Your assumption is extremely mistaken

Submitted by Devasahayam (United States), Jun 2, 2008 at 08:41

Here is a timeline of events from 1918-1948:

• 1920/04/04 -- Nabi Musa riots in Jerusalem, Muslims attacking Jews, instigated by Haj-amin Husseini, who is sentenced in-absentia to 10 years
  
• 1921 -- Palestine High Commissioner Herbert Samuel pardons Husseini--and allows him to be appointed Jerusalem Grand Mufti the next year
• 1929 -- Mufti Husseini incites riots/massacres in Hebron and Safed
• 1933 -- German Consul in Palestine-Mandate Heinrich Wolff reports that Arabs, particularly Haj-amin Husseini, enthusiastically welcome Hitler's becoming Chancellor
• 1937 -- Husseini formally meets new German Consul Hans Döhle, specifically inquiring extent of Third Reich's support of Arabs against Jews
  
• April 1941 -- Husseini declares jihad against UK; British troops (re)occupy Iraq forcing Husseini to flee to Iran (then ruled by "neutral" Reza Shah Pahlavi) and thence to Italy
• 1941 -- Husseini submits to German (Third Reich) government a draft declaration of Arab cooperation with Nazi Germans with specific clause "Germany and Italy recognize the right of the Arab countries to solve the question of the Jewish elements, which exist in Palestine and in the other Arab countries, as required by the national and ethnic (völkisch) interests of the Arabs, and as the Jewish question was solved in Germany and Italy"
• 1941-1945 -- Husseini makes trips from Berlin to Bosnia and Kosovo to recruit local Muslims for SS
• 1945 -- after Hitler's defeat, Husseini flees to Switzerland and is deported back to Germany and captured (and put under house-arrest) by French. Escaping, flees to Cairo
• 1947 -- Husseini urges Egypt's military to attack Israel should it ever be formed; other Arab nations (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq) "muscle in" for spoils

You assumed that "it would be sensible to leave a war zone"--but this was not what actually happened. The Arabs who left were actually urged to do so by commanders of Syria and Egypt as well as al-Husseini's various "militias".

By active collaboration with Nazis, the "Palestinians" far from being simply victims actually were a walking call for their own annihilation (which FYI, Israel wasn't interested in doing)!

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".