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עמוד:79
Arab military circles rely on the lack of heavy weapons ) artillery , tanks ( and war planes on the Jewish side , for the success of the operation . The beginning of action is planned for May 15 , and it appears that 1 ( the first main objective of the regular armies will be Tel Aviv itself , and 2 ( the Arabs have considered the aerial bombardment of this city . The region of Tel Aviv will be the goal of the Egyptian army . ) Knowing the Arabs , we can ' t rule out , without making any ) guesses , that not many of them would be prepared for a blitzkrieg . The following numbers can be anticipated ) their reinforcement has already been studied for Egypt and Syria ( : Egypt : 1 armored brigade 1 mobile infantry brigade 1 artillery regiment 3 groups of bombers from 8000 to 10 , 000 men Iraq 1 armored brigade 1 mobile infantry brigade 3 artillery batteries 1 aviation group from 6 , 000 to 8 , 000 men Transjordan : Arab Legion 5 , 000 men Syria : 2 or 3 battalions 3 artillery batteries ) Tanks ) about 40 Airplanes 3 , 000 men Lebanon 2 battalions Various other elements 2 , 000 men The Egyptian troops will be gathering at al - Arish . The British oppose their crossing the Palestinian border before May 15 . The Iraqi troops are concentrated in Mafraq , the Syrian troops in Kuneitra . The Lebanese troops , already in place on the Lebanese - Palestinian border , don ' t appear to have to take an active part in the operations , but to make only some demonstration intended to hold back a part of the Zionist strength . The removal of Ismail Pasha Safwat from his post as Commander of the Arab forces must have been motivated by his refusal to acquiesce in the British orders concerning the future progression of operations in Palestine , notably the question of Haifa , which Safwat wanted to attack and take over . The British opposed this , wanting to keep the port for the evacuation of their troops . Safwat protested . Abdullah and the Iraqi Regent gave in to the British demands . Safwat was removed from office and replaced by the Iraqi Division General , Nur a - Din Mahmmud , the Regent ' s man , whose compliance with the British is well - known . The American government ' s proposal – conveyed a few days ago to the Arab states and consisting of extending the British mandate over Palestine by ten days in order to facilitate an agreement between the Arabs and Jews – would have been accepted , it appears , straightaway by Azzam Pasha , Riyad al - Sulh , Jamil Mardam and Haj Amin al - Husseini , but rejected by King Abdullah . The others , even if they didn ' t want to , would then agree with him , in the present circumstances – not wanting to appear less enthusiastic defenders of an Arab Palestine than the Hashemite sovereign . Certain circles in Damascus fear the consequences , after May 16 , of the USSR ' s recognition of the establishment of the Jewish State and the immediate conclusion of a Judeo - Soviet treaty , on the positions of the Americans and the British vis - à - vis the Jewish State .
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