Since the beginning of the War of Independence in Jerusalem, in December 1947, the Jewish quarter in the old city was under siege. A little over 2,000 Jews resided there, among them many elderly people and students of orthodox collages, who were either unable to fight or perceived the idea of Israel's independence as desecration. Many of the inhabitants sought to leave before the battles began, yet couldn't, because of the siege. The Arab population in the old city numbered 20 thousand souls.