Deir Yassin was a strategic point, because the Arab forces were shelling the Jewish convoys heading from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem from the hills. The Jewish army needed to take Deir Yassin to stop the shelling and ensure the security of their supply lines.
When the Jewish army entered the village, the residents surrenered. But it was a phoney surrender. The Jewish army, thinking the enemy had surrendered, let their guard down. They were then ambushed by town residents, many of whom were men dressed in women's traditional loose clothing to hide their weapons! Many Jewish soldiers were killed or wounded in the ambush. In the firefight, many Arabs were killed. So there is no doubt that some of the Jewish army were extremely angry at having been tricked and ambushed by a phoney surrender. It does not excuse any deliberate killing of innocent people, but it sure goes a long way to explain why so many people died at Deir Yassin. This is the part of the story that the Arab Propeganists refuse to acknowlege.
While the Jewish army proclaimed 250 dead, and the NY times said apx 200 dead, Arab sources said only 100 dead. The revised number of dead at Deir Yassin, as per Arab research, is 107 dead. Sad yes, but considering the phoney surrender and ambush, not very suprising.
Thats what armies are trained to do, at least the winners. I mean no disrespect to you, and am not directing my comments to you. I enjoy your posts. There might be some value in discussing these things in a historic context, ie Deir Yassin vs. the Hebron massacre. Civilians killed at Deir Yassin are a tragedy, whether 100 or 250. Civilian deathe on either side, and there were many, is a cause for sadness. But only the Israeli side seems to recognize that. But bringing up Deir Yassin in the context of the ongoing deliberate slaughter of Israeli citizens by the Palestinians, and the murder of American citizens by the supportors of Islam, well its revolting.
If the PA supporters want to discuss atrocities Arab populations have been subjected to, why only a few hundred at a time? As Emeril says, kick it up a notch. Hama, Syria. The town surrounded and shelled. 20,000 to 25,000 civilian deaths. And it wasn't the Mossad dressed up as Syrians. Though in the next ten posts someone will have a link that says it was.