Palestinian expulsion from Lydda and Ramle

The 1948 Palestinian exodus from Lydda and Ramla began around 12 July 1948, when 50,000–70,000 Palestinian residents fled or were expelled as Israeli troops moved into the towns. Israel's military action occurred within the context of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War . Both towns, which had been Arab areas in Palestine , became predominantly Jewish areas in the new state of Israel, with Lydda becoming known as Lod . Between 290–450 Palestinians and around 10 Israeli soldiers were killed during the conquest of Lydda. The death toll in Ramla is unknown, but presumed lower because it surrendered immediately. Once the Israelis were in control, expulsion orders were issued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Ramla's residents were bussed out. The people of Lydda were forced to walk 17 kilometers (10 miles) to Barfiliya in temperatures of 30–35 °C (86–95 °F), from where the Arab Legion — Jordan 's British-led army—helped them reach a refugee camp in Ramallah . The harsh conditions of the exodus, known as the Lydda death march , caused deaths among the refugees, with figures ranging from a few to 355, mostly from exhaustion and dehydration. Eyewitnesses said people were killed by Israeli soldiers for refusing to part with their valuables. According to the Israeli army, their actions averted an Arab threat to Tel Aviv , helped them gain control of the road to Jerusalem , and, by clogging the roads with refugees, thwarted an Arab Legion advance. The exodus accounted for one-tenth of the overall Arab exodus from Palestine, known in the Arab world as al-Nakba ("the catastrophe"). The inhabitants of 25 other Palestinian villages in the vicinity were expelled over the same time period, and orders were issued to Israeli soldiers to use live fire against anyone who returned. Jewish immigrants were settled in the empty Palestinian homes, both because of a housing shortage—nearly 700,000 Jews immigrated to Israel between May 1948 and December 1951—but also as a matter of policy to prevent the former residents from reclaiming their houses. One of the key issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is whether the refugees ought to have the right of return , an issue Israel sees as a threat to its identity as a Jewish state . Until the late 1970s, Israel's historians maintained that the Palestinians had been ordered to leave by their Arab leaders, or had simply fled. In the 1980s, newly released Israeli government documents showed that residents had, in fact, been expelled from Lydda and Ramla by the IDF. Different geopolitics and ideologies began to shape Lydda's urban landscape ... Third Battalion intelligence puts the figure at 40 Arabs dead. 2. 12 July : Israeli troops were ordered to shoot at anyone seen on the streets: during that incident, 3–4 Israelis were killed and around a dozen wounded. On the Arab side, 250 dead and many wounded. According to Henry Laurens , Arif al-'Arif's figures break down as follows: "the number of Arab dead at Lydda at the time of the events of the 12th of July rises to 426, of who 176 (were killed) in the mosque. Nur Masalha writes that 350 died.

The 1948 Palestinian exodus from Lydda and Ramle was the expulsion of 50,000–70,000 Palestinian Arabs when Israeli troops captured the towns in July that year. The military action occurred within the context of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War . The two Arab towns, lying outside the area designated for a Jewish state in the UN Partition Plan of 1947, and inside the area set aside for an Arab state in Palestine, subsequently were transformed into predominantly Jewish areas in the new State of Israel, known as Lod and Ramla . The exodus, constituting 'the biggest expulsion of the war', took place at the end of a truce period, when fighting resumed, prompting Israel to try to improve its control over the Jerusalem road and its coastal route which were under pressure from the Jordanian Arab Legion, Egyptian and Palestinian forces. From the Israeli perspective, the conquest of the towns averted an Arab threat to Tel Aviv , thwarted an Arab Legion advance by clogging the roads with refugees, forcing the Arab Legion to assume a logistical burden that would undermine its military capacities, and helped demoralize nearby Arab cities. On 10 July, Glubb Pasha ordered the defending Arab Legion troops to "make arrangements...for a phony war". The next day, Ramle surrendered immediately, but the conquest of Lydda took longer and led to an unknown number of deaths; Israeli historian Benny Morris suggests up to 450 Palestinians and 9–10 Israeli soldiers died. Once the Israelis were in control of the towns, an expulsion order signed by Yitzhak Rabin was issued to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stating, "1. The inhabitants of Lydda must be expelled quickly without attention to age.…", Ramle's residents were bussed out, while the people of Lydda were forced to walk miles during a summer heat wave to the Arab front lines, where the Arab Legion, Transjordan 's British-led army, tried to provide shelter and supplies. Quite a few of the refugees died from exhaustion and dehydration. Estimates ranged from a handful to a figure of 350 based on hearsay, which is why the events are also referred as the Lydda death march . The events in Lydda and Ramle accounted for one-tenth of the overall Arab exodus from Palestine , known in the Arab world as al-Nakba ("the catastrophe"). Many Jews who came to Israel between 1948 and 1951 settled in the refugees' empty homes, both because of a housing shortage and as a matter of policy to prevent former residents from reclaiming them. One of the key issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is whether the refugees and their descendants ought to have either compensation for their loses or the right of return , a concession many Israelis object to as a threat to the nation's Jewish identity. Yacobi writes that Lod was Lydda's biblical name. Lydda was the Latin form of its name, which it was widely known by. Ramle can also be written as Ramleh; it known as Ramla by the Israelis, and should not be confused with Ramallah , the administrative center of the Palestinian National Authority . I agreed that it was essential to drive the inhabitants out. On the Arab side, 250 dead and many wounded, according to the IDF. The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949 . That most of the immigrants to Lydda and Ramle were from Asia and North Africa, see Golan 2003 .

Expulsion by Israeli forces The 1948 Palestinian expulsion from Lydda and Ramle , also known as the Lydda Death March , was the expulsion of 50,000 to 70,000 Palestinian Arabs when Israeli troops captured the towns in July that year. The military action occurred within the context of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . The two Arab towns, lying outside the area designated for a Jewish state in the UN Partition Plan of 1947, and inside the area set aside for an Arab state in Palestine, subsequently were transformed into predominantly Jewish areas in the new State of Israel, known as Lod and Ramla . The exodus, constituting "the biggest expulsion of the war", took place at the end of a truce period, when fighting resumed, prompting Israel to try to improve its control over the Jerusalem road and its coastal route which were under pressure from the Jordanian Arab Legion, Egyptian and Palestinian forces. From the Israeli perspective, the conquest of the towns, designed, according to Benny Morris, "to induce civilian panic and flight", averted an Arab threat to Tel Aviv , thwarted an Arab Legion advance by clogging the roads with refugees—the Yiftah Brigade was ordered to strip them of "every watch, piece of jewelry, or money, or valuables" —to force the Arab Legion to assume an additional logistical burden with the arrival of masses of indigent refugees that would undermine its military capacities, and helped demoralise nearby Arab cities. On 10 July, Glubb Pasha ordered the defending Arab Legion troops to "make arrangements ... for a phony war". The next day, Ramle surrendered immediately, but the conquest of Lydda took longer and led to an unknown number of deaths; the Palestinian historian Aref al-Aref , the only scholar who tried to draw up a balance sheet for the Palestinian losses, estimated 426 Palestinians died in Lydda on 12 July, of which 176 in the mosque and 800 overall in the fighting. Israeli historian Benny Morris suggests up to 450 Palestinians and 9–10 Israeli soldiers died. Once the Israelis were in control of the towns, an expulsion order signed by Yitzhak Rabin was issued to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stating, "1. The inhabitants of Lydda must be expelled quickly without attention to age....". Ramle's residents were bussed out, while the people of Lydda were forced to walk miles during a summer heat wave to the Arab front lines, where the Arab Legion, Transjordan 's British-led army, tried to provide shelter and supplies. A number of the refugees died during the exodus from exhaustion and dehydration, with estimates ranging from a handful to a figure of 500. The events in Lydda and Ramle accounted for one-tenth of the overall Arab exodus from Palestine , known in the Arab world as al-Nakba ('the catastrophe'). Some scholars, including Ilan Pappé , have characterised what occurred at Lydda and Ramle as ethnic cleansing . Many Jews who came to Israel between 1948 and 1951 settled in the refugees' empty homes, both because of a housing shortage and as a matter of policy to prevent former residents from reclaiming them. Ari Shavit noted that the "events were crucial phase of the Zionist revolution, and they laid the foundation for the Jewish state." Chamberlin, P.T. The Global Offensive: The United States, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Making of the Post-Cold War Order . On a visit home in 1948, Habash was caught in the Jewish attack on Lydda and, along with his family, forced to leave the city in the mass expulsion that came to be known as the Lydda Death March. Yacobi writes that Lod was Lydda's biblical name. Lydda was the Latin form of its name, which it was widely known by. Ramle can also be written as Ramleh; it known as Ramla by the Israelis, and should not be confused with Ramallah , the administrative center of the Palestinian National Authority . Benny Morris , " Was Israeli Looting in '48 part of a Broader Policy to Expel Arabs? I agreed that it was essential to drive the inhabitants out. We took them on foot toward the Ben Horon road, assuming that the Arab Legion would be obliged to look after them, thereby shouldering logistic difficulties which would burden its fighting capacity, making things easier for us." Morris, Benny (2008). 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War . On the Arab side, 250 dead and many wounded, according to the IDF. The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949 . To be sure, some refugees were forced to flee: fifty thousand were expelled from the strategically located towns of Lydda and Ramle ... That most of the immigrants to Lydda and Ramle were from Asia and North Africa, see Golan 2003 . Ari Shavit, Lydda, 1948; A city, a massacre, and the Middle East today , 21 October 2013, The New Yorker : "Lydda is the black box of Zionism. The truth is that Zionism could not bear the Arab city of Lydda. From the very beginning, there was a substantial contradiction between Zionism and Lydda. If Zionism was to exist, Lydda could not exist. If Lydda was to exist, Zionism could not exist. In retrospect, it's all too clear. When Siegfried Lehmann arrived in the Lydda Valley, in 1927, he should have seen that if a Jewish state was to exist in Palestine an Arab Lydda could not exist at its center. He should have known that Lydda was an obstacle blocking the road to a Jewish state, and that one day Zionism would have to remove it. Lehmann did not see, and Zionism chose not to know. Those events were a crucial phase of the Zionist revolution, and they laid the foundation for the Jewish state. Lydda is an integral and essential part of the story. And, when I try to be honest about it, I see that the choice is stark: either reject Zionism because of Lydda or accept Zionism along with Lydda."

Expulsion by Israeli forces In July 1948, during the 1948 Palestine war , the Palestinian towns of Lydda (also known as Lod) and Ramle were captured by the Israeli Defense Forces and their residents (totalling 50,000–70,000 people) were violently expelled. The expulsions occurred as part of the broader 1948 Palestinian expulsions and the Nakba . Hundreds of Palestinians were killed in multiple mass killings, including the Lydda massacre , and in what is sometimes known as the Lydda death march . The two Arab towns, lying outside the area designated for a Jewish state in the UN Partition Plan of 1947, and inside the area set aside for an Arab state in Palestine, were subsequently incorporated into the new State of Israel and repopulated with Jewish immigrants. After their conquest the towns were given Hebrew names of Lod and Ramla . The exodus, constituting the biggest expulsion of the war, took place at the end of a truce period, when fighting resumed, prompting Israel to try to improve its control over the Jerusalem road and its coastal route which were under pressure from the Jordanian Arab Legion , Egyptian and Palestinian forces. From the Israeli perspective, the conquest of the towns, designed, according to Benny Morris, "to induce civilian panic and flight", averted an Arab threat to Tel Aviv , thwarted an Arab Legion advance by clogging the roads with refugees—the Yiftah Brigade was ordered to strip them of "every watch, piece of jewelry, or money, or valuables" —to force the Arab Legion to assume an additional logistical burden with the arrival of masses of indigent refugees that would undermine its military capacities, and helped demoralise nearby Arab cities. Once the Israelis were in control of the towns, an expulsion order signed by Yitzhak Rabin was issued to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stating, "1. The inhabitants of Lydda must be expelled quickly without attention to age....". Ramle's residents were bussed out, while the people of Lydda were forced to walk miles during a summer heat wave to the Arab front lines, where the Arab Legion, Transjordan 's British-led army, tried to provide shelter and supplies. A number of the refugees died during the exodus from exhaustion and dehydration, with estimates ranging from a handful to a figure of 500. That most of the immigrants to Lydda and Ramle were from Asia and North Africa, see Golan 2003 . Yacobi writes that Lod was Lydda's biblical name. Lydda was the Latin form of its name, which it was widely known by. Ramle can also be written as Ramleh; it known as Ramla by the Israelis, and should not be confused with Ramallah , the administrative center of the Palestinian National Authority . Benny Morris , " Was Israeli Looting in '48 part of a Broader Policy to Expel Arabs? I agreed that it was essential to drive the inhabitants out. We took them on foot toward the Ben Horon road, assuming that the Arab Legion would be obliged to look after them, thereby shouldering logistic difficulties which would burden its fighting capacity, making things easier for us." Morris, Benny (1987). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949 . On the Arab side, 250 dead and many wounded, according to the IDF.

1948 expulsion by Israeli forces "Lydda massacre" redirects here; not to be confused with Lod Airport massacre . In July 1948, during the 1948 Palestine war , the Palestinian towns of Lydda (also known as Lod) and Ramle were captured by the Israel Defense Forces and their residents (totalling 50,000–70,000 people) were violently expelled. The expulsions occurred as part of the broader 1948 Palestinian expulsions and the Nakba . Hundreds of Palestinians were killed in multiple mass killings, including the Lydda massacre , and in what is sometimes known as the Lydda death march . The two Arab towns, lying outside the area designated for a Jewish state in the UN Partition Plan of 1947, and inside the area set aside for an Arab state in Palestine, were subsequently incorporated into the new State of Israel and repopulated with Jewish immigrants. After their conquest the towns were given Hebrew names of Lod and Ramla . The exodus, constituting the biggest expulsion of the war, took place at the end of a truce period, when fighting resumed, prompting Israel to try to improve its control over the Jerusalem road and its coastal route which were under pressure from the Jordanian Arab Legion along with Egyptian and Palestinian forces. From the Israeli perspective, the conquest of the towns, designed, according to Benny Morris, "to induce civilian panic and flight", averted an Arab threat to Tel Aviv , thwarted an Arab Legion advance by clogging the roads with refugees—the Yiftah Brigade was ordered to strip them of "every watch, piece of jewelry, or money, or valuables" —to force the Arab Legion to assume an additional logistical burden with the arrival of masses of indigent refugees that would undermine its military capacities, and helped demoralise nearby Arab cities. Once the Israelis were in control of the towns, an expulsion order signed by Yitzhak Rabin was issued to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stating, "1. The inhabitants of Lydda must be expelled quickly without attention to age....". Ramle's residents were bussed out, while the people of Lydda were forced to walk miles during a summer heat wave to the Arab front lines, where the Arab Legion tried to provide shelter and supplies. A number of the refugees died during the exodus from exhaustion and dehydration, with estimates ranging from a handful to a figure of 500. That most of the immigrants to Lydda and Ramle were from Asia and North Africa, see Golan 2003 . Yacobi writes that Lod was Lydda's biblical name. Lydda was the Latin form of its name, which it was widely known by. Ramle can also be written as Ramleh; it known as Ramla by the Israelis, and should not be confused with Ramallah , the administrative center of the Palestinian National Authority . Benny Morris , " Was Israeli Looting in '48 part of a Broader Policy to Expel Arabs? I agreed that it was essential to drive the inhabitants out. We took them on foot toward the Ben Horon road, assuming that the Arab Legion would be obliged to look after them, thereby shouldering logistic difficulties which would burden its fighting capacity, making things easier for us." Morris, Benny (1987). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949 . On the Arab side, 250 dead and many wounded, according to the IDF. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).