Haifa today become the second large Palestine ##rity to be controlled completely by Jews as the local Arab leadership accepted unconditionally Jewish terms for peace in the city. The Arab capitulation took place after more than 24 hours of fighting during which the Jews took over every position of major strategic importance in the port city.
The battle broke out yesterday on the heels of the British evacuation of all parts of the city except the port and dock area in which are located the foreign oil installations and in which evacuating troops will be assembled prior to embarkation. The truce was mediate by British official at the request of the Arabs.
The terms laid down by the Haganah and accepted by the Arabs provide: 1. The Arabs will cased all firing and will lay down their arms; 2. Surrender of all foreign Arab will cease all Arab fighters to the Haganah for deportation; 3. Surrender of all Nazi Germans fighting with the Arab forces; 4. Agreement that all security zones outside the British areas will be manned by the Haganah and that Haganah orders will be binding on both Jews and Arabs.
The Jews pledged that all persons would be permitted to return to their normal pursuits and that the Arabs would be permitted to carry on their work and live as free citizens enjoying all municipal services.
At the first signs of Arab sniping in the wake of the British withdrawal heavily armed Jewish militia units moved from Mt. Carmel down into the Central portions of the city and took possession of its communications centers, railway station, min police station, post office, road bridges leading into the city and many strategic positions throughout the city. By early today the Jews had also established control over most of the Arab parts of the city.
20,000 ARABS REPORTED TO HAVE LEFT THE CITY
Until late in the day Haifa was out off from the rest of Palestine, but there were a number of reports stating that some 20 Arabs had been killed and over 100 wounded. The wounded were said to have taxed the Arab hospital facilities to the limit and caused the transfer of a number of patients to the government hospital. Many Arab women and children were evacuated by sea to Acre, some 20 miles north along the coast. One report stated that over 20,000 of the city’s 60,000 Arabs had left the city within the past week.
The battle, probably the largest yet to be fought in Palestine, was practically over by mid-afternoon. There were, however, several scattered pockets of resistance on which the Jews were concentrating with mortars and heavy machine guns. One of the hottest spots in the city remained the jail which was occupied yesterday by an Arab Legion unit after the British evacuated the building.
The central railway building was badly wrecked as were a number of other buildings against which the Jews had used a new devastating weapon to which they have given the name of “David, King of Israel.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
