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these clashes but wanted to secure the roads and locations necessary for the British Army’s evacuation from Palestine over the coming three months through Haifa port, and that his aim was to establish security and peace in the area.

The statement listed the roads the British Army would use in its withdrawal and demanded that they remain distant from Arab-Jewish clashes and that the evacuation proceed easily and quickly. It affirmed Britain’s desire to maintain good relations with both sides in the future, with continuing friendship and respect for each.

The Arabs therefore did not expect the British forces to evacuate Palestine through Haifa port at least two months before the date of Major General Stockwell’s statement on 21 April 1948. They believed that during this period they could obtain the weapons and means of combat needed to protect Haifa and secure communication between it and Acre and the other neighboring Arab cities and villages.

They did not expect treachery to take its ugliest forms, with the Jews beginning their attack on Haifa in collusion with the British authorities, who were secretly planning to withdraw from Haifa three weeks after that date.

The principal roads and areas that Major General Stockwell’s statement said he would preserve to secure the evacuation routes for the British forces were the protected area on Mount Carmel, the German Colony, Bat Galim, a Jewish settlement, the port area, the eastern railway station, and the oil area and airport.

The catastrophe began when the Jews, who knew every detail of the British Army’s new plan because they were one side in this conspiracy and collusion, launched their attack on the morning of 21 April 1948. The commander of the garrison, Amin Izz al-Din, had left Haifa for Damascus to bring weapons, equipment, and soldiers to reinforce the position.

The battle proceeded normally until three in the afternoon. An hour later, Holy War Army fighters occupied several places in the city that were necessary to improve the position.

The Arab position remained good in all the centers until one after midnight, when the enemy’s rocket guns began firing their rockets heavily and the enemy launched a powerful attack involving at least 5,000 fighters, according to Jewish