HISTORY REVISION By: Juliana, Nicholas, Nicole

The Last Years of the British Mandate There was a committee created to try to solve the Arab/Jewish conflict. – Atmosphere of terror – Jews could not continue in that way. – Holocaust going on (WW2) Jewish Terrorism – June 1946 – operation Agatha: control/reduction of military capacity to Jews (British). – July 1946 – Irgun operation on King David Hotel Jews get tired of helping Britain in WW2. Zionists come in.

International pressure – US wants more Jew refugees to go into Palestine; at first Britain does not agree. Soon they entered World criticism Morrison-Grady plan: failure. October 1946 – Truman announces support for a Jewish statehood. Arabs & Jews did not want to accept any proposals. October 1947 – British decide to hand the case to the United Nations (end of mandate) – Could not afford it after WW2 – After 30 years in charge…

UN Partition Plan UNSCOP = United Nations Special Committee on Palestine. November 1947 – UN votes for partition – Division of Palestine: 1 side for the Jews, another for the Arabs. – Criss-cross arrangement (they believed it would work) Arabs rejected the idea – Jews had most of the land – Western powers should find another area for the Jews. Jews accepted it – Many were still unhappy because they didn’t have the Holy city of Jerusalem.

UN Partition Plan

The Break of Civil War After partition, there were many Arab/Jewish confrontations. – Massacres – Syria and Iraq interfering – Haganah – organized Jewish defense forces April 1948 – Dier Yassin Massacre Many Arabs fled Palestine because of the fear. May 1948 – British final withdrawal.

Establishment of Israel & Arab Response “Final” decision: Partition. May 14 th 1948 – Israel State Proclaimed Arabs immediately declare their opposition (Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq) – Declared holy war (jihad) – Wanted to create the United state of Palestine – Started with village attacks and terrorism. However, the Arabs were very disorganized and unprepared. – Only Arab Legion was efficient

War Israelis were more well prepared – Fought for years – With the UN truce, they were able to get more weapons (1948) Arabs had gained some territory and the Old City of Jerusalem – but soon lost it again. Fighting resumed on August and halted in the end of Israelis advanced, isolating Egyptian forces on – They would not return the conquered territory Ceasefire; armistice done, but not peace.

Vocabulary to keep in mind… Irgun Zionists Holocaust Refugees Partition Haganah

Bibliography Morris, Benny. Righteous Victims. New York: Vintage Books, Scott-Baumann, Michael. Conflict In The Middle East: Israel And The Arabs. London: Hodder Education, 1998.