( Guardian, Mark Crocker, book review, 1/21/06): Arabs "could neither appeal the decision, nor apply for compensation" for land they had lost in 1948.
: According to the Israel Lands Administration Report for 1993 cited on CAMERA's web site, Arabs who lost property in Israel are eligible to file for compensation from Israel's Custodian of Absentee Property.
As of the end of 1993, a total of 14,692 claims had been filed, claims had been settled with respect to more than 200,000 dunums of land, more than 10,000,000 NIS (New Israeli Sheckels) had been paid in compensation, and more than 54,000 dunums of replacement land had been given in compensation.
(Guardian, Ghada Karmi, 5/15/06): .... Israeli forces in the 1948-1949 war were greater in number and better equipped than the Arab armies that attacked them.
: Israeli historian Benny Morris laid out the relative strengths of Jewish and Arab forces at the start of the 1948 war in an article published in the New Republic on May 8, 2006.
When Israel declared its Independence in 1948, Arab forces possessed a decisive advantage in weapons and combat manpower. The following comparison illustrates this advantage:
1) Combat aircraft: Arabs possessed 70 — the Jews had 0
2) Standard armored fighting vehicles: Arabs possessed over 200 — the Jews had 2 (one of which was missing its cannon)
3) Artillery pieces: Arabs possessed dozens — the Jews had 2 batteries.