This Is Israel - I. F. Stone

pages 25-26

Ill-armed, outnumbered, however desperate their circumstances, the Jews stood fast. The Arabs very early began to run away. First the wealthiest fam -ilies went; it was estimated that 20,000 of them left the country in the first two months of internal hostilities. By the end of January, the exodus was already so alarming that the Palestine Arab Higher Committee in alarm asked neighboring Arab countries to refuse visas to these refugees and to seal the borders against them. While the Arab guerrillas were moving in, the Arab civilian population was moving out. The movement was soon to take on a momentum and reach massive proportions. In the next six weeks - from April 1 to May 15 - virtually the entire Arab population of Tiberias, Haifa, Safad, Jaffa, and Jerusalem were to flee the country.