DS2: Arab-Israeli Conflict 1948-56

Who supported the creation of Israel

• USA

• USSR

Who opposed the creation of Israel

• Arabs were deeply unhappy

• Other states e.g. Egypt

• Non Jews within Israel

What did the British withdrawal from Palestine cause?

• When British forces left Palestine in 1947 it lead to the establishment of the modern state of Israel

What was the Civil War 1947-8?

• The initial phase began when the Arab Higher Committee proclaimed a 3-day strike which led to outbreaks of violence against Jewish civilians

• The Jewish Agency and its forces were ready to respond to the violence

• The Jewish forces acted defensively which meant they sought to hold onto the land the UN had given them they soon went on the offensive

• Whereas the Palestinian Arabs had no centrally organised military forces and their leaders were divided

What caused the expulsion of Palestinians in Israel?

• Plan D meant that as many Palestinians as possible were expelled from future Jewish states

• There were feelings of insecurity among the Arabs

• April 1948 Jewish forces began the expulsion of Arabs from villages inside what was to be the Jewish state

What were the events at Deir Yasin in 1948 and their impact?

• There was a bitter struggle to control the roads leading to Jerusalem and massacres of civilians were carried out by both sides

• It was inside what was to be Arab territory under the UN plan and it was the last village on the Western side of Jerusalem whose Arab inhabitants hadn’t fled

• On 9th April Irgun fighters attacked the village and killed 245 inhabitants, it was believed to be an Arab headquarter

Plan D forced or voluntary?

• Most historians agree that there was not a specific, detailed plan or an explicit order fro the systematic expulsion of Palestinians, even if some individual local commanders interpreted Plan D that way.

• It did create an atmosphere that paved the way for the expulsion operation in Palestine

What were the events in the First Arab-Israeli War 1948-9?

• The day after Israel was proclaimed armed forces from other Arab states invaded

• It was a battle for Jerusalem as it was considered holy to both Jews and Arabs

• Egyptian army of 10,000 soldiers attacked Jewish settlements on Arab land

• Most invaders from the north like Syria, Iraq and Lebanon were forced to withdraw by Jewish settlers

• The second phase saw the Stern Gang and Irgun now incorporated with the IDF

• Second ceasefire was broken by Israel and focused on defeating the Egyptians in the South

• Israel was under pressure from the US to withdraw from Egyptian territory

Why did Israel win the First Arab-Israeli war 1948-9?

• Israel’s army was 35,000 at the start of the war and by December it was 100,000 and Arab forces didn’t grow at the same rate

• They gained weapons from Europe and food from a communist farm

• Arab disunity = there was no trust

• The IDF incorporated Leki, Irgun and Haganah. They had morale to fight for their land and own survival all sharing the same one goal

• Paramilitaries well equipped and well trained, experienced in defence against Arabs

• Poorly equipped at the start but gained weapons from Europe

• 25K Israelis fought in WW2 which gave them valuable experience

What were the Israeli gains in the First Arab-Israeli War?

• Gained 79% of the British mandate which was greater than the 55% the UN allocated them

• Survived their first great test

• Confident for their future

• Israelis view it as the war of national liberation

What were the Israeli losses in the First Arab-Israeli War?

• Exhausted

• 6,000 lives which was nearly 1% of the whole Jewish population

What was the result of the First Arab-Israeli war for Palestinians?

• 700,000 made refugees out of the 1.2 million previously living there

• Most had ended up in Gaza or the West Bank

• Palestine wasn’t really a Palestinian state anymore

What were the armistice agreements?

• They were supervised by the UN and were agreements between Israel and each of its neighbouring Arab states

• Egypt gained Gaza area of Arab Palestine which then came under Egyptian military rule

• Jordan gained the governing right of West Bank

• Israel was happy because they could keep control of the newer, western part of Jerusalem

• Syria withdrew from northern Israel, setting up a demilitarised zone

What were Israeli strengths in the 1950s?

• They had motivation to fight

• They were fighting for their independence

• Increase in land

• United as the IDF meant military was united

• The USA and USSR both supported Israel

What was the notion of ‘Perpetual War’ in the 1950s?

• No full peace treaties were signed for 30 years because they couldn’t agree on borders and refugees despite the armistice agreements supposed to lead to permanent peace treaties

• The Arab league said that Israel had created the problem of the refugees and they had the right to return or be compensated by Israel

• Israel claimed that the Arabs created the refugee problem by invading Israel

• Another obstacle to peace was Arab public opinion as they were bitter over their defeat and they had a hatred for Israel

• Israel’s priorities were not peace but to build the new state, implement large-scale Jewish immigration and consolidate their independence

What was Israel’s relations with its neighbours in the 1950s?

• Arab states were stung by their defeat and people felt bitter. They felt the USA had bullied the UN into creating Israel and they suspected that the West would use Israel as a base to spy on the Middle East

• Tensions were created with Jordan when the king was killed by a Palestinian who feared the king would make a separate peace treaty with Israel. Jordan now included 1 million Palestinian Arabs who were granted full rights as citizens but many still wanted to return to Palestine. Israeli forces targeted Arab villages and attacked a Jordanian village killed 50 people

• The UN persuaded Syria to agree to a demilitarised zone but Israeli forces tried to force Arabs out which Syrians objected to. There were frequent incidents of shelling on both sides and disputes over Israel’s attempts to divert the water of the River Jordan to dry parts of the new state

• 300,000 Palestinians in Gaza and the majority of these refugees wanted to return to their homes which led to frequent raids to Israel. The IDF retaliated with reprisal raids which intensified in the mid 1950s

What was Israel’s relations with its Arab neighbours during the Suez Crisis?

• Israel's relations with Arab neighbours during the Suez Crisis were tense.

• Israel, along with France and Britain, attacked Egypt after it nationalized the Suez Canal.

• This led to a brief conflict, with Egypt receiving support from other Arab countries.

• The crisis strained Israel's relations with its Arab neighbours and increased tensions in the region

What were Israel’s aims during the Suez Crisis?

• End the border raids from Gaza

• Force Egypt to recognise Israel as a state

• Strengthen ties with Western powers

• Get back at Egypt for encouraging Palestinian raids into Israel

What were Israel’s actions during the Suez Crisis?

• In Feb 1955 Israeli troops attacked and destroyed the Egyptian headquarters in Gaza and killed 35 Egyptian soldiers this was to undermine Nasser through showing his military as weak

• October 1956 Israeli air forces launched a series of attacks on Egyptian positions all over the Sinai Dessert. Israeli forces pushed into Egypt towards the Suez Canal

What did Israel gain during the Suez Crisis?

• Israel’s speed of victory over Egyptian forces in Gaza and Sinai had proved that the IDF was the strongest force in the Middle East

• The UN forces were sent to Gaza to prevent more raids on Israel and to Sharam el-Sheikh to guard the passage of Israeli shipping through the Straits of Tiran

What were Nasser’s aims during the Suez Crisis?

• To nationalize the Suez Canal

• Gain greater control over Egypt's economy

• Assert his country's independence from Western powers.

What were Nasser’s actions during the Suez Crisis?

• Nasser announces the nationalisation of the Suez Canal in July 1956 which was a defiant move from Nasser that shocked the West

What were Nasser’s successes from the Suez Crisis?

• The crisis made Nasser a powerful hero in the growing Arab and Egyptian nationalist movements

• Successfully portrayed Egyptian resistance as having won the day on the radio despite it being saved by American intervention

• Led to Syria and Saudi Arabia breaking off relations with Britain and France

• As a result Jordan signed a military pact with Syria and Egypt

• In Jan 1957 a ‘Treaty of Arab Solidarity’ was signed by Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia

What were Nasser’s failures from the Suez Crisis?

• The withdrawal wasn’t straight away it was a year later

What was the wider impact on Arab world of the Suez Crisis?

• The Arab world know knew it was possible to stand up against the West

• Led to Syria and Saudi Arabia breaking off relations with Britain and France

What was the impact of the Suez Crisis on the Great Powers?

• It was evidence of the end of British and French dominance in the Middle East

• The US and USSR became the new main superpowers in the Middle East