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Lamentations from Zion

The Battle of Haifa​

In their ragged brown clothes, the Arabs were fighting off the Jewish invaders as they sought control of Haifa. They knew that, with the capture of the port of Haifa it would be possible for the Jewish militias to receive supplies and armaments from the Western World, giving it an immense advantage during the communal conflict. Al Huneiti, commander of the town's Arab militia, knowing that the Arabs would only have one open route - the sea- if they lost, thus declared that Haifa was of utmost importance for Palestine, and could not be allowed to fall to the invaders, declared that he would fight to the death.

The Haganah made widespread use of Arabic language broadcasts and loudspeaker vans to urge the defenders to surrender without a fight. Despite this, the Arabs, motivated by the outside support coming from the Arab League and Soviet Union, continued to hold out for 5 months. The Battle of Haifa was quickly becoming a meatgrinder as Jewish forces quickly became under attack in the closed expanse of urban warfare. IEDs and snipers quickly pinned down and eliminated many Jews troops as they attempted to dislodge the Arabs. Their resistance gave enough time for Syrian forces, along with their allied militia, the Arab Salvation Army, to reach the city, providing additional manpower and aerial cover forcing the Jews to retreat.

Some reports speak of looting and attacks on civilians, estimates of the number of Jews killed vary; one American source puts the number at 3,000, while many more fled in advance, heading mostly to British Cyprus. The Syrians instituted a policy of collecting anything the army could use, requisitioning from civilians. In addition to preventing the Jews from obtaining outside supplies, the Arab combatants' victory reinforced morale among them, while stress and despair arose among the Jews, many of whom had recently fought in World War II.
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