The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, in which Palestine was carved up by Israel, Egypt and Jordan, left Eltaher angry at the loss of his homeland, particularly due to his insistent warnings against Zionist ambitions in the country prior to 1917.
He blamed the Arab defeat on collective Arab incompetence, treason by certain Arab officials, and injustice.
Eltaher was arrested and incarcerated at the Huckstep Internment Camp on the orders of Prime Minister Ibrahim Abdel Hadi in July 1949 for publishing his criticisms against various Arab and Palestinian leaders for their performance during the war.
He was released a month later by the new prime minister, Hussein Sirri Amer.

Following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which toppled the monarchy, Eltaher had a tense relationship with the officers who led the country thereafter.
Under President Muhammad Naguib, Eltaher's newspaper Ashoura was stripped of its publishing license.
As relations worsened with the coming to power of Gamal Abdel Nasser, who suppressed many of Eltaher's Wafdist friends, Eltaher left for Syria at the invitation of its army chief-of-staff in April 1955.

He lived in self-exile in Damascus until 1957.
During that time, he was well-received by Syria's nationalists and enjoyed the company of politicians such as President Shukri al-Quwatli, former president Hashim al-Atassi, and government minister Nazim al-Qudsi.
However, as the influence of the Syrian military intelligence bureau over the government grew under Abdel Hamid Sarraj, a strong supporter of Nasser, Eltaher's writings against the Egyptian leadership, pressure was put on him to discontinue his publications.
Feeling his safety was in jeopardy, Eltaher left Syria for Lebanon, and like his departure from Egypt, he never returned to Syria.
The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, in which Palestine was carved up by Israel, Egypt and Jordan, left Eltaher angry at the loss of his homeland, particularly due to his insistent warnings against Zionist ambitions in the country prior to 1917. He blamed the Arab defeat on collective Arab incompetence, treason by certain Arab officials, and injustice. Eltaher was arrested and incarcerated at the Huckstep Internment Camp on the orders of Prime Minister Ibrahim Abdel Hadi in July 1949 for publishing his criticisms against various Arab and Palestinian leaders for their performance during the war. He was released a month later by the new prime minister, Hussein Sirri Amer.
Following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which toppled the monarchy, Eltaher had a tense relationship with the officers who led the country thereafter. Under President Muhammad Naguib, Eltaher's newspaper Ashoura was stripped of its publishing license. As relations worsened with the coming to power of Gamal Abdel Nasser, who suppressed many of Eltaher's Wafdist friends, Eltaher left for Syria at the invitation of its army chief-of-staff in April 1955.
He lived in self-exile in Damascus until 1957. During that time, he was well-received by Syria's nationalists and enjoyed the company of politicians such as President Shukri al-Quwatli, former president Hashim al-Atassi, and government minister Nazim al-Qudsi. However, as the influence of the Syrian military intelligence bureau over the government grew under Abdel Hamid Sarraj, a strong supporter of Nasser, Eltaher's writings against the Egyptian leadership, pressure was put on him to discontinue his publications. Feeling his safety was in jeopardy, Eltaher left Syria for Lebanon, and like his departure from Egypt, he never returned to Syria.
Mohamed Ali Eltaher