The State of Israel is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, the Red Sea to the south, Egypt to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and the Palestinian territories – the West Bank along the east and the Gaza Strip along the southwest. In terms of war and conflicts, Israel has been in the news of from time to time. Today, we are going to discuss the establishment of of Israel and its first major war with neighbouring Arab countries.
This is the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War was fought between Israel and some Arab countries, namely: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Viewed as a “catastrophe” by the Arab world, the first Arab-Israeli war is seen by the Israelis as their war of independence.
On 14 May 1948, Britain relinquished its mandate over Palestine following a UN resolution from the previous year that called for the partitioning of the territory between the Arabs and the Jews. The partition plan was accepted by the Zionist settlers who declared Israel as an independent state. Many settlers were refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe, along with others who had fought against Germany in the Second World war.All Arab countries, including Palestine, rejected the plan.
Faced by unanimous opposition, Britain refused to implement it and set 15 May as the date for ending its mandate. On the same day regular troops from Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq entered Palestine in support of the local Palestinian Arabs.The Israelis, fighting for the existence of their new state against a poorly coordinated Arab front, proved the stronger force.
More than 350 Arab villages were destroyed and the centre of Palestinian life shifted to the Arab towns of the eastern region, later called the West Bank, thus starting the plight of the huge number of displaced Arabs.
The outcome left the new Israeli state with 80% of the territory that was to have been divided between the two communities according to the UN partition plan. The outcome left the new Israeli state with 80% of the territory that was to have been divided between the two communities according to the UN partition plan. The number of Arabs within newly created Israel was cut from about 700,000 to 165,000. Many inhabitants fled in the face of the Israeli counter attack. More than 20% of Palestinian Arabs left Palestine altogether and resettled in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Iraq.
The war was brought to an end with individual armistice agreements between Israel and the four Arab countries. And some major wars would still occur afterwards.
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