The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, called the "War of Independence" (Hebrew language: מלחמת העצמאות) by Israelis and "Nakba" (Arabic language: النكبة, "the catastrophe") by Arabs, was the first in a series of wars in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It established the state of Israel as an independent state, dividing the remaining areas of the British Mandate of Palestine into areas controlled by Egypt and Transjordan. == Background == Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the League of Nations granted the United Kingdom and the France temporary colonial administration over former Ottoman provinces south of present day Turkey. These regions had been called "vilayets" under the Ottomans, but were referred to as League_of_Nations#Mandates at the time, after the process that allocated them. The two powers drew arbitrary borders, dividing the area into four sections. Three of these -- Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon -- survive to this day as states. The fourth section was created from what had been known as "southern Syria." The region was officially named the British_Mandate_of_Palestine , and was called "Falastin" in Arabic language and "Palestina-Eretz-Israel" in Hebrew language. The British revised its borders repeatedly, but under the direction of Winston Churchill the region was divided along the Jordan River, forming two administrative regions. The portion east of the Jordan River was then known as Transjordan, and later became the Kingdom of Jordan. The area to the west of the Jordan retained the former name of Palestine. At this time (1922) the population of Palestine consisted of approximately 589,200 Muslims, 83,800 Jews and 71,500 Christians. However, this area became the center of Zionism aspirations for a Jewish homeland or state, and gradually saw a large influx of Jewish immigrants. (most of whom were fleeing the increasing persecution in Europe) This immigration drew immediate and violent opposition from local Arabs. Under the uncompromising leadership of Amin al-Husayni , the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, the local Arabs rebelled against the British, and attacked the growing Jewish population repeatedly. These sporadic attacks began with the Jerusalem pogrom of April, 1920 and Jaffa riots (or "Hurani Riots") of 1921. During the riots in Palestine of 1929, 67 Jews were massacred in Hebron, and most of the survivors were driven out. During the Great Uprising from 1936 to 1939, Arab general strikes and riots targeted both the British and Jews alike. These attacks had three lasting effects: First, they led to the formation and development of Jewish underground militias, primarily the Haganah, which were to prove decisive in 1948. Secondly, it became clear that the two communities could not be reconciled, and the idea of partition was born. Thirdly, the British responded to Arab opposition with the White Paper of 1939, which severely restricted Jewish immigration. However, with the advent of World War II, even this reduced immigration quota was not reached. The White Paper policy also radicalized the Jewish population, and after the war, they would no longer cooperate with the British. During this period, the Arab leadership never changed, even after the Grand Mufti fled the country in 1938. He eventually settled in Berlin, where he became a leading collaborator with the Nazis, responsible for recruiting an entire SS division. The Grand Mufti's uncompromising propaganda, combined with a distaste for organization and planning, were to prove disastrous to the Palestinian Arab cause. Meanwhile, many of the surrounding Arab nations were also emerging from colonial rule. Transjordan, under the Hashemite ruler Abdullah I of Jordan, gained independence from Britain in 1946, but it remained under heavy British influence. The British placed Abdullah's half-brother Faisal I of Iraq on the throne in Iraq. The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 included provisions by which Britain would maintain a garrison of troops on the Suez Canal. From 1945 on, Egypt attempted to renegotiate the terms of this treaty, which was viewed as a humiliating vestige of colonialism. Lebanon became an independent state in 1943, but French troops would not withdraw until 1946, the same year that Syria won its independence from France. In 1945, at British prompting, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Transjordan, and Yemen formed the Arab League to coordinate policy between the Arab states. Iraq and Transjordan coordinated policies closely, signing a mutual defense treaty, while Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia feared that Transjordan would annex part or all of Palestine, and use it as a basis to attack or undermine Syria, Lebanon, and the Hijaz. On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly approved a 1947 UN Partition Plan which partitioned the British Mandate of Palestine into two states: one Jewish and one Arab. Each state would be composed of three major sections, linked by extraterritorial crossroads, plus an Arab enclave at Jaffa, Israel. The Greater Jerusalem area would fall under international control. Both Jews and Arabs criticized aspects of the plan. The Jewish population largely welcomed the plan, but the Arab leadership and some Jewish opposition groups rejected it. == Phases of the War == === First phase: November 29, 1947 - April 1, 1948 === Right after the UN partition plan was approved, heavy fighting broke out in Palestine. The British Army frequently intervened, but as the end of British involvement in Palestine drew nearer and attacks on them by Irgun and Lehi (group) increased, their intervention grew steadily more inconsistent and reluctant. On December 18 the Palmach, the kibbutz-based force of the Haganah commanded by Moshe Dayan, attacked the village of Khissas. Three weeks later the first Arab irregular military arrived and the Arab leadership began to organize Palestinians in order to wage guerrilla war against the Jewish forces. The largest group was a volunteer army, the Arab Liberation Army, created by the Arab League and led by Arab nationalist Fawzi Al-Qawuqji. In January and February, Arab irregular forces attacked Jewish communities in northern Palestine but achieved no substantial successes. The Arabs concentrated their efforts on cutting off roads to Jewish towns and Jewish neighborhoods in areas with mixed populations. They also massacred several Jewish convoys. At the end of March, the Arabs completely cut off the vital road going from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem where one sixth of Palestine's Jews lived. The Haganah armed itself with arms bought from Czechoslovakia. The Yishuv began working on a plan called Plan Dalet (or Plan D). === Second phase: April 1, 1948 - May 15, 1948 === Jewish forces proved to be militarily stronger than the Arabs expected, and by May their forces were counterattacking Arab towns and villages, especially those controlling roads to isolated Jewish populations. The road to Jerusalem was interdicted by Arab fighters located in the villages surrounding the road. The city of Jerusalem was under siege by the Arabs. Numerous convoys of trucks bringing food and other supplies to the besieged city were attacked. In Operation Nachshon, the Haganah continued its attacks on Arab fighters co-located with civilians, and temporarily opened the road to Jerusalem (April 20). Some of these villages along Jerusalem road were attacked and demolished. The April 9 Deir Yassin massacre of at least 109 Arabs at the village of Deir Yassin inflamed public opinion in Arab countries, providing those countries further reason for sending regular troops into the conflict. Four days later, on April 13, the Arabs launched a retaliatory strike on a medical convoy traveling to Hadassah medical convoy massacre Hospital. Around 77 doctors, nurses, and other Jewish civilians were massacred. To lift the siege, the Jewish forces (guided by the American Army Colonel David (Mickey) Marcus) constructed the Burma Road (named for the road built by the Allies from Burma to China during World War II), a make-shift winding road through the difficult mountains to Jerusalem. The Burma Road allowed the Jewish forces to relieve the Arab siege on June 9, just days before the United Nations negotiated a cease-fire. [http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_independence_war_course.php] Meanwhile, frantic diplomatic activity took place between all parties. On May 10, Golda Meir represented the Yishuv in the last of a long series of clandestine meetings between the Zionists and Transjordan's Abdullah I of Jordan. Whereas for months there had been a tacit agreement between the Zionists and Transjordan to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, with Transjordan taking over the Arab areas, at the May 10 meeting Abdullah offered the Yishuv leadership only autonomy within an enlarged Hashemite kingdom. This was unacceptable to the Jewish leadership. Nevertheless, the Transjordanian army refrained from attacking the designated Jewish areas of Palestine in the ensuing war. On May 13, the Arab League met and agreed to send regular troops into Palestine when the Mandate expired. Abdullah of Transjordan was named as the commander-in-chief of the Arab armies, but the various Arab armies remained largely uncoordinated throughout the war. === Third phase: May 15, 1948 - June 11, 1948 === On May 14, the British Mandate expired. The State of Israel declared itself as an independent nation, and was quickly recognized by the Soviet Union, the United States, and many other countries. Over the next few days, approximately 1,000 Lebanon, 6,000 Syria, 4,500 Iraq, 5,500 Egypt, 6,000-9,000 Jordan troops and unknown number of Saudi Arabia and Yemen troops invaded Israel. Together with the few thousand irregular Arab soldiers, they faced an Israeli Zionist army numbering 30,000-35,000. Both sides increased their manpower over the following months, but the Israeli advantage grew steadily. On May 26, 1948, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) was officially established and the Haganah, Palmach and Etzel were dissolved into the army of the young Jewish state. However, on paper, the Arabs had clear superiority in heavy arms and firepower. The ordnance on May 15 were as follows:
(Source: ''Yeuda Wallach'', "Not on a silver plate")
In fact, the Arab forces were inferior to the IDF. By mid-May 1948 the IDF was fielding 65,000 troops; by early spring 1949, 115,000. The Arab armies had an estimated 40,000 troops in July 1948, rising to 55,000 in October 1948, and slightly more by the spring of 1949. Of the Arab aircraft, only less than a dozen fighters and three to four bombers saw action, the rest were unserviceable. With only a dozen or so airplanes the IDF achieved air superiority by the fall of 1948. And the IDF had superiority in firepower and knowledgeable personnel, many of whom had seen action in WWII. Source: "Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001", Benny Morris (2001), pp. 217-18.
Therefore, the first mission of the IDF was to hold on against the Arab armies and stop them from destroying major Jewish settlements, until reinforcements and weapons arrived.
[[Image:John Glubb Pasha.jpg|right|frame|General Glubb Pasha commanded the Arab Legion (1939-1956)]]
The heaviest fighting would occur in Jerusalem and on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road, between Transjordan's Arab Legion and the Israeli forces. Abdullah ordered Glubb Pasha, the commander of the Transjordanian Arab Legion, to enter Jerusalem on May 17, and heavy house-to-house fighting occurred between May 19 and May 28, with the Arab Legion succeeding in expelling Israeli forces from the Arab quarters of Jerusalem as well as the Jewish quarter of the old city. Iraqi troops failed in attacks on Jewish settlements (the most notable battle was on Mishmar Haemek), and instead took defensive positions around Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarm.
In the north, the Syrian army was blocked in the kibbutz Degania, where the settlers managed to stop the Syrian armored forces only with light weapons. One tank that was disabled by a Molotov cocktail is still presented at the Kibbutz. Later, an artillery bombardment, made by cannons jury-rigged from 19th century museum pieces, led to the withdrawal of the Syrians from the Kibbutz.
During the following months, the Syrian army was repelled, and so were the Palestinian irregulars and the ALA.
In the south, an Egyptian attack was able to penetrate the defenses of several Israeli kibbutzim, but with heavy cost. This attack was stopped near Ashdod.
The Israeli military managed not only to maintain their military control of the Jewish territories, but to expand their holdings.
=== First truce: June 11, 1948 - July 8, 1948 ===
[[Image:Folke Bernadotte.gif|right|frame|Official UN mediator, Count Folke Bernadotte, assassinated in 1948]]
The UN declared a truce on May 29, which came into effect on June 11 and would last 28 days. The cease-fire was overseen by the UN mediator Folke Bernadotte. An arms embargo was declared with the intention that neither side would make any gains from the truce. But the Israeli side managed to obtain illicit weapons from Czechoslovakia, while Arab forces did not gain significantly more weapons. At the end of the truce, Folke Bernadotte presented a new partition plan that would give the Galilee to the Jews and the Negev to the Arabs. Both sides rejected the plan. On July 8, Egyptian forces resumed warfare, thus re-starting the fighting.
=== Fourth phase: July 8, 1948 - July 18, 1948 ===
The ten days at the height of the summer between the two truces was dominated by large scale Israeli offensives and an entirely defensive posture from the Arab side. The three Israeli offensives that were carried out had been carefully crafted during the first truce in anticipation for its end. Operation Dani was the most important one, aimed at securing and enlarging the corridor between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv by capturing the roadside cities Lydda (later renamed Lod) and Ramle. Following their capture, the residents of Lydda and Ramale, some 50,000 Palestinians, were Lydda and Ramle, in the largest single expulsion of the war.
In a second planned stage of the operation the peripheral cities Latrun and Ramallah were also to be captured.
The second plan was Operation Dekel whose aim was to capture the lower Galilee including the Arab city Nazareth. The third plan, to which fewer resources were allocated to, Operation Kedem was to secure the Old City of Jerusalem. (map of the attacks: [http://www.allthatremains.com/Maps/IsraeliMiliteryDuringTheTruce07-08-48-To-07-18-48.jpg]).
==== Operation Dani ====
Lydda (Lod) was mainly defended by the Transjordanian Army, but also local Palestinian militias and the Arab Liberation Army was present. The city was attacked from the north via Majdal al-Sadiq and al-Muzayri'a and from the east via Khulda, al-Qubab, Jimzu and Danyal. Bombers were also used for the first time in the conflict to bombard the city. On July 11, 1948 the IDF captured the city.
The next day, July 12, 1948 Ramle also fell to the hands of Israel.
July 15-16 an attack on Latrun took place but did not manage to occupy the city. A desperate second attempt occurred July 18 by units from the Yiftach Brigade equipped with armored vehicles, including two Cromwell tanks, but that attack also failed. Despite the second truce which began on July 18 the Israeli efforts to conquer Latrun continued until July 20.
After Ramle and Lydda had been captured, the Zionist leadership was surprised to see that the inhabitants didn't flee spontaneously. That was a large problem to them as they couldn't leave such a large and hostile population in that area. Therefore some 60,000 inhabitants were forcibly expelled from their homes starting from July 14.
==== Operation Dekel ====
While Operation Dani proceeded in the centre, Operation Dekel was carried out in the north. Nazareth was captured July 16 and when the second truce took effect at 19.00 July 18, the whole lower Galilee from Haifa bay to Lake Kinneret was captured by Israel.
==== Operation Kedem ====
Originally the operation was to be done on July 8, immediately after the first truce, by Irgun and Lehi (group) but it was delayed by David Shaltiel possibly because he did not trust their ability after their failure to capture Deir Yassin without Haganah's assistance.
The Irgun forces that was commanded by Yehuda Lapidot (Nimrod) was to break through at The New Gate, Lehi to break through the wall stretching from the New Gate and the Jaffa Gate and the Beit Hiron Batallion to strike from Mount Zion.
The battle was planned to begin at the Sabbath, 20.00 Friday July 16 a day before the Second Cease-fire of the Arab-Israeli war. The plan went wrong from the beginning and was first postponed first to 23.00 then to midnight. It wasn't before 02.30 that the battle actually began. The Irgunists managed to break through at the New Gate but the other forces failed in their missions. At 05.45 in the morning Shaltiel ordered a retreat and to cease the hostilities.
=== Second truce: July 18, 1948 - October 15, 1948 ===
19.00 July 18, the second truce of the conflict went into effect after intense diplomatic efforts by the UN.
On September 16, Folke Bernadotte proposed a new partition for Palestine (region) in which Transjordan would annex Arab areas including the Negev, al-Ramla, Lydda. A Jewish state in the whole Galilee, internationalization of Jerusalem and return or compensation for refugees. The plan was once again rejected by both sides. On the next day, September 17, Bernadotte was assassinated by the Lehi_(group) and his deputy the United States Ralph Bunche replaced him.
=== Fifth phase: October 15, 1948 - July 20, 1949 ===
==== Israeli operations ====
Between October 15 and July 20 Israel launched a series of military operations in order to drive out the Arab armies and secure the borders of Israel. The operations were launched due to the belief that the UN would hand out all the territories the Israelis had managed to capture to the Arab states until the UN imposed a cease-fire.
On October 24, the IDF launched Operation Hiram and captured the entire Galilee, driving the ALA and Lebanese army back to Lebanon. It was a complete success and at the end of the month, Israel had not only managed to capture the whole Galilee but had also advanced 5 miles into Lebanon to the Litani river.
On October 15, the IDF launched Operation Yoav in the northern Negev. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba-Hebron-Jerusalem road and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev. Operation Yoav was headed by the Southern Front commander Yigal Allon. The Operation was a huge success as it shattered the Egyptian army ranks and forced the Egyptian forces to retreat from the northern Negev, Beersheba and Ashdod. On October 22 the Israeli Navy commandoes sunk the Egyptian flagship Amir Faruk.
On December 22, the IDF drove the remaining Egyptian forces out of Israel, by launching Operation Horev. The goal of the operation was to liberate the entire Negev from Egyptian presence, destroying the Egyptian threat on Israel's southern communities and forcing the Egyptians into a cease-fire after all the Negev was liberated.
The operation was a huge success, and Israeli deep raids into the Nitzana and the Sinai peninsula forced the Egyptian army, which was encircled in the Gaza Strip to withdraw and accept cease-fire. On January 7, a truce was achieved. Israeli forces withdrew from Sinai and Gaza under international pressure.
On March 5, Operation Uvda was launched. On March 10, the Israelis reached Um Rashrash\Eilat and conquered it without a battle. The Negev Brigade and Golani Brigade took part in the operation. They raised an ink-made flag ("The Ink Flag") and claimed Eilat for Israel.
==== UN ====
In December 1948, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194 which declared (amongst other things) that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live in peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so" and that "compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return." However, General Assembly resolutions do not carry the weight of law as Security Council resolutions do and it was never implemented.
== Aftermath ==
===1949 Armistice Agreements===
In 1949, Israel signed separate cease-fire agreements with Egypt on February 24, Lebanon on March 23, Transjordan on April 3, and Syria on July 20. Israel was able to draw its own borders, occupying 70% of Mandatory Palestine, fifty percent more than the UN partition proposal allotted them. These borders have been known afterwards as the "Green Line". The Gaza Strip and West Bank were occupied by Egypt and Transjordan respectively.
=== Casualties ===
Israel lost 6,373 of its people. About 4,000 were soldiers and the rest (about 2,400) were civilians. This was about 1% of the Jewish population in Israel during that period and was considered a very heavy price for the little state that was just born.
Exact number of Arab losses is unknown, but scholars estimate they lost between 5,000 to 15,000 people. According to ''Jacob Bercovitch and Richard Jackson, International Conflict : A Chronological Encyclopedia of Conflicts and Their Management 1945-1995 (1997)'' about 8,000 Arabs were killed. According to ''World Political Almanac, 3rd Ed. (Facts on File: 1995) by Chris Cook'' about 15,000 Arabs were killed. [http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat4.htm]
=== Demographic outcome ===
About 750,000 Arab Palestinian refugees (See [http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/maps/IMAGES/REFUGE.JPG Israeli Map], and [http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/maps/refuge.html Israeli Estimate]), and more than 600,000 Jewish refugees (See [http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/maps/IMAGES/REFS.GIF Map] and [http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/maps/refs.html Israeli Estimate]), were created during this conflict. Jewish refugees from Arab lands immigration to Israel from Arab lands, while Arab refugees were prevented from settling in neighboring countries and have remained in refugee camps up to the time of writing. (''For more on the flight of Palestinians, see Palestinian exodus.'')
The humiliation of the Arab armies at having been routed by the Jewish forces, together with the rising nationalist frenzy in Arab nations, contributed to rising hatred for the Jews living in Arab lands. The status of Jews in Arab states varied greatly from state to state. Some observers wish to maintain that the Jewish populations were more "prevented from leaving" than "expelled". Their civil liberties, too, were in many cases vastly inferior to those of their Muslim fellow citizens. For example, in Yemen, Jews were and are prohibited from carrying weapons of any type, even to the point of prohibiting traditional ceremonial Yemeni knives, carried by a large portion of the Yemeni population. The net result was that after over two thousand years of living in Arab controlled countries, the atmosphere was sufficiently anti-Jewishly charged that almost to a man, entire communities of Jews in the hundreds of thousands felt they had no option but to take leave of old homes and move to the uncertainties of the new Jewish state of Israel in effect becoming "refugees" in everything but name. These fears were compounded by the Holocaust, which ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany three years before the founding of the state of Israel.
Arabs Palestinians have staged annual demonstrations and protests on May 15 of each year, one day after the anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence. The popularity and number of participants in these annual ''al Nakba'' demonstrations has varied over time, though the increasing anti-Israeli sentiment in the Middle East has tended to increase the attendance in recent years. During the al-Aqsa Intifada after the failure of the Camp David 2000 Summit, the attendance at the demonstrations against Israel have exponential growth.
==See also==
*1922 Text: League of Nations Palestine Mandate
*1947 UN Partition Plan
*1949 Armistice Agreements
*Arab-Israeli conflict
*Balfour Declaration 1917
*British Mandate of Palestine
*Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948
*Israeli-Palestinian conflict
*List of destroyed villages during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
*List of Israeli military operation in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
*List of massacres committed during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
*Plan Dalet
People involved in the war
* Yigal Allon
* David Ben-Gurion
* Folke Bernadotte
* Abdel-Qadir al-Husseini
* Glubb Pasha
* Fawzi al-Qawuqji
* David Shaltiel
* Ariel Sharon
==External links==
*[http://www.globalpolitician.com/articles.asp?ID=132 Legal Status of West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem]
*[http://www.knesset.gov.il/holidays/eng/independence_day_war.htm About the War of Independence]
*[http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/ United Nations: System on the Question of Palestine]
*[http://www.zmag.org/shalom-meqa.htm Palestinian viewpoint]
*[http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/History/refugees.html Israeli viewpoint]
*[http://www.nad-plo.org/hrefugee.php PLO position]
*[http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/ Christian Zionist viewpoint]
*[http://www.wzo.org.il/home/politic/white39.htm World Zionist Organisation]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/israel_and_palestinians/timeline/1947.stm The BBC on the UN Partition Plan]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/israel_and_palestinians/timeline/1948.stm The BBC on the Formation of Israel]
*[http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/maps/refuge.html Maps]
*[http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/maps/refs.html Maps]
*[http://www.wzo.org.il/encountr/isrpray.htm Encounter]
*[http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/maps/invade.html Maps 1]
*[http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/maps/arm.html Maps 2]
*[http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/concepts/d3.html Israeli perspective]
*[http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Palestine-Remembered/Story562.html Palestinian perspective]
*[http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/myths/mf4.html#a Myths and Facts]
*[http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=380986&sw=fittest Interview with Israeli historian Benny Morris]
Maps
* [http://www.allthatremains.com/Maps/MilOperOutUN.jpg Zionist military operations outside the UN-proposed Jewish state December 1947 - May 14, 1948]
* [http://www.allthatremains.com/Maps/MilOperInUN.jpg Zionist military operations inside the UN-proposed Jewish state December 1947 - May 14, 1948]
* [http://www.allthatremains.com/Maps/IsraeliControlledAreasAsOfMay141948.jpg Area controlled by Israel when independence was declared]
* [http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/maps/images/invade.jpg Arab invasion May 15, 1948]
* [http://www.allthatremains.com/Maps/IsraeliMiliteryOperation05-15-48-To-06-11-48.jpg Israeli military operations May 15 - 11 June, 1948]
* [http://www.allthatremains.com/Maps/IsraeliMiliteryDuringTheTruce07-08-48-To-07-18-48.jpg Israeli military operations July 8 - 18, 1948]
* [http://www.allthatremains.com/Maps/IsraeliMilitery07-18-48-To-11-48.jpg Israeli military operations July 18, 1948 - November 1948]
* [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/maps/1948war2.jpg Operation AYIN December 22, 1948 - January 7, 1949]
1948 Arab-Israeli War
: Repeated Arab assaults and attacks lead to the formation of Jewish armed groups. Two of these groups, the Stern gang and the Irgun, resort to acts widely condemned by both Jews and non-Jews as terrorism; this terrorism was against British and Arab targets, both military and civilian. Let's see... Weren't the "Stern gang" (a.k.a Lehi) and :Irgun created in the late 30s? And weren't their actions carried out towards the late 40s? So why put them in 1920? And finally, wasn't there a third organisation... Haganah? Which could not be called terrorist no matter how hard you try? Funny that's not mentioned. --User:Uriyan ----- Don't ask me... all I did was change "self-defense groups" into "armed groups", and delete the bit about "Most of whose actions were non-controversial" (or whatever it said), since I'm sure a lot of people (e.g. Palestinians) don't consider any of those acts non-controversial. ---- This article needs a lot of work. It doesn't feel NPOV, but then I really don't know much about the creation of Israel. There are some grammar issues (changing tense, not to mention most of it is in the 'present' tense) but I didn't fix them simply because most of this article is about the creation of Israel, _not_ the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. I don't know if there is a topic already present that covers the creation of Israel. If there is, most of this should be eliminated except what can be merged. If there isn't, most of this topic probably can be moved to a new topic covering Israel's creation. The information on the war itself could do with some expanding too. Takers? user:Rgamble : The creation of the State of Israel is more-or-less about the same series of events as the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. You can't separate the two, unless you are referring to the 150 year history of modern political Zionism which led to the creation of the State of Israel; I agree that this would belong in a separate article, and it already is. See the article on Zionism. Maybe we should note this in the article's text. [user:RK] ---- With the Golan Heights, it is not exact as to what actually constitutes the Golan Heights or where the border ran. There was a debate between Britain and France over the northern border of Palestine, and the location of Jewish settlements in the region did affect the outcome, however, most of the Golan Heights was then in French hands. user:Danny ---- Removed this: :(Much in this entry is disputed by many Palestinian Arabs, but not by most Western historians.) As it basically says that the Palestinians are lying and this is the correct version. Instead, lets find a version that we all can agree on. user:BL --------- Changelog: : Mandate of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state The Arab claimed it was unreasonable that Israel should get the best land, most of the industrial capacity and 60% of the area, when they made up less than a third of the population Jews were not less than a third but almost exactly a third of the population. What "industrial capacity" are you talking about? Palestine did not have a developed industrial system (and neither does Israel now, 50 years later). Finally, perhaps it is 55% (not 60%!) of the area, but that's including the Negev desert, which takes up a very fair share. Now if you remember, Arabs rejected a portion the Negev at the Camp David talks because they thought it was useless. Now it's definitely suited for urban development (after Israel installed water pipes that lead water from the Kinneret to the Negev); 50 years ago it was a total loss. You can't consistently use both an argument and its opposite. : ([http://www.passia.org/images/pal_facts_MAPS/dist_of_pop_jews_and_palestinians_1946.gif|Map]) and held title to only 6% of the land As you might have perhaps noticed, most of the lands were state-owned. If you bring up the "communal holding" argument (as in [http://www.iap.org/partition.htm here]), then it's invalid, as it doesn't give a figure to compare with. What the reader would probably want to know is ''land utilization'', of the Jews and the Arabs. Otherwise it's comparison between apples and oranges. : ([http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/MAPS/newpdf/Landownership_UN-Partition.gif|Map]). The Arab leadership rejected the partition offer, turning to neighboring Arab nations to ask for their help to prevent the UN partition plan from going into effect, in return for the lands of Palestine. It is documented in many places that the Arab leadership's request was to remove the Jews (I believe the wording was "pushing the Jews into the sea"). It seems unfortunate that you ignore this. I find this "invention", which goes in a direct contradiction to the facts, fallacious and biased. You ignore the fact that the first part of the 1948 war was a defensive. Well, it was. Egyptians were contained at kibbutz Yad Mordechai; Syrian forces were stopped in Jezreel; Israel was unable to hold the Jewish Quarter of Old Jerusalem, but still grasped on the Jewish Western neighborhoods. As to "/who else" part: do you really want to know this, or you don't care? --User:Uriyan ---- I'm somewhat surprised that an article allegedly about the Arab-Israeli War has only a few paragraphs on the actual war! I appreciate the desire to put things in context, but that should fall short of describing the entire thing... User:MyRedDice ---- : Israel made efforts to allow Arab Jews to come to Israel. "Operation Magic Carpet" culminated a deal to transport 45,000 Yemeni Jews to Israel and "Operation Ezra and Nechemia" transported 130,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel. In both cases, the Arab states of origin had beforehand prohibitted their Jewish populations from leaving. : See http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Immigration/carpet.html and http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Immigration/ezra.html. : Egyptian Jews were expelled after Israel's 1956 invasion of the Sinai Peninsula, and in the context that some of them had participated in an Israel-sponsored bombing plot in 1953. And Morocco, the source of some 240,000 Jewish refugees, prohibited emigration to Israel until 1961. The paragraphs above don't belong in this article which is supposed to be about the 1948 war. Move them to History of Israel or somewhere similar. -- zero Good point. I will also remove " and more than 600,000 Jewish refugees (See Map and Israeli Estimate), were created during this conflict." for the same reason.User:137.186.217.254 07:16, 13 Feb 2004 (UTC) ---- I removed "''The British administration did little to mitigate the riots.''" because it is wrong. The British increased their military and police force several fold, killed thousands of Arabs in more or less open battle, imposed curfews, conducted hundreds of raids, destroyed hundreds of houses (including at least one whole village), and hanged more than 100 Arabs. -- zero ---- A number of errors that stand out: 1) The goal of Plan "D" (or Dalet), prepared by the Haganah High Command in March of 1948, was not just "to take over and control the areas alotted to the Jewish state in the partition plan", but was to include "those of the blocs of Jewish settlements and such Jewish population as were outside those borders" (see http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/d442111e70e417e3802564740045a309?OpenDocument). Also, Plan "D" should be moved to the latter part of the "First phase". 2) The "First phase" announces that "Arabs...took the offensive" without taking into account the facts as related by numerous leaders of Israeli military planning, including what Mr. Menachem Begin, an Irgun leader wrote (again, from http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/d442111e70e417e3802564740045a309?OpenDocument): "In the months preceding the Arab invasion, and while the five Arab States (Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Transjordan) were conducting preparations for concerted aggression, we continued to make sallies into the Arab area. In the early days of 1948, we were explaining to our officers and men, however, that this was not enough. Attacks of this nature carried out by any Jewish forces were indeed of great psychological importance, and their military effect, to the extent that they widened the Arab front and forced the enemies on to the defensive, was not without value. But it was clear to us that even most daring sallies carried out by partisan troops would never be able to decide the issue. Our hope lay in gaining control of territory. "At the end of January, 1948, at a meeting of the Command of the Irgun in which the Planning Section participated, we outlined four strategic objectives: (1) Jerusalem; (2) Jaffa; (3) the Lydda-Ramleh plain; and (4) the Triangle. "Setting ourselves these objectives we knew that their achievement would be dependent on many factors but primarily on the strength in men and arms that we would have at our disposal. We consequently decided to treat the plans as 'alternatives': we would carry out what we could. As it happened, of the four parts of the strategic plan we executed only the second in full. "In the first and third parts we were able to record important achievements on the battlefield - but we did not attain decisive victories. "As for the fourth part, we were never allowed an opportunity even to begin to put the plan into operation. The conquest of Jaffa, however, stands out as an event of first-rate importance in the struggle for Hebrew independence." Also, Ben-Gurion writes (again, from http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/d442111e70e417e3802564740045a309?OpenDocument): "...Field troops and Palmach in particular were thus deployed and quickly showed the mettle that was soon to animate our army and bring it victory. "...New Jerusalem was occupied, and the guerrillas were expelled from Haifa, Jaffa, Tiberias, Safad while still the Mandatory was present. It needed sagacity and self-control not to fall foul of the British army. The Hagana did its job; until a day or two before the Arab invasion not a settlement was lost, no road cut, although movement was seriously dislocated, despite express assurances of the British to keep the roads safe so long as they remained. Arabs started fleeing from the cities almost as soon as disturbances began in the early days of December 1947. As fighting spread, the exodus was joined by bedouin and fellahin, but not the remotest Jewish homestead was abandoned and nothing a tottering Administration (meaning the British Mandatory) could unkindly do stopped us from reaching our goal on May 14, 1948 in a State made larger and Jewish by the Haganah ..." 3) The "Third phase" claims "[t]he UN approved" accepting Israel as a member state in May 1948, when that did not happen until 11 May 1949, or the latter part of the "Fourth phase", as outlined on this site. 4) Again, in the "Third phase", it is claimed that: "Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi, and Egyptian troops invaded Israel and joined the arab guerrillas. A bitter war ensued." While obviously and shamefully short, especially considering this article is supposedly concerning these two sentences, it is factually incorrect. Another snippet from http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/d442111e70e417e3802564740045a309?OpenDocument: During the months preceding the end of the Mandate, Jewish forces had moved to occupy key cities and areas in the territory designated for the Arab State. Ben-Gurion writes that before the Mandate ended: "... no Jewish settlement, however remote, was entered or seized by the Arabs, while the Haganah ... captured many Arab positions and liberated Tiberias and Haifa, Jaffa and Safad ... So, on the day of destiny, that part of Palestine where the Haganah could operate was almost clear of Arabs". The major part of Jerusalem meant to be internationalized under the partition plan, had also been occupied by Jewish forces. On the termination of the Mandate, Jewish forces moved to occupy further territory beyond the boundaries specified by the Partition resolution. This lead to the influx of neighboring Arab militias, who entered, according to these reasons as outlined in the cable the Arab League sent the United Nations Secretary-General: "Now that the Mandate over Palestine has come to an end, leaving no legally constituted authority behind in order to administer law and order in the country and afford the necessary and adequate protection to life and property, the Arab States declare as follows: "(a) The right to set up a Government in Palestine pertains to its inhabitants under the principles of self-determination recognized by the Covenant of the League of Nations as well as the United Nations Charter; "(b) Peace and order have been completely upset in Palestine, and, in consequence of Jewish aggression, approximately over a quarter of a million of the Arab population have been compelled to leave their homes and emigrate to neighbouring Arab countries. The prevailing events in Palestine exposed the concealed aggressive intentions of the Zionists and their imperialistic motives ... "(c) The Mandatory has already announced that on the termination of the Mandate it will no longer be responsible for the maintenance of law and order in Palestine ... This leaves Palestine absolutely without any administrative authority ... "... "(e) ... The recent disturbances in Palestine further constitute a serious and direct threat to peace and security within the territories of the Arab States themselves. For these reasons, and considering that the security of Palestine is a sacred trust for them, and out of anxiousness to check the further deterioration of the prevailing conditions and to prevent the spread of disorder and lawlessness into the neighbouring Arab lands, and in order to fill the vacuum created by the termination of the Mandate and the failure to replace it by any legally constituted authority, the Arab Governments find themselves compelled to intervene for the sole purpose of restoring peace and security and establishing law and order in Palestine. "The Arab States recognize that the independence and sovereignty of Palestine which was so far subject to the British Mandate has now, with the termination of the Mandate, become established in fact, and maintain that the lawful inhabitants of Palestine are alone competent and entitled to set up an administration in Palestine for the discharge of all governmental functions without any external interference. As soon as that stage is reached for the intervention of the Arab States, which is confined to the restoration of peace and establishment of law and order, shall be put an end to, and the sovereign State of Palestine will be competent in co-operation with the other States members of the Arab League, to take every step for the promotion of the welfare and security of its peoples and territory ..." Here is where the meat of the story begins, which the UN document sums up with the following: "The fighting between the Arab forces on one hand and what were now Israeli forces on the other escalated into the first Middle East War. The Israeli forces were well manned and well trained, drawing on the Jewish Brigade formed during the Second World War, and on the various armed groups such as the Haganah, the Palmach, and the Irgun. They were well equipped with arms acquired within and without Palestine during the Mandate period. The intervention by the Arab States in support of the "Arab State" in Palestine proved largely ineffective in the face of decisive Israeli military superiority. Within weeks, Israel had occupied most of the territory of Palestine, with the exception of the "West Bank" of the Jordan, held by the Arab Legion from Jordan and the Gaza Strip, held by Egyptian forces (map at annex II.) But for these exceptions, Israel now controlled virtually the entire territory claimed by the Zionist Movement at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as the "Jewish national home"." 5) The section "First Truce" incorrectly states that "[o]n June 11 a general truce was agreed upon largely due to mediator Count Folke Bernadotte's efforts". The cease-fire was ordered by the Security Council on 29 May 1948 and Bernadotte was sent to the region to supervise the cease-fire. 6) The omission of Bernadotte's end is surprising. Both of his recommendations were rejected by both sides, but before the UN could act on either of the recommendations, Bernadotte was assassinated by Lehi (Israel's official explanation, although they then claimed that Lehi existed only as a political group and had disbanded its military), sometimes referred to as the Stern Gang. A report to the UN on the assassination included information that the Count's killers were wearing Israeli army uniforms and also noted that "the Provisional Government of Israel must assume the full responsibility ... for these assassinations ..." The Security Council requested the Israeli Government to investigate the assassination and to submit a report to the Council, but no report was received. (see the UN document) 7) The section under "1949 Armistice Agreements" is incorrect. Though the agreements were separately signed from Feb through July 1949, they "specified inter alia that the 'armistice between the armed forces [was] an indispensable step toward the liquidation of armed conflict and the restoration of peace in Palestine', recognizing 'the principle that no military or political advantage should be gained". The agreements "being dictated exclusively by military, and not political, considerations' did not prejudice the political positions of any of the parties on the ultimate settlement of the Palestine question. Thus they gave Israel no legal right to the territories occupied during the 1948 hostilities, beyond the lines specified in the partition resolution." (see the UN document) "While in occupation of territories beyond those allotted by the resolution, Israel applied for admission to the United Nations on 29 November 1948. It was criticized in the Security Council for its non-compliance with United Nations resolutions and on 17 December 1948 its application failed, receiving 5 votes in favour, 1 against, with 5 abstentions." (see UN document) 8) Another omission is resolution 194, establishing "the right of peaceful return of the Palestinians to their homes (a right that has been reiterated annually by the General Assembly up to the present time)". (again, see UN document) 9) Again, the "1949 Armistice Agreements" section omits any mention of the inconclusive Conciliation Commission for Palestine, whose report showed that Israel "now envisaged a Palestinian Arab State limited to the territories occupied by Egypt and Jordan, but this was unacceptable at the time to both the Palestinian Arabs and to the Arab States". (see UN document) 10) The article omits the correct date that Israel was admitted into the UN: 11 May 1949. 11) The "neutral" stasis of the article is betrayed by the mentioning of Jews having their rights diminished in Arab states without mentioning the reciprocal situation as existed (and exists) in Israel. More errors may remain, but that is all the time I have now... : User:Earthsound 22:12, 23 Aug 2003 (UTC) Please be proactive and work on the article itself. Of course you are right that there are lots of problems with the article as it stands. Btw, the Bernadotte assassination is at Folke Bernadotte and Lehi so maybe no more than a pointer is needed here. -- User:Zero0000 06:10, 24 Aug 2003 (UTC) ---- Zero: I got my numbers for the sizes of the Arab regular forces from Eugene Rogan's article ''Jordan and 1948: The Persistence of an official History'' in ''The War for Palestine'', Cambridge University Press, 2001. This is the text of his footnote: :Glubb, ''Soldier with the Arabs'', p. 94; Madi and Musa, ''Tarkih al-urdunn'', p. 472. British sources set the relative strength of Israeli and Arab forces on the eve of Britain's withdrawal at 74,000 and 19,200, respectively. Wilson, ''King 'Abdullah'', p. 170. I have no reason to believe that this source is better than yours. But as there seems to be disagreement on the numbers, I think we should include a footnote or citation or whatever to indicate where we got them. Where did you get your numbers? Is there disagreement between different reports? User:DanKeshet :I got the values from Morris, Righteous Victims. I know there are differences of opinion on the numbers. I'm going away for a few days and won't have time to look at the citations until I get back (however I'm not sure I'd trust Glubb except maybe for the Jordanian strength). -- User:Zero0000 21:55, 28 Aug 2003 (UTC) ---- WHO removed Plan Dalet?????????????????+ User:BL 04:36, 5 Oct 2003 (UTC) Minor edit: changing "Naqba" to "Nakba." The latter, spelled in Arabic with kaf, means disaster, calamity, catastrophe. The former (incorrect) transliteration, spelled in Arabic with qaf, means opening, breach, hole; and I am given to understand that it has the vulgar colloquial (and anatomical) meaning that you might expect. (Note: my username is JBJD, and even though I'm logged in, the preview of the page doesn't appear to list my username after my comment. I'm a Wiki newbie and admittedly haven't gone through the FAQs at any length. Anybody know how to do this, or should I just RTFM?) Fixed several English language problems, and added references to Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the general leader of the Palestinian Arabs during the Mandatory period. He was missing from the text, possibly because of his collaboration with the Nazis and family relation to Yasser Arafat. The war simply cannot be understood without the inclusion of the Grand Mufti. He set in stone both Palestinian Arab ideology and their strategy of of sporadic, disorganized terror. There are other strategic omissions, including the Siege of Jerusalem and the Arab League meetings of November and December, 1947, during which the war was declared and funded. ---- Noam Chomsky [http://www.zmag.org/meastwatch/alaqsa.htm] among others says that Al-Aqsa intifada is NOT the result of Sharon's visit to the temple mount. User:OneVoice 21:14, 16 Feb 2004 (UTC) I reverted whoever changed the text to read that the Israelis refer to this war as the "War of Conquest", because it seems exceptionally unlikely. If anyone has evidence that this is indeed the case (rather than "War of Independence") then please supply it here. User:DJ Clayworth 15:27, 20 Apr 2004 (UTC) ---- UNGA Resolution 194 [http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/0/c758572b78d1cd0085256bcf0077e51a?OpenDocument] stipulates many things. One of these is return of refuges (Article 11), with no word limited only to Arabs. However, a condition is set: ''wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours''. Arabs ignored this article no less than Israel. In addition, Arabs ignored Article 7 (free access to Holy Places). Access to Jerusalem (Article 9) was also blocked. Both Israel and Arabs, as well as UN Security Council, ignored Article 8 (demilitarization of Jerusalem, corpus separatum). -- 128.139.226.36 08:14, 24 May 2004 : The text as you had it implies a symmetry of reaction on the refugee issue, since no other issue is mentioned. Of course there was no such symmetry. The Arabs announced they would implement the refugee clauses if Israel did too, but of course Israel was deadset against this. --User:Zero0000 10:53, 2 Jun 2004 (UTC) ---- There are many different published figures for the strength of the Arab armies. The numbers in the article come from the book of Israeli military historian Amitzur Ilan, which is a recent specialist book that examines this question closely. Don't change them unless you have a source that you can argue is better. --User:Zero0000 09:10, 6 Jun 2004 (UTC) == Jersualem == "May 28, when the Arab Legion succeeded in expelling Israeli forces from the Arab quarters of Jerusalem" What happened on May 28 1948 was the occupation and subsequent expulsion of 1,600 Jews living in the Jewish quarter of the Old City for generations. Calling the Jewish quarter "Arab quarters" and speaking only about Israeli forces is an ugly piece of disinformation. :User:Avihu 16:34, 27 Jun 2004 (UTC) It feels a little biased in favour of the Zionists to me. There seems to be no mention of the King David Hotel or any such things. While attacks on Jews and Christians prior to the declaration of the state of Israel are mentioned, there is no mention of any attacks on Arabs. Also, there seems to be an assumption that the population split into Muslim, Jewish and Christian with the accompanying assumption that Arabs are muslim, Racial Jews are religious jews and 'white people' are christian. I don't know, feels like it could use a little work. But I agree, very hard topic to work on... ==NPOV issues== This article is marked as in NPOV dispute. What are the outstanding issues? I have one * The estimate of 600,000 Jewish refugees from this conflict, attributed to JAFI, is a misattribution: the figure is of Jewish people who sought refuge in Israel during the period from 1948 to 1972; of the figure of 260,000 from Morocco, very few of that number left in 1948-1949. What else? ---- User:Chalst 17:20, 30 Sep 2004 (UTC) This: :The status of Jews in Arab states varied greatly from state to state. Some observers wish to maintain that the Jewish populations were more "prevented from leaving" than "expelled". Their civil liberties, too, were in many cases vastly inferior to of their Muslim fellow citizens. For example, in Yemen, Jews were and are prohibited from carrying weapons of any type, even to the point of prohibiting traditional ceremonial Yemeni knives, carried by a large portion of the Yemeni population. The net result was that after over two thousand years of living in Arab controlled countries, the atmosphere was sufficiently anti-Jewishly charged that almost to a man, entire communities of Jews in the hundreds of thousands felt they had no option but to take leave of old homes and move to the uncertainties of the new Jewish state of Israel in effect becoming "refugees" in everything but name. These fears were compounded by the Holocaust, which ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany three years before the founding of the state of Israel. Someone please dePOV both. User:Sir Paul 07:29, Dec 10, 2004 (UTC) This entire article went from bad to worse. It is sad to see everything on wikipedia about Palestine/Israel so completely distorted. It happens on both sides, but particularly tends to ignore the Palestinian viewpoint and that of the very important work of Israeli Historians such as Avi Shlaim. It's a shame, because it lowers my faith in Wikipedia as a whole. If I can't get good information about the 1948 War, what ''can'' I trust on the site? == Minor Change == Revised grammatical issues in the first section. Removed the statement "for their own interest" from the section about the adjustments to Paletine's borders, as it had no support or references.
Arab-Israeli conflict 1948 Wars of Independence
#REDIRECT 1948 Arab-Israeli War
#REDIRECT 1948 Arab-Israeli War
See other meanings of words starting from letter:A | B | C | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | X | Y | Z |
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, called the "War of Independence" (Hebrew language: מלחמת העצמאות) by Israelis and "Nakba" (Arabic language: النكبة, "the catastrophe") by Arabs, was the first in a series of wars in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It established the state of Israel as an independent state, dividing the remaining areas of the British Mandate of Palestine into areas controlled by Egypt and Transjordan. == Background == Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the League of Nations granted the United Kingdom and the France temporary colonial administration over former Ottoman provinces south of present day Turkey. These regions had been called "vilayets" under the Ottomans, but were referred to as League_of_Nations#Mandates at the time, after the process that allocated them. The two powers drew arbitrary borders, dividing the area into four sections. Three of these -- Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon -- survive to this day as states. The fourth section was created from what had been known as "southern Syria." The region was officially named the British_Mandate_of_Palestine , and was called "Falastin" in Arabic language and "Palestina-Eretz-Israel" in Hebrew language. The British revised its borders repeatedly, but under the direction of Winston Churchill the region was divided along the Jordan River, forming two administrative regions. The portion east of the Jordan River was then known as Transjordan, and later became the Kingdom of Jordan. The area to the west of the Jordan retained the former name of Palestine. At this time (1922) the population of Palestine consisted of approximately 589,200 Muslims, 83,800 Jews and 71,500 Christians. However, this area became the center of Zionism aspirations for a Jewish homeland or state, and gradually saw a large influx of Jewish immigrants. (most of whom were fleeing the increasing persecution in Europe) This immigration drew immediate and violent opposition from local Arabs. Under the uncompromising leadership of Amin al-Husayni , the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, the local Arabs rebelled against the British, and attacked the growing Jewish population repeatedly. These sporadic attacks began with the Jerusalem pogrom of April, 1920 and Jaffa riots (or "Hurani Riots") of 1921. During the riots in Palestine of 1929, 67 Jews were massacred in Hebron, and most of the survivors were driven out. During the Great Uprising from 1936 to 1939, Arab general strikes and riots targeted both the British and Jews alike. These attacks had three lasting effects: First, they led to the formation and development of Jewish underground militias, primarily the Haganah, which were to prove decisive in 1948. Secondly, it became clear that the two communities could not be reconciled, and the idea of partition was born. Thirdly, the British responded to Arab opposition with the White Paper of 1939, which severely restricted Jewish immigration. However, with the advent of World War II, even this reduced immigration quota was not reached. The White Paper policy also radicalized the Jewish population, and after the war, they would no longer cooperate with the British. During this period, the Arab leadership never changed, even after the Grand Mufti fled the country in 1938. He eventually settled in Berlin, where he became a leading collaborator with the Nazis, responsible for recruiting an entire SS division. The Grand Mufti's uncompromising propaganda, combined with a distaste for organization and planning, were to prove disastrous to the Palestinian Arab cause. Meanwhile, many of the surrounding Arab nations were also emerging from colonial rule. Transjordan, under the Hashemite ruler Abdullah I of Jordan, gained independence from Britain in 1946, but it remained under heavy British influence. The British placed Abdullah's half-brother Faisal I of Iraq on the throne in Iraq. The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 included provisions by which Britain would maintain a garrison of troops on the Suez Canal. From 1945 on, Egypt attempted to renegotiate the terms of this treaty, which was viewed as a humiliating vestige of colonialism. Lebanon became an independent state in 1943, but French troops would not withdraw until 1946, the same year that Syria won its independence from France. In 1945, at British prompting, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Transjordan, and Yemen formed the Arab League to coordinate policy between the Arab states. Iraq and Transjordan coordinated policies closely, signing a mutual defense treaty, while Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia feared that Transjordan would annex part or all of Palestine, and use it as a basis to attack or undermine Syria, Lebanon, and the Hijaz. On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly approved a 1947 UN Partition Plan which partitioned the British Mandate of Palestine into two states: one Jewish and one Arab. Each state would be composed of three major sections, linked by extraterritorial crossroads, plus an Arab enclave at Jaffa, Israel. The Greater Jerusalem area would fall under international control. Both Jews and Arabs criticized aspects of the plan. The Jewish population largely welcomed the plan, but the Arab leadership and some Jewish opposition groups rejected it. == Phases of the War == === First phase: November 29, 1947 - April 1, 1948 === Right after the UN partition plan was approved, heavy fighting broke out in Palestine. The British Army frequently intervened, but as the end of British involvement in Palestine drew nearer and attacks on them by Irgun and Lehi (group) increased, their intervention grew steadily more inconsistent and reluctant. On December 18 the Palmach, the kibbutz-based force of the Haganah commanded by Moshe Dayan, attacked the village of Khissas. Three weeks later the first Arab irregular military arrived and the Arab leadership began to organize Palestinians in order to wage guerrilla war against the Jewish forces. The largest group was a volunteer army, the Arab Liberation Army, created by the Arab League and led by Arab nationalist Fawzi Al-Qawuqji. In January and February, Arab irregular forces attacked Jewish communities in northern Palestine but achieved no substantial successes. The Arabs concentrated their efforts on cutting off roads to Jewish towns and Jewish neighborhoods in areas with mixed populations. They also massacred several Jewish convoys. At the end of March, the Arabs completely cut off the vital road going from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem where one sixth of Palestine's Jews lived. The Haganah armed itself with arms bought from Czechoslovakia. The Yishuv began working on a plan called Plan Dalet (or Plan D). === Second phase: April 1, 1948 - May 15, 1948 === Jewish forces proved to be militarily stronger than the Arabs expected, and by May their forces were counterattacking Arab towns and villages, especially those controlling roads to isolated Jewish populations. The road to Jerusalem was interdicted by Arab fighters located in the villages surrounding the road. The city of Jerusalem was under siege by the Arabs. Numerous convoys of trucks bringing food and other supplies to the besieged city were attacked. In Operation Nachshon, the Haganah continued its attacks on Arab fighters co-located with civilians, and temporarily opened the road to Jerusalem (April 20). Some of these villages along Jerusalem road were attacked and demolished. The April 9 Deir Yassin massacre of at least 109 Arabs at the village of Deir Yassin inflamed public opinion in Arab countries, providing those countries further reason for sending regular troops into the conflict. Four days later, on April 13, the Arabs launched a retaliatory strike on a medical convoy traveling to Hadassah medical convoy massacre Hospital. Around 77 doctors, nurses, and other Jewish civilians were massacred. To lift the siege, the Jewish forces (guided by the American Army Colonel David (Mickey) Marcus) constructed the Burma Road (named for the road built by the Allies from Burma to China during World War II), a make-shift winding road through the difficult mountains to Jerusalem. The Burma Road allowed the Jewish forces to relieve the Arab siege on June 9, just days before the United Nations negotiated a cease-fire. [http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_independence_war_course.php] Meanwhile, frantic diplomatic activity took place between all parties. On May 10, Golda Meir represented the Yishuv in the last of a long series of clandestine meetings between the Zionists and Transjordan's Abdullah I of Jordan. Whereas for months there had been a tacit agreement between the Zionists and Transjordan to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, with Transjordan taking over the Arab areas, at the May 10 meeting Abdullah offered the Yishuv leadership only autonomy within an enlarged Hashemite kingdom. This was unacceptable to the Jewish leadership. Nevertheless, the Transjordanian army refrained from attacking the designated Jewish areas of Palestine in the ensuing war. On May 13, the Arab League met and agreed to send regular troops into Palestine when the Mandate expired. Abdullah of Transjordan was named as the commander-in-chief of the Arab armies, but the various Arab armies remained largely uncoordinated throughout the war. === Third phase: May 15, 1948 - June 11, 1948 === On May 14, the British Mandate expired. The State of Israel declared itself as an independent nation, and was quickly recognized by the Soviet Union, the United States, and many other countries. Over the next few days, approximately 1,000 Lebanon, 6,000 Syria, 4,500 Iraq, 5,500 Egypt, 6,000-9,000 Jordan troops and unknown number of Saudi Arabia and Yemen troops invaded Israel. Together with the few thousand irregular Arab soldiers, they faced an Israeli Zionist army numbering 30,000-35,000. Both sides increased their manpower over the following months, but the Israeli advantage grew steadily. On May 26, 1948, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) was officially established and the Haganah, Palmach and Etzel were dissolved into the army of the young Jewish state. However, on paper, the Arabs had clear superiority in heavy arms and firepower. The ordnance on May 15 were as follows:
| IDF | Arabs | |
| Tanks | 1 w/o gun | 40 |
| Armored cars (w/ cannon) | 2 | 200 |
| Armored cars (w/o cannon) | 120 | 300 |
| Artillery | 5 | 140 |
| AA and AT guns | 24 | 220 |
| Warplanes | 0 | 74 |
| Scout planes | 28 | 57 |
| Navy (armed ships) | 3 | 12 |
1948 Arab-Israeli War
: Repeated Arab assaults and attacks lead to the formation of Jewish armed groups. Two of these groups, the Stern gang and the Irgun, resort to acts widely condemned by both Jews and non-Jews as terrorism; this terrorism was against British and Arab targets, both military and civilian. Let's see... Weren't the "Stern gang" (a.k.a Lehi) and :Irgun created in the late 30s? And weren't their actions carried out towards the late 40s? So why put them in 1920? And finally, wasn't there a third organisation... Haganah? Which could not be called terrorist no matter how hard you try? Funny that's not mentioned. --User:Uriyan ----- Don't ask me... all I did was change "self-defense groups" into "armed groups", and delete the bit about "Most of whose actions were non-controversial" (or whatever it said), since I'm sure a lot of people (e.g. Palestinians) don't consider any of those acts non-controversial. ---- This article needs a lot of work. It doesn't feel NPOV, but then I really don't know much about the creation of Israel. There are some grammar issues (changing tense, not to mention most of it is in the 'present' tense) but I didn't fix them simply because most of this article is about the creation of Israel, _not_ the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. I don't know if there is a topic already present that covers the creation of Israel. If there is, most of this should be eliminated except what can be merged. If there isn't, most of this topic probably can be moved to a new topic covering Israel's creation. The information on the war itself could do with some expanding too. Takers? user:Rgamble : The creation of the State of Israel is more-or-less about the same series of events as the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. You can't separate the two, unless you are referring to the 150 year history of modern political Zionism which led to the creation of the State of Israel; I agree that this would belong in a separate article, and it already is. See the article on Zionism. Maybe we should note this in the article's text. [user:RK] ---- With the Golan Heights, it is not exact as to what actually constitutes the Golan Heights or where the border ran. There was a debate between Britain and France over the northern border of Palestine, and the location of Jewish settlements in the region did affect the outcome, however, most of the Golan Heights was then in French hands. user:Danny ---- Removed this: :(Much in this entry is disputed by many Palestinian Arabs, but not by most Western historians.) As it basically says that the Palestinians are lying and this is the correct version. Instead, lets find a version that we all can agree on. user:BL --------- Changelog: : Mandate of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state The Arab claimed it was unreasonable that Israel should get the best land, most of the industrial capacity and 60% of the area, when they made up less than a third of the population Jews were not less than a third but almost exactly a third of the population. What "industrial capacity" are you talking about? Palestine did not have a developed industrial system (and neither does Israel now, 50 years later). Finally, perhaps it is 55% (not 60%!) of the area, but that's including the Negev desert, which takes up a very fair share. Now if you remember, Arabs rejected a portion the Negev at the Camp David talks because they thought it was useless. Now it's definitely suited for urban development (after Israel installed water pipes that lead water from the Kinneret to the Negev); 50 years ago it was a total loss. You can't consistently use both an argument and its opposite. : ([http://www.passia.org/images/pal_facts_MAPS/dist_of_pop_jews_and_palestinians_1946.gif|Map]) and held title to only 6% of the land As you might have perhaps noticed, most of the lands were state-owned. If you bring up the "communal holding" argument (as in [http://www.iap.org/partition.htm here]), then it's invalid, as it doesn't give a figure to compare with. What the reader would probably want to know is ''land utilization'', of the Jews and the Arabs. Otherwise it's comparison between apples and oranges. : ([http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/MAPS/newpdf/Landownership_UN-Partition.gif|Map]). The Arab leadership rejected the partition offer, turning to neighboring Arab nations to ask for their help to prevent the UN partition plan from going into effect, in return for the lands of Palestine. It is documented in many places that the Arab leadership's request was to remove the Jews (I believe the wording was "pushing the Jews into the sea"). It seems unfortunate that you ignore this. I find this "invention", which goes in a direct contradiction to the facts, fallacious and biased. You ignore the fact that the first part of the 1948 war was a defensive. Well, it was. Egyptians were contained at kibbutz Yad Mordechai; Syrian forces were stopped in Jezreel; Israel was unable to hold the Jewish Quarter of Old Jerusalem, but still grasped on the Jewish Western neighborhoods. As to "/who else" part: do you really want to know this, or you don't care? --User:Uriyan ---- I'm somewhat surprised that an article allegedly about the Arab-Israeli War has only a few paragraphs on the actual war! I appreciate the desire to put things in context, but that should fall short of describing the entire thing... User:MyRedDice ---- : Israel made efforts to allow Arab Jews to come to Israel. "Operation Magic Carpet" culminated a deal to transport 45,000 Yemeni Jews to Israel and "Operation Ezra and Nechemia" transported 130,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel. In both cases, the Arab states of origin had beforehand prohibitted their Jewish populations from leaving. : See http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Immigration/carpet.html and http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Immigration/ezra.html. : Egyptian Jews were expelled after Israel's 1956 invasion of the Sinai Peninsula, and in the context that some of them had participated in an Israel-sponsored bombing plot in 1953. And Morocco, the source of some 240,000 Jewish refugees, prohibited emigration to Israel until 1961. The paragraphs above don't belong in this article which is supposed to be about the 1948 war. Move them to History of Israel or somewhere similar. -- zero Good point. I will also remove " and more than 600,000 Jewish refugees (See Map and Israeli Estimate), were created during this conflict." for the same reason.User:137.186.217.254 07:16, 13 Feb 2004 (UTC) ---- I removed "''The British administration did little to mitigate the riots.''" because it is wrong. The British increased their military and police force several fold, killed thousands of Arabs in more or less open battle, imposed curfews, conducted hundreds of raids, destroyed hundreds of houses (including at least one whole village), and hanged more than 100 Arabs. -- zero ---- A number of errors that stand out: 1) The goal of Plan "D" (or Dalet), prepared by the Haganah High Command in March of 1948, was not just "to take over and control the areas alotted to the Jewish state in the partition plan", but was to include "those of the blocs of Jewish settlements and such Jewish population as were outside those borders" (see http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/d442111e70e417e3802564740045a309?OpenDocument). Also, Plan "D" should be moved to the latter part of the "First phase". 2) The "First phase" announces that "Arabs...took the offensive" without taking into account the facts as related by numerous leaders of Israeli military planning, including what Mr. Menachem Begin, an Irgun leader wrote (again, from http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/d442111e70e417e3802564740045a309?OpenDocument): "In the months preceding the Arab invasion, and while the five Arab States (Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Transjordan) were conducting preparations for concerted aggression, we continued to make sallies into the Arab area. In the early days of 1948, we were explaining to our officers and men, however, that this was not enough. Attacks of this nature carried out by any Jewish forces were indeed of great psychological importance, and their military effect, to the extent that they widened the Arab front and forced the enemies on to the defensive, was not without value. But it was clear to us that even most daring sallies carried out by partisan troops would never be able to decide the issue. Our hope lay in gaining control of territory. "At the end of January, 1948, at a meeting of the Command of the Irgun in which the Planning Section participated, we outlined four strategic objectives: (1) Jerusalem; (2) Jaffa; (3) the Lydda-Ramleh plain; and (4) the Triangle. "Setting ourselves these objectives we knew that their achievement would be dependent on many factors but primarily on the strength in men and arms that we would have at our disposal. We consequently decided to treat the plans as 'alternatives': we would carry out what we could. As it happened, of the four parts of the strategic plan we executed only the second in full. "In the first and third parts we were able to record important achievements on the battlefield - but we did not attain decisive victories. "As for the fourth part, we were never allowed an opportunity even to begin to put the plan into operation. The conquest of Jaffa, however, stands out as an event of first-rate importance in the struggle for Hebrew independence." Also, Ben-Gurion writes (again, from http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/d442111e70e417e3802564740045a309?OpenDocument): "...Field troops and Palmach in particular were thus deployed and quickly showed the mettle that was soon to animate our army and bring it victory. "...New Jerusalem was occupied, and the guerrillas were expelled from Haifa, Jaffa, Tiberias, Safad while still the Mandatory was present. It needed sagacity and self-control not to fall foul of the British army. The Hagana did its job; until a day or two before the Arab invasion not a settlement was lost, no road cut, although movement was seriously dislocated, despite express assurances of the British to keep the roads safe so long as they remained. Arabs started fleeing from the cities almost as soon as disturbances began in the early days of December 1947. As fighting spread, the exodus was joined by bedouin and fellahin, but not the remotest Jewish homestead was abandoned and nothing a tottering Administration (meaning the British Mandatory) could unkindly do stopped us from reaching our goal on May 14, 1948 in a State made larger and Jewish by the Haganah ..." 3) The "Third phase" claims "[t]he UN approved" accepting Israel as a member state in May 1948, when that did not happen until 11 May 1949, or the latter part of the "Fourth phase", as outlined on this site. 4) Again, in the "Third phase", it is claimed that: "Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi, and Egyptian troops invaded Israel and joined the arab guerrillas. A bitter war ensued." While obviously and shamefully short, especially considering this article is supposedly concerning these two sentences, it is factually incorrect. Another snippet from http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/d442111e70e417e3802564740045a309?OpenDocument: During the months preceding the end of the Mandate, Jewish forces had moved to occupy key cities and areas in the territory designated for the Arab State. Ben-Gurion writes that before the Mandate ended: "... no Jewish settlement, however remote, was entered or seized by the Arabs, while the Haganah ... captured many Arab positions and liberated Tiberias and Haifa, Jaffa and Safad ... So, on the day of destiny, that part of Palestine where the Haganah could operate was almost clear of Arabs". The major part of Jerusalem meant to be internationalized under the partition plan, had also been occupied by Jewish forces. On the termination of the Mandate, Jewish forces moved to occupy further territory beyond the boundaries specified by the Partition resolution. This lead to the influx of neighboring Arab militias, who entered, according to these reasons as outlined in the cable the Arab League sent the United Nations Secretary-General: "Now that the Mandate over Palestine has come to an end, leaving no legally constituted authority behind in order to administer law and order in the country and afford the necessary and adequate protection to life and property, the Arab States declare as follows: "(a) The right to set up a Government in Palestine pertains to its inhabitants under the principles of self-determination recognized by the Covenant of the League of Nations as well as the United Nations Charter; "(b) Peace and order have been completely upset in Palestine, and, in consequence of Jewish aggression, approximately over a quarter of a million of the Arab population have been compelled to leave their homes and emigrate to neighbouring Arab countries. The prevailing events in Palestine exposed the concealed aggressive intentions of the Zionists and their imperialistic motives ... "(c) The Mandatory has already announced that on the termination of the Mandate it will no longer be responsible for the maintenance of law and order in Palestine ... This leaves Palestine absolutely without any administrative authority ... "... "(e) ... The recent disturbances in Palestine further constitute a serious and direct threat to peace and security within the territories of the Arab States themselves. For these reasons, and considering that the security of Palestine is a sacred trust for them, and out of anxiousness to check the further deterioration of the prevailing conditions and to prevent the spread of disorder and lawlessness into the neighbouring Arab lands, and in order to fill the vacuum created by the termination of the Mandate and the failure to replace it by any legally constituted authority, the Arab Governments find themselves compelled to intervene for the sole purpose of restoring peace and security and establishing law and order in Palestine. "The Arab States recognize that the independence and sovereignty of Palestine which was so far subject to the British Mandate has now, with the termination of the Mandate, become established in fact, and maintain that the lawful inhabitants of Palestine are alone competent and entitled to set up an administration in Palestine for the discharge of all governmental functions without any external interference. As soon as that stage is reached for the intervention of the Arab States, which is confined to the restoration of peace and establishment of law and order, shall be put an end to, and the sovereign State of Palestine will be competent in co-operation with the other States members of the Arab League, to take every step for the promotion of the welfare and security of its peoples and territory ..." Here is where the meat of the story begins, which the UN document sums up with the following: "The fighting between the Arab forces on one hand and what were now Israeli forces on the other escalated into the first Middle East War. The Israeli forces were well manned and well trained, drawing on the Jewish Brigade formed during the Second World War, and on the various armed groups such as the Haganah, the Palmach, and the Irgun. They were well equipped with arms acquired within and without Palestine during the Mandate period. The intervention by the Arab States in support of the "Arab State" in Palestine proved largely ineffective in the face of decisive Israeli military superiority. Within weeks, Israel had occupied most of the territory of Palestine, with the exception of the "West Bank" of the Jordan, held by the Arab Legion from Jordan and the Gaza Strip, held by Egyptian forces (map at annex II.) But for these exceptions, Israel now controlled virtually the entire territory claimed by the Zionist Movement at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as the "Jewish national home"." 5) The section "First Truce" incorrectly states that "[o]n June 11 a general truce was agreed upon largely due to mediator Count Folke Bernadotte's efforts". The cease-fire was ordered by the Security Council on 29 May 1948 and Bernadotte was sent to the region to supervise the cease-fire. 6) The omission of Bernadotte's end is surprising. Both of his recommendations were rejected by both sides, but before the UN could act on either of the recommendations, Bernadotte was assassinated by Lehi (Israel's official explanation, although they then claimed that Lehi existed only as a political group and had disbanded its military), sometimes referred to as the Stern Gang. A report to the UN on the assassination included information that the Count's killers were wearing Israeli army uniforms and also noted that "the Provisional Government of Israel must assume the full responsibility ... for these assassinations ..." The Security Council requested the Israeli Government to investigate the assassination and to submit a report to the Council, but no report was received. (see the UN document) 7) The section under "1949 Armistice Agreements" is incorrect. Though the agreements were separately signed from Feb through July 1949, they "specified inter alia that the 'armistice between the armed forces [was] an indispensable step toward the liquidation of armed conflict and the restoration of peace in Palestine', recognizing 'the principle that no military or political advantage should be gained". The agreements "being dictated exclusively by military, and not political, considerations' did not prejudice the political positions of any of the parties on the ultimate settlement of the Palestine question. Thus they gave Israel no legal right to the territories occupied during the 1948 hostilities, beyond the lines specified in the partition resolution." (see the UN document) "While in occupation of territories beyond those allotted by the resolution, Israel applied for admission to the United Nations on 29 November 1948. It was criticized in the Security Council for its non-compliance with United Nations resolutions and on 17 December 1948 its application failed, receiving 5 votes in favour, 1 against, with 5 abstentions." (see UN document) 8) Another omission is resolution 194, establishing "the right of peaceful return of the Palestinians to their homes (a right that has been reiterated annually by the General Assembly up to the present time)". (again, see UN document) 9) Again, the "1949 Armistice Agreements" section omits any mention of the inconclusive Conciliation Commission for Palestine, whose report showed that Israel "now envisaged a Palestinian Arab State limited to the territories occupied by Egypt and Jordan, but this was unacceptable at the time to both the Palestinian Arabs and to the Arab States". (see UN document) 10) The article omits the correct date that Israel was admitted into the UN: 11 May 1949. 11) The "neutral" stasis of the article is betrayed by the mentioning of Jews having their rights diminished in Arab states without mentioning the reciprocal situation as existed (and exists) in Israel. More errors may remain, but that is all the time I have now... : User:Earthsound 22:12, 23 Aug 2003 (UTC) Please be proactive and work on the article itself. Of course you are right that there are lots of problems with the article as it stands. Btw, the Bernadotte assassination is at Folke Bernadotte and Lehi so maybe no more than a pointer is needed here. -- User:Zero0000 06:10, 24 Aug 2003 (UTC) ---- Zero: I got my numbers for the sizes of the Arab regular forces from Eugene Rogan's article ''Jordan and 1948: The Persistence of an official History'' in ''The War for Palestine'', Cambridge University Press, 2001. This is the text of his footnote: :Glubb, ''Soldier with the Arabs'', p. 94; Madi and Musa, ''Tarkih al-urdunn'', p. 472. British sources set the relative strength of Israeli and Arab forces on the eve of Britain's withdrawal at 74,000 and 19,200, respectively. Wilson, ''King 'Abdullah'', p. 170. I have no reason to believe that this source is better than yours. But as there seems to be disagreement on the numbers, I think we should include a footnote or citation or whatever to indicate where we got them. Where did you get your numbers? Is there disagreement between different reports? User:DanKeshet :I got the values from Morris, Righteous Victims. I know there are differences of opinion on the numbers. I'm going away for a few days and won't have time to look at the citations until I get back (however I'm not sure I'd trust Glubb except maybe for the Jordanian strength). -- User:Zero0000 21:55, 28 Aug 2003 (UTC) ---- WHO removed Plan Dalet?????????????????+ User:BL 04:36, 5 Oct 2003 (UTC) Minor edit: changing "Naqba" to "Nakba." The latter, spelled in Arabic with kaf, means disaster, calamity, catastrophe. The former (incorrect) transliteration, spelled in Arabic with qaf, means opening, breach, hole; and I am given to understand that it has the vulgar colloquial (and anatomical) meaning that you might expect. (Note: my username is JBJD, and even though I'm logged in, the preview of the page doesn't appear to list my username after my comment. I'm a Wiki newbie and admittedly haven't gone through the FAQs at any length. Anybody know how to do this, or should I just RTFM?) Fixed several English language problems, and added references to Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the general leader of the Palestinian Arabs during the Mandatory period. He was missing from the text, possibly because of his collaboration with the Nazis and family relation to Yasser Arafat. The war simply cannot be understood without the inclusion of the Grand Mufti. He set in stone both Palestinian Arab ideology and their strategy of of sporadic, disorganized terror. There are other strategic omissions, including the Siege of Jerusalem and the Arab League meetings of November and December, 1947, during which the war was declared and funded. ---- Noam Chomsky [http://www.zmag.org/meastwatch/alaqsa.htm] among others says that Al-Aqsa intifada is NOT the result of Sharon's visit to the temple mount. User:OneVoice 21:14, 16 Feb 2004 (UTC) I reverted whoever changed the text to read that the Israelis refer to this war as the "War of Conquest", because it seems exceptionally unlikely. If anyone has evidence that this is indeed the case (rather than "War of Independence") then please supply it here. User:DJ Clayworth 15:27, 20 Apr 2004 (UTC) ---- UNGA Resolution 194 [http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/0/c758572b78d1cd0085256bcf0077e51a?OpenDocument] stipulates many things. One of these is return of refuges (Article 11), with no word limited only to Arabs. However, a condition is set: ''wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours''. Arabs ignored this article no less than Israel. In addition, Arabs ignored Article 7 (free access to Holy Places). Access to Jerusalem (Article 9) was also blocked. Both Israel and Arabs, as well as UN Security Council, ignored Article 8 (demilitarization of Jerusalem, corpus separatum). -- 128.139.226.36 08:14, 24 May 2004 : The text as you had it implies a symmetry of reaction on the refugee issue, since no other issue is mentioned. Of course there was no such symmetry. The Arabs announced they would implement the refugee clauses if Israel did too, but of course Israel was deadset against this. --User:Zero0000 10:53, 2 Jun 2004 (UTC) ---- There are many different published figures for the strength of the Arab armies. The numbers in the article come from the book of Israeli military historian Amitzur Ilan, which is a recent specialist book that examines this question closely. Don't change them unless you have a source that you can argue is better. --User:Zero0000 09:10, 6 Jun 2004 (UTC) == Jersualem == "May 28, when the Arab Legion succeeded in expelling Israeli forces from the Arab quarters of Jerusalem" What happened on May 28 1948 was the occupation and subsequent expulsion of 1,600 Jews living in the Jewish quarter of the Old City for generations. Calling the Jewish quarter "Arab quarters" and speaking only about Israeli forces is an ugly piece of disinformation. :User:Avihu 16:34, 27 Jun 2004 (UTC) It feels a little biased in favour of the Zionists to me. There seems to be no mention of the King David Hotel or any such things. While attacks on Jews and Christians prior to the declaration of the state of Israel are mentioned, there is no mention of any attacks on Arabs. Also, there seems to be an assumption that the population split into Muslim, Jewish and Christian with the accompanying assumption that Arabs are muslim, Racial Jews are religious jews and 'white people' are christian. I don't know, feels like it could use a little work. But I agree, very hard topic to work on... ==NPOV issues== This article is marked as in NPOV dispute. What are the outstanding issues? I have one * The estimate of 600,000 Jewish refugees from this conflict, attributed to JAFI, is a misattribution: the figure is of Jewish people who sought refuge in Israel during the period from 1948 to 1972; of the figure of 260,000 from Morocco, very few of that number left in 1948-1949. What else? ---- User:Chalst 17:20, 30 Sep 2004 (UTC) This: :The status of Jews in Arab states varied greatly from state to state. Some observers wish to maintain that the Jewish populations were more "prevented from leaving" than "expelled". Their civil liberties, too, were in many cases vastly inferior to of their Muslim fellow citizens. For example, in Yemen, Jews were and are prohibited from carrying weapons of any type, even to the point of prohibiting traditional ceremonial Yemeni knives, carried by a large portion of the Yemeni population. The net result was that after over two thousand years of living in Arab controlled countries, the atmosphere was sufficiently anti-Jewishly charged that almost to a man, entire communities of Jews in the hundreds of thousands felt they had no option but to take leave of old homes and move to the uncertainties of the new Jewish state of Israel in effect becoming "refugees" in everything but name. These fears were compounded by the Holocaust, which ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany three years before the founding of the state of Israel. Someone please dePOV both. User:Sir Paul 07:29, Dec 10, 2004 (UTC) This entire article went from bad to worse. It is sad to see everything on wikipedia about Palestine/Israel so completely distorted. It happens on both sides, but particularly tends to ignore the Palestinian viewpoint and that of the very important work of Israeli Historians such as Avi Shlaim. It's a shame, because it lowers my faith in Wikipedia as a whole. If I can't get good information about the 1948 War, what ''can'' I trust on the site? == Minor Change == Revised grammatical issues in the first section. Removed the statement "for their own interest" from the section about the adjustments to Paletine's borders, as it had no support or references.
1948 Arab-Israeli War
Arab-Israeli conflict 1948 Wars of Independence
1948 Arab-Israeli war
#REDIRECT 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 arab-israeli war
#REDIRECT 1948 Arab-Israeli War
See other meanings of words starting from letter:A | B | C | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | X | Y | Z |
These materials are based on Wikipedia and licensed under the GNU FDL
YouTube.com videos better site than Turbo Tax 2007
