First Arab Israeli War

Causes of First Arab Israeli War

The immediate causes of the 1948 war were rooted in the political shock of the UN Partition Plan and Israel's declaration of statehood, intensified by inter-communal violence, the emotional impact of the Holocaust, and rising tensions between Zionism and Arab nationalism.

Resolution 181

29th November 1947- UN General Assembly- proposed partitioning Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an international city.

Jews 1/3 of the population

Were to receive 56% of the land area while the Arabs would receive 43%.

“UNO has set the Arabs and Jews in the Middle East irrevocably against eachother and made war inevitable.”

leading Arab spokesperson in London

Arabs denounced UN resolution, called a general strike → rioting + attacks on Jews broke out

 14 May 1948

David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel. The next day, armies from five Arab nations (Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq) invaded, viewing the new state as a colonial imposition.

Zionism and Arab Nationalism

The ideological clash between Zionism and Arab nationalism created an environment of irreconcilable goals that made violent conflict over Palestine almost inevitable by 1948.

Zionism

As a movement for Jewish national self-determination, sought a homeland in Palestine, especially after the Balfour Declaration (1917).
Arab nationalism rejected the establishment of a Jewish state on what was seen as Arab land.

By the 1940s, both ideologies had gained mass support—Zionists through immigration and infrastructure-building; Arabs through anti-colonial rhetoric and opposition to Zionist expansion.

“the recognition of the Jew’s national rights in Palestine was insufferable, and the only possible response was armed resistance.”

A. Shapira 2014- view of the Arabs

The Arab League pledged to resist the creation of Israel by force if necessary.

“The Palestinian catastrophe… was inherent in the Zionist project and revealed by the very declaration of the state.”

Khalidi 2006

“The clash between Arab nationalism and Jewish nationalism was not about borders or diplomacy, but about legitimacy. One side denied the right of the other to exist.”

Laqueur 2003- fundamentally irreconcilable ideologies

White Paper of 1939

The British continued their policy of limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine during and after WWII leading to Jewish resistance.

Holocaust

influenced global opinion, particularly in the United States and parts of Europe, in favour of Jewish self-determination.

The genocide of six million Jews in Europe highlighted the vulnerability of the Jewish people without a state.

200,000 displaced Jewish Holocaust survivors

Following liberation of Jews from concentration camps in 1945 the Zionist movement used the shocking truth of the camps to mobilise international support for establishing a Jewish state in Palestine

Could not return to homes, housed in camps set up by UNRRA

Perspectives on Holocaust

Arab states resented Western support for Zionism as a form of imposed guilt at their expense.
To Israelis the future of the Holocaust survivors was a key factor leading to the partition plan, but Pro Palestinian and revisionist Israeli researchers argue that it was the effective use of armed force (known as gun Zionism) by the Yishuv that determined Palestine’s future.

Migration of European Jews to Palestine

rapidly increased during and after World War 2, providing the Zionist movement with mass of migrants that enabled it to triumph politically and militarily in 1948

UNGA vote on partition

33 for, 13 against, 10 abstained from vote

Inter-Communal Violence (1946 – May 1948)

The months of escalating violence between Jewish and Arab communities following the UN Partition Plan were a factor contributing to the war, foreshadowing broader regional conflict.

British withdrawal left a power vacuum that encouraged armed clashes.

This escalating inter-communal violence created a de facto war even before Arab states intervened, making full-scale war almost inevitable by May 1948.

Civil war-like conditions

emerged between Palestinian Arab and Jewish militias, particularly the Haganah, Irgun, and Arab irregulars.

August 1946- Irgun

responsible for a bomb that destroyed a wing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, killing 90+ civilians

Nakba

‘Catastrophe’

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced even before the official war began, leading to what Palestinians call

“disturbances were soon widespread throughout Palestine. The Arabs clashed with the Jews, and the two parties proceeded to fight each other”

Arab League statement 15th May 1948

As the Arab states had predicted

77%

Israel expanded its territory beyond the 1947 UN Partition Plan, seizing _ of Mandate Palestine.

Success in the war boosted national unity and legitimacy both domestically and internationally.

1949 Armistice Agreements

with Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria established Israel’s de facto borders- Green Lines

Israel asserted its sovereignty within

No independent Palestinian state was established

despite the UN Partition Plan

Jordan annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem, while Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip.

290 to 531 villages

were destroyed or given Hebrew names.

Law of Return

Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed in 1950- stated Jews immigrating to Israel were entitled to citizenship automatically- priority for leaders was demographic.

1.4 million

Israel population increase by end of 1951

726,000

Estimated refugees- 70% of Arab population of Palestine

Many fled due to fear, violence, or expulsion by Israeli forces; they were denied the right of return.

Refugees were dispersed

across neighbouring Arab countries and refugee camps, especially in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria

They were not wanted in the Arab countries- usually not able to get citizenship+ denied civil rights

Jordan allowed Palestinians to become citizens but they could not use the word ‘Palestine’ on any legal docs- prevent independent Palestine

‘prevent their return’

Ben Gurion told Israeli cabinet on 16 June 1948 that Israel should

Israel feared the Palestinians becoming a ‘fifth column’

“Whether or not the expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 was premeditated or an unintentional consequence of the war, Israel is largely responsible for the refugee problem.”

Ram 1993

Nationality Act 1951

Allowed Arabs in Israel to vote, run for office, technically have equal right to vote

However- placed under military rule, forbidden to move outside their areas without permission, limited education/employment opportunities, villages+ land could be expropriated by declaring an area a ‘security zone’

Resolution 194

11 December 1948 the UNGA resolved that Palestinian refugees who wished to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at earliest practicable date and should be paid compensation for loss of/damage to property

Entrenchment of Arab-Israeli Hostility

The war hardened attitudes on both sides and entrenched the Arab-Israeli conflict, making future peace efforts more difficult.

Arab states refused to recognise Israel's legitimacy and refused to sign peace treaties, agreeing only to armistice lines.

Anti-Israel sentiment surged across the Arab world, feeding into the rise of militant movements and further wars (e.g., 1956, 1967).

Israel refused to accept Res 194

argued Arab state should accept displaced people as immigrants. Palestinians could do little to return to their homes anyway- destroyed/occupied by Israelis

Res 194 unacceptable to both sides

Israel insisted repatriation of refugees dependent on recognition of the state and direct peace treaties with Arab governments knowing they would reject, Arabs were unwilling to accept resettlement schemes without acknowledgement of refugee’s right to return