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sources, using the newest automatic weapons so that they rarely used rifles.

“As for the British Army, the ‘neutral’ one, it split the city in two, thereby preventing internal reinforcements from moving from one unit to another, closed the city’s entrances, and prevented Arab reinforcements that had come from the nearby village of al-Tira, numbering about 300 men with three armored cars, from reaching it. In addition, the armored cars of the British Army helped shell the fortified Arab positions on the front lines.

“At four in the morning that day, the situation began to turn in the enemy’s favor because of their continuing pressure, superior weapons, and abundant ammunition. The residents then began leaving the city, especially the Old City.

“...At ten in the morning on 21 April, a committee of some of Haifa’s leading figures was formed. They went to the British Army command at Hadar HaCarmel, met the British commander and his aides, explained the situation, and asked him to mediate to stop the massacre. He replied that he was not prepared to intervene and could not resist the Jews, nor would he allow the Arabs to seek help from armed Arabs outside the country. His first concern was preserving the roads and areas occupied by the Army.

“The British commander said he could mediate with the Jewish authorities to conclude a truce if the Arabs accepted it. The committee members asked to know the truce terms. The commander asked them to wait while he went to meet the Jewish leaders. He returned fifteen minutes later carrying fifteen conditions printed on British Army paper and read them to the committee. They objected and rejected most of them, so the British commander returned to meet the Jewish leaders.

“In the afternoon, the city’s leading figures met and discussed the matter. They then met with the British commander, the district governor, Haifa’s Jewish mayor, and other Jews representing various tendencies. They discussed the harsh truce terms. The Arabs believed they could not accept them because they were unjust, resembling the conditions of a victorious state imposed on a defeated one, and asked to postpone the talks until the next day. The commander refused postponement and insisted on immediate signature, telling them: ‘If you do not sign these conditions by six-thirty in the evening, I will not be responsible for the slaughter of thousands of Arabs!’”