An Analysis of the Causes and Effects
Causes Feb 1947: Britain announced termination of British Mandate Britain asked United Nations to decide future of Palestine UN appointed committee UNSCOP Nov 1947: UN General Assembly voted in favor of Partition Plan
Map of Partition Plan
Allocation of Land ControlLand SizePopulation Size Arab42% of land800,000 Arabs 10,000 Jews Jews56% of land, most in Negev desert 400,000 Arabs 500,000 Jews UN ControlJerusalem
: Civil War Clashes between Arabs and Jews Deir Yassin British sometimes intervened
Deir Yassin Controversy Jewish vs. Arab viewpoints Goal What occurred Results: Media coverage and propaganda Palestinians fled Became cry for revenge, may have convinced Arab leaders to join (Egypt)
Birth of State of Israel May 14, 1948: David Ben Gurion declared State of Israel May 15, 1948 : 5 Arab countries attacked Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria Arabs vs. Jews ArabsJews Larger, well equipped armor, artillery, air force Well organized and well disciplined
Arab Response
Arab League’s Justification Britain flooded Palestine with Jews Zionist goal is aggression Arab governments are compelled to intervene Only solution is a unitary Palestinian state Arab governments only recognize Palestine (which has been suppressed by British Mandate) Arab governments must ensure security of Palestine
Pre-May 1948 Phases of the War First Phase (November 1947-April 1948) Palestinians and Arab countries attacked Jews suffered casualties and disruption on highways Second Phase (April-May 1948) Hagana opened road to Jerusalem and gained control of territory from Partition Plan
Post-May 1948 Phases of the War Third Phase (May-July 1948) 5 Arab countries attacked Israel with initial victories Hagana renamed IDF (May 31) IDF stabilized and began offensive attacks
Post-May 1948 Phases of the War Fourth Phase (July 1948-July 1949) Operation Yoav: capture Be’er Sheva Operation Hiram: capture of Upper Galilee Operations Horev and Uvda: capture of Negev
Armistice 1949 Armistice Agreements: Israel received 1/3 more land than Partition Plan (“Green Line”)
1949 Borders of Israel
Effects of the War Casualties: 6,000 Jews (2,000 civilians) 8-15,000 Arabs Palestinian Refugees 750,000 fled or were expelled refugee camps Arab nations refused citizenship (except Jordan) Refugee status passed to children
Palestinians…
vs. Israel