seven thousand Arabs left five cities in the Jewish state’s territory (Haifa, Beisan, Tiberias, Safad, Samakh). Another 73,000 left two cities [designed to remain] outside the state (Jaffa and Acre). Forty thousand Arabs left Jerusalem: a total of 190,000 from eight cities. All in all, 335,000 Arabs fled (including 200,000 from the UN ascribed Jewish territory).”[2]
A comprehensive report by the Hagana’s intelligence service, comprising a detailed village-by-village breakdown of the exodus, set the number of Palestinian Arab evacuees in the six-month period between December 1, 1947 and June 1, 1948, at 391,000: 239,000 from the UN-ascribed Jewish state, 122,000 from the territory of the prospective Arab state, and 30,000 from Jerusalem. Another exhaustive Israeli study set the number of refugees (in late October) at 460,000, almost evenly divided between the rural and urban sectors.[3]
This estimate was substantially higher than the 360,000 figure in the report of the UN mediator, Count Folke Bernadotte, submitted to the General Assembly on September 16, or Cilento’s revised estimate of 400,300 a couple of weeks later, and was virtually identical to the supplementary report submitted on October 18 by Bernadotte’s successor, Ralph Bunche, which set the number of refugees at 472,000 and anticipated the figure to reach a maximum of slightly over 500,000 in the near future.[4]
By now, however, the Arabs had dramatically upped the ante. In a memorandum dispatched to the heads of the Arab states and Arab League Secretary-General Abdel Rahman Azzam in mid-August, the Palestine Office in Amman, an organization operating under the auspices of the Transjordan government, estimated the total number of refugees at 700,000, of whom 500,000 were in Palestine and the rest in the neighboring Arab states. The memo struck a responsive chord, for in October the Arab League set the number of refugees at 631,967, and by the end of the month official Arab estimates ranged between 740,000 and 780,000. When the newly-established United Nations Relief for Palestine refugees (UNRPR) began operating in December 1948, it found 962,643 refugees on its relief rolls.[5]
In conversations with British diplomats (in early October) Cilento described the figures supplied by the Arab authorities as unreliable, claiming that they increased from week to week in all areas irrespective of known movements of refugees from place to place. A large number of refugees had, for example, moved from the Nablus area to the Hauran in Syria while others from Jericho, Jerusalem and Transjordan had moved to Gaza. Similarly, at least 2,000 refugees had recently moved from the Egyptian port town of Kantara, on the Suez Canal, to Gaza. Yet the number of refugees in the areas from which these movements had taken place was in all cases reported as increasing instead of decreasing. Similar exaggerations were made in Syria where, according to Bunche’s October report, the authorities claimed the existence of 30,000 refugees whereas the actual figure was no more than half that size.
Cilento expected as many as 400,000 Arabs to apply for UN relief in the coming winter on top of the 360,000-390,000 registered refugees, though these were not genuine refugees in the sense that they were living in their own homes and had not been “displaced.” This, however, didn’t prevent him, when the prediction was vindicated before the end of the year, from raising the number of refugees to 750,000. St. Aubin, who in September 1948 became the DRP’s director of field operations, went a step further by placing the figure (in July 1949) at “approximately one million.”
Admitting to having “some difficulty in separating out the real refugees from the rest, and in explaining the reasons for doing so to the Arab authorities,” Cilento attributed this chaotic situation to a number of reasons:
- Refugees were registered on arrival and fed but their names were not struck off the list if they moved or died;
- Refugees moving from one area to another would check in and be fed at several points en route and at each would be added to the list of refugees in the area, in this way numbers increased on paper in areas vacated as well as at final destination;
- Local destitute persons were included in numbers although they were not properly refugees;
- Fraud and misrepresentation by officials and others to utilize supplies etc.;
- There were people who left their homes owing to disturbed conditions but returned to them shortly afterward, yet were briefly registered as refugees and the records remained.[6]
Sir John Troutbeck, head of the British Middle East office in Cairo, got a first-hand impression of this pervasive inflation of refugee numbers during a fact-finding mission to Gaza in June 1949. “The Quakers have nearly 250,000 refugees on their books,” he reported to London.
They admit however that the figures are unreliable, as it is impossible to stop all fraud in the making of returns. Deaths for example are never registered nor are the names struck off the books of those who leave the district clandestinely. Some names too are probably registered more than once for the extra rations. But the Quakers assured me that they have made serious attempts to carry out a census and believe they have more information in that respect than the Red Cross organizations which are working in other areas. Their figures include Bedouin whom they feed and care for just like other refugees. They seemed a little doubtful whether this was a right decision, but once it had been taken it could not be reversed, and in any case the Bedouin, though less destitute than most of the refugees proper, are thought to have lost a great part of their possessions. They and the other refugees live in separate camps and in a state of mutual antipathy.[7]
The supplementary volume to the government’s Survey of Palestine (1946), compiled in June 1947 for the information of the UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP), elaborated on the problematic nature of official demographic statistics:
For the years 1943-46 an investigation recently carried out by the Department of Statistics revealed that many cases of death, especially in rural areas, have not been reported. These omissions (which are mainly due to the attempt to obtain food rations of deceased persons) seriously impair the reliability of the death rates (particularly infant mortality rates) and that of the rate of natural increase. On the other hand, they are not of such magnitude as to effect seriously the estimates of total population.[9]
As can be seen below, my own calculations, based on British, Jewish, and to a lesser extent Arab, population figures of all identified rural and urban localities abandoned during the war, amounts to 583,000-609,000 refugees.
The Palestinian Arab Exodus 1947-48
CITIES[11]
Acre – 13,510 (3,885 remained).[12]
Beersheba – 6,490.
Beisan – 5,540.
Haifa – 70,910 (5,000 remained).[13]
Jaffa – 70,730 (4,000-5,000 remained).[14]
Jerusalem – 65,010 (some 30,000 fled).[15]
Lydda & Ramle – 35,078 (2,500 remained).[16]
Majdal – 10,900.
Safad – 10,210.
Tiberias – 5,770.
Total: 247,403-248,403
VILLAGES[17]
GALILEE DISTRICT
Acre Sub-District
Amqa – 1,240, Jul. 9, 1948.[18]
Arab Samniya – 200,
Bassa – 2,950-3,140 (includes Ma’sub), May 14, 1948.[19]
Birwa – 1,460, Jun. 11, 1948.[20]
Damun – 1,310, Jul. 14-18, 1948.[21]
Deir Qasi – 1,190 (including Mansura), Oct. 30, 1948.[22]
Ghabisiya – 690-740, May 22, 1948.[23]
Iqrit – 490-520, Apr. 26-Oct. 30, 1948.[24]
Kabri – 1,530-1,640, May 5-22, 1948.[25]
Kafr Inan – 360, Oct. 30, 1948.[26]
Khirbat Iribbin – 360 (including Jurdeih & Khirbat Idmith),
Khirbat Jiddin – no people according to the Village Statistics
Kuweikat – 1,050, Jul. 9, 1948.[27]
Manshiya – 810-1,140, May 17, 1948.[28]
Mansura – see Deir Qasi.
Mi’ar – 770, Oct. 30, 1948.[29]
Nabi Rubin – see Tarbikha.
Nahr – 610, May 22, 1948.[30]
Ruweis – 330, Jul. 18, 1948.[31]
Suhmata – 1,130, Oct. 29/30, 1948.[32]
Sumeiriya – 760-820, May 14, 1948.[33]
Suruh – see Tarbikha.
Tell – May 14, 1948.[34]
Tarbikha – 1,000 (including Nabi Rubin & Suruh), Oct. 30, 1948.[35]
Umm Faraj – 800, May 22, 1948.[36]
Zib (includes Manawat) – 1,910-2,050, May 14, 1948.[37]
Beisan Sub-District
Arida – 150, May 20, 1948.
Ashrafiya – 230, May 12, 1948.
Bawati - 520-700, Mar. 30, 1948.
Bira – 220-500, May 16, 1948.[38]
Danna – 160-400, May 16-28, 1948.
Farawna – 330-350, May 11, 1948.
Ghazawiya – 1,020, late May 1948.
Hamidiya – 220-300, Apr. 6-May 12, 1948.[39]
Hamra, 730, May 1, 1948.
Jabbul – 250-370, May 1-18, 1948.[40]
Kafra – 400-700, May 16, 1948.[41]
Kaukab Hawa – 30-600, May 14, 1948.[42]
Khuneizir – 260-400, May 20, 1948.
Masil Jizl – 100, mid-May 1948.
Murassas – 460-600, May 16, 1948.
Qumiya – 320-440, Mar. 30, 1948.[43]
Safa – 650, May 20, 1948.
Sakhina – 200-530, May 16, 1948.
Samiriya – 250-500, May 27, 1948.
Sirin – 600-820, Apr. 24, 1948.[44]
Tell Shauk – 120, probably in mid-May 1948.
Tira – 120-150, Apr. 15, 1948.[45]
Zab’a – 170, May 12, 1948.[46]
Yubla – 150-250, May 16, 1948.[47]
Zir’in – 1,300, May 1, 1948.[48]
Nazareth Sub-District
Indur – 620, May 24, 1948.
Ma’lul – 690, Jul. 15-18, 1948.[49]
Mujeidil – 1,600-1,900, Jul. 15-18, 1948.[50]
Saffuriyya – 4,320-4,330, Jul. 15-16, 1948.[51]
Safad Sub-District
Abil Qamh – 230-330, May 10, 1948.[52]
Abisiya – 830-1,220, May 25, 1948.[53]
Akbara – 390-410, May 10, 1948.
Alma – 950, Oct. 30, 1948.[54]
Ammuqa Tahta & Fawqa – 140, May 24, 1948.
Arab Shamalina – see Buteiha.
Arab Zubeid – Apr. 20, 1948.
Azaziyat – 390, Apr. 30-May 1, 1948.
Beisamun – 20, May 25, 1948.
Biriya – 240, May 2, 1948.
Buteiha - 650 (including Arab Shamalina), May 4, 1948.[55]
Buweiziya – 510-540, May 11, 1948.[56]
Dahariya – 350, May 10, 1948.
Dallata – 360, Oct. 30, 1948.[57]
Darbashiya – 310, early May 1948.
Dawwara – 700, May 25, 1948.
Deishum – 590, May 9, 1948-Oct. 30, 1948.[58]
Dirdara – Jul. 9-10, 1948.[59]
Ein Zeitun – 620-820, May 2, 1948.
Fara – 820, Oct, 30, 1948.[60]
Farradiya – 670, Oct. 30-Nov. 6, 1948.[61]
Fir’im – 740, May 2-26, 1948.[62]
Ghabbatiya – 60, probably in late October 1948.
Ghuraba – 220, May 1-28, 1948.
Hamra – May 1, 1948.
Harrawi – May 25, 1948.
Hunin – 1,620, May 3-5, 1948.[63]
Husseiniya – 340 (including Tuleil), Apr. 21, 1948.
Jahula – 420, not known.
Jauna – 1,150, May 9, 1948.
Jubb Yusuf – 170, early May 1948.
Kafr Bir’im – 710, Oct. 30, 1948.[64]
Khalisa – 1,840, May 11, 1948.
Khirbat Muntar – n.a., May 7, 1948.[65]
Khisas – 470-530, Mar. 26-May 24, 1948.[66]
Khiyam Walid – 210-280, Mar. 29-May 1, 1948.
Kirad Baqqara – 360, Apr. 22, 1948.
Kirad Ghanama - 350, Apr. 22, 1948.
Lazzaza – 230, May 21, 1948.
Madahil – 410, Apr. 7-30, 1948.[67]
Malikiya – 360, May 15-Oct. 30, 1948.[68]
Mallaha – 890, May 25, 1948.
Mansura– 360, May 25, 1948.
Mansurat Kheit – 200-900, Jan. 18, 1948.
Marus – 80, May 26, 1948.
Meirun – 290, May 29-Oct. 29, 1948.[69]
Mughr Kheit – 490, Jan. 18, 1948.
Muftakhira – 350 – May 1-16, 1948.
Nabi Yusha – 70, May 16-17, 1948.
Naima – 1,240-1,310, May 14, 1948.
Qabba’a - 460, May 2, 1948.[70]
Qadas – 320-390, May 28, 1948.
Qaddita – 240, May 11, 1948.
Qeitiya – 940, May 2-19, 1948.
Qudeiriya – 390, May 4, 1948.
Ras Ahmar – 620, Oct. 30, 1948.[71]
Sabalan – 70, apparently in late October 1948.
Safsaf – 910, Oct. 29, 1948.[72]
Saliha – 1,070, Oct. 30, 1948.[73]
Salihiya – 1,520, May 25, 1948.
Sammui – 310, May 12-Oct. 30, 1948.[74]
Sanbariya – 130, not known.
Sa’sa – 1,130, Oct. 29-30, 1948.[75]
Shauka Tahta – 200, Feb. 2-May 14, 1948.
Shuna – 170, not known.
Teitaba – 530, Oct. 30, 1948.[76]
Tuleil – see Husseiniya.
Ulmaniya – 260, Feb. 25-Apr. 20, 1948.
Weiziya – not known.
Yarda – Jul. 10, 1948.[77]
Zanghariya – 840, May 4, 1948.
Zawiya – 760, May 24, 1948.
Zuk Fauqani & Zuk Tahtani – 1,050, May 11-21, 1948.
Tiberias Sub-District
Dalhamiya – 410, probably late April.
Ghuweir Abu Shusha – 1,240, Apr. 21-28, 1948.
Hadatha – 520-550, Mar. 30-May 12, 1948.[78]
Hittin – 1,190, Jul. 17, 1948.[79]
Kafr Sabt – 480, Apr. 22, 1948.
Khirbat Qadish – 410, Apr. 19-20, 1948.[80]
Khirbat Wa’ra Sauda – 1,870 (Mawasi & Wuheib), not known.
Lubiya – 2,350, Jul. 17, 1948.[81]
Ma’dhar – 480-510, Apr.16-May 12, 1948.[82]
Majdal – 240-360, Apr. 22, 1948.
Manara – 490, Apr. 10, 1948.[83]
Mansura – 360, May 25, 1948
Nasr al-Din – 90 - Apr. 12, 1948.[84]
Nimrin – 320, Jul. 17-18.[85]
Nuqeib (includes Samra) - 290-320, Apr. 23-24, 1948.[86]
Samakh – 3,460-3,660, Apr. 29, 1948.[87]
Samakiya – 380, May 4, 1948.
Samra – see Nuqeib.
Shajara, 720-770, Apr. 21-May 6, 1948.
Tabigha – 330, May 1, 1948.
Ubeidiya – 870-920, Mar. 5-Apr. 21, 1948.[88]
Ulam - 720- Mar. 30-May 12, 1948.[89]
Yaquq – 210, Jul. 18, 1948.[90]
HAIFA DISTRICT
Haifa Sub-District
Abu Shusha – 720, Apr. 9-12.[91]
Abu Zueriq – 550, Apr. 12, 1948.[92]
Arab Fuqara – 310-340, Apr. 10, 1948.[93]
Arab Nufeiat – 820-910, Mar. 30-Apr. 10, 1948.
Atlit – 150, not known.
Balad Sheikh – 4,120-4,500, Jan. 7-Apr. 25, 1948.
Bureika – 290, Mar. 6-Apr. 26, 1948.[94]
Buteimat – 110, Apr. 12-May 13, 1948.[95]
Daliyat Ruha – 280-310, Apr. 12, 1948.[96]
Dumeira – 620, not known.
Ein Ghazal – 2,170-2,410, Apr. 25-July 26, 1948.[97]
Ein Haud – 650, Jul. 17, 1948.[98]
Ghubaiyat, 1,130-1,260 (includes Naghnagiya), Apr. 9-13, 1948.[99]
Hawsha – n.a., Apr. 4-19, 1948.[100]
Ijzim – 2,970, Apr. 25-July 26, 1948.
Jaba – 1,140, Jul. 25, 1948.[101]
Jalama – n.a, Jun. 1, 1948.[102]
Kabara -120, apparently late April-early May 1948.
Kafr Lam – 340-380, May 13-15-Jul. 16, 1948.[103]
Kafrin – 920; April 12, 1948.[104]
Khirbat Damum – 340; late April 1948.
Khirbat Kasayir – Apr. 27, 1948.
Khirbat Lid – 640, mid-April-mid-May, 1948.[105]
Khubbeiza – 290, apparently in mid May 1948.
Mansi – 1,200, Apr. 12-15, 1948.[106]
Mazar – 210, May 17, 1948.[107]
Mazra’a – 460, Feb. 6, 1948.
Naghnagiya – see Ghubaiyat.
Qannir – 750, Apr. 5-25, 1948.[108]
Qisariya – 930-1,240, Jan. 12-Feb. 15, 1948.[109]
Rihaniya – 240-340, Apr. 12, 1948.[110]
Sabbarin – 1,700-1,880, May 14, 1948.
Sarafand – 290, early May 1948-Jul. 17, 1948.[111]
Sarkas – Apr. 15-26, 1948.
Sindiyana – 1,250-1,390, May 2-14, 1948.
Tantura – 1,490-1,650, May 6-21, 1948.
Tira – 5,270, Apr. 22-Jul. 16, 1948.[112]
Umm Shauf – 480, May 14, 1948.
Umm Zinat – 1,470, Apr. 26-May 15, 1948.[113]
Wadi Ara – 260, Feb. 27, 1948
Yajur – 610 – Feb. 18-Apr. 25, 1948.
SAMARIA DISTRICT
Jenin Sub-District
Ein Mansi – 90, not known.
Kufeir – 140, Apr. 27, 1948.
Lajjun – 600, Apr. 16-May 30, 1948.[114]
Mazar – 270-350, May 30, 1948.[115]
Nuris – 570-700, May 30, 1948.[116]
Zir’in – 1,300-1,420, May 28, 1948.
Tulkarm Sub-District
Arab Balawina, Dec. 31, 1947.
Arab Huweitat – Mar. 15, 1948.
Arab Zubeidat (Kafr Zibad) – 1,590, Apr. 16, 1948.
Kafr Saba – 1,270-1,370, May 15, 1948.
Khirbat Azzun (Tabsur) – 50, Dec. 21, 1947-Apr. 3, 1948.
Khirbat Beit Lid – 460-500, Mar. 20-Apr. 5, 1948.
Khirbat Jalama – 70, early February 1948.[117]
Khirbat Manshiya – 260-280, Apr. 15, 1948.
Khirbat Zalafa – 210-370, Apr. 15, 1948.
Miska – 650-880 – Apr. 15, 1948.
Qaqun – 1,970, May 4 & Jun. 4, 1948.[118]
Umm Khalid – 970-1050, Mar. 20, 1948.
Wadi Hawarith – 1,330-1,440, Mar. 15, 1948.
JERUSALEM DISTRICT
Hebron Sub-District
Ajjur – 3,720 (including Khirbat Ammuriya), Oct. 22-24, 1948.[119]
Barqusiya – 330, Jul. 9-10, 1948.[120]
Beit Jibrin – 2,430, Jul. 13-14-Oct. 27, 1948.[121]
Beit Nattif – 2,150, Oct. 22, 1948.[122]
Dawayima – 3,710, Oct. 29, 1948.[123]
Deir Dubban – 730, Oct. 22-23, 1948.[124]
Deir Nakh-Khas – 600, Oct. 29, 1948.[125]
Kidna – 450, Oct. 22-24, 1948.[126]
Mughallis – 540, Jul. 16, 1948.[127]
Qubeiba – 1,060, Oct. 28, 1948.[128]
Ra’na – 190, Oct. 22-23, 1948.[129]
Tell Safi – 1,290, Jul. 9, 1948.[130]
Zakariya – 1,180, Jul. 22-23-Oct. 22-24, 1948.[131]
Zeita – 330, Jul. 9-18, 1948.[132]
Zikrin – 330-960, Oct. 22-24, 1948.[133]
Jerusalem Sub-District
Allar – 440, Oct. 22, 1948.[134]
Aqqur – 40, Jul. 13, 1948.[135]
Artuf – 350, Jul. 17-18, 1948.[136]
Beit Itab – 540, Oct. 21, 1948.[137]
Beit Mahsir – 2,400, May 10, 1948.[138]
Beit Naqquba – 240, Jul. 8, 1948.[139]
Beit Thul – 260, not known.
Beit Umm Meis – 70, Jul. 15, 1948.[140]
Buerij – 720, Jul. 15-16, 1948.[141]
Deir Aban - Oct. 19, 1948.[142]
Deir Amr – 10, Jul. 14, 1948.[143]
Deir Hawa – 60, Oct. 19, 1948.[144]
Deir Rafat – 430, Jul. 17-18, 1948.[145]
Deir Sheikh – 220, Oct. 21, 1948.[146]
Deir Yasin – 610-650, Apr. 9-10, 1948.
Ein Karim – 3,180-3,390, Apr. 10-21 & Jul. 10-17, 1948. [147]
Ishwa – 620, Jul. 10-18, 1948.[148]
Islin – 260, Jul. 10, 1948.[149]
Jarash – 190, Oct. 21, 1948.[150]
Jura – 420, late Jul. 1948.[151]
Kasla – 280, Jul. 14, 1948.[152]
Khirbat Ismallah – 20, not known.
Khirbat Lauz – 450, Jul. 13-14, 1948.[153]
Khirbat Umur – 270, Oct. 21, 1948.[154]
Lifta – 2,550-2,730, Dec. 31, 1947-early January 1948.
Maliha – 1,940-2,070, Apr. 21-May 6, 1948 & Jul. 14, 1948.[155]
Nataf – 40, Apr. 15, 1948.[156]
Qabu – 260, Oct. 21, 1948.[157]
Qaluniya – 910-970, Apr. 10-May 3, 1948.
Qastel - 90-100- late March 1948-May 3, 1948.[158]
Ras Abu Ammar – 620, Oct. 21, 1948.[159]
Sar’a – 340, Jul. 10-14, 1948.[160]
Saris – 560-600, Apr. 16-May 3, 1948.[161]
Sataf – 540, Jul. 13-14, 1948.[162]
Suba – 620, Jul. 12/13, 1948.[163]
Sufla – 60, Oct. 21, 1948.[164]
Walaja – 1,650, Oct. 21, 1948.[165]
LYDDA DISTRICT
Jaffa Sub-District
Abbasiya – see Yahudiya.
Abu Kishk – 1,900 – Mar. 30, 1948.
Beit Dajan – 3,840, Apr. 25-May 1, 1948.[166]
Biyar Adas – 300, Apr. 12, 1948.
Fajja – 1200-1,570, Mar. 17-May 15, 1948.[167]
Haram - see Saiduna Ali.
Jalil – 600-1,020, Mar. 23-Apr. 3, 1948.[168]
Jammasin – 1,810-2,050, Jan. 7-Mar. 17, 1948.
Jarisha – 190, apparently in mid-May 1948.
Kafr Ana – 2,000-3,020, Apr. 17-25, 1948.
Kheiriya – 1,420-1,600, Apr. 25, 1948.
Mas’udiya – 850, Dec. 25, 1947.
Mirr – 170-190, Feb. 3-15, 1948.
Muweilih – 360, Jul. 9, 1948.[169]
Rantiya – 590, Apr. 28-May 13, 1948.[170]
Safiriya – 3,070, apparently in late April 1948.
Saiduna Ali- 520-880, Feb. 3, 1948.[171]
Salama – 6,730-7,610, Apr. 25, 1948.
Saqiya – 1,100-1,240, Apr. 25, 1948.
Sawalima – 800, Apr. 20, 1948.
Sheik Muwannis – 1,930-2,000, Dec. 1, 1947-Mar. 30, 1948.
Sumeil – see Mas’udiya.
Yahudiya – 5,650-6,560, May 4-Jul. 10, 1948.[172]
Yazur – 4,030, May 1, 1948.
Ramle Sub-District
Abu Fadl (Sautariya) – 510, Apr. 7-May 9, 1948.
Abu Shusha – 870-950, May 14-20, 1948.
Aqir – 2,480-2,710, May 4-6, 1948.[173]
Barfiliya – 730, Jul. 15-17, 1948.[174]
Barriya – 510, May 1-Jul. 10-11, 1948.[175]
Bashshit – 510-1,770, May 12-13, 1948.[176]
Beit Jiz – 550-600, Apr. 20, 1948.
Beit Nabala – 630-2,310, May 13, 1948.
Beit Shanna – 210, not known.
Beit Susin – 210, Apr. 20, 1948.
Bir Ma’in – 510, Jul. 15-16, 1948.[177]
Bir Salim – 410-950, May 9, 1948.
Burj – 480, Jul. 15-16, 1948.[178]
Daniyal – 410, Jul. 9-10, 1948.
Deir Abu Salama – 60, Jul. 13, 1948.[179]
Deir Aiyub – 320, May 16, 1948.[180]
Deir Muheisin 460-500, Apr. 7-20, 1948.[181]
Deir Tarif – 1,750, Jul. 9-11, 1948.[182]
Haditha – 760, Jul. 10-12, 1948.[183]
Idnibba – 490, Jul. 9-16, 1948.[184]
Innaba – 1,420, Jul. 10-16, 1948.[185]
Jilya – 330, Jul. 16, 1948.[186]
Jimzu – 1,510, Jul. 10, 1948.[187]
Kharruba – 170, Jul. 11, 1948.[188]
Kheima – 190, Jul. 16, 1948.[189]
Khirbat Beit Far – 300, not known.
Khirbat Buweira – 190, not known.
Khirbat Dhuheiriya – 100, Jul. 10-11, 1948.[190]
Khirbat Zakariya – not known.
Khulda – 260-300, Apr. 7-21, 1948.[191]
Latrun – 190, May 16, 1948.[192]
Majdal Yaba – 1,520, Jul. 12, 1948.[193]
Mansura – 90-100, Dec. 22-29, 1947-Apr. 20, 1948.[194]
Mughar – 1,740-1,900, May 15-18, 1948.[195]
Mukheizin – 200-310, Dec. 29, 1947.[196]
Muzeiri’a – 1,160, Jul. 16-18, 1948.[197]
Na’ana – 1,470-2,270, May 14-Jun. 12, 1948.[198]
Nabi Rubin – 1,420, Jun. 1, 1948.[199]
Qatra – 1,210-1,320, May 17, 1948.
Qazaza – 940, Apr. 17-Jul. 16, 1948.[200]
Qubab – 1,980-2,160, Apr. 20-Jun. 4, 1948.[201]
Qubeiba – 1,720-1,870, May 27-Jul. 9-10, 1948.[202]
Qula – 1,010, Jul. 11-18, 1948.[203]
Sajad – 370, Jul. 9-10, 1948.[204]
Salbit – 510, Jul. 16-17, 1948.[205]
Sarafand Amar – 1,950, probably in mid-May 1948.
Sarafand Kharab – 1,040-1,130, Apr. 20, 1948.[206]
Seidun – 210-230, Jan. 1, 1948.[207]
Shahma – 280-310, May 14, 1948.
Shilta – 100, Jul. 17-18, 1948.[208]
Tina – 750, Jul. 9-10, 1948.[209]
Tira – 1,290, Jul. 10, 1948.[210]
Umm Kalkha – 60, not known.
Wadi Hunein – 1,620-1,770, Jan. 5-Apr. 17, 1948.[211]
Yibna – 5,400-5,920, Jun. 4-5, 1948.[212]
Zarnuqa – 2,380-2,600, May 27, 1948.[213]
GAZA DISTRICT
Gaza Sub-District
Arab Sukreir – 390-430, Jan. 25, 1948.
Barbara – 2,410, Nov. 30, 1948.[214]
Barqa – 890-980, May 13, 1948.
Batani Sharqi – 650-710, May 11-13, 1948.[215]
Batani Gharbi – 980, Jun. 10-11, 1948.[216]
Beit Affa – 700, May 23-Nov. 10, 1948.[217]
Beit Daras – 2,750-3,010, May 11-12, 1948.
Beit Jirja – 940, Nov. 5, 1948.[218]
Beit Tima – 1,060, May 29-31, 1948.[219]
Bi’lin – 180, Jul. 9-10, 1948.[220]
Bureir – 2,740-4,000, May 12, 1948.
Deir Suneid – 730, late October-early November 1948.
Dimra – 520, late October-early November 1948.
Faluja – 4,670, Oct. 16, 1948.[221]
Hamama – 5,000, Jun. 9-Nov. 30, 1948.[222]
Hatta – 970, Jul. 17-18, 1948.[223]
Hirbiya – 2,240, Nov. 5-30, 1948.[224]
Huj – 800-810, May 28, 1948.
Huleiqat – 420, May 12-Oct. 29, 1948.[225]
Ibdis – 540, May 23, 1948.[226]
Iraq Manshiya – 2,010, Oct. 16-17, 1948.[227]
Iraq Suweidan – 660, Jul. 9-Nov. 10, 1948.[228]
Isdud – 4,620, Nov. 30, 1948.[229]
Jaladiya – 360, May 23-Jul. 9-10, 1948.[230]
Jiya – 1,230, Nov. 5-30, 1948.[231]
Julis – 1,030-1,130, May 23-Jun. 10-11, 1948.[232]
Jura – 2,420, Nov. 5, 1948.[233]
Juseir – 1,180, late May or early June 1948.[234]
Karatiya, 1,370, May 23, 1948.[235]
Kaufakha – 500, Aug. 16-Sept. 24, 1948.[236]
Kaukaba – 680, May 12-Oct. 18, 1948.[237]
Khirbat Khisas – 150, Nov. 30, 1948.[238]
Masmiya Kabira – 2,520, Jul. 9-10, 1948.[239]
Masmiya Saghira – 530, Jul. 9-10, 1948.
Muharraqa – 580-1,100, May 25-28, 1948.[240]
Najd – 600-620, May 12, 1948.
Ni’ilya – 1,310, Nov. 5-30, 1948.[241]
Qastina – 890, Jul. 9-10, 1948.[242]
Sawafir Gharbiya – 1,000-1,030, May 15-18, 1948.[243]
Sawafir Shamaliya, 680, May 11-18, 1948.[244]
Sawafir Sharqiyya – 970, May 15-18, 1948.
Sumsum – 1,200-1,360, May 12, 1948.
Summeil – 950, Jul. 9-10, 1948.[245]
Tell Turmus – 760, Jul. 9, 1948.[246]
Yasur – 1,070, Jun. 10-11, 1948.[247]
Beersheba Sub-District
Bir Asluj – Jun. 11, 1948.[248]
Jammama – 150, May 22, 1948.[249]
GALILEE DISTRICT
Acre Sub-District 20,950-21,860
Beisan Sub-District 9,960-13,640
Nazareth Sub-District 7,230-7,540
Safad Sub-District 34,320-36,030
Tiberias Sub-District 17,430-17,940
HAIFA DISTRICT
Haifa Sub-District 35,290-37,120
SAMARIA DISTRICT
Jenin Sub-District 2,970-3,300
Tulkarm Sub-District 8,830-9,570
JERUSALEM DISTRICT
Hebron Sub-District 19,040-19,670
Jerusalem-Sub-District 22,260-22,930
LYDDA DISTRICT
Jaffa Sub-District 39,060-43,670
Ramle Sub-District 47,940-54,410
GAZA DISTRICT
Gaza Sub-District 58,850-61,400
Beersheba Sub-District 150
Villages Total 324,280-349,230
Cities Total 247,403-248,403
Negev Bedouins 30,510[250]
Refugees Settled in Israeli Localities other than their Original Sites 19,072[251]
Palestine Grand Total 583,121-609,071
Notes
[1] Asher Goren (Israel’s Foreign Ministry’s Middle East Department), ‘The Palestinian Arab Refugee Problem’, Sept. 27, 1948, p. 2, CZA A457/113; “Refugees Strain Arab Towns,” New York Times, Jul. 26, 1948; “Official Puts Arab Refugees at 300,000,” ibid., Jul. 24, 1948; “Disease threatens Refugees,” ibid., Aug. 3, 1948,.
[2] David Ben-Gurion, Yoman Hamilhama Tashah-Tashat (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense Publishing House, 1983), Vol. 2, p. 487 (diary entry for Jun. 5, 1948).
[3] Tene, “Migration of the Palestinian Arabs in the Period 1.12.47-1.6.48,” Jun. 30, 1948, pp. 1-2, IDFA, 1957/100001/781; Y. Weitz, E. Danin & Z. Lifshitz, “Memorandum on the Settlement of the Arab Refugees. Submitted to the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government,” Oct. 31, 1948, p. 4, HA 80/58/13.
[4] UN General Assembly, “Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator on Palestine Submitted to the Secretary-General for Transmission to the Members of the United Nations in Pursuance of Paragraph 2, Part II, of Resolution 186 (S-2) of the General Assembly of 14 May 1948" (General Assembly Official Records: Third Session Supplement No. 11; A/648, Sept. 16, 1948),” p. 78; Beirut to Foreign Office, Oct. 1, 1948, FO 371/68679; “Plight of 472,000 Arab Refugees,” Times, Oct. 21, 1948.
[5] “Refugees Put at 700,000,” New York Times, Aug. 17, 1948; Rony E. Gabbay, A Political Study of the Arab-Jewish Conflict. The Arab Refugee Problem (A Case Study) (Geneva: Librairie E. Droz, 1959), pp. 167-68.
[6] Beirut to Foreign Office, Oct. 1, 3, 1948, FO 371/68679; “The Number of Arab Refugees (Revised Version),” Israel State Archives (ISA), FM 347/2 (apparently written in august/September 1949); W. de St. Aubin, “Peace and Refugees in the Middle East,” Middle East Journal, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jul. 1949), p. 249.
[7] Sir J. Troutbeck, “Summary of general impressions gathered during week-end visit to the Gaza District,” Jun. 16, 1949, FO 371/75342/E7816.
[8] Palestine Office of Statistics, Village Statistics 1945 (Jerusalem, 1945), “Explanatory Note,” p. 2 (A5).
[9] Government for Palestine, Supplement to Survey of Palestine: Notes compiled for the information of the United Nations Special Committee of Palestine, (London: HMSO, June 1947; reprinted in full permission by the Institute for Palestine studies, Washington D.C.), p. 14.
[10] Supplement to Survey on Palestine, pp. 10-11; Israeli Foreign Ministry, Middle East Department, “The Palestinian Refugee Problem (Report No. 3),” Feb. 2, 1949, ISA FM 347/23; idem, “Notes on Arab Refugees, the Boundaries of Israel, and Jerusalem,” Aug. 22, 1949, ibid.; “The Number of Arab Refugees (Revised Version)"; Military Government HQ, “Tables of the Arab Population Categorized by Settlements and Religions, Feb. 15, 1950,” IDFA 1960/28/29, May 9, 1959; Walter Pinner, How Many Arab Refugees? A Critical Study of UNRWA’s Statistics and Reports (London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1959), Part III.
In its report, submitted to the General Assembly on Dec. 28, 1949, the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine estimated the number of arab refugees outside Israel’s territory at 726,000, of whom 627,000 were eligible for relief from the United Nations. See: “Final Report of the United Nations Economic Survey Mission for the Middle East: An Approach for economic development in the Middle East” (Lake Success: United Nations, Dec. 28, 1949), A/AC.25/6, pp. 18, 22-24.
[11] Urban population figures are taken from Supplement to Survey of Palestine, pp.12-13.
[12] Ministry of Minorities Affairs & Central Bureau of Statistics, “List of City Residents,” Sept. 26, 1948, FM 2564/22.
[13] “Survey of the Arab Situation in Haifa,” Sept. 22, 1948, IDFA 1954/219/240.
[14] “Protocol of a Meeting to Discuss the Problems in the Occupied Cities of Jaffa, Lydda, and Ramle,” Aug. 16, 1948, IDFA 1949/1331/54; Ministry of Minorities Affairs & Central Bureau of Statistics, “List of City Residents,” Sept. 26, 1948, FM 2564/22.
[15] Tene, “Migration of the Palestinian Arabs in the Period 1.12.47-1.6.48. Annex 1: Vacated Arab Villages,” June 30, 1948, IDFA, 1957/100001/781, p. 2.
[16] “Protocol of a Meeting to Discuss the Problems in the Occupied Cities of Jaffa, Lydda, and Ramle.”
[17] Unless otherwise indicated, rural population figures are based on the Village Statistics 1945 & Tene, “Migration of the Palestinian Arabs,” Annex 1: Vacated Arab Villages. Departure dates are based on the latter study, unless indicated otherwise.
[18] Tzadok Eshel, Hativat Carmeli Bemilhemet Haqomemiut (Tel Aviv: Maarachot, 1973), p. 291.
[19] Hagana Operational Directorate, “Logbook of the War of Independence, 3.1.48-14.5.48,” IDFA, 1954/464/2, p. 291.
[20] Intercepted communications from the ALA forces in north Palestine & the residents of Birwa, Jun. 14, 1948, HA 105/92b, p. 91; Hiram to Tene, “The Battle for Birwa According to Acre Residents,” Jul. 4, 1948, ibid., p. 159.
[21] Seventh Brigade/Intelligence, “News Logbook 8,” Jul. 14, 1948 & 7th Brigade/Operational HQ, “Dekel Operational Order ,” Jul. 18, 1948, IDFA 1952/273/5.
[22] Front A, “Hiram Operational Report, No. 4: 300800-302000,” IDFA 1992/164/1.
[23] Eshel, Hativat Carmeli, p. 290.
[24] “Operation Hiram - Intelligence Report, Oct. 28-31, 1948,” IDFA 1992/164/1.
[25] Agam/Matkal, “Hanes Hagadol (General Staff’s operational logbook), May 22, IDFA 1975/922/1175, p. 48.
[26] “Hiram Operational Report, No. 4.”
[27] Eshel, Hativat Carmeli, p. 291.
[28] Ibid., p. 290.
[29] “Hiram Operational Report, No. 4.”
[30] Eshel, Hativat Carmeli, p. 290.
[31] Ibid., p. 292.
[32] Front A, “Hiram Operational Report, No. 3: 292000-300600,” IDFA 1992/164/1.
[33] “Logbook of the War of Independence, 3.1.48-14.5.48,” p. 291.
[34] Ibid.
[35] “Hiram Operational Report, No. 4.”
[36] Eshel, Hativat Carmeli, p. 290.
[37] “Logbook of the War of Independence, 3.1.48-14.5.48,” p. 291.
[38] Beisan National Committee (mid-March 1948), IDFA 1975/922/648.
[39] Tzefa to Tene, “Evacuation of Arab Villages,” Apr. 6, 1948, HA 105/257, p. 24.
[40] Beisan National Committee; Tene, “Migration.”
[41] Beisan National Committee.
[42] “Carmeli Brigade: News Summary No. 6 for May 25, 1948,” IDFA 1949/6127/117.
[43] Beisan National Committee.
[44] Ibid.; Golani/Intellgence, “List of the Arab Villages in Our Hands. Captured by the 12th Battalion,” Jun. 25, 1948, IDFA 1951/84/128.
[45] Beisan National Committee.
[46] Golani/Intellgence, “List of the Arab Villages in Our Hands. Captured by the 12th Battalion,” June 25, 1948, IDFA 1951/84/128.
[47] Ibid.
[48] Tene, “Migration.”
[49] Galilee Front, “List of Villages (and Cities) that Fell to Our Hands on Jul. 15-18, 1948,” IDFA 1949/7249/119.
[50] Ibid.
[51] “First Brigade: Operational Logbook,” May 16, 1948, IDFA 1951/665/1; Eshel, Hativat Carmeli, p. 291.
[52] Weitz, Danin, and Lifshitz, “Memorandum.”
[53] Ibid.; “Logbook of the War of Independence,” p. 265.
[54] “Operation Hiram - Intelligence Report, Oct. 28-31, 1948.
[55] “Logbook of the War of Independence,” p. 283.
[56] Weitz, Danin, and Lifshitz, “Memorandum.”
[57] “Hiram Operational Report, No. 4.”
[58] Front A, “Hiram Operational Report, No. 5: 302000-310000,” IDFA 1992/164/1.
[59] IDF History Branch, Toldot Milhemet Haqomemiut (Tel Aviv: Maarachot, 1975; first published 1959), pp. 243-44.
[60] “Operation Hiram - Intelligence Report, Oct. 28-31, 1948.
[61]Golani-Intelligence, “Daily Summary,” Nov. 6, 1948, IDFA 1951/128/84; “Hiram Operational Report, No. 4.”
[62] Bulgarim to Matkal, “Daily Report,” May 2, 1948, 1975/922/1044, p. 313; Tene, “Migration.”
[63] “Logbook of the War of Independence.”
[64] “Hiram Operational Report, No. 4.”
[65] “Logbook of the War of Independence,” p. 285.
[66] “Tene News,” Apr. 24 & 28, 1948, HA 105/98, pp. 89, 93; Tene, “Migration.” Weitz, Danin, and Lifshitz, “Memorandum.”
[67] Tene, “Migration.”
[68] “Hiram Operational Report, No. 5.”
[69] Bulgarim to Matkal, “Daily Report,” May 29, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1214; “Operation Hiram - Intelligence Report, Oct. 28-31, 1948.
[70] Bulgarim to Matkal, “Daily Report,” May 2, 1948, IDFA, 1975/922/1044, p. 313; Tene, “Migration.”
[71] “Hiram Operational Report, No. 4.”
[72] “Operation Hiram - Intelligence Report, Oct. 28-31, 1948.”
[73] “Hiram Operational Report, No. 4.”
[74] Ibid.
[75] Front A, “Hiram Operational Report, No. 3: 292000-300600,” IDFA 1992/164/1.
[76] “Hiram Operational Report, No. 4.”
[77] Eshel, Hativat Carmeli, p. 291.
[78] Tzefa to Tene, “Evacuation of Arab Villages,” Apr. 6, 1948, HA 105/257, p. 24; Golani/Intellgence, “List of the Arab Villages in Our Hands. Captured by the 12th Battalion,” June 25, 1948, IDFA 1951/84/128; “Logbook of the War of Independence,” p. 280.
[79] Golani/Intelligence, “Daily Summary,” Jul. 17, 1948, IDFA 1951/128/84.
[80] “Tene News,” Apr. 24, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 89; “List of the Arab Villages in Our Hands. Captured by the 12th Battalion.”
[81] Golani/Intelligence, “Daily Summary,” Jul. 17, 1948, IDFA 1951/128/84.
[82] Tzefa to Tene, “Evacuation of Arab Villages.” “List of the Arab Villages in Our Hands"; “Logbook of the War of Independence,” p. 280.
[83] “List of Arab Villages in Our Hands. Captured by the 12th Battalion.”
[84] Ibid.
[85] Golani/Intelligence, “Daily Summary,” Jul. 18, 1948, IDFA 1951/128/84.
[86] “List of the Arab Villages in Our Hands.”
[87] Ibid.
[88] Tzuri to Tene, Ubeidiya Arabs Vacated their Village and Moved to Transjordan,” Apr. 21, 1948, HA 105/257, p. 3.
[89] Tzefa to Tene, “Evacuation of Arab Villages"; “List of the Arab Villages in Our Hands"; “Logbook of the War of Independence,” p. 291.
[90] Galilee Front, “List of Villages (and Cities) that Fell to Our Hands on Jul. 15-18, 1948,” IDFA 1949/7249/119.
[91] Golani/Intelligence, “List of Arab Villages Captured by the 14th Battalion,” Jun. 25, 1948, IDFA, 1951/128/84; “Logbook of the War of Independence,” p. 251.
[92] “List of Arab Villages Captured by the 14th Battalion.”
[93] Weitz, Danin, and Lifshitz, “Memorandum.”
[94] Tiroshi to Tene, “Evacuation of Bureika,” Apr. 26, 1948, HA 105/257, p. 11; “Tene News,” Apr. 24, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 89.
[95] “Hanes Hagadol,”, p. 9; “Tene News,” Apr. 24, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 89; “List of the Arab Villages Captured by the 14th Battalion.”
[96] “Logbook of the War of Independence,” p. 255.
[97] Alexandroni Report, Jul. 25, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1176.
[98] Eshel, Hativat Carmeli, p. 291.
[99] “List of Arab Villages Captured by the 14th Battalion"; “Logbook of the War of Independence,” pp. 248, 255, 257.
[100] “Logbook of the War of Independence,” p. 296.
[101] Alexandroni Report, Jul. 25, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1176.
[102] Golani/Intelligence, “List of Arab Villages Captured by the 13th Battalion,” Jun. 25, 1948, IDFA, 1951/128/84.
[103] “Tene News,” May 13, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 107; “Hanes Hagadol,” May 17, 1948, p. 26; IDF, Toldot Milhemet Haqomemiut, p. 252.
[104] “Logbook of the War of Independence,” pp. 253-54.
[105] Golani to Matkal, May 15, 1948, IDFA 1954/464/1.
[106] “List of Arab Villages Captured by the 14th Battalion"; “Logbook of the War of Independence,” p. 257.
[107] “Hanes Hagadol,” May 17, 1948, p. 26.
[108] Tiroshi to Tene, “Qannir,” Apr. 26, 1948, HA 105/257, p. 16; “Tene News,” Apr. 29, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 95.
[109] Weitz, Danin, and Lifshitz, “Memorandum.”
[110] “Logbook of the War of Independence,” p. 255.
[111] “Tene News,” May 13, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 107; Eshel, Hativat Carmeli, p. 291.
[112] “Hashmonai Bulletin No. 68,” Jul. 17, 1948, IDFA 1949/2504/9.
[113] Tirsohi to Tene, “Evacuation of Umm Zinat,” Apr. 26, 1948, HA 105/257, p. 16; “List of Arab Villages Captured by the 14th Battalion.”
[114] Tene, “Migration"; “List of Arab Villages Captured by the 14th Battalion"; Bulgarim to Matkal, “Daily Report,” Apr. 16, 1948, 1975/922/1044, p. 317.
[115] “List of Arab Villages Captured by the 13th Battalion.”
[116] “Hanes Hagadol,” p. 93.
[117] 01132 to Tene, “The Evacuation of Jalama,” Feb. 8, 1948, HA 105/215, p. 44.
[118] “Qaqun in the Triangle and Arab Yibna in the South Captured by Our Armies,” Haaretz, Jun. 6, 1948.
[119] Fifth Brigade/Intelligence, “Summary of Operations,” Oct. 24, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/900; Fifth Brigade/Intelligence, “Summary of Operations, Oct. 15-Dec. 9,” ibid.
[120] Avraham Ayalon, Hativat Givati Mul Hapolesh Hamitsri (Tel Aviv: Maarachot, 1963), p. 254.
[121] “Hashmonai Bulletin No. 65,” Jul. 13, 1948, IDFA 1949/2504/9; Ayalon, Hativat Givati, pp. 557-58; Ben-Gurion, Yoman Hamilhama, Vol. 3, p. 779 (diary entry for Oct. 27, 1948).
[122] Netanel Lorch, The Edge of the Sword. Israel’s War of Independence 1947-1949 (Jerusalem: Massada, 1961), p. 431.
[123] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 558.
[124] Ibid., p. 550.
[125] Ibid., p. 558.
[126] Fifth Brigade/Intelligence, “Summary of Operations, Oct. 22/23, 1948,” IDFA 1975/922/900; Fifth Brigade/Intelligence, “Summary of Operations, Oct. 15-Dec. 9,” ibid.
[127] Agam to Givati, Jul. 16, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1226.
[128] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 558.
[129] Fifth Brigade/Intelligence, “Summary of Operations, Oct. 22/23, 1948" & “Summary of Operations, Oct. 15-Dec. 9.”
[130] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 254.
[131] Fifth Brigade/Intelligence, “Summary of Operations, Oct. 22/23, 1948.”
[132] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 254; “Hanes Hagadol,” p. 48.
[133] Weitz, Danin, & Lifshitz, “Memorandum"; Fifth Brigade/Intelligence, “Summary of Operations, Oct. 22/23, 1948,” IDFA 1975/922/900; Fifth Brigade/Intelligence, “Summary of Operations, Oct. 15-Dec. 9,” ibid.
[134] Salim Tamari (ed.), Jerusalem 1948. The Arab Neighborhoods and their Fate in the War (Jerusalem: Institute of Jerusalem Studies, 1999), p. 86.
[135] Ibid.
[136] “Arab News Bulletin,” Jul. 18, 1948, IDFA 1949/5254/75.
[137] Tamari, Jerusalem 1948, p. 86.
[138] “Logbook of the War of Independence,” p. 289.
[139] “Arab News Bulletin,” Jul. 8, 1948, IDFA 1949/5254/75.
[140] Elhannan Orren, Baderekh el Hair: Mivtsa Danny (Tel Aviv: IDF Publishing House, 1976), p. 133.
[141] Toldot Milhemet Haqomemiut, p. 260.
[142] Ben-Gurion, Yoman Hamilhama, Vol. 3, p. 753 (diary entry for oct. 19, 1948).
[143] Yeruham, “Weekly Report of Jerusalem District Departments,” Jul. 14-20, 1948, IDFA 1949/2504/7.
[144] Ben-Gurion, Yoman Hamilhama, Vol. 3, p. 753 (diary entry for oct. 19, 1948).
[145] IDF History Branch, Toldot Milhemet Haqomemiut, p. 263.
[146] Tamari, Jerusalem 1948, p. 86.
[147] “Hashmonai Bulletin No. 65,” Jul. 13, 1948, IDFA 1949/2504/9; Ben-Gurion, Yoman Hamilhama, Vol. 2, p. 589 (entry for Jul. 15, 1948); Yeruham, “Weekly Report of Jerusalem District Departments,” Jul. 14-20, 1948, IDFA 1949/2504/7.
[148] Harel to General Staff, Jul. 10, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1237; IToldot Milhemet Haqomemiut, p. 263.
[149] Harel to General Staff, Jul. 10, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1237.
[150] Tamari, Jerusalem 1948, p. 86.
[151] “Hashmonai Bulletin No. 76,” Jul. 26, 1948, IDFA 1949/5254/49.
[152] “Arab News Bulletin,” Jul. 14, 1948, IDFA 1949/5254/75.
[153] Orren, Baderekh, p. 133.
[154] Tamari, Jerusalem 1948, p. 86.
[155] “Hashmonai Bulletin No. 65,” Jul. 13, 1948, IDFA 1949/2504/9; Ben-Gurion, Yoman Hamilhama, Vol. 2, p. 589 (entry for Jul. 15, 1948); Yeruham, “Weekly Report of Jerusalem District Departments,” Jul. 14-20, 1948, IDFA 1949/2504/7.
[156] Tamari, Jerusalem 1948, p. 86.
[157] Toldot Milhemet Haqomemiut, p. 311.
[158] “Evacuation of the Qastel,” Mar. 25, 1948, IDFA 1948/500/28; Tene, “Migration.”
[159] Tamari, Jerusalem 1948, p. 86.
[160] Harel to General Staff, Jul. 10, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1237; “Hashmonai Bulletin No. 65,” Jul. 13, 1948, IDFA 1949/2504/9.
[161] “Logbook of the War of Independence,” p. 258; Tene, “Migration.”
[162] Orren, Baderekh, p. 133.
[163] Intercepted Arab military communications, Jul. 13, 1948, HA 105/92a, p. 58; “Hashmonai Bulletin No. 63,” Jul. 13, 1948, IDFA 1949/5254/75.
[164] Toldot Milhemet Haqomemiut, p. 311.
[165] Lorch, The Edge, p. 432.
[166] “Tene News,” May 9, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 102.
[167] Weitz, Danin, and Lifshitz, “Memorandum.”
[168] Ibid.; Tiroshi to Tene, “Vacation of Jalil,” Mar. 23, 1948, HA 105/257.
[169] Gershon Rivlin & Zvi Sinai (eds.), Hativat Alexandroni Bemilhemet Haqomemiut (Tel Aviv: Maarachot, 1964), p. 285.
[170] Tiroshi to Tene, “The Rantiya Villagers on the Move,” Apr. 28, 1948, HA 105/257, p. 64; “Tene News,” May 14, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 110.
[171]Weitz, Danin, and Lifshitz, “Memorandum.”
[172] Ibid.; “Arab News Bulletin,” Jul. 10, 1948, IDFA 1949/5254/75.
[173] “Flight from Aqir,” May 5, 1948, HA 105/92a, p. 244.
[174] “Hashmonai Bulletin No. 68,” Jul. 17, 1948, IDFA 1949/2504/9; Agam report, Jul. 15, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1226.
[175] Yiftach to General Staff, May 1, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1226; Yiftach HQ, “Daily Report,” Jul. 11, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1237.
[176] Tene, May 12, 1948 HA 105/92a, p. 252.
[177] “Hashmonai Bulletin No. 68,” Jul. 17, 1948, IDFA 1949/2504/9; Danny HQ to General Staff, Jul. 16, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1176, p. 42.
[178] Ibid.; Danny HQ to General Staff, Jul. 16, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1176, p. 42.
[179] Yiftach/Intelligence, “Daily Report,” Jul. 13, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1237.
[180] Harel to Matkal, May 16, 1948, IDFA 1954/464/1.
[181] Naim to Tene, “Operation Nahshon,” Apr. 7, 1948, HA 105/92a, p. 181; “Tene News,” Apr. 22, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 87.
[182] “Arab News,” Jul. 11, 1948, HA 105/92b, p. 141.
[183] Rivlin & Sinai, Hativat Alexandroni, p. 280; Allon to General Staff, Jul. 13, 1948, 1975/922/1176; “More Villages Captured,” Palestine Post, Jul. 14, 1948.
[184] Givati to General Staff, Jul. 16, 1948, 1975/922/1176, p. 43; Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 254.
[185] “Arab News Bulletin,” Jul. 10, 1948, IDFA 1949/5254/75; Givati Operational Logbook, Jul. 16, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1226.
[186] Givati Operational Logbook, Jul. 16, 1948.
[187] Debriefing of a Jimzu resident, Jul. 13, 1948, HA 105/92b, p. 77.
[188] Yiftach/Intelligence, “Daily Report,” Jul. 11, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1237.
[189] Givati Operational Logbook, Jul. 16, 1948.
[190] Orren, Baderekh, p. 147.
[191] Naim to Tene, “Operation Nahshon,” Apr. 7, 1948, HA 105/92a, p. 181; “Summary of Conquests in the Southern Sector up to Jun. 11, 1948,” HA 105/92b, p. 149.
[192] “Hanes Hagadol,” p. 18.
[193] Toldot Milhemet Haqomemiut, p. 258.
[194] Tene, “Migration from December to the End of February,” HA 105/102, p. 14; Village Files, HA 105/134, p. 76; “Summary of Conquests in the Southern Sector up to Jun. 11, 1948,” HA 105/92b, p. 149.
[195] Ibid.; Givati to Matkal, May 15, 1948, IDFA 1954/464/1.
[196] Weitz, Danin, and Lifshitz, “Memorandum"; Tene, “Migration from December to the End of February,” p. 14.
[197] Orren, Baderekh, pp. 178-83.
[198] Weitz, Danin, and Lifshitz, “Memorandum"; Agam/Hashmonai, “Hashmonai Bulletin No. 17,” Jun. 14, 1948, IDFA 1949/2504/6.
[199] “Summary of Conquests in the Southern Sector,” p. 149.
[200] Doron to Tene, “Qazaza Evacuation,” HA 105/257, p. 10; Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 254.
[201] Village Files, HA 105/134, p. 208; “The Qubab Village is Captured,” Haaretz, Jun. 4, 1948.
[202] Doron to Tene, “Report on the Qubeiba Operation,” May 30, 1948, HA 105/92a, p. 55; Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 254.
[203] Rivlin & Sinai, Hativat Alexandroni, pp. 288, 291-99.
[204] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 254.
[205] “Hashmonai Bulletin No. 68,” Jul. 17, 1948, IDFA 1949/2504/9.
[206] “Summary of Conquests in the Southern Sector,” p. 149.
[207] Ibid.
[208] Toldot Milhemet Haqomemiut, p. 262.
[209] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 263.
[210] Rivlin & Sinai, Hativat Alexandroni, p. 288.
[211] 02117 to Tene, “In Wadi Hunein,” Jan. 5, 1948, HA 105/148, p. 195; “Summary of Conquests in the Southern Sector,” p. 149.
[212] “Qaqun in the ‘Triangle’ and Arab Yibna in the South Captured by Our Armies,” Haaretz, Jun. 6, 1948.
[213] Doron to Tene, “The Zarnuqa Village,” May 30, 1948, HA 105/92a, p. 225.
[214] Operational Headquarters to General Staff/operations, “Evacuation of the Coastal Plain,” Dec. 2, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1025.
[215] Doron to Tene, “Batani Sharqi,” May 13, 1948 HA 105/92a, p. 47; “Tene News,” May 12, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 106.
[216] “Capture of Villages,” Jun. 14, 1948, HA 105/92b, p. 91.
[217] “Tene News,” May 23, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 121; Arif al-Arif, al-Nakba: Nakbat Bait al-Maqdis wa-l-Firdaws al-Mafqud (Beirut: al-Maktaba al-Asriya, 1956), Vol. 3, p. 720.
[218] “Evacuation of the Coastal Plain"; Front D to General Staff, Nov. 5, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1176, p. 136; Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 571.
[219] “Hanes Hagadol,” p. 95.
[220] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 254.
[221] Fifth Brigade/Intelligence, “Summary of Operations,” Oct. 18, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/900.
[222] Doron to Tene, “An Attack on Hamama,” Jun. 9, 1948, HA 105/92a, p. 193; “Evacuation of the Coastal Plain.”
[223] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 324.
[224] Ibid., p. 571; “Evacuation of the Coastal Plain.”
[225] Fifth Brigade/Intelligence, “Summary of Operations, Oct. 15-Dec. 9,” IDFA 1975/922/900; Benjamin Magen to General Staff, Oct. 20, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1176, p. 118.
[226] “Tene News,” May 23, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 121.
[227] Fifth Brigade/Intelligence, “Summary of Operations,” Oct. 16-17, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/900.
[228] Ibid., Nov. 10, 1948; Arif Arif, al-Nakba, Vol. 3, p. 718.
[229] “Evacuation of the Coastal Plain.”
[230] “Tene News,” May 23, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 121; Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 263.
[231] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 571; “Evacuation of the Coastal Plain.”
[232] Weitz, Danin, and Lifshitz, “Memorandum"; “Capture of Villages,” Jun. 14, 1948, HA 105/92b, p. 91; “Tene News,” May 23, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 121.
[233] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 571.
[234] “Interrogation of Khalil Hajj Ahmad Muslih,” Jun. 21, 1948, HA 105/92b, p. 102.
[235] “Tene News,” May 23, 1948, HA 105/98, p. 121.
[236] Sergei to General Staff, Aug. 16, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1176; Yiftah/Intelligence to General Staff, Sept. 24, 1948, IDFA 1975/922/1214.
[237] Fifth Brigade/Intelligence, “Summary of Operations, Oct. 15-Dec. 9,” IDFA 1975/922/900.
[238] “Evacuation of the Coastal Plain.”
[239] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 263.
[240] Sergei to Matkal, May 28, 1948, IDFA 1954/464/1.
[241] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 571; “Evacuation of the Coastal Plain.”
[242] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 262.
[243] “Summary of Conquests in the Southern Sector,” p. 149; Doron to Tene, “Capture of the Sawafirs,” May 19, 1948, HA 105/92a, p. 14.
[244] Doron to Tene, “Capture of the Sawafirs"; Doron to Tene, “The Capture of Beit Daras,” May 13, 1948, ibid., p. 46; Village Files, HA 105/143, pp. 39, 46; “Summary of Conquests in the Southern Sector,” p. 149.
[245] Ayalon, Hativat Givati, p. 254.
[246] Ibid., p. 263.
[247] “Capture of Villages,” Jun. 14, 1948, HA 105/92b, p. 91.
[248] Bulgarim to Matkal, “Daily Report,” Jun. 12, 1948, IDFA, 1975/922/1214.
[249] Tene, “Migration.”
[250] The Village Statistics set the number of the Negev Bedouins on 47,980; 17,470 of these, according to Israeli figures, remained in situ. See: Military Administration HQ, “Table of the Arab Population by Settlements and Religions, Feb. 15, 1950,” IDFA 1960/28/29.
[251] Ibid.
