Summary
The armistice agreement between Jordan and Israel signed on 3 April 1949 at Rhodes, whose amendments to the cease-fire lines transferred the The Triangle villages to Israeli control, with clear commitments that the villagers’ rights to their land and property would not be violated, in Manna’s account (Nakba and Survival, PDF p.188).
Details
- The agreement was signed on 3 April 1949 and included a number of amendments to the cease-fire lines between the two sides, the most important of which was the transfer of the Triangle villages to Israeli control; Jordan consented to the transfer without consulting the population or even informing them beforehand (Nakba and Survival, PDF p.188).
- The Jordanians, the British and other international parties, fearing Israel might expel the Triangle’s population as it had some of those who remained in the Galilee, repeatedly asked for written and verbal commitments; consequently the signed agreement for the transfer included clear commitments that the villagers’ rights to their land and property would not be violated (Nakba and Survival, PDF p.188).
- The agreement between Jordan and Israel also included commitments to protect the citizens and their property and mentioned the creation of an Arab police force to maintain law and order in the Arab villages; an Arab police unit was formed at the beginning, but the entire area was quickly placed under Israeli military rule and there was no further mention of that unit (Nakba and Survival, PDF p.189).
- Israel interpreted the agreement’s articles concerning protecting the inhabitants and their rights narrowly, in a way that excluded the territory west of the cease-fire line; most of those considered refugees were expelled during the first few months under Israeli military rule, and the remaining inhabitants of smaller villages were uprooted (Nakba and Survival, PDF p.189).
- After signing the armistice agreement with Israel in Rhodes, the Jordanian authorities encouraged the return of expellees from Galilee or their transport to Lebanon, the tens of thousands of refugees in the Jenin and Nablus regions being a heavy economic burden on the kingdom and a source of political disturbances (Nakba and Survival, PDF p.163).
- The church-affiliated al-Rabita magazine, reporting the destruction of Al-Jalama’s houses despite a Supreme Court ruling in the villagers’ favour, commented that the Rhodes agreement too should have protected the inhabitants of the village from this unjust action (Nakba and Survival, PDF p.191).
Where sources disagree
- Within Manna’s own text, Chapter 4 dates the Jordanian authorities’ encouragement of the expellees’ return or transport to after signing the armistice agreement with Israel in Rhodes (23 April), as printed (PDF p.163), while Chapter 4’s opening and Chapter 5 give the Jordan armistice as 3 April 1949 (PDF p.151, 188). Both dates are recorded as printed; see Open questions on the source page.