The Situation: ArabIsraeli conflict 19489

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The SituationArab-Israeli conflict 1948-9

• 1947-

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Review the Situation

• By 1947, considerable immigration of Jewish
  peoples (Zionists) fleeing persecution in Europe
  were in search of a new homeland, known as
  Palestine.
• This did not sit well with local Palestinian
  population of Muslim Arabs, so bloody clashes
  ensued.
• The British rulers of Palestine wanted the Arabs
  to keep the peace, but this only led to more
  disagreement between all three groups.

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Behind the Scenes

• 1947 - "I told the Jews that if they were willing
  to furnish me with five hundred thousand men to
  carry on a war with the Arabs, we could do what
  they are suggesting in the Resolution favoring a
  state  - otherwise we will have to negotiate
  awhile. I want to make the whole world safe for
  the Jews. Therefore, I don't feel like going to
  war for Palestine."
• 1948 The Jews are so emotional, and the Arabs
  are so difficult to talk with that it is almost
  impossible to get anything done. The British
  have, of course, been exceedingly uncooperative.
  .. The Zionists, of course, have expected a big
  stick approach on our part, and naturally have
  been disappointed when we can't do that."

President Harry S. Truman
http//www.mideastweb.org/us_supportforstate.htm
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Partition Plan Poor in Palestine

• The United Nations Partition Plan (1947) was
  meant to stop the fighting in Palestine. The Jews
  were to get c.55 of the land, and the Arabs,
  45.
• Naturally the Palestinian Arabs rejected it out
  of hand.
• The Jewish - leader Ben-Gurion -gave it a
  cautious welcome.
• All sides knew, however, that the British rule
  was coming to an end. Their Mandate
  (permission) to rule only lasted until May15
  1948.
• The time bomb was a ticking

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BOOM!!

• Anti-Jewish protests, Jewish shops were looted,
  and Jewish people attacked.
• May 14, 1948 The Prime Minister Ben Gurion
  declared the Independence of Israel,only one day
  before the end of the mandate, and in a climate
  of fear and violence.
• He quickly unites the Jews in the fight for their
  state.

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Response to Israels Independence

• Israel was quickly recognized by the USA and
  Russia.
• Dont forget, the US was in a cold war with USSR
  and the fight against communism was increased.
• Both were becoming increasingly reliant on oil,
  and were competing for political power in the
  world.

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The Arab Response

• Arab League countries declared war on the new
  Israel immediately. Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Jordan
  and Lebanon all planned invasions.
• The idea was to crush Israel before it could
  become established.
• They were trained and equipped by the British.
• The U.S. imposed an arms embargo on both states,
  in hopes of avoiding bloodshed.

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1948 Arab Invasion plans of Israel ( in red.)
From Lebanon and Syria
From Transjordan and Iraq
From Egypt
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The Israeli Defense

• With not a single cannon or tank, Israel quickly
  had to equip her soldiers.
• Relying on smuggled weapons from Czechoslavikia,
  all armed units- Zionist, or otherwise combined
  into one force, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).
• The Israelis relied on what they had learned in
  WWII and from helping the British army. Their
  military technology by 1949 was superior to the
  Arabs.
• But before this happened the Israelis relied on
  sheer enthusiasm and
• superior military intelligence. Israel won the
  air war, for example, by better strategy, rather
  than better technology.

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The Arab Offensive.

• It was a disaster for the Arabic nations. The
  Israeli forces were far stronger than any of them
  expected.
• Many Jews had fought in World War II and they had
  reasonable weaponry-mostly also from World war
  II.
• The Jewish army also greatly increased in size,
  whereas the Arab forces grew only slowly and were
  controlled separately.

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Strength in Numbers

• Israeli Forces 1948
• Initial strength - 29,677
• 4 June40,825
• 17 July63,586
• 7 October88,033
• 28 October92,275
• 2 December106,900
• 23 December107,652
• 30 December108,300

• Arab forces 1948
• July 40,000
• October 55,000
• January 60,000

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The Avia S-199 Israels first fighter plane.
World War II experts may recognize it- it is,
ironically, the old German Messerschmitt BF 109
which was now used by Israel to fight its old
enemy the Spitfire- now being flown by the
Egyptians. Israel also managed to buy some
Spitfires too!
Spitfire Irony in the Sky.
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Israeli children today still make models of their
nations first plane.
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Old military equipment. This gun was pre-World
War One vintage.
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Arab soldiers firing on an Israeli settlement.
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Motorised weaponry.
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The End Result

• Only the Jordanians and the Egyptians made any
  real gains. The Jordanians grabbed East Jerusalem
  and the West Bank land. The Egyptians gained a
  strip of coast-line called the Gaza strip.
• Elsewhere the Arabic forces were all pushed back.
• 1949 the United Nations declared a cease-fire
• Israel signed armistice agreements with all the
  Arab states.
• Israel had expanded by another 25!

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Israel
West Bank-Jordanian
Gaza Strip-Egyptian
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Nakba disaster

• Up to ¾ of a million Arab Palestinians lost their
  homes in the war and fled South or East.
• Massive refugee camps sprang up and conditions
  were horrific.
• These camps proved ideal places for Arab
  resistance movements to begin recruiting members.

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Palestinian Arab refugees. The seeds of years
of future discontent ?
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More refugees..

• Meanwhile Jewish people fled in the opposite
  directions- into Israel or back to Europe, or
  even to the USA.
• Israels population doubled as Arabic states all
  expelled their Jewish population.

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Fuel for the Future

• For now, Israel had won her right to exist.
• The Arab league had to think again before
  challenging this right.
• Palestinians who had lost homes were a strong
  voice of protest against the new state.
• Ben Gurion was a national hero.