by MUHAMMAD ALI SIDDIQI
RIVERS of blood are flowing in the Middle East, but the one organisation that has been conspicuous by its absence is the Arab League. Founded in Cairo in 1945 with only seven members, the League of Arab States, now referred to as Arab League, has 22 members, the increase in numbers being of no consequence.
The first decision it made was to oppose the UN’s Palestine partition plan, which itself smacked of prejudice. The Arabs constituted 55 per cent of Palestine’s population, but they were given 40pc of it, and Jerusalem was awarded the status of an ‘international enclave’. The Arab world’s rejection of the partition plan lacked statesmanship. If the Arab League had accepted the UN’s partition plan the history of Al Aqsa and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, would have been different.
The Zionist leadership knew the Arab world’s military weakness and had during the mandate turned the kibbutzim into virtual arsenals. However, after World War II, there were better opportunities for the Jewish leadership to get hold of the latest weapons gathering dust in Europe. There were Jewish soldiers in the Allied armies and they did what was obvious. They rushed the latest World War II weapons to the kibbutzim in Palestine by every available means — by boat, ship, and air. Thus, when Britain finally quit Palestine, the Jewish leadership was ready to take over that part of Palestine which had been allocated to the would-be Jewish state.
What was the military strength of the Arab world? Azzam Pasha, a top Arab League official, put this question to Sir John Bagot Glubb (Glubb Pasha), Commander of Transjordan’s Arab Legion. He replied: “Some 4,500 officers and men.” Azzam Pasha said: “I thought you had more.” He then asked how many the Jews had. Glubb Pasha replied: “Perhaps 60,000.”
The Jewish soldiers in the Allied armies did what was obvious.
The total forces with the Arab League were: Egypt 10,000; Arab Legion 4,500, Syria 3,000 and Iraq 3,000: a total of 20,500. But the Syrian army took no part in the fighting, and Lebanon had no army.
King Abdullah of Transjordan had made up his mind to send troops to the areas allotted to the Arabs in the partition plan but not to those given to the Jewish state. The Arab Legion was also told to stay away from Jerusalem.
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