For more than a 100 years, Arabs and Muslims have expressed multiple attitudes toward Jews, Zionism, and Israel. The remarks stretch along a spectrum from hatred, including the absolute uncompromising need to prevent a Jewish state from evolving to seeking its eradication. Those are not fringe feelings among Muslims and Jews, Likewise there are many who have embraced Israel as a reality, recognizing Israel as a state in the diplomatic sense. Since 1979, six Arab states have done so. Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, the Sudan, and Morocco. They each accepted Israel to promote their own respective national strategic interests. It was likewise for Israel. The PLO for its part officially recognized Israel’s existence on September 9, 1993, four days before the signing of the Oslo Accords. Palestinian leaders who attended a meeting where I was present with Yasir Arafat, then the PLO Chairman, with President and Mrs. Carter the night before the September 13, 1993 White House lawn signing, confided that Arafat after spending a lifetime of seeking Israel’s destruction, recognized Israel so his leadership would be reinforced by an agreement backed by the United States. At the time, his role in the leading the PLO was on shaky grounds as would-be competitors were lurking in the shadows from inside the territories and beyond. The Arafat-Rabin handshake that day reinforced what everyone knew about him: he would be pragmatic when required and would not give up his long held goal of leading the quest for the liberation of Palestine. Arafat’s remarks cited below, three years after the signing, reveal the objective that he could not give up the ole of leading the liberation of Palestine.
Those who read the Arabic press or listen to what is said about Israel on some irregular basis would surely concur that deep dislike for Israel, Israelis, Zionists and her supporters remains a regular feature of Arab newspaper reporting and editorial writing. Israel is most often referred to as the ‘occupying state,’ and that reference is not to her presence in the West Bank, or Jerusalem or in Gaza, it is reference to Israel’s existence in any land west of the Jordan River.
The statements, opinions, and findings below are a small sample. They do however provide perspective and context of how Zionism and Israel was and is seen. They are clear snapshots of what one might expect in the months and years ahead. Dreaming for something else does not reflect the realities of the moment.
Ken Stein, March 26, 2025
Mixed Muslim and Arab views/actions toward
Jews, Zionism and Israel 1921 – 2025
October 4, 2024, Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “The primary cause of war, insecurity and backwardness in this region is the existence of the Zionist regime and the presence of governments that claim to seek peace and calm in the region…The [Zionist] regime is like “an evil tree, uprooted from the ground,” which according to God’s true words, “lacks any stability” (Quran 14:26). This malicious regime is rootless, fallacious, and unstable, and it has only managed to stand on its feet with difficulty with US support. And God willing, this too will not last for long.” https://english.khamenei.ir/news/11146/Palestinian-and-Lebanese-Resistance-pushed-back-Zionist-regime
September 17, 2024, Poll of Palestinian Arab Views, “For the first time since October 7, 2023, simultaneously in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, findings show significant drop in the favorability of the October 7 attack and in the expectations that Hamas will win the current war, and a moderate drop in the level of support for Hamas; moreover, findings show a drop in the Gaza Strip in the preference for a continued Hamas control over that area in the day after the war and a rise in the preference for PA control. Nonetheless, despite all that, support for Hamas remains the highest compared to all Palestinian factions. Furthermore, findings show significant rise in support for the two-state solution (from 32% to 39%) accompanied by a drop in the preference for armed struggle (30% prefer armed struggle) and a rise in the preference for negotiations (to barely 25%) as the best means of ending the Israeli occupation. (occupation is defined as all the land west of the Jordan River), Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research
June 12, 2024, Poll of Palestinian Arab views , “two-thirds of the Palestinian public continue to support the October 7 attack; About half of Gazans expects Hamas to win the war and return to rule the Gaza Strip; a quarter of Gazans expects Israel to win. Increased support for armed struggle is accompanied by more than 60% support the dissolution of the PA.” When asked which political party or movement they prefer, the largest percentage (40%) said they prefer Hamas, followed by Fateh (20%) In the same context, just over half believe that Hamas is the most deserving of representing and leading the Palestinian people today while only 16% believe that Fateh under the leadership of Abbas is the most deserving. Satisfaction with PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ performance stands at 12% and dissatisfaction with 85%. About 90% want the president to resign. Today, 94% of West Bankers and 83% of Gazans demand the resignation of the president. Support for a two-state solution stands at just one-third and a majority says it supports armed struggle. In this regard, it is worth noting two findings: unlike the previous poll, in the current one, support for the two-state solution decreased significantly, and support for armed struggle increased. Palestine Center for Policy and Survey Research, Public Opinion Poll no (92)
December 13, 2023, Poll of Palestinian Arab views, a survey completed two months after Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israelis, Palestinians praised Hamas actions, with a vast majority not believing that Hamas carried out atrocities against civilians, less than 15% give any support to PA President Mahmud Abbas, or are satisfied with his work as president; less than a third of both populations supported a two state solution- Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research
May 26, 2021, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas leader, – “Yahyah Sinwar – Eradication of Israel – “We support the eradication of Israel through armed Jihad and struggle. This is our doctrine. Our complete gratitude is extended to the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has spared us and the other Palestinian resistance factions nothing in recent years. They have provided us with money, weapons, and expertise. They have supported us in everything, with the grace of Allah. They deserve huge – https://www.memri.org/tv/hamas-leader-gaza-yahya-sinwar-we-have-500-km-of-tunnels-in-gaza (Another key speech by Sinwar about destroying Israel may be found at a Jerusalem Day speech, June 4, 2019 – A fuller collection of Hamas’s anti-Israeli sentiments seeking Israel’s destruction may be found here.
September 2020, Abraham Accords signed- Bahrain and UAE recognize Israel, promoting respective national interest; Morocco and the Sudan will do likewise.
September 22, 2019, General Hossein Salami, the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said that “the Zionist regime is a sinister, cancerous tumor in the region that must be wiped off the map,” stating further, “that the Zionist regime was on the path to destruction, claiming that its end was imminent” and that “The Islamic world will not remain silent. This cancerous tumor will be removed.” His remarks were reported by the AP and al-Jazeera.
October 2017, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas leader, “Over is the time Hamas spent discussing recognizing Israel. Now Hamas will discuss when we wipe out Israel.” Source: October 19, 2017, meeting with Gazan youth about reconciliation with Fatah.https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-chief-we-wont-discuss-recognizing-israel-only-wiping-it-out/
November 2014, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran posted a 9 point plan in his twitter account calling for the elimination of Israel. He said that “This barbaric, wolf-like and infanticidal regime of Israel, which spares no crime, has no cure but to be annihilated. “He also called for the return of Palestinian refugees who were displace during the establishment of Israel, rejected any peace process or negotiations with Israel, suggesting they were futile and aimed at prolonging Israel’s existence.”
February 16, 2009, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon said, “Israel is a cancerous tumor in the region, and it must be removed.” Further he said, “Hezbollah would continue to fight until Israel was eliminated, framing the struggle as a matter of survival for Lebanon and the broader Arab and Muslim world.” This was reported by al-Jazeera newspaper, Reuters and AP.
June 13, 2006, Hamas leader, Isma’il Haniyah, “The right to return is an individual right. No representation of the Palestinians, neither the various organizations nor the government nor the president are entitled to relinquish this right. Every refugee must be able to decide on his or her own whether he or she wants to return home. (Der Spiegel) So they would also be able to decide whether they prefer to move to the Palestinian state to be established and being compensated financially? (Haniyah) Do you expect the Palestinians to sell their homeland and their fatherland for money? Der Spiegel (Internet Version-WWW), June 13, 2006.
October 26, 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said, “Israel must be wiped off the map… The West has created the myth of the Holocaust and used it as an excuse to create a regime like Israel… “The existence of the Zionist regime is an insult to humanity, …” He made these remarks at a Tehran conference “International Conference on the World without Zionism.”
March 20, 2005, Muhmmad al-Zahhar, Hamas leader, “If Hamas enters the [PA] government, it is ready to accept a long term truce and keep the conflict open….The issue does not necessarily have to be settled by this generation. There are countries that remained under occupation for long years. …Therefore, if our generation cannot act, it must not make concessions.” al-Jazeera satellite television, March 20, 2005.
December 2006, Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, (founding member of Hamas in 1988, over the next two decades one of three key Hamas political leaders, “We will never recognize the usurper Zionist government and will continue our jihadist movement until Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) and the Al-Aqsa Mosque are liberated. We will continue with this trend until all Palestinian refugees return to their homes. We are the reliable protectors of the Islamic and Arab Palestinian territories.” Ismail Haniyeh, live broadcast Iranian Radio, December 8, 2006, BBC Monitoring Middle East -Worldwide Monitoring.”
July 10, 2001, Hassan Nasrallah emphatically insists on Palestinians not being resettled in Lebanon “We consider the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland to be as important an objective as the liberation of our own lands. Lebanon cannot possibly tolerate settling Palestinians in its midst. Our rejection of settling Palestinians in Lebanon is not built on political calculations; it is based on the fact that settlement as a principle is unacceptable. This is our conviction and we are ready to carry it through even on our own” Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Akhbar al-Khaleej, July 10, 2001, as quoted in Middle East Mirror.
November 2-8, 2000, Hassan Nasrallah, Leader and Secretary General Hezbollah, on waging the battle against the Zionists “From any perspective, Israel is the threat. It is a threat to every Arab country, it is a threat to the whole Arab world, and it is also a threat to the Islamic nation as a whole. Any sound order of priorities necessitates that all Islamist movements concentrate their efforts on confronting the Zionist project while postponing side battles. The Islamist movement must take a vanguard position in this battle [against the Zionists], exerting every possible effort to mobilize the Arab and Islamic peoples on that front.” Interview with Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Al-Ahram Weekly, 2 8 November 2000, Issue No. 5
October 2, 1997, Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi,, spokesman for the Islamic Resistance Movement, (Hamas) “… [T]he objective aim is the liberation of Palestine, “Our aim is to carry out jihad for the sake of God. [We are]…determined to continue along this path until the liberation of the last inch of Palestine. Hamas has its own strategy and political platform, through which it expresses the Palestinian people’s concerns and rights. It believes that this strategy is the only way for liberating Palestinian soil, which we do not find in the Oslo Agreement. Hamas’ approach is religious. Hence, reality cannot be correlated to Hamas without paying attention to this fact, because Hamas adheres to its Islamic principles; and these will not be changed by political reality, which has begun to confirm the veracity of Hamas’ perception of affairs. Hamas’ perception of the Oslo Agreement and its failure, as well as Hamas’ prediction of the Agreement’s fate proved true just as was fully anticipated. We are seeing that what Hamas said about Oslo is being realized today. According to the Oslo Agreement, we are supposed to regain 13 percent of the Palestinian territories. Even this has not been realized.
Hamas does not act nor operate inside or from the PA areas. It has other ways and means of operation which it will seek to preserve. When the intifada erupted the power of Hamas was 2 percent, now it is 100 percent following “the jihad capital” and the support that it derived among the Palestinian people’s ranks.
I believe that political dialogue with the PA is useless and a waste of time, because each of us has his own political program. But we welcome dialogue over issues pertaining to daily life with the aim of arranging the domestic Palestinian home, avoiding bloodshed and civil war, and continuing to organize affairs relating to people’s lives. The PA has its political commitments and clear perception of the Oslo Agreement. We have our Islamic commitments, which are affirmed by the principles of Hamas. Is it conceivable that we converge politically without one party relinquishing its position? Positions are prepared in advance. I do not believe that we will meet halfway. Each party has its own political program and plan. Hamas will not be harmed by maintaining its perspective and political program for as long as it takes. We will not give up our principles for which we have sacrificed. This is the crystal clear stance of Hamas.” Hamas leader, ‘Abd-al-‘Aziz al-Rantisi, spokesman for the Islamic Resistance Movement, Daily Report, FBIS- Near East/South Asia, 2 October 1997; as quoted from Amman al-Sabil, 30 September 1997, p. 16.
January 30, 1996, Yasser Arafat- PLO goal to weaken Israel internally, “The PLO will now concentrate on splitting Israel psychologically into two camps….We plan to eliminate the State of Israel and establish a Palestinian state. We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion. Jews will not want to live among Arabs. I have no use for Jews. They are and remain Jews. We now need all the help we can get from you in our battle for a united Palestine under Arab rule.” Quoted in Jerusalem Post, February 23, 1996. (three years after recognizing Israel in Oslo Accords on White House Lawn)
June 12, 1995 – Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon, vilifying Jews “Do not worry about the future at all. Do not be afraid of the tracks, of a settlement, or of normalization. There is something that concerns the nature of the Jews: their aggressive nature, their racist nature, and their corrupt and corrupting nature. God Almighty, the creator of all mankind, knows better what a Jew is. He tells us about these Jews, that they are killers and criminals, that they are treacherous and corrupt, and that “they have sold the signs of God for a miserable price [Qur’anic verse].” They have sold the signs of God for a miserable price, so what about the agreements they have signed with Arafat, King Hussein, and others? No one in the world can impose on our region and on our people a normalization and a permanent conciliation with the Jews. No one can sequester this nation’s resolve to struggle; to restore the holy places; and to fight injustice, oppression, and vice. Israel is the symbol of injustice, oppression, and vice in this region.” Remarks by Sheikh Hasan Nasrallah , Ba’labbak Voice of the Oppressed in Arabic, quoted from Foreign Broadcast Information Service-Near East and South Asia, June 12, 1995, p. 49.
April 11, 1995, Ibrahim Ghawshah, leading Hamas official, “Arafat now stands at a historic, national, and religious turning point. He either continues to carry out the instructions and dictates of the Zionists — represented by Rabin, Peres, and Christopher — or returns to the moment of truth, sides with his own people, and frees himself from these pressures. The current situation is very serious and tension in the Gaza Strip has gone too far. Everybody knows that Hamas [the Islamic Resistance Movement], which is an Islamic, Arab, and Palestinian movement, is careful to direct its activities toward the Zionist occupation. Hamas does not seek authority and does not want a piece of the pie or any position. It wants to continue its historic jihad by keeping the torch of jihad and intifada lit continuously. Therefore, this road should not be obstructed and the youths of al-Qassam and the Hamas Movement should not be turned from carrying out their sacred mission and jihad into defending themselves against arrests, accusations, and the attempt to disarm them, as well as against what is hidden in the coming period. Hence, wise men and honest people are called on to intervene immediately to convince the Palestinian Authority to clear the road for those mujahidin to continue their long march.” Text from Amman Al-Dustour, 11 April 1995, p. 29; taken from Daily Report, FBIS-NESA, 13 April 1995, p. 4.
November 1994, ‘Abdallah al-Shami, official spokesman for the Islamic Jihad Movement in the Gaza Strip, “The state of Israel has no right to exist over the land of Palestine. Recognizing the legitimacy of Israel is a disavowal of our people’s right. We have been against the legitimacy of the occupation from the beginning. The entire land is owned by our people. We do not mind if the Jews want to live on our land. However, we will not agree whatsoever to live under their flag and under their control.” Interview with Al-Muharrir (Paris), 21 November 1994.
October 26, 1994, Jordan signs peace treaty with Israel, promoting mutually beneficial strategic national interests.
August 8, 1994, Hassan Nasrallah, Leader and Secretary General, on ridding the land of Jews and reclaiming Jerusalem (Nasrallah becomes head of Hezbollah in 1992) “We will not give up resistance. The struggle against the Jews and the battle against Zionism will continue until all the land is recovered…We will return to Jerusalem…and not a single Jew will remain in Palestine — that is God’s promise.” Remarks by Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, French Press Agency (Paris) in English, 7 August 1994, taken from Foreign Broadcast Information Service-Near East and South Asia, August 8, 1994, p. 77.
March 6, 1994, Mahmud al-Zahar Hamas leader in Gaza “”Hamas believes that the new situation will be more dangerous for the Palestinians than the occupation, but through justification of the occupation through these Agreements this will create many problems for the Palestinians. What will become of the millions of Palestinians abroad and of the hundreds of thousands of deportees? What will become of our rights over Palestine? Arafat and his colleagues must answer all these questions. Hamas will continue to resist the Israelis’ presence by all means.
This is no peace process. It is an agreement between the PLO and Israel. The occupation will be more legal from the international viewpoint. Israel will be the dominant force and the center of authority in Tel Aviv and will give us Palestinians the right to self-control. That is what autonomy means; the same as the Kurds in Iraq. The central government — the master of the land — will give self-determination to a minority national group. With the signing of this Agreement, Arafat is saying that Israel is the master of all Palestine and that it is giving us the opportunity to set up an autonomous entity. This is the most dangerous point in the Agreement signed in the so-called peace talks.” La Vanguardia (Barcelona), 6 March 1994 as reported in FBIS, March 8, 1994.
September 13, 1993, Israel and the PLO sign the Oslo Accords, granting the PLO a chance to govern a portion of the territories Israel secured in the June 1967 War; no Palestinian state was promised; likewise no promise to stop or withdraw Jewish settlements in those territories is agreed upon.
September 9, 1993, The PLO and Israel mutually recognize the legitimacy of the other; Arafat, leader of the PLO seek to reassert diminishing influence of the PLO over Palestinians in the territories; Israel’s Rabin sees PLO recognition as a small step in Palestinians acceptance of Israel.
August 18, 1988, Hamas Charter issued, the militant Islamic Palestinian organization stipulates that Israel is illegitimate and should be destroyed through Jihad. Hamas states opposition to all recognition, negotiation and agreements previously signed by Arab states and the PLO with Israel.
October 7, 1986 – Fadlallah on Jewish control of Palestine as the core problem for Arab states “We…believe that the problems of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, or Egypt are part of the mother problem, which is the Palestine problem, resulting from the Jewish [sic] control of Palestine with the support of the United Nations and the states it represents.” Remarks by Sheikh Muhammad Fadlallah, alMajallah (London), October 1-7, l986, p. ll.
May 10, 1986 – Fadlallah opposing Palestinians who do not struggle against Israel – “There is a difference between the Muslim revolutionaries of Lebanon and the Palestinians. We accept the crusade of the Palestinian brothers. But before or since l982, they have not moved in a direction that makes the struggle against Israel their primary goal and motive. Especially the way we see things now, the question of war against Israel has lost its real and strategic importance. Many of the Palestinians’ highlevel leaders have given Israel or Arab countries promises with regard to removing “war against Israel” from their calculations. They have provided coordinated and peaceloving plans with regard to Israel within the framework of an international conference.” Interview with Sheikh Muhammad Fadlallah, (then spiritual guide of Hizballah in southern Lebanon) in Keyhan (Tehran), May 10, l986, as quoted in Foreign Broadcast Information Service-Near East and South Asia, May 20, l986, p. G3).
September 14, 1986 – Fadlallah on Israel’s non-right to exist – “We cannot see Israel as a legal presence, considering that it is a conglomeration of people who came from all parts of the world to live in Palestine on the ruins of another people.” Sheikh Muhammad Fadlallah, Monday Morning (Beirut), September 14, l986.
April 21-27, 1980, Palestinian leader George Habash opposing Sadat and acceptance of Israel. ..”the Camp David phase has brought our Palestinian struggle in particular and the Arab liberation struggle to face a new, difficult, dangerous and complicated phase that is different from any previous phase ever experienced by our Palestinian struggle against the Zionist invasion which is allied with imperialism. …the Camp David agreements have for the first time led an official Arab regime to recognize, cooperate and ally itself with the Zionist entity in an open, declared, official manner. We had never faced such a situation before. Arab reaction, which during previous phases could not confront the Zionist invasion, had at a time plotted secretly with Zionism and imperialism against the Palestinian struggle and, at other times, attempted to weaken or abort the Palestinian struggle, as happened in 1936 and 1948. It is our duty to support the Iranian revolution as long as it is hostile to imperialism and Zionism, irrespective of the views of the Iranian revolution’s political and economic quarters during the current phase.
October 23, 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini said, “Qods (Jerusalem) is the key to the liberation of Palestine. This is a sacred duty, and Israel must be wiped off the map. The Zionist regime is a cancerous tumor. It must be removed from the region.“
March 26, 1979, Egypt and Israel sign a peace treaty; Israel agrees to return all of Egyptian Sinai and withdraw settlements from there as well in return for having Egypt step away for Arab military encirclement of Israel. Treaty comes after prolonged and difficult Egyptian-Israeli talks during the Carter administration that saw an outline for a treaty and some autonomy for the Palestinians in the territories offered in the September 17, 1978 Camp David Accords
June 1967 war, Israel succeeds in the six day war, but not treaties are signed with Arab states.
May 26, 1967, Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser to Arab Trade Union
“The problem today is not just Israel, but also those behind it. If Israel embarks on an aggression against Syria or Egypt, the battle against Israel will be a general one and not confined to one spot on the Syrian or Egyptian borders. The battle will be a general one and our basic objective will be to destroy Israel. I could not have said such things five or even three years ago. If I had said such things and had been unable to carry them out my words would have been empty and worthless. Egyptian President Nasser to Arab Trade Union
May 28 1964, The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is formed stating its purpose is to destroy Israel through armed struggle, retaining this policy until recognizing Israel formally in 1993.
September 1, 1960, Cairo radio broadcast. “It is obvious that the return of 1,000,000 Arabs to Palestine will make the majority of Israel’s inhabitants. Then they will be able to impose their will on the Jews and expel them from Palestine.”
On June 8, 1951, Habib Isa, Al-Hoda, the Lebanese daily newspaper published in the United States the responsibility for the Arab flight from Palestine lies with the Arab leaders themselves, It was they who encouraged the population to leave, promising that they would return in a few days after the defeat of the Jews. They gave the impression that the war would be short and that the Arabs would easily be able to return to their homes, but instead, the situation worsened, and the Palestinians were left without homes or support Written by the acting editor of the publication, Habib Issa, it declared: “As soon as the British had publicly announced the time for their relinquishment of the mandate and their withdrawal from Palestine, the Arab League began holding meetings and calling conferences, and its general secretary, Abdul-Rahman Azzam Pasha, the head of the Arab League published numerous reports and declarations in which he assured the Arab peoples and all others that the occupation of Palestine and of Tel-Aviv (the virtual Jewish capital) would be as simple as a military promenade for the Arab armies. Azzam Pasha’s statements pointed out that armies were already on the frontiers and that all the millions that the Jews had spent on land and on economic development would surely be easy booty for the Arabs, since it would be a simple matter to throw the Jews to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
“As the time for the British withdrawal grew nearer, the zeal of the Arab League was redoubled. Meetings and conferences took place almost daily and burning calls and appeals were issued. Brotherly advice was given to the Arabs of Palestine, urging them to leave their land, homes and property and to stay temporarily in neighboring, brotherly states, lest the guns of the invading Arab armies mow them down.
“The Palestinian Arabs had no choice but to obey the ’advice’ of the League and to believe what Azzam Pasha and other responsible men in the League told them – that their withdrawal from their lands and their country was only temporary and would end in a few days with the successful termination of the Arab ‘punishment’ action against Israel.
“But victory was not to be the result of this ‘punishment’ action. Victory is not produced by speeches, reports, and declarations. Victory is produced by cannons, airplanes, and tanks. The threats of the Arab League evaporated in the face of the preparedness, good command and superior generalship of the Zionist ‘gangs.’ We saw ‘the military promenade’ become a crushing catastrophe that shattered the prestige of the League and its member states and exposed their inner weakness and deterioration.
Azzam Pasha and the other responsible Arab leaders now try to excuse the defeat of the Arabs on the ground that their forces were inadequately armed, organized and trained. In the light of this, we should like to ask Azzam Pasha and his colleagues a simple question: ‘If the Arab armies lacked sufficient arms, organization and training, why did you throw them into a savage war against an enemy who had everything that modern wars require – equipment, good training, unity of command, expert officers who knew the arts of war and who had participated in two World Wars? And why did you jeopardize the lives of a million Palestine Arabs and make them wander from their homes? Since, as you say, the Arab armies were not adequately prepared for victory, did not the flight of the Arabs, urged by you, amount to the facilitation of Zionist victory?”
On May 15, 1949, the Near East Arabic Radio broadcast the following statement: “The Jews are scared to death and they know that they will soon be thrown into the sea. Their existence is in grave danger, and the Arab armies are preparing to expel them from Palestine. The Jews will not be able to withstand the force of the Arab nations united against them.”
September 27, 1948, Near East Arabic Radio broadcast attacked the Arab Higher Committee’s record, declaring, “The Arab Higher Committee is responsible for the mass flight of the Palestinian people. By advising them to leave their homes, they have caused irreparable harm to the Arab cause. The Palestinian population was misled into thinking they could return quickly, only to find themselves abandoned and displaced. The Arab Higher Committee’s leadership failure has led to this tragedy, and they must be held accountable for the consequences.”
September 6, 1948, Emil Ghoury, Secretary General of the Palestine Arab Higher Committee (self-appointed Arab leadership group in 1936 and recognized by the British as voice of the Palestinian Arabs, Haj Amin al-Husseini, , Abdel Qadir al-Husseini, Fawzi al-Qawuqji, Raghib al-Nashashibi, and Jamīl al-‘Abd al-Ḥamīd), noted “The fact that there are refugees is the direct consequence of the action agreed of the Arab states in opposing partition and the Jewish state. The Arab states agreed upon this policy unanimously, and they should share in the solution of the problem.” The Telegraph a Lebanese daily
November 29, 1947, UN suggests Partition of Palestine into Arab and a Jewish states with an economic union between them and Jerusalem be managed as a separate area; Zionists accept the idea, Palestinians and Arabs vehemently oppose Zionism and a Jewish state
1947-1949, Israel declares independence No peace treaties are signed, only armistice (cease-fire agreements) are signed between Israel and our surrounding states; no Palestinian state supported by Arab states or the Palestinians emerge; Arab commitment is not to recognize Zionism or Israel; Palestinians flee homes and settle mostly in Arab states in refugee camps; Jews from Arab lands flee from Israel, categorizing their state of affairs as a “disaster” or nakbah.
October 26, 1947, Saudi King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud – The decision of the Government of the United States to support the claims of the Zionist in Palestine is an unfriendly act directed against the Arabs; without doubt, the results of this decision will lead to a death-blow to American interests in the Arab countries and will disillusion the Arab’s confidence in the friendship, justice and fairness of the United States. The Arabs have definitely decided to oppose the establishment of a Jewish state in any part of the Arab world. Even if it is supposed that the Jews will succeed in gaining support for the establishment of a small state by their oppressive and tyrannous means and their money, such a state must perish in a short time. The Arab will isolate such a state from the world and will lay siege to it until it dies by famine. .. prosperity of the state will be
prevented; its end will be the same as that of those crusader states which were forced to relinquish coveted objects in Palestine. “ King Abdul Aziz to President Truman, October 26, 1947.
September 1947, Arab League Secretary General – “The Arab world is not in a compromising mood. We shall try to defeat you. I’m not sure we’ll succeed, but we’ll try. We were able to drive out the Crusaders, but on the other hand we lost Spain and Persia. It may be that we shall lose Palestine. But it’s too late to talk of peaceful solutions.” Remarks by Azzam Pasha, Secretary General of the Arab League, September 1947.
March 1946 – “The whole Arab people is unalterably opposed to the attempt to impose Jewish immigration and settlement upon it, and ultimately to establish a Jewish State in Palestine. Its opposition is based primarily upon right.” The Case for Arab Palestine, The Arab Office, 1946.
1930s-1947 – Palestinian Collaboration with Zionistsassists in evolution of Jewish state.
1946 – Arab leadership divisions in Palestine, opposed to applying democratic forms for rule –”The Arabs are divided politically by the personal bickerings of the leaders, which still centre round the differences of the Husseinis and their rivals; and socially by the gap which separates the small upper class from the mass of the peasants—a gap which the new intelligentsia is not yet strong enough to bridge. Consequently they have developed no such internal democracy as have the Jews. That their divisions have not been overcome and a formally organised community developed is in part the result of a less acutely self-conscious nationalism than is found today among the Jews. It is, however, also the outcome of a failure of political responsibility. The Arab leaders, rejecting what they regard as a subordinate status in the Palestinian State, and viewing themselves as the proper heirs of the Mandatory Administration, have refused to develop a self-governing Arab community parallel to that of the Jews. Nor, so far, have they been prepared to see their position called in question by such democratic forms as elections for the Arab Higher Committee, or the formation of popularly based political parties. This failure is recognised by the new intelligentsia which, however, is unlikely to exercise much power until it has the backing of a larger middle class.” Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry Report, 1946, p. 36.
1936-1939 compared to October 7, 2023 Documents and Personalities of the 1936-1939 Riots against Zionism, Jews and the British, “The war against us (JEWS-Zionists) here is not like any other war between people in which an army fights an army. Our war is distinguished by the fact that our civilian population serves as a “military target” to the enemy.
The indiscriminate murders of Jewish civilians, babies, women and the elderly plus the looting and theft of our belongings are executed by unruly gangs who are incited by terrorists. These are in essence the Arabs’ “military actions” that are aimed at scaring us and create a climate of disturbances in order to make us give up our aspirations for independence and freedom, and the redemption of our brethren in the Diaspora. These tactics are evident in all the acts of our enemy.” Documents and Personalities of the 1936-1939 Riots, From the archives of the Arab Militias/Gangs Published (in Hebrew) by the “Hebrew Defender” April 1944, Eretz Israel, Information Center of the Palmach, Central Zionist Archives Library, Jerusalem, Israel.
1931- 1949 Arab Land Sales to Jews– a sampling, January 7, 1932, “The whole of Palestine is holy Arab land and whoever endeavors, allows, or helps to sell all or any part of these lands to the Jews will be considered as one who committed high treason.” Filastin, Palestinian newspaper; August 21, 1932, ‘…because the Jews are alert, and our leaders are asleep, the Jews are buying the lands’. al-Jami’ah al-Islamiyyah, Palestinian newspaper; September 2, 1932, ‘The Arab will never regard these sales as legal although the Jews possess the titles to these lands; and when political conditions change, the Arabs will demand that their lands be given back to them because they were sold in very extraordinary [circumstances]’. al-Jami’ah al-Islamiyyah, (Palestinian newspaper); September 16, 1932, “There is no doubt that the question of the sale of land is about one of the greatest dangers that threatens the future of the country. “al-Jami’ah al-Arabiyyah, Palestinian newspaper
1929 – Haj Amin al-Husseini, Mufti of Jerusalem, “The Arabs of Palestine, in rejecting the policy of establishing a Jewish National Home, are only defending themselves against a foreign usurpation of their land and heritage.” From a 1929 letter to British High Commissioner John Chancellor, as quoted in Tom Segev, One Palestine, Complete: Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate, Tom Segev, New York: Henry Holt, 2000, p. 158.
1921 – Musa Kazim al-Husseini, –“The Arabs of Palestine cannot consent to the establishment of a national home for Jews in this country, because it is equivalent to yielding the land of Palestine, which is a pure Arab land, to the Jews, for them to make of it a base from which to extend their domination over the neighboring Arab countries.” Doreen Ingrams (ed.) Palestine Papers, 1917-1922: Seeds of Conflict, London: John Murray, 1972, p. 80.
1921 – The First Arab Congress in Jerusalem, during the Arab Executive Committee’s meeting, “The Zionist immigration is a death sentence upon us, and every Arab feels it in his bones. We do not know why we should be made to pay the price of European anti-Semitism… We oppose the Jewish national home with all our might.” George Antonius, The Arab Awakening, Beirut: Khayats, 1938), pp. 265-268.