ÿþ<html> <head> <title> WHKMLA : History of the Early Cold War : Arab Israeli Wars </title> <!-- copyright Alexander Ganse, 2001 --> </head> <body bgcolor = "lightgreen"> <div align = "center"> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../index.html"> <img src = "../../banner.jpg" border = "0"> </A></TD></TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width = "150" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <font size = "2" face = "arial"><B> </B></font></TD> <TD width = "36" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <img src = "../../region/arrowleft.gif" width = "36" height = "36" border = "0"> </A></TD> <TD align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../latecoldwar/xlcw.html"> <img src = "../period/topicbanners/arabisrconfl.jpg" border = "0"> </A></TD> <TD width = "36" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../latecoldwar/arabisr2.html"> <img src = "../../region/arrowright.gif" width = "36" height = "36" border = "0"></A> </TD> <TD width = "150" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <font size = "2" face = "arial"><B> Arab-Israeli Conflict (2) </B></font></TD></TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width = "150" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <font size = "2" face = "arial"><B> Indo-Pakistani Wars </B></font></TD> <TD width = "36" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "indpak.html"> <img src = "../../region/arrowleft.gif" width = "36" height = "36" border = "0"> </A></TD> <TD align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "xecw.html"> <img src = "../banners/banecw.jpg" border = "0"> </A></TD> <TD width = "36" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "apartheidstr.html"> <img src = "../../region/arrowright.gif" width = "36" height = "36" border = "0"></A> </TD> <TD width = "150" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <font size = "2" face = "arial"><B> Struggle against Apartheid </B></font></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <script language="JavaScript"> <!-- function SymError() { return true; } window.onerror = SymError; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-0213752126925919"; google_alternate_color = "FFFFE1"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 90; google_ad_format = "728x90_as"; google_ad_channel ="4814426207"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_page_url = document.location; google_color_border = "FF3300"; google_color_bg = "FFFFE1"; google_color_link = "0000CC"; google_color_url = "008000"; google_color_text = "6F6F6F"; //--></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <BR><BR><BR> </div> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width = "900" align = "center" valign = "center"> <font size = "6" face = "arial"><B> Arab-Israeli Wars </B></font> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <BR><BR> <font size = "4" face = "Times Roman"> World War I, the SYKES-PICOT AGREEMENT and the subsequent MANDATE of the LEAGUE OF NATIONS placed Britain in charge of Palestine, a country inhabited by Muslim and Christian Arabs they took over from the Ottoman Turks. <BR> During World War I, Britain, desparately looking for any support it could get, in the BALFOUR DECLARATION of 1917 had promised a Jewish HOMESTEAD in Palestine, i.e. Jewish immigration into the country. <BR><BR> THEODOR HERZL had formulated the idea of a Jewish state in the last years of the 19th century, and although he never picked Israel as the site of such a state, the ZIONIST MOVEMENT hardly considered any other location for the realization of this dream. A few Jews immigrated to Palestine while the country was still an Ottoman province; under British rule, immigration set in in much larger numbers. Jewish organizations would purchase plots of land, evict the Arab tenents and settle them with Jewish immigrants. Jewish agricultural settlements, KIBBUZim, had an economical as well as strategic function : to establish Jewish (Israeli) presence in a certain area, which later could be turned into a political claim. <BR> With ever more Jews immigrating and ever more Arabs being evicted from the pastures/fields they used to live off, the Arabs became hostile to Jewish immigration. In 1936 to 1938 they resisted in the first INTIFADA, a kind of general strike with occasional stone throws, a collective refusal to cooperate with the British authorities, individual acts of terrorism not excluded. Britain had to commit additional troops to Palestine. In order to appease the Arabs, limited quotas were imposed on Jewish immigration, just at a time when Nazi atrocities caused a considerable upsurge in the number of prospective immigrants. <BR> In 1948 Britain was willing to evacuate Palestine, and the UNITED NATIONS voted on Palestine's favour. The decision fell against the Arab proposal for a unified Palestine (with an Arab majority), for PARTITION into the Jewish state of ISRAEL and an Arab state of PALESTINE. <BR><BR> Hostilities broke out within minutes after Israel proclaimed independence. The Palestinian side was supported by the Arab neighbouring states, mainly Syria, Jordan, Egypt. The Palestinians were asked to evacuate settlements in contested areas, to make room for the Arab armies 'to drive the Israelis into the sea'. The Arabs disposed over superior arms; both sides being militarily inexperienced, the Israelis defeated approaching Egyptian columns with boldness and ingenuity. When truce was signed, Israel had 'corrected' the borders suggested by the UN partition plan, had gained a part of Jerusalem and a road to it. <BR> Within the state of Israel, a considerable Muslim population lived; Israeli policy was to ensure both the Jewish character of the state and room for future Jewish immigrants. During the brief war of 1948, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the civilian population of the peaceful village of DAIR YASSIN (April 9th 1948), in order to induce them to join the treck of refugees; out of 800,000 Palestinians who had lived in Israeli-held territory, only 170,000 stayed. <BR><BR> The Arab state of Palestine, as envisioned by the UN partition plan, never came into being; the so-called WEST BANK was annexed by Jordan, the GAZA STRIP by Egypt. <BR> In 1956 Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal; Israel joined an Anglo-French alliance intending to retake the canal. The invasion, which already was in process, was called off when the US government spoke out against it. <BR> In 1967 a coalition of Arab countries, most notably Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq, declared war on Israel; the outcome was disastrous. In merely six days, the Israelis established air superiority, occupied the Gaza Strip, the SINAI PENINSULA, the West Bank and the GOLAN HEIGHTS. <BR><BR> The years between 1948 and 1969 had been years of hostile relations, the Arabs regarding Israel as a product of colonial policy, a new crusader state, while Israel was regusing to accept the existance of a Palestinian nationality, arguing that there were 28 Arab states (where the Palestinians could settle). Israel continued to benefit from massive financial support from abroad (the US, and from the FRG which paid large sums of money in recognition of Germany's historical responsibility to the Jews), which permitted Israel to establish a technologically superior army. <BR><BR> Large numbers of Palestinian refugees lived in camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere. Politically, the Palestinians were represented by the PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION (PLO, established in 1964) presided by YASSIR ARAFAT, which soon began to conduct terrorist acts against the State of Israel. Large elements of Palestinians living in Jordan and Lebanon proved to be destabilizing the host states. <BR><BR><BR><BR> <TABLE border = "3" cellspace="5" cellpadding="5" align="center"> <TR> <TD width = "150" valign = "top" align = "center" bgcolor="#FFFACD"> <font size = "3" face = "Times Roman" color = "#000000"> EXTERNAL <BR> FILES </font></TD> <TD width = "700" valign = "top" align = "left" bgcolor = "#FFFACD"> <font size = "2" face = "Times Roman" color = "#000000"> Arab-Israeli Wars, from <A HREF = "http://members.nbci.com/palestine99/war.htm"><B>Palestine - Home of History</B></A> <BR> Palestine Timeline 1900-1979, from <A HREF = "http://www.palestinehistory.com/time1900.htm"><B>Palestine - Home of History</B></A> </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "3" cellspace="5" cellpadding="5" align="center"> <TR> <TD width = "150" valign = "top" align = "center" bgcolor="#FFFACD"> <font size = "3" face = "Times Roman" color = "#000000"> DOCUMENTS </font></TD> <TD width = "700" valign = "top" align = "left" bgcolor = "#FFFACD"> <font size = "2" face = "Times Roman" color = "#000000"> Palestine Partition Plans - Maps, from <A HREF = "http://www.stanford.edu/class/history187b/partmaps.htm"><B>Stanford</B></A>, including a number of plans never realized <BR> Palestine 1916 - 1999 : A Documentary Record, from <A HREF = "http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/mideast.htm"><B> Avalon Project</B></A> at Yale Law School, many documents, mostly before 1955 <BR> Palestine : Historical Documents, from <A HREF = "http://www.palestinehistory.com/document.htm"><B>Palestone - Home of History</B></A>, focus on recent documents <BR> Documents Pertinent to Middle Eastern Issues, posted/linked by <A HREF = "http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/meres.htm"><B>Vincent Ferraro</B></A> at Mt. Holyoke </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "3" cellspace="5" cellpadding="5" align="center"> <TR> <TD width = "150" valign = "top" align = "center" bgcolor="#FFFACD"> <font size = "2" face = "Times Roman" color = "#000000"> REFERENCE </font></TD> <TD width = "700" valign = "top" align = "left" bgcolor = "#FFFACD"> <font size = "2" face = "Times Roman" color = "#000000"> </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <BR><BR><BR> <TABLE border="5" cellspace="10" cellpadding="10" align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><TR> <TD width="480" valign="top" align="center"> <font size = "3" face = "Times Roman" color = "#000000"><i>This page is part of <B>World History at KMLA</b></i></font><BR> <font size = "2" face = "Times Roman" color = "#000000"><i>First posted on July 16th 2001, last revised on November 14th 2004</i></font> <BR><BR> <font size = "2" face = "Times Roman"> Click here to go <A HREF = "../../index.html">Home</A> <BR> Click here to go to <A HREF = "../../about.html">Information about KMLA, WHKMLA, the author and webmaster</A> <BR> Click here to go to <A HREF = "../../links.html">Statistics</A><BR> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR><BR><BR> </DIV> <DIV align="center"> <A href="mailto:aganse@hotmail.com"> <IMG src="../../email.gif" border="0"></a><BR> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <!-- Start of CH Counter --> <script type="text/javascript"> //<!-- // chCounter v2.0.0 // settings: cstatus = "active"; visible = "0"; path_to_counterfile = "http://www.zum.de/whkmla/counter/counter.php"; urlhp = "http://www.zum.de"; //////////////// url = unescape(location.href); file = url.substring(url.lastIndexOf(urlhp) + urlhp.length, url.length); file = (file.charAt(0) != "/") ? 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