Arab-Israeli Conflicts

Arab-Israeli Conflicts

Since the United Nations partition of PALESTINE in 1947 and the

establishment of the modern state of ISRAEL in 1948, there have

been four major Arab-Israeli wars (1947-49, 1956, 1967, and

1973) and numerous intermittent battles. Although Egypt and

Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979, hostility between Israel

and the rest of its Arab neighbors, complicated by the demands

of Palestinian Arabs, continued into the 1980s.

THE FIRST PALESTINE WAR (1947-49)

The first war began as a civil conflict between Palestinian

Jews and Arabs following the United Nations recommendation of

Nov. 29, 1947, to partition Palestine, then still under

British mandate, into an Arab state and a Jewish state.

Fighting quickly spread as Arab guerrillas attacked Jewish

settlements and communication links to prevent implementation

of the UN plan.

Jewish forces prevented seizure of most settlements, but Arab

guerrillas, supported by the Transjordanian Arab Legion under

the command of British officers, besieged Jerusalem. By April,

Haganah, the principal Jewish military group, seized the

offensive, scoring victories against the Arab Liberation Army

in northern Palestine, Jaffa, and Jerusalem. British military

forces withdrew to Haifa; although officially neutral, some

commanders assisted one side or the other.

After the British had departed and the state of Israel had been

established on May 15, 1948, under the premiership of David

BEN-GURIO...

Arab-Israeli Conflicts

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