According to Jewish tradition, the Messiah will arise from the lake of Tiberias, enter into the city, and be enthroned at Safed on the summit of a lofty hill. However,Tiberias' status as one of the four Jewish Holy cities was due to an influx of of rabbis in the 18th and 19th centuries. Those rabbis had established it as a centre for Jewish learning.

After WW1 Jews, mostly oriental and sephardic, and the Arabs of Tiberias had built their own neighbourhoods but there were also mixed areas. By 1948 the Jewish population of Tiberias was slightly larger than the Arab. Traditionally, relations between Jews and Arabs in the town were good, mostly due to members of the leading Arab family, the Tabaris, who were renowned for moderation and skilled negotiation.

After the the UN vote on November 29th 1947, an agreement between Jewish representatives and the the Tabaris initially prevented trouble. Both sides, however, took precautions against future disturbances.

By the end of February 1948, about four hundred local members pf Haganah were stationed in Tiberias as well as sixty more highly trained from elsewhere. Five hundred Arab local fighters were augmented by 30 Syrian soldiers.

When the British Police withdrew, British paratroopers took over the police building.

By the end of February eight hundred members of Fawzi al Qawugji's 'Arab Liberation Army', who had infiltrated Palestine in January, were stationed in the nearby villages of Turan and Ilaboun awaiting orders from the Arab League to attack Tiberias. Soldiers from the Jordanian Arab Legion, who had been asked by the British to look after security in Galilee when the British finally were now stationed at Tsemach,some thirteen kilometers south of Tiberias.

Relative quie reigned in Tiberias until March 10th 1948 when a rumour spread among the Arab population that a Jewish leader had been killed by Arabs and that the Jews were planning reprisal attacks. The Arabs opened fire and fighting continued for three days until the British army brokered a ceasefire.

Four weeks later, trouble broke out again. Sporadic shooting broke out between the Jewish and Arab neighborhoods of Tiberias. On April 10, the Haganah launched a mortar barrage, killing some Arab residents. The local Arab National Committee refused the offer of the Arab League's Liberation Army to take over defense of Tiberias.

However, a small contingent of outside irregulars moved in against the will of the locals. During April 10-17, the Haganah, anxious about the safety of its convoys passing through the Jordan valley, attacked the city and refused to negotiate a truce.Some time during this period the British section of the Palestine police left and their place was taken by paratroopers On the night of 16-17 April, units of the Golani Brigade and the Palmach’s 3rd Battalion attacked the Old City of Tiberias. The Arab inhabitants appealed to the British to lift the Haganah siege on the Old City and to extend their protection to the Arab areas. The British told the Arabs that they intended to leave the city within a few days and could offer no protection to the Arabs beyond 22 April. The Arabs decided to evacuate the city and left under British escort. Widespread looting of the Arab areas by the Jewish population occurred. Haganah formed a military police force to prevent more looting.

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