Arab Responsibility for Palestinian "Refugees"

Through a continuous bombardment of propaganda intended to supplant historical fact, the Arabs have made the so-called refugee problem a key element in their war against Israel. Today, they use it as the basis for their claimed "right of return," which is intended to force Israel to accept millions of Arabs into their country and so destroy the Jewish state. Those familiar with the history of 1948 know that Arab leaders urged Arabs to leave the new Jewish state so they could destroy it and then return to claim the entire land. The Palestinian Media Watch recently published testimony by Palestinians--who were there at the time--that confirms the historical truth that the refugee problem is a fabricated one and not the fault of Israel. The fact is that anyone who includes an Arab "right of return" in a peace agreement supports the destruction of Israel and is therefore not a worthy negotiating partner.

The six testimonies are:

"The radio stations of the Arab regimes kept repeating to us: "Get away from the battle lines. It's a matter of ten days or two weeks at the most, and we'll bring you back to Ein-Kerem." (Palestinian TV, 2009)

"The first war between Arabs and Israel had started and the "Arab Salvation Army" told the Palestinians: 'We have come to you in order to liquidate the Zionists and their state. Leave your houses and villages, you will return to them in a few days safely. Leave them so we can fulfill our mission (liquidate Israel) in the best way and so you won't be hurt." (Al Ayyam, 2008)

"The leaders and the elites promised us [refugees] at the beginning of the "Catastrophe" in 1948, that the duration of the exile will not be long, and that it will not last more than a few days or months, and afterwards the refugees will return to their homes, which most of them did not leave until they put their trust in those[worthless] promises made by the leaders and the political elites." (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, 2006)

"They [Arab leaders] told us: The Jews attacked our region and it is better to evacuate the village and return after the battle is over. And indeed there were among us [who fled Israel] those who left a fire burning under the pot, those who left their flock [of sheep] and those who left their money and gold behind, based on the assumption that we would return after a few hours" (Al Ayyam, 2006)

"Like the armies of your predecessors in the year of 1948, who forced us to leave [Israel], on the pretext of clearing the battlefields of civilians." (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, 2001)

"Son of refugee: 'Mr. Ibrahim [Sarsur]: I address you as a Muslim. My father and grandfather told me that during the "Catastrophe" [in 1948], our District Officer issued an order that whoever stays in Palestine and in Majdel [southern Israel] is a traitor, he is a traitor.'" (Palestinian TV, 1999)

The Arab narrative about Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount has been a deliberate attempt to replace historical fact with propaganda.