The
1948 Arab–Israeli War, known by
IsraelisIsraelis , are citizens or nationals of the modern state of Israel. Israel is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds including most numerously Jews, Muslims, Christians, Arabs, Druze, Circassians, and others...
as the
War of Independence or
War of Liberation and by Palestinians as the
Catastrophe , was the first in a series of wars fought between the newly declared State of Israel and its Arab neighbours in the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict.
The war commenced upon the termination of the British Mandate of Palestine in mid-May 1948 following a previous phase of
civil war in 1947–1948The 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine lasted from 30 November 1947, the date of the United Nations vote in favour of the termination of the British Mandate of Palestine and the UN Partition Plan, to the termination of the British Mandate itself on 14 May 1948.This period constitutes the...
. After the Arab rejection of the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine (UN General Assembly Resolution 181) that would have created an Arab state and a Jewish state side by side, five Arab states invaded the territory of the former British Mandate of Palestine.
Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria attacked the state of Israel, leading to fighting mostly on the former territory of the British Mandate and for a short time also on the
Sinai PeninsulaThe Sinai Peninsula or Sinai The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai (sina; Egyptian Arabic: سينا sina; sina'a; is a triangular peninsula in Egypt. It lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, forming a land bridge between Africa and Southwest...
and southern
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
. The war concluded with the
1949 Armistice AgreementsThe 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and neighboring Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and established armistice lines between Israel and the Jordanian-held West Bank,...
, but it did not mark the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Background
Following the defeat of the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
in
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, the
Allied Supreme Council metThe San Remo Conference was an international meeting of the post-World War I Allied Supreme Council, held in Sanremo, Italy, from 19 to 26 April 1920. It was attended by the four Principal Allied Powers of World War I who were represented by the Prime Ministers of Britain , France and Italy and...
at the Villa Dechavan in Sanremo, Italy, 18–26 April 1920 to settle the final terms of the peace treaty with
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
. The decisions of the conference mainly confirmed those of the First
Conference of London (February 1920)In the Conference of London, , following World War I, leaders of Britain, France, and Italy met to discuss the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire and the negotiation of agreements that would become the Treaty of Sèvres...
, and broadly reaffirmed the terms of the Anglo-French
Sykes-Picot AgreementThe Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 was a secret agreement between the governments of the UK and France, with the assent of Imperial Russia, defining their respective spheres of influence and control in west Asia after the expected downfall of the Ottoman Empire during World War I...
of 16 May 1916 for the region's partition and the
Balfour DeclarationThe Balfour Declaration of 1917 was a formal statement of policy by the British government stating thatThe declaration was made in a letter from Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Baron Rothschild , a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation of...
of 2 November 1917.
The San Remo Agreement stated that "the mandatories chosen by the Principal Allied Powers are:
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
for
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
and
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
for
MesopotamiaMesopotamia "land between the rivers" is a name for the Tigris–Euphrates region in the eastern Mediterranean, largely corresponding to Iraq, as well as northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khūzestān Province of southwestern...
and
PalestinePalestine is a conventional name used, among others, to describe a geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands.As a geographical term, Palestine can also refer to 'ancient Palestine,' an area...
." The high contracting parties agreed further that the territorial boundaries of these regions would be "determined
by the Principal Allied Powers".
In the case of Palestine, the borders were agreed between the British and French in two separate conventions: the
Franco-British Convention of 23rd December 1920 on Certain Points Connected with the Mandates for Syria and the Lebanon, Palestine and Mesopotamia and the
Agreement Between the British and the French Governments Respecting the Boundary Line Between Syria and Palestine from the Mediterranean to El Hammé, 1923.
During meetings in
CairoCairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab World. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life...
and
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
between
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
and
Emir AbdullahAbdullah I bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan [‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Husayn] عبد الله الأول بن الحسين born in Mecca, Ottoman Empire, was the second of three sons of Sherif Hussein bin Ali, Sharif and Emir of Mecca and his first wife Abdiyya bint Abdullah . He was educated in Constantinople , Turkey and...
in March 1921, it was agreed that Abdullah would administer the territory of
TransjordanThe Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman territory incorporated into the British Mandate of Palestine in 1921 as an autonomous political division under as-Sayyid Abdullah bin al-Husayn. This move was formalized by the addition of an August 1922 clause to the charter governing the Mandate...
(initially for six months only) on behalf of the Palestine administration. In the summer of 1921, Transjordan was included within the Mandate of Palestine but excluded from the provisions for a Jewish National Home. On 24 July 1922, the
League of NationsThe League of Nations was an inter-governmental organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920. At its greatest extent from 28 September 1934 to 23 February 1935, it had 58 members...
approved the terms of the British Mandate over Palestine and Transjordan. On 16 September the League formally approved a memorandum from
Lord BalfourArthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician and statesman...
confirming the exemption of Transjordan from the clauses of the mandate concerning the creation of a Jewish national home and from the mandate's responsibility to
facilitate Jewish immigration and land settlement.
In 1922 the population of Palestine consisted of approximately 589,200 Muslims, 83,800
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
s, 71,500
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
s and 7,600 others (1922 census). Gradually a large number of Jews immigrated to the area, most of whom were fleeing increasing persecution in Europe. This immigration and accompanying call for a
Jewish statesee also Proposals for a Jewish stateThe terms "Jewish state" and "homeland of the Jewish people" are used to describe the Zionist movement and the State of Israel and refer to its status as a nation-state established in Palestine for Jews.-History:...
in Palestine drew opposition from local Arabs.
Under the leadership of Haj Amin al-Husayni, the
Grand MuftiThe title of Grand Mufti refers to the highest official of religious law in a Sunni Muslim country. The Grand Mufti issues legal opinions and edicts, fatwa, on interpretations of Islamic law for private clients or to assist judges in deciding cases...
of Jerusalem, the local Arabs rebelled against the British and attacked the growing Jewish population repeatedly. These sporadic attacks began with the riots in Palestine of 1920 and
Jaffa riotsThe Jaffa riots were riots and killings that took place in the British Mandate of Palestine between 1 and 7 May 1921.- The events :On the night before 1 May 1921, the Jewish Communist Party distributed Arabic and Yiddish fliers calling for the toppling of British rule and the establishing a...
(or "Hurani Riots") of 1921. During the
1929 Palestine riotsThe 1929 Palestine riots refers to a series of demonstrations and riots in late August 1929 when a long-running dispute between Muslims and Jews over access to the Western Wall in Jerusalem escalated into violence...
, 133 Jews were killed, 67 of them in
HebronHebron is the largest city in the West Bank, located in the south, 30 kilometers south of Jerusalem. It is home to some 166,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Israelis living in and around the historic Jewish Quarter. Hebron lies 930 meters above sea level...
, and 355 wounded. By the time the British intervened, 116 Arabs were also killed in the fighting and an unknown number wounded.
Arab revolt (1936–1939) and its aftermath
In the late 1920s and early 1930s several factions of Arab society became impatient with the internecine divisions and ineffectiveness of the Arab elite and engaged in grass-roots anti-British and anti-Zionist activism organized by groups such as the
Young Men's Muslim AssociationThe Young Men's Muslim Association was founded in Egypt in 1927. By the end of the decade it had around 15,000 members. The leader in the 1930s was Izz al-din Qassam. He led a peasant revolt in the early 1930s against the sale of land to non-Muslims in Palestine...
. There was also support for the growth in influence of the radical nationalist
Independence PartyThe Independence Party was a radical Arab nationalist party established on 13 August, 1932 in Palestine during the British mandate. Its origins lay in the Istiqlal movement associated with the short-lived Sharifian government in Damascus....
(
Hizb al-Istiqlal). Most of these initiatives were contained and defeated by notables in the pay of the Mandatory Administration, particularly the Mufti and his cousin
Jamal al-HusayniJamal al-Husayni , , was born in Jerusalem and was a member of the Husayni family.Husayni served as Secretary of the Palestinian Arab Action Committee and the Muslim Supreme Council. He was founder and chairman of the Palestine Arab Party and its delegate to the Arab Higher Committee, led by his...
.
The death of religious leader
ShaykhSheikh, also rendered as Sheik, Shaykh, Shaikh, Cheikh, Šeih, Šejh and other variants , is a word or honorific term in the Arabic language that literally means "elder". It is commonly used to designate an elder of a tribe, a revered wise man, or an Islamic scholar...
Izz ad-Din al-QassamSheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam , full name,Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Qadar ibn Mustapha ibn Yusuf ibn Muhammad al-Qassam, was an influential Sunni Islamic preacher in the British Mandate of Palestine...
at the hands of the British police near
JeninJenin , is a Palestinian city located in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,000 while the adjacent refugee camp had a population of over 20,300...
in November 1935 generated widespread outrage, and huge crowds accompanied Qassam's body to his grave in
HaifaHaifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 264,900. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs giving an example for peaceful co-existence. The Arab population used to be predominantly Christian, while some of the Jewish...
. A few months later a spontaneous Arab national
general strikeA general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
broke out. This lasted until October 1936. During the summer of that year thousands of Jewish-farmed acres and orchards were destroyed, Jews were attacked and killed, and some Jewish communities—such as those in Beisan and
AcreAcre also Akko, is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel. It is situated on a low promontory at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , Acre had a population of 46,000 at the end of 2007...
—fled to safer areas.
The
Peel CommissionThe Peel Commission of 1936-1937, formally known as the Palestine Royal Commission, was a British Royal Commission of Inquiry set out to propose changes to the British Mandate of Palestine following the outbreak of the 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine...
recommended the partition of the country into a Jewish state and an Arab state to be attached to Jordan. In the wake of the strike and the Commission, an armed uprising spread through the country. Over the next 18 months the British lost control of Jerusalem,
NablusNablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 134,000...
, and Hebron. During this period from 1936–1939, known as the Great Arab Revolt or the "Great Uprising", British forces, supported by 6,000 armed Jewish auxiliary police, suppressed the widespread riots.
In another significant development during this time the British officer
Charles Orde WingateMajor-General Orde Charles Wingate, DSO and two bars , was a British Army officer and creator of special military units in World War II and Palestine in the 1930s....
(who supported a Zionist revival for religious reasons) organized
Special Night SquadsThe Special Night Squads were a joint British-Jewish counter-insurgency unit, established by Orde Wingate in Palestine in 1938, during the 1936-1939 Arab revolt...
composed of British soldiers and
HaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
mercenaries, which "scored significant successes against the Arab rebels in the lower Galilee and in the Jezreel valley" by conducting raids on Arab villages. The squads were rumored to have used excessive and indiscriminate force, which has been cited by Israeli academic
Anita ShapiraAnita Shapira is an Israeli historian. She is the founder of the Yitzhak Rabin Center for Israel Studies, a Ruben Merenfeld Professor of the Study of Zionism and head of the Weizmann Institute for the Study of Zionism at Tel Aviv University...
. The Haganah mobilized up to 20,000 policemen, field troops and night squads; the latter included
Yigal AllonYigal Allon was an Israeli politician, a commander of the Palmach, and a general in the IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Israeli Labor party, acting Prime Minister of Israel, as well as being a member of Knesset and government minister from the tenth through the...
and
Moshe DayanMoshe Dayan, was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
. Significantly, from 1936 to 1945, whilst establishing collaborative security arrangements with the
Jewish AgencyThe Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the pre-state Jewish government before the establishment of Israel and later became the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora.-The Jewish Agency for Palestine:The Jewish Agency for...
, the British confiscated 13,200 firearms from Arabs and 521 weapons from Jews.
In assessing the overall impact of the revolt on subsequent events Rashid Khalidi argues that its negative effects on Palestinian national leadership, social cohesion and military capabilities contributed to the outcome of 1948 because "when the Palestinians faced their most fateful challenge in 1947–49, they were still suffering from the British repression of 1936–39, and were in effect without a unified leadership. Indeed, it might be argued that they were virtually without any leadership at all".
The attacks on the Jewish population by Arabs had three lasting effects. First, they led to the further development of Jewish underground militias, primarily the
HaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
("The Defense"), which were to prove decisive in 1948. Secondly, the attacks solidified general sentiment that the two communities could not be reconciled, and the idea of partition was born. Thirdly, the British responded to Arab opposition with the
White Paper of 1939The White Paper of 1939, also known as the MacDonald White Paper after Malcolm MacDonald, the British Colonial Secretary who presided over it, was a policy paper issued by the British government under Neville Chamberlain in which the idea of partitioning the Mandate for Palestine, as recommended in...
, which severely restricted Jewish immigration. However, with the advent of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, even this reduced immigration quota was not reached. The White Paper policy also radicalised segments of the Jewish population, who after the war would no longer cooperate with the British.
British Mandate administration and training of local Arabs and Jews
From 1936 onward the British government facilitated the training, arming, recruitment and funding of a range of security and intelligence forces in collaboration with the Jewish Agency. These included the
Guards (
NotrimThe Notrim were a Jewish Police Force set up by the British in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1936. The force was divided into Supernumerary Police and highly mobile Settlement Police. Members were recruited almost entirely from the Haganah...
), which were divided into the 6,000 to 14,000-strong
Jewish Supernumerary PoliceThe Jewish Supernumerary Police were a branch of the Guards set up by the British in Mandate Palestine in June 1936. Around 22,000 Notrim were appointed, armed and equipped by the British to act as a protective militia for Jewish settlements...
, the elite and highly mobile 6,000–8,000 strong
Jewish Settlement PoliceThe Jewish Settlement Police were a division of the Notrim established in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1936. They were developed by the Haganah into an élite force. Members, known as Nodedot, were trained by their commander, Yitzhak Sadeh, in the art of unconventional warfare and...
and the
Special Night SquadsThe Special Night Squads were a joint British-Jewish counter-insurgency unit, established by Orde Wingate in Palestine in 1938, during the 1936-1939 Arab revolt...
, the forerunner of Britain's
Special Air ServiceThe Special Air Service is a special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model for the special forces of other countries. The SAS forms a significant section of United Kingdom Special Forces alongside the Special Boat Service , Special Reconnaissance Regiment , and the...
regiments. There was also an elite strike force known as the
FOSHThe FOSH was an elite Jewish strike force established as the commando arm of the Haganah in 1937, during the Great Arab Revolt of 1936-1939 in the British Mandate of Palestine...
, or
Field Companies, with around 1,500 members, which were replaced by the larger
HISHThe Hish was a corps formed by the Haganah in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1939 following the disbandment of the smaller mobilized force known as the Fosh. It was the Haganah's main surface corps, alongside Him and the Palmach.1939 was a turning point for the Jewish Defence forces...
or
Field Force in 1939. The
SHAIShai was the intelligence and counter-espionage arm of the Haganah and the forebear of the Military Intelligence Directorate in pre-state Israel...
, the intelligence and counter-espionage arm of the Haganah, was the forebear of
MossadThe Mossad is the national intelligence agency of Israel. "Mossad" is the Hebrew word for institute or institution....
.
The British had enlisted 6,000 Palestinian Arabs during World War II, and 1,700 Palestinian Arabs were recruited into the Trans-Jordanian Frontier Force. The British supplied officers such as
John Bagot GlubbLieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE, MC better known as Glubb Pasha , was a British soldier best known for leading and training Transjordan's Arab Legion 1939-1956 as its commanding general...
("Glubb
PashaPasha or pacha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries...
") for the Jordan's
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th Century.-Creation:...
, and supplied the Egyptian army with trucks, rifles and airplanes. The British army therefore was intimately involved in the training of both sides for the coming conflict.
World War II
On 6 August 1940
Anthony EdenRobert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Foreign Secretary for three periods between 1935 and 1955, including during World War II...
, the British
Secretary of State for WarThe position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first applied to Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...
, informed
ParliamentThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
that the
CabinetA Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or Executive Committee.- Overview :...
had decided to recruit Arab and Jewish units as battalions of the
Royal East Kent RegimentThe Buffs , formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army until 1961. It had a history dating back to 1572 and was one of the oldest regiments in the British Army being third in order of precedence...
(the "Buffs"). At a luncheon with
Chaim WeizmannChaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the World Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952. Weizmann was also a chemist who developed a new process of producing acetone through...
on 3 September,
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
approved the large-scale recruitment of Jewish forces in Palestine and the training of their officers. A further 10,000 men (no more than 3,000 from Palestine) were to be recruited to Jewish units in the British Army for training in the United Kingdom.
Faced with
Field Marshal RommelErwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , was perhaps the most famous German Field Marshal of World War II....
's advance in Egypt, the British government decided on 15 April 1941 that the 10,000 Jews dispersed in the single defence companies of the Buffs should be prepared for war service at the battalion level and that another 10,000 should also be mobilized along with 6,000 Supernumerary Police and 40,000 to 50,000 home guard. The plans were approved by
Field Marshall John DillField Marshal Sir John Greer Dill, GCB, CMG, DSO was a British commander in World War I and World War II...
. The
Special Operations ExecutiveThe Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct warfare by means other than direct military engagement...
(SOE) in
CairoCairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab World. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life...
approved a Haganah proposal for guerilla activities in northern Palestine led by the
PalmachThe Palmach was the regular fighting force of the Haganah, the unofficial army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
arm of the Haganah, as part of which
Yitzhak SadehYitzhak Sadeh , was the commander of the Palmach, one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel and a cousin of British philosopher Isaiah Berlin.He was honored with a medal from the Russian army for his bravery during World War I...
devised Plan North for an armed enclave in the
Carmel-Geography:Israel*Mount Carmel, coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea**Mount Carmel , places named after Mount Carmel*French Carmel, neighborhood in Haifa...
range from which the
YishuvYishuv or Ha-Yishuv Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv (the Yishuv, , or the full term הישוב היהודי בארץ ישראל Hayishuv Hayehudi b'Eretz Yisrael ("The Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel") is the term used in Hebrew referring to the...
could defend the region and from which they could attack German communications and supply lines, if necessary. British intelligence also trained a small radio network under
Moshe DayanMoshe Dayan, was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
to act as spy cells in the event of a German invasion.
After much hesitation, on 3 July 1944 the British government consented to the establishment of a
Jewish BrigadeThe Jewish Infantry Brigade Group was a military formation of the British Army that served in Europe during the Second World War. Although the brigade was formed in 1944, some of its experienced personnel had been employed against the Axis powers in Greece, the Middle East and East Africa...
with hand-picked Jewish and also non-Jewish senior officers. On 20 September 1944 an official communiqué by the
War OfficeThe War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1963, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
announced the formation of the Jewish Brigade Group of the British Army. The Zionist flag was officially approved as its
standardA flag is a piece of fabric, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used symbolically for signaling or identification. It is most commonly used to symbolize a country...
. It included more than 5,000 Jewish volunteers from Palestine organized into three
infantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of the Combat Arms they are the backbone of armies...
battalions and several supporting units.
As soon as the war ended British policy reverted to that of the period immediately before the war. Arms were confiscated, and some Haganah members were arrested and tried—one notable case being that of
Eliahu SacharoffEliahu Sacharoff was a member of the Haganah who on 8 October, 1943 was sentence by a military court in the British Mandate of Palestine to seven years' imprisonment after being found guilty of possessing more ammunition than his firearm license allowed....
, who received a sentence of seven years' imprisonment for possession of two stolen firearms cartridges (stolen from an army consignment during wartime).
Twilight of colonial rule in the region
Meanwhile, many of the surrounding Arab nations were also emerging from
colonial ruleColonialism is the building and maintaining of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. Sovereignty over the colony is claimed by the metropole...
. Transjordan, under the
HashemiteHashemite is the Latinate version of the and traditionally refers to those belonging to the Banu Hashim, or "clan of Hashim", a clan within the larger Quraish tribe...
ruler
AbdullahAbdullah I bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan [‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Husayn] عبد الله الأول بن الحسين born in Mecca, Ottoman Empire, was the second of three sons of Sherif Hussein bin Ali, Sharif and Emir of Mecca and his first wife Abdiyya bint Abdullah . He was educated in Constantinople , Turkey and...
, gained independence from Britain in 1946 and was called Jordan, but it remained under heavy British influence.
EgyptThe Kingdom of Egypt was the first modern Egyptian state, lasting from 1922 to 1953. The Kingdom was created in 1922 when the British government released Egypt from the Protectorate, in place since 1914. Sultan Fuad I became the first king of the new state...
, while nominally independent, signed the
Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 was a treaty signed in 1936, between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Egypt, officially known as The Treaty of Alliance Between His Majesty, in Respect of the United Kingdom, and His Majesty the King of Egypt...
that included provisions by which Britain would maintain a garrison of troops on the
Suez CanalThe Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened on November 1869, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa...
. From 1945 on, Egypt attempted to renegotiate the terms of this treaty, which was viewed as a humiliating vestige of colonialism. Lebanon became an independent state in 1943, but French troops would not withdraw until 1946, the same year that Syria won its independence from France.
In 1945, at British prompting, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon,
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south...
, Syria, Transjordan, and
YemenYemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is a country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia...
formed the
Arab LeagueThe Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organization of Arab states in Southwest Asia, and North and Northeast Africa. It was formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria...
to coordinate policy between the Arab states. Iraq and Transjordan coordinated policies closely, signing a mutual defence treaty, while Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia feared that Transjordan would annex part or all of Palestine, and use it as a basis to attack or undermine Syria, Lebanon, and the Hijaz.
UN Partition Plan
On 29 November 1947 the
United Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:*General Assembly members*General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
approved a plan,
UN General Assembly Resolution 181The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine or United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 Future Government of Palestine was a plan adopted by a decision of the General Assembly. The resolution was approved by a vote of 33 to 13, with 10 abstentions on November 29, 1947...
, to resolve the Arab-Jewish conflict by partitioning Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. Each state would comprise three major sections, linked by extraterritorial crossroads; the Arab state would also have an enclave at Jaffa. With about 32% of the population, the Jews would get 56% of the territory, an area that contained 499,000 Jews and 438,000 Palestinians, though most of this territory was in the inhospitable
NegevThe Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The indigenous Bedouin inhabitants of the region refer to the desert as al-Naqab . The origin of the word Negev is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
Desert in the south. The Palestinians would get 42% of the land, which had a population of 818,000 Palestinians and 10,000 Jews. In consideration of its religious significance, the
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
area, including
BethlehemBethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
, with 100,000 Jews and an equal number of Palestinians, was to become a
Corpus SeparatumCorpus separatum is Latin for "separated body". The 1947 UN Partition Plan used this term to refer to a proposed internationally administered zone to include Jerusalem and some nearby towns such as Bethlehem and Ein Karim, that was, "in view of its association with three world religions" to be...
, to be administered by the UN.
The Jewish leadership accepted the partition plan as "the indispensable minimum," glad as they were with the international recognition but sorry that they did not receive more.
Arguing that the partition plan was unfair to the Arabs with regard to the population balance at that time, the representatives of the Palestinian Arabs and the Arab League firmly opposed the UN action and even rejected its authority to involve itself in the entire matter. They upheld "that the rule of Palestine should revert to its inhabitants, in accordance with the provisions of [...] the Charter of the United Nations." According to
Article 73b of the Charter, the UN should develop self-government of the peoples in a territory under its administration.
1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine
In the immediate aftermath of the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
' approval of the Partition plan, the explosions of joy amongst the Jewish community were counterbalanced by the expression of discontent amongst the Arab community. Soon thereafter, violence broke out and became more prevalent. Murders, reprisals, and counter-reprisals came one after the other, killing dozens of victims on both sides in the process.
During the period beginning in December 1947 and ending in January 1948, it was estimated that nearly 1,000 people were killed and 2,000 people were injured. By the end of March, the figure had risen to 2,000 dead and 4,000 wounded. These figures correspond to an average of more than 100 deaths and 200 casualties per week; in a population of 2,000,000.
From January onwards operations became more militaristic, with the intervention into Palestine of a number of
Arab Liberation ArmyThe Arab Liberation Army was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and was set up by the Arab League as a counter to the Arab High Committee's Holy War Army, though in fact the League and Arab governments...
regiments who divided up around the different coastal towns and reinforced
GalileeGalilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country...
and
SamariaSamaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
.
Abd al-Qadir al-HusayniAbd al-Qadir al-Husayni was a Palestinian nationalist and fighter who in late 1933 founded the secret militant group known as the Organization for Holy Struggle, , which he and Hasan Salama commanded as the Army of the Holy War in the 1948 Palestine War...
came from Egypt with several hundred men of the
Army of the Holy WarThe Army of the Holy War or Holy War Army was a force of Palestinian irregulars in the 1947-48 Palestinian civil war. Historians described this as the "personal" army of the Husayni family....
. At the time, military assessments were that the Palestinians were incapable of beating the Zionists.
Having recruited a few thousand volunteers, al-Husayni organized the blockade of the 100,000 Jewish residents of Jerusalem. To counter this, the Yishuv authorities tried to supply the city with convoys of up to 100 armoured vehicles, but the operation became more and more impractical and more and more died in this process. By March, Al-Hussayni's tactic had paid off. Almost the entirety of Haganah's armoured vehicles had been destroyed, the blockade was in full operation, and hundreds of the Haganah members who tried to bring supplies to the city were killed. The situation for those who dwelt in the Jewish settlements in the highly isolated Negev and northern Galilee was even more critical.
Since the Jewish population was under strict orders obliging them to hold their dominions at all costs, the situation of insecurity across the country affected the Arab population more visibly. Up to 100,000 Palestinians, chiefly those from the upper classes, left the country to seek refuge abroad or in
SamariaSamaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
.
This situation caused the U.S. to retract their support for the partition plan, thus encouraging the
Arab LeagueThe Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organization of Arab states in Southwest Asia, and North and Northeast Africa. It was formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria...
to believe that the Palestinians, reinforced by the
Arab Liberation ArmyThe Arab Liberation Army was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and was set up by the Arab League as a counter to the Arab High Committee's Holy War Army, though in fact the League and Arab governments...
, could put an end to the partition plan. The British, on the other hand, decided on 7 February 1948 to support the annexation of the Arab part of Palestine by
JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest,...
.
Although a certain level of doubt took hold amongst
YishuvYishuv or Ha-Yishuv Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv (the Yishuv, , or the full term הישוב היהודי בארץ ישראל Hayishuv Hayehudi b'Eretz Yisrael ("The Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel") is the term used in Hebrew referring to the...
supporters, their apparent defeats were caused more by their wait-and-see policy than by weakness. Ben-Gurion reorganized the Haganah and made
conscriptionConscription is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by an established authority. It is most often used in the specific sense of requiring citizens to serve in the armed forces...
obligatory. Every Jewish man and woman in the country had to receive military training. Funds were gathered by
Golda MeirGolda Meir was the fourth prime minister of the State of Israel....
from sympathizers in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and
Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953...
supported the
ZionistZionism is the international political movement that originally supported the reestablishment of a homeland for the Jewish People in Palestine. The area was the Jewish Biblical homeland, called the Land of Israel...
cause at the time, so Jewish representatives of Palestine were able to sign very important armament contracts in the East. Other Haganah agents retrieved stockpiles from World War II, which helped equip the army further.
Operation BalakDuring the chaotic period of the founding of Israel in 1948, Operation Balak was the smuggling of arms purchased in Europe, avoiding various embargoes and boycotts, to the Zionists...
allowed arms and other equipment to be transported for the first time by the end of March.
Ben-Gurion assigned
Yigael YadinYigael Yadin was an Israeli archeologist, politician, and the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.-Early life and military career:...
the responsibility to come up with a plan in preparation for the announced intervention of the Arab states. The result of his analysis was
Plan DaletPlan Dalet, or Plan D, was a plan worked out by the Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary group and the forerunner of the Israel Defense Forces, in Palestine in autumn 1947 to spring 1948. Its purpose is much debated. According to Yoav Gelber and Benny Morris, it was a contingency plan for defending a...
, which was put in place from the start of April onwards. The adoption of Plan Dalet marked the second stage of the war, in which Haganah passed from the defensive to the offensive.
The first operation, named
Operation NachshonOperation Nachshon was an Israeli military operation during the 1947-1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine. Lasting from 5-20 April 1948, its objective was to open up the Jerusalem road that was blockaded by Palestinian Arabs and to supply food and water to the Jewish community of Jerusalem...
, consisted of lifting the blockade on Jerusalem. Fifteen hundred men from the Haganah's
Givati BrigadeThe Givati Brigade functions as the amphibious force and is one of the infantry brigades in the Israel Defense Forces. Givati soldiers are designated by purple berets...
and the
PalmachThe Palmach was the regular fighting force of the Haganah, the unofficial army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
's Harel brigade went about freeing the route to the city between 5 April and 20 April.
The operation was successful, and enough foodstuffs to last two months were shipped to Jerusalem and distributed to the Jewish population. The success of the operation was added to by the death of
al-HussayniAbd al-Qadir al-Husayni was a Palestinian nationalist and fighter who in late 1933 founded the secret militant group known as the Organization for Holy Struggle, , which he and Hasan Salama commanded as the Army of the Holy War in the 1948 Palestine War...
in combat. During this time, and beyond the command of Haganah or the framework of Plan Dalet, troops from
IrgunIrgun was a militant Zionist group that operated in the British mandate of Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah...
and
LehiLehi was an armed underground Zionist group in Mandatory Palestine.
massacred more than 100 Arabs, mostly civilians, at
Deir YassinThe Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, a Palestinian-Arab village of roughly 600 people...
, a move that had an important impact on the Palestinian population, and one that was criticised and lamented by all the principal Jewish authorities of the day.
At the same time, the first large-scale operation of the
Arab Liberation ArmyThe Arab Liberation Army was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and was set up by the Arab League as a counter to the Arab High Committee's Holy War Army, though in fact the League and Arab governments...
ended in a debacle, having been roundly defeated at
Mishmar Ha'emekThe Battle of Mishmar HaEmek refers to a ten-day campaign fought from 4-15 April 1948 between the Haganah commanded by Yitzhak Sadeh, and the Arab Liberation Army commanded by Fawzi al-Qawuqji...
and having lost their
DruzeThe Druze are a religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, whose traditional religion is said to have begun as an offshoot of Islam, but is unique in its incorporation of Gnostic, neo-Platonic and other philosophies, similar to other followers of Ismaili Shi'a...
allies through defection.
Within the framework for the expansion of Jewish territory foreseen by Plan Dalet, the forces of Haganah, Palmach, and Irgun intended to conquer mixed zones.
TiberiasTiberias is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, Lower Galilee, Israel. Established in 20 CE, it was named in honour of the emperor Tiberius. Since the sixteenth century, Tiberias has been considered one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron and Safed...
,
HaifaHaifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 264,900. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs giving an example for peaceful co-existence. The Arab population used to be predominantly Christian, while some of the Jewish...
,
SafedSafed is a city in the Northern District of Israel. At an elevation of 800 meters above sea level, Safed is the highest city in the Galilee. Since the sixteenth century, Safad has been considered one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias...
, Beisan,
JaffaJaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa is located south of Tel Aviv, Israel on the Mediterranean Sea...
, and
AcreAcre also Akko, is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel. It is situated on a low promontory at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , Acre had a population of 46,000 at the end of 2007...
fell, resulting in the flight of more than 250,000 Palestinians.
The British had essentially withdrawn their troops. The situation pushed the leaders of the neighboring Arab states to intervene, but their preparation was not finalized, and they could not assemble forces that would be able to turn the tide of the war. The majority of Palestinian hopes lay with the
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th Century.-Creation:...
of Jordan's monarch, King Abdullah I, but he had no intention of creating a Palestinian-run state, instead hoping to annex as much of the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine as he could. He was playing a double-game, being just as much in contact with the Jewish authorities as with the Arab League.
In preparation for the offensive, Haganah successfully launched Operations Yiftah and Ben Ami to secure the Jewish settlements of
GalileeGalilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country...
, and
Operation KilshonFrom May 13 1948 until May 18 1948 Jewish forces from the Haganah and Irgun executed Operation Kilshon . Its aim was to capture the Jewish suburbs of Jerusalem particularly Talbiya in central Jerusalem....
, which created a united front around Jerusalem.
Golda Meir and Abdullah I met on 10 May to discuss the situation, but the meeting was inconclusive and their former agreements were not confirmed. On 13 May, the Arab Legion, backed by irregulars, attacked and took
Kfar EtzionKfar Etzion is a religious Israeli settlement and kibbutz located in the Judean Hills between Jerusalem and Hebron in the southern West Bank...
, where 127 out of the 131 Jewish defenders were killed and the prisoners massacred.
On 14 May 1948,
David Ben-Gurion' was the first Prime Minister of Israel. Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, culminated in his instrumental role in the founding of the state of Israel...
declared the independence of the state of
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
, and the
1948 Palestine warThe 1948 Palestine war refers to the events that happened in Palestine between the vote on the partition plan of Palestine on November 30, 1947, to the end of the first Arab-Israeli war on July 20, 1949.Historians divide this into two phases :...
entered its second phase, with the intervention of several Arab states' armies the following day.
Yishuv
Benny MorrisBenny Morris is professor of History in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel. He is a key member of a group of Israeli historians known as the 'New Historians', because they are rewriting the history of Israel since its...
points out Yishuv's aims evolved during the war.
Initially, the aim was "simple and modest": to survive the assaults of the Palestinian Arabs and the Arab states. "The Zionist leaders deeply, genuinely, feared a Middle Eastern reenactment of the Holocaust, which had just ended; the Arabs' public rhetoric reinforced these fears". As the war progressed, the aim of expanding the Jewish state beyond the UN partition borders appeared: first to incorporate clusters of isolated Jewish settlements and later to add more territories to the state and give it defensible borders. A third and further aim that emerged among the political and military leaders after four or five months was to "reduce the size of Israel's prospective large and hostile Arab minority, seen as a potential powerful fifth column, by belligerency and expulsion."
King Abdullah I of Jordan
King Abdullah was the commander of the
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th Century.-Creation:...
, the strongest Arab army involved in the war. The Arab Legion had about 10,000 soldiers which were trained and commanded by British officers.
In 1946–1947, Abdullah said that he had no intention to "resist or impede the partition of Palestine and creation of a
Jewish statesee also Proposals for a Jewish stateThe terms "Jewish state" and "homeland of the Jewish people" are used to describe the Zionist movement and the State of Israel and refer to its status as a nation-state established in Palestine for Jews.-History:...
." Abdullah supported the partition with the intention that the West Bank area of the British Mandate allocated for Palestine would be annexed to Jordan. Abdullah had secret meetings with the Jewish Agency (at which the future Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir was among the delegates) that reached an agreement of Jewish non-interference of Jordanian annexation of the West Bank (although Abdullah failed in his goal of acquiring an outlet to the Mediterranian sea through the Negev desert,) and of Jordanian agreement not to attack the area of the Jewish state contained in the United Nations partition resolution (in which Jerusalem was given neither to the Arab nor the Jewish state, but was to be an internationally administered area.) In one stunning diplomatic achievement, the strongest Arab army agreed not to attack the Jewish state.
However, by 1948, the neighbouring Arab states pressured Abdullah into joining them in an "all-Arab military intervention" against the newly created State of Israel, which he used to restore his prestige in the Arab world, which had grown suspicious of his relatively good relationship with Western and Jewish leaders. Abdullah's role in this war became substantial. He saw himself as the "supreme commander of the Arab forces" and "persuaded the
Arab LeagueThe Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organization of Arab states in Southwest Asia, and North and Northeast Africa. It was formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria...
to appoint him" to this position. Through his leadership, the Arabs fought the 1948 war to meet Abdullah's political goals. Abdullah kept his promise not to attack the Jewish state, and the Arab legion was limited to defending Arab areas of Jerusalem and those parts of the designated Arab state that Jewish forces invaded.
Arab Higher Committee of Amin al-Husayni
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husayni, the Chairman of the
Arab Higher CommitteeThe Arab Higher Committee was the central political organ of the Arab community of Mandate Palestine. It was established on 25 April 1936, on the initiative of Hajj Amin al-Husayni, the mufti of Jerusalem, and comprised the leaders of Palestinian Arab clans under the mufti's chairmanship. The...
, collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II. In 1940, he asked the
Axis PowersThe Axis powers comprised the countries that were opposed to the Allies during World War II. The three major Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—were part of a military alliance on the signing of the Tripartite Pact in September 1940, which officially founded the Axis powers...
to acknowledge the Arab right "to settle the question of Jewish elements in Palestine and other Arab countries in accordance with the national and racial interests of the Arabs and along the lines similar to those used to solve the Jewish question in Germany and Italy." He spent the second half of WWII in Germany making radio broadcasts exhorting Muslims to ally with the Nazis in war against their common enemies. In one of these broadcasts, he said, "Arabs, arise as one man and fight for your sacred rights. Kill Jews wherever you find them. This pleases God, history, and religion. This saves your honor. God is with you."
At the beginning of 1948 al-Husayni was in exile in Egypt. The Mufti was involved in some of the high level negotiations between Arab leaders, at a meeting held in
DamascusDamascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and its current population is estimated at about 1,669,000...
in February 1948 to organize Palestinian Field Commands; however, the commanders of his Holy War Army,
Hasan SalamaHasan Salama or Hassan Salameh was a commander of the Palestinian Holy War Army in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War along with Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni...
and
Abd al-Qadir al-HusayniAbd al-Qadir al-Husayni was a Palestinian nationalist and fighter who in late 1933 founded the secret militant group known as the Organization for Holy Struggle, , which he and Hasan Salama commanded as the Army of the Holy War in the 1948 Palestine War...
, were allocated only the
LyddaLydda can refer to:*Lod, also named Lydda*Exodus from Lydda and Ramla, the Palestinian exodus from the city in July 1948...
district and
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
. This decision
- "paved the way for an undermining of the Mufti's position among the Arab States. On 9 February, only four days after the Damascus meeting, a severe blow was suffered by the Mufti at the Arab League session in Cairo
Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab World. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life...
[where his demands for] the appointment of a Palestinian to the General Staff of the League, the formation of a Palestinian Provisional Government, the transfer of authority to local National Committees in areas evacuated by the British, a loan for administration in Palestine and appropriation of large sums to the Arab Higher Executive for Palestinians entitled to war damages [were all rejected]."
The Arab League blocked recruitment to the Mufti's forces, which collapsed following the death of his most charismatic commander, his cousin,
Abd al-Qadir al-HusayniAbd al-Qadir al-Husayni was a Palestinian nationalist and fighter who in late 1933 founded the secret militant group known as the Organization for Holy Struggle, , which he and Hasan Salama commanded as the Army of the Holy War in the 1948 Palestine War...
, on 8 April.
Following rumours that King Abdullah was re-opening the bi-lateral negotiations with Israel that he had previously conducted in secret with the Jewish Agency, the Arab League, led by Egypt, decided to set up the
All-Palestine GovernmentThe All-Palestine Government was established in Gaza by the Arab League on 22 September, 1948, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
in
GazaGaza is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 410,000, making it the largest city under the control of the Palestinian National Authority....
on 8 September under the nominal leadership of the Mufti. Avi Shlaim writes:
- The decision to form the Government of All-Palestine in Gaza, and the feeble attempt to create armed forces under its control, furnished the members of the Arab League with the means of divesting themselves of direct responsibility for the prosecution of the war and of withdrawing their armies from Palestine with some protection against popular outcry. Whatever the long-term future of the Arab government of Palestine, its immediate purpose, as conceived by its Egyptian sponsors, was to provide a focal point of opposition to Abdullah and serve as an instrument for frustrating his ambition to federate the Arab regions with Jordan.
Abdullah regarded the attempt to revive the Mufti's Holy War Army as a challenge to his authority and on 3 October his Minister of Defence ordered all armed bodies operating in the areas controlled by the
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th Century.-Creation:...
to be disbanded. Glubb Pasha carried out the order ruthlessly and efficiently.
Military assessments
Benny Morris has argued that although, by the end of 1947, the Palestinians "had a healthy and demoralising respect for the Yishuv's military power", they believed in decades or centuries "that the Jews, like the
medieval crusader kingdomsThe Crusader states were a number of mostly 12th- and 13th-century feudal states created by Western European crusaders in Asia Minor, Greece and the Holy Land . The Middle Eastern Islamic powers eventually conquered them...
, would ultimately be overcome by the Arab world".
On the eve of the war the number of Arab troops likely to be committed to the war was about 23,000 (10,000 Egyptians, 4,500 Jordanians, 3,000 Iraqis, 3,000 Syrians, 2,000 ALA volunteers, 1,000 Lebanese and some Saudi Arabians), in addition to the irregular Palestinians already present. The Yishuv had 35,000 troops of the Haganah, 3,000 of Stern and Irgun and a few thousand armed settlers.
On 12 May David Ben-Gurion was told by his chief military advisers, "who over-estimated the size of the Arab armies and the numbers and efficiency of the troops who would be committed", that Israel's chances of winning a war against the Arab states were only about even.
Yishuv forces
In November 1947, the Haganah was an underground paramilitary force that had existed as a highly organised, national force since the riots of 1920–21, and throughout the riots of 1929, and Great Uprising of 1936–39 It had a mobile force, the
HISHThe Hish was a corps formed by the Haganah in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1939 following the disbandment of the smaller mobilized force known as the Fosh. It was the Haganah's main surface corps, alongside Him and the Palmach.1939 was a turning point for the Jewish Defence forces...
, which had 2,000 full time fighters (men and women) and 10,000 reservists (all aged between 18 and 25) and an elite unit, the
PalmachThe Palmach was the regular fighting force of the Haganah, the unofficial army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
composed of 2,100 fighters and 1,000 reservists. The reservists trained 3–4 days a month and went back to civilian life the rest of the time. These mobile forces could rely on a garrison force, the HIM (
Heil Mishmar, lit. Guard Corps), composed of people aged over 25. The Yishuv's total strength was around 35,000 with 15,000 to 18,000 fighters and a garrison force of roughly 20,000. The two clandestine groups
IrgunIrgun was a militant Zionist group that operated in the British mandate of Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah...
and
LehiLehi was an armed underground Zionist group in Mandatory Palestine.
had 2,000–4,000 and 500–800 members, respectively. There were also several thousand men and women who had served in the British Army in World War II who did not serve in any of the underground militias but would provide valuable military experience during the war. Walid Khalidi says the Yishuv had the additional forces of the Jewish Settlement Police, numbering some 12,000, the Gadna Youth Battalions, and the armed settlers. Few of the units had been trained by December 1947.
In 1946 Ben-Gurion decided that the Yishuv would probably have to defend itself against both the Palestinian Arabs and neighbouring Arab states and accordingly began a "massive, covert arms acquisition campaign in the West". By September 1947 the Haganah had "10,489 rifles, 702 light machine-guns, 2,666 submachine guns, 186 medium machine-guns, 672 two-inch mortars and 92 three-inch (76 mm) mortars" and acquired many more during the first few months of hostilities. The Yishuv also had "a relatively advanced arms producing capacity", that between October 1947 and July 1948 "produced 3 million 9 mm bullets, 150,000
Mills grenadesMills bomb is the popular name for a series of prominent British hand grenades.-Overview:William Mills - a golf club designer from Sunderland - patented, developed and manufactured the 'Mills bomb' at the Mills Munition Factory in Birmingham, England, in 1915. The Mills bomb was adopted by the...
, 16,000 submachine guns (
StenThe Sten was a family of British 9 mm submachine guns used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War...
Guns) and 210 three-inch (76 mm) mortars". Initially, the Haganah had no heavy machine guns, artillery, armoured vehicles, anti-tank or anti-aircraft weapons, nor military aircraft or tanks.
Sources disagree about the amount of arms at the Yishuv's disposal at the end of the Mandate. According to Karsh before the arrival of arms shipments from
CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
as part of
Operation BalakDuring the chaotic period of the founding of Israel in 1948, Operation Balak was the smuggling of arms purchased in Europe, avoiding various embargoes and boycotts, to the Zionists...
, there was roughly one weapon for every three fighters, and even the Palmach armed only two out of every three of its active members. According to Collins and LaPierre, by April 1948 the Haganah had managed to accumulate only about 20,000 rifles and Sten guns for the 35,000 soldiers who existed on paper. According to Walid Khalidi "the arms at the disposal of these forces were plentiful".
Arab forces
There was no national military organisation in the Arab Palestinian community. There were two paramilitary youth organizations, the pro-Husayni
Futuwa and the anti-Husayni
Najjada ("auxiliary corps"). According to Karsh, these groups had 11,000–12,000 members, but according to Morris, the Najjada, which was based in Jaffa and had 2,000–3,000 members, was destroyed in the run-up to the 1948 war, during Husayni's attempt to seize control of it, and the Futuwa never numbered more than a few hundred. At the outbreak of the war, new local militia groups, the National Guard, mushroomed in towns and cities. Each was answerable to its local Arab National Committee.
In December, Abd al-Qadir Husseini arrived in Jerusalem with one hundred combatants who had trained in Syria and that would form the cadre of the Holy War Army. His forces were joined by a few hundred young villagers and veterans of the British army.
The equipment of the Palestinian forces was very poor. The British confiscated most of their arsenal during the 1936–39 rebellion and World War II A report of 1942 by the Haganah intelligence service assessed the number of firearms at the disposal of the Palestinian at 50,000 [but] this was probably an overestimate or even "highly exaggerated".
The
Arab Liberation ArmyThe Arab Liberation Army was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and was set up by the Arab League as a counter to the Arab High Committee's Holy War Army, though in fact the League and Arab governments...
(
Jaysh al-Inqadh al-Arabi) had been set up by the Arab League. It was an army of around 6,000 volunteers, largely from Arab countries, and was led by
Fawzi al-QawuqjiFawzi al-Qawuqji was the field commander of the Arab Liberation Army during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and a rival of the principal Arab Palestinian leader, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini.-Biography:...
. Its officially allotted area was northern Palestine, including
SamariaSamaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
.
Jordan's
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th Century.-Creation:...
was considered the most effective Arab force. Armed, trained and commanded by British officers, this 8,000–12,000 strong force was organised in four infantry/mechanised regiments supported by some 40 artillery pieces and 75 armoured cars. Until January 1948, it was reinforced by the 3,000-strong Jordan Frontier Force.
The Arab Legion joined the war in May 1948. It fought only in the areas that king Abdullah wanted to secure for Jordan: the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
In 1948 Iraq had an army of 21,000 men in 12 brigades and the
Iraqi Air ForceThe Iraqi Air Force or IQAF is the military branch in Iraq responsible for the policing of international borders, surveillance of national assets and aerial operations...
had 100 planes, mostly British. Initially the Iraqis committed around 3,000 men to the war effort including four infantry brigades, one armoured battalion and support personnel. These forces were to operate under Jordanian guidance During the first truce the Iraqis increased their force to about 10,000. Ultimately, the Iraqi expeditionary force numbered around 15,000 to 18,000 men.
The first Iraqi forces to be deployed reached Jordan in April 1948 under the command of Gen. Nur ad-Din Mahmud. On 15 May Iraqi engineers built a
pontoon bridgeA pontoon bridge or floating bridge is a bridge that floats on water, supported by barge-or-boat-like pontoons to support the bridge deck and its dynamic loads. While pontoon bridges are usually temporary structures, some are used for long periods of time...
across the Jordan River and attacked the Israeli settlement of
GesherGesher was a political party in Israel.-Foundation:Gesher was set up by David Levy as a breakaway from the Likud party during the thirteenth Knesset after he lost the Likud leadership elections to Binyamin Netanyahu....
with little success. Following this defeat Iraqi forces moved into the
NablusNablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 134,000...
-
JeninJenin , is a Palestinian city located in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,000 while the adjacent refugee camp had a population of over 20,300...
-
TulkarmTulkarm or Tulkarem is a Palestinian city in the Tulkarm Governorate in the northwestern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Tulkarm city and the adjacent refugee camp had a population of approximately 58,962 inhabitants at mid-year 2006...
strategic triangle, where they suffered heavy casualties in the Israeli attack on Jenin which began on 3 June, but they managed to hold on to their positions. Active Iraqi involvement in the war effectively ended at this point.
In 1948 Egypt was able to put a maximum of around 40,000 men into the field, 80% of its military-age male population being unfit for military service and its embryonic logistics system being limited in its ability to support ground forces deployed beyond its borders. Initially, an expeditionary force of 10,000 men was sent to Palestine under the command of Maj. Gen.
Ahmed Ali al-MwawiAhmed Abdullah Al-Mwawi , also Mawawi or Muwawi, was a Major General in the Egyptian Army. He served as the General Commander of the Egyptian expeditionary force during 1948 Arab–Israeli War....
. This force consisted of five infantry battalions, one armoured battalion equipped with British
Light Tank Mk VIThe Tank, Light, Mk VI was a British light tank, produced by Vickers-Armstrong in the late 1930s, which saw service during World War II.- Development history :...
and
MatildaThe Infantry Tank Mark II known as the Matilda II was a British Infantry tank of the Second World War. It was also identified from its General Staff Specification A12....
tanks, one battalion of sixteen 25-pounder guns, a battalion of eight 6-pounder guns and one medium-machine-gun battalion with supporting troops.
The Egyptian Air Force had over 30
SpitfiresThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries through the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used into the 1950s both as a front line fighter and in secondary roles...
, 4
Hawker HurricaneThe Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. Some production of the Hurricane was carried out in Canada by the Canada Car and Foundry Co Ltd....
s and 20
C47The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
s modified into crude bombers.
By the time of the second truce, the Egyptians had 20,000 men in the field in thirteen battalions equipped with 135 tanks and 90
artilleryArtillery is a military combat Arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force...
pieces.
Syria had 12,000 soldiers at the beginning of the 1948 War grouped into three infantry brigades and an armoured force of approximately battalion size. The
Syrian Air ForceThe Syrian Air Force is the Aviation branch of the Syrian armed forces.-Markings:The roundel used by the Syrian Air Force has the same basic design as that used by the Egyptian Air Force. It consists of three concentric circles, with a red outer, white middle and black inner...
had fifty planes, the 10 newest of which were World War II–generation models.
The Lebanese army was the smallest of the Arab armies, consisting of only 3,500 soldiers. According to Gelber, in June 1947 Ben-Gurion "arrived at an agreement with the Maronite religious leadership in Lebanon that cost a few thousand pounds and kept Lebanon's army out of the War of Independence and the military Arab coalition." According to Rogan and Shlaim a token force of 1,000 was committed to the invasion. It crossed into northern Galilee and was repulsed by Israeli forces who occupied southern Lebanon until an armistice agreement was signed on 23 March 1949.
Saudi Arabia sent a contingent of 800–1,200 men to fight with Egyptian and Jordanian forces .
Yemen also committed a small expeditionary force to the war effort.
Intervention by Arab League countries
Five of the seven countries of the
Arab LeagueThe Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organization of Arab states in Southwest Asia, and North and Northeast Africa. It was formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria...
at that time, namely
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
,
IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
,
JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest,...
,
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
and
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
, backed with
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south...
n and
YemeniteYemenite may refer to:*Yemenite, a person from Yemen or of Yemenite ethnicity*Yemeni Arabic, dialect of the Arabic language*Yemenite , a dance step originating from Yemen*a Yemenite Jew...
contingents invaded the territory of the former British Mandate of Palestine on the night of 14–15 May 1948. However, only the forces of Syria and Egypt invaded territory outside of the Arab section of the Partition Plan. The official motives for their intervention were set out in a statement of 15 May 1948 :
- the only solution of the Palestine problem is the establishment of a unitary Palestinian State, in accordance with democratic principles, whereby its inhabitants will enjoy complete equality before the law, [and whereby] minorities will be assured of all the guarantees recognised in democratic constitutional countries ....
The main objection the Arab League had to the division of Palestine in UN Resolution 181 was that it did not respect the rights of its Arab inhabitants
- in accordance with the provisions of the Covenant of the League of Nations
-Creation:Early drafts for a possible League of Nations began even before the end of the First World War. A London-based study group led by James Bryce and G. Lowes Dickinson made proposals adopted by the British League of Nations Society, founded in 1915. Another group in the United States, which...
and the Charter of the United Nations.
- (...)
- Security and order in Palestine have become disrupted. The Zionist aggression resulted in the exodus of more than a quarter of a million of its Arab inhabitants from their homes and in their taking refuge in the neighbouring Arab countries.
Nevertheless, some speeches were more aggressive.
Azzam PashaAbdul Rahman Hassan Azzam was an Egyptian diplomat, with family origins in Egypt He served as the first secretary-general of the Arab League between 1945 and 1952....
, the Arab League Secretary, declared on Cairo radio: "This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades."
According to
Yoav GelberYoav Gelber is a professor of history at the University of Haifa, and a visiting professor at the University of Texas.Gelber was born in Mandatory Palestine in 1943 and studied world and Jewish history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Gelber is an expert on the history of the Israel Defense...
, the Arab countries were "drawn into the war by the collapse of the Palestinians and the Arab Liberation Army [and] the Arab governments' primary goal was preventing the Palestinians' total ruin and the flooding of their own countries by more refugees. According to their own perception, had the invasion not taken place, there was no Arab force in Palestine capable of checking the Haganah's offensive".
"[Yishuv] perceived the peril of an Arab invasion as threatening its very existence. Having no real knowledge of the Arabs's true military capabilities, the Jews took Arab propaganda literally, preparing for the worst and reacting accordingly."
British forces in Palestine
There were 100,000 British troops deployed in Palestine "in two ground forces divisions, two independent infantry brigades, two mechanised regiments, some artillery units and a number of
RAFThe Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
squadrons" (Karsh, p. 28). The peak deployment was in July 1947 when 70,200 British troops were stationed in Palestine, serviced by 1,277 civilian drivers and 28,155 civilian employees.
First phase: 14 May 1948 – 11 June 1948
The British Mandate over Palestine was due to expire on 15 May, but Jewish leadership led by Ben-Gurion declared independence on 14 May. The State of Israel
declared itself as an independent nationThe Israeli Declaration of Independence , made on 14 May 1948 , the day the British Mandate expired, was the official announcement that the new Jewish state named the State of Israel had been formally established in parts of what was known as the British Mandate of Palestine and on land where, in...
, and was quickly recognized by the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
,
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
, the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
, and many other countries.
Over the next few days, approximately 1,000 Lebanese, 5,000 Syrian, 5,000 Iraqi, and 10,000 Egyptian troops invaded the newly established state. Four thousand Jordanian troops invaded the
Corpus separatumCorpus separatum is Latin for "separated body". The 1947 UN Partition Plan used this term to refer to a proposed internationally administered zone to include Jerusalem and some nearby towns such as Bethlehem and Ein Karim, that was, "in view of its association with three world religions" to be...
region encompassing Jerusalem and its environs, as well as areas designated as part of the Arab state by the UN partition plan. They were aided by corps of volunteers from Saudi Arabia,
LibyaLibya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa...
and Yemen.
In an official cablegram from the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States to the UN Secretary-General on 15 May 1948, the Arab states publicly proclaimed their aim of creating a "United State of Palestine" in place of the Jewish and Arab, two-state, UN Plan. They claimed the latter was invalid, as it was opposed by Palestine's Arab majority, and maintained that the absence of legal authority made it necessary to intervene to protect Arab lives and property.
Israel, the United States and the Soviet Union called the Arab states' entry into Palestine illegal aggression, while UN Secretary-General
Trygve LieTrygve Halvdan Lie was a Norwegian politician. From 1946 to 1952 he was the first elected Secretary-General of the United Nations.-Early life:...
characterized it as "the first armed aggression which the world had seen since the end of the [Second World] War." China, meanwhile, broadly backed the Arab claims. Both sides increased their manpower over the following months, but the Israeli advantage grew steadily as a result of the progressive mobilization of Israeli society and the influx of an average of 10,300 immigrants each month.
Israeli Forces 1948
| Initial strength |
29,677 |
| 4 June |
40,825 |
| 17 July |
63,586 |
| 7 October |
88,033 |
| 28 October |
92,275 |
| 2 December |
106,900 |
| 23 December |
107,652 |
| 30 December |
108,300 |
On 26 May 1948, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) was officially established, and the Haganah, Palmach and Irgun were dissolved into the army of the new Jewish state.
As the war progressed, the IDF managed to field more troops than the Arab forces. By July 1948, the IDF had 63,000 troops; by early spring 1949, they had 115,000. The Arab armies had an estimated 40,000 troops in July 1948, rising to 55,000 in October 1948, and slightly more by the spring of 1949.
All Jewish aviation assets were placed under the control of the
Sherut AvirSherut Avir was the air force of the Haganah and the forerunner of the Israeli Air Force.-Founding:...
(Air Service, known as the SA) in November 1947 and flying operations began in the following month from a small civil airport on the outskirts of
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
called
Sde DovSde Dov Airport , also known as Dov Hoz Airport is an airport located in Tel Aviv, Israel which mainly handles domestic flights to Eilat and northern Israel . It is Tel Aviv's largest airport and the second largest in the area, after Ben Gurion International Airport...
, with the first ground support operation (in an
RWD-13The RWD-13 was a Polish touring plane of 1935, three seater high-wing monoplane, designed by the RWD team. It was the biggest commercial success of the RWD.-Design and development:...
) taking place on 17 December. The Galilee Squadron was formed at
Yavne'elYavne'el is a moshava and a local council in the North District of Israel. Located south-west of Tiberias, it was declared a local council in 1951. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , it had a population of 2,900 in 2006, with a growth rate of 1.4%. The majority of the citizens...
in March 1948, and the Negev Squadron was formed at Nir-Am in April. By 10 May, when the SA suffered its first combat loss, there were three flying units: an air staff, maintenance facilities and logistics support. At the outbreak of the war on 15 May the SA became the
Israeli Air ForceThe Israeli Air Force is the air force of the Israel Defense Forces...
. With its fleet of light planes it was no match for Arab forces during the first few weeks of the war with its
T-6sThe North American T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train fighter pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II. Designed by North American Aviation, The T-6 is...
,
SpitfireSpitfire may refer to:* Supermarine Spitfire, a British single-seat fighter aircraft used in World War II* Triumph Spitfire, a small two-seat British sports car from Triumph Motor Company developed in the 1960s...
s, C-47s and
Avro AnsonThe Avro Anson was a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces during the Second World War and afterwards. Named for British admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was soon...
s. The main Arab losses were the result of RAF action in response to Egyptian raids on the British air base at Ramat David near Haifa on 22 May during which five Egyptian Spitfires were shot down. It was also during this time that the balance of air power began to swing in favor of the Israeli Air Force following the purchase of 25
Avia S-199The Avia S-199 was a fighter aircraft built after World War II by the Avia Company , a branch of the enormous Škoda Works in Czechoslovakia. It was constructed with parts and plans left over from Luftwaffe aircraft production that had taken place under the country's German occupation during the war...
s from
CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, the first of which arrived in Israel on 20 May. This created the ironic situation of the young Jewish state using derivatives of the Bf-109 designed in
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
to help counter the British-designed Spitfires flown by Egypt. The first raid on an Arab capital followed on the night of 31 May/June 1 when three Israeli planes bombed Amman. By the fall of 1948, The IDF achieved
air superiority and had superior firepower and more knowledgeable personnel, many of whom had seen action in World War II.
The first mission of the IDF was to hold on against the Arab armies and stop them from destroying major Jewish settlements, until reinforcements and weapons arrived.
The heaviest fighting occurred in Jerusalem and on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road, between Jordan's Arab Legion and the Israeli forces. Abdullah ordered Glubb Pasha, the commander of the Jordanian-led Arab Legion, to enter Jerusalem on 17 May, and heavy house-to-house fighting occurred between 19 May and 28 May, with the Arab Legion succeeding in expelling Israeli forces from the Arab quarters of Jerusalem as well as the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. All the Jewish inhabitants of the Old City were expelled by the Jordanians. Iraqi troops failed in attacks on Jewish settlements (the most notable battle was on
Mishmar HaEmekMishmar HaEmek is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the western Jezreel Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 964....
), and instead took defensive positions around Jenin, Nablus, and
TulkarmTulkarm or Tulkarem is a Palestinian city in the Tulkarm Governorate in the northwestern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Tulkarm city and the adjacent refugee camp had a population of approximately 58,962 inhabitants at mid-year 2006...
.
On 21 May, the Syrian army was blocked at kibbutz
DeganiaDegania Alef is a kibbutz in northern Israel. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Emek HaYarden Regional Council.Degania Alef was the first kibbutz established by Jewish Zionist pioneers in the areas of the Land of Israel, then under Ottoman rule. It was founded in 1909 by the World Zionist...
in the north, where local militia reinforced by elements of the Carmeli brigade halted Syrian armored forces with
Molotov cocktailThe Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, or Molotov bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
s and a single
PIATThe Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank was a British anti-tank weapon developed during the Second World War. The PIAT was designed in response to the British Army's need for a hand-held infantry anti-tank weapon that was more effective than the current weapons it possessed...
. One tank that was disabled by Molotov cocktails and hand grenades is still present at the kibbutz. The remaining Syrian forces were driven off the next day with four "Napoleonchik" mountain guns—Israel's first use of artillery during the war.
On 23 May,
Thomas C. WassonThomas Campbell Wasson was an American diplomat who was assassinated while serving as the Consul General for the United States in Jerusalem, Palestine. Wasson was also a member of United Nations Truce Commission.-Career:...
, the Consul General for the USA and member of the UN Truce Commission was assassinated in West Jerusalem.
On 24 May 1948 IDF forces at
LatrunLatrun is a strategic hilltop in the Ayalon Valley overlooking the road to Jerusalem. It is located 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla.-Etymology:...
; consisting of the newly formed 7th Armoured Brigade (Israel) and a battalion of the
Alexandroni BrigadeThe Alexandroni Brigade is an Israel Defense Forces brigade that fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Along with the 7th Armoured Brigade both units had 139 killed during the first battle of Latrun - Operation Ben Nun....
—attacked the Arab Legion forces in
Operation "Bin-Nun A"The Battles of Latrun were a series of military engagements between the Israel Defense Forces and the Jordanian Arab Legion on the outskirts of Latrun between 25 May and 18 July 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War....
and on 1 June 1948 the same IDF forces
again attacked Latrun Arab Legion forces in Operation "Bin-Nun B". Both attacks failed, and both brigades suffered heavy casualties with a total of 139 killed.
During the following months, the Syrian army was repelled as were the Palestinian irregulars and the ALA.
In the south, an Egyptian attack was able to penetrate the defences of several Israeli kibbutzim, but with heavy cost. This attack was stopped near
AshdodAshdod , is the fifth-largest city in Israel, located in the Southern District of the country, on the Mediterranean coast, with a population of 207,000. Ashdod is an important regional industrial centre...
.
The Israeli military managed not only to maintain their military control of the Jewish territories, but to expand their holdings.
First truce (11 June 1948 – 8 July 1948)
The UN declared a truce on 29 May which came into effect on 11 June and lasted 28 days. The
ceasefireA ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces.-World War I:On December 24, 1914,...
was overseen by UN mediator
Folke BernadotteFolke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg was a Swedish diplomat noted for his negotiation of the release of about 31,000 prisoners from German concentration camps during World War II...
and a team of UN Observers made up of army officers from Belgium, United States, Sweden and France. Bernadotte was voted in by the General Assembly to "assure the safety of the holy places, to safeguard the well being of the population, and to promote 'a peaceful adjustment of the future situation of Palestine'". The truce was designed to last 28 days and an arms embargo was declared with the intention that neither side would make any gains from the truce. Both sides of the conflict did not respect the truce and found ways around the restrictions placed on them. Both the Israelis and the Arabs used this time to improve their positions which was a direct violation of the terms of the ceasefire. "The Arabs violated the truce by reinforcing their lines with fresh units and by preventing supplies from reaching isolated Israeli settlements; occasionally, they opened fire along the lines". The Israeli Defense Forces were able to acquire weapons from Czechoslovakia as well as improve training of forces and reorganization of the army during this time. Yitzhak Rabin, an IDF commander at the time of the war and later Israel's fifth Prime Minister, stated "[w]ithout the arms from Czechoslovakia... it is very doubtful whether we would have been able to conduct the war". As well as violating the arms and personnel embargo, they also sent fresh units to the front lines like the Arabs. The Israel army increased its man power from approximately thirty or thirty-five thousand men to almost sixty-five thousand men during the truce. They were also able to increase their arms supply to "more than twenty-five thousand rifles, five thousand machine guns, and more than fifty million bullets".
As the truce commenced, a British officer stationed in Haifa stated that the four week long truce "would certainly be exploited by the Jews to continue military training and reorganization while the Arabs would waste [them] feuding over the future divisions of the spoils". This officer was correct for the Jews were able to reorganize and reequip while the Arabs became unprepared to return to combat.
After the truce was in place, Bernadotte began to address the issue of achieving a political settlement. The main obstacles that Bernadotte faced in his opinion were "the Arab world's continued rejection of the existence of a Jewish state, whatever its borders; Israel's new 'philosophy', based on its increasing military strength, of ignoring the partition boundaries and conquering what additional territory it could; and the emerging Palestinian Arab refugee problem". Taking all the issues into account, Bernadotte presented a new partition plan. Bernadotte proposed there be a Palestinian Arab state alongside Israel and that a "Union" "be established between the two sovereign states of Israel and Jordan (which now included the West Bank); that the Negev, or part of it, be included in the Arab state and that Western Galilee, or part of it, be included in Israel; that the whole of Jerusalem be part of the Arab state, with the Jewish areas enjoying municipal autonomy and that Lydda Airport and Haifa be 'free ports'—presumably free of Israeli or Arab sovereignty". Israel rejected the proposal, in particular the aspect of losing control of Jerusalem, but they did agree to extend the truce for another month. The Arabs rejected both the extension of the truce as well as the proposal. On 8 July, the day before the expiration of the truce, Egyptian
General NaguibMuhammad Naguib was the first President of Egypt, serving from the declaration of the Republic on June 18, 1953 to November 14 1954. Along with Gamal Abdel Nasser, he was the primary leader of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which ended the rule of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in Egypt and Sudan...
renewed the war by attacking the
NegbaNegba is a kibbutz in the coastal plain of south-central Israel. Located near the cities of Kiryat Malakhi and Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council...
position of Israel. As a result of this attack, Israel responded on 9 July by attacking on all three fronts. The fighting continued for ten days until the UN Security Council issued the Second Truce on 18 July.
Second phase (8 July 1948 – 18 July 1948)
The fighting after the truce was dominated by large scale Israeli offensives and a defensive posture from the Arab side. Operation Dani was the most important Israeli offensive, aimed at securing and enlarging the corridor between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv by capturing the roadside cities
LyddaLydda can refer to:*Lod, also named Lydda*Exodus from Lydda and Ramla, the Palestinian exodus from the city in July 1948...
(later renamed Lod) and Ramle.
In a second planned stage of the operation the fortified positions of
LatrunLatrun is a strategic hilltop in the Ayalon Valley overlooking the road to Jerusalem. It is located 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla.-Etymology:...
—overlooking the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway—and the city of
RamallahRamallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank adjacent to al-Bireh with a population nearly 25,500...
were also to be captured.
The second plan was
Operation DekelOperation Dekel , was the largest offensive in the north of Israel after the first truce of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was carried out by the 7th Armoured Brigade, a battalion from the Carmeli Brigade along with some elements from the Golani Brigade between 8-18 July. Its objective was to...
, which was aimed at capturing the lower Galilee including
NazarethNazareth is the capital and largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
. The third plan, to which fewer resources were allocated,
Operation KedemOperation Kedem was an action planned and carried out in July 1948, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Its purpose was to capture East Jerusalem . After the First Cease-fire of the Arab-Israeli war, which lasted for four weeks, the balance in power in Jerusalem had shifted dramatically...
was to secure the Old City of Jerusalem.
In the south several offensives were launched including
Operation An-FarOperation An-Far was a military operation launched by Israel's Givati Brigade on the night of July 8–9 during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It's objectives were to control approaches in southern Judea blocking the advance of the Egyptian army...
.
Operation Danny
The objectives of Operation Danny were to capture territory East of Tel Aviv and then to push inland and relieve the Jewish population and forces in Jerusalem. Lydda had become an important military center in the region, lending support to Arab military activities elsewhere and Ramle was one of the main obstacles blocking Jewish transportation. Lydda was defended by a local militia of around 1,000 residents, with an Arab Legion contingent of 125-300. The IDF forces gathered to attack the city numbered around 8,000. It was the first operation where several brigades were involved The city was attacked from the north via Majdal al-Sadiq and
al-Muzayri'aal-Muzayri'a was a Palestinian village in the district of Ramla, depopulated in 1948.-Location:Al-Muzayri'a was located north-northeast of al-Ramla, on limestone hill, overlooking the coastal plain. A wadi ran along its southern part, and separated it from the village of Qula. The village was...
and from the east via
KhuldaKhulda was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Ramla. It was depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War on April 6, 1948 under Operation Nachshon. It was located 12 km south of Ramla. The Crusaders referred to Khulda as "Huldre"...
,
al-QubabAl-Qubab was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Ramla. It was depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War by the Yiftach Brigade.On September 13, 1948, al-Qubab was mostly destroyed, although the school and few houses remain standing.As of 1945 it had a population of 1,980.-References:...
,
JimzuJimzu was a Palestinian village, located three miles southeast of Lydda. Under the 1947 UN Partition Plan of British Mandate Palestine, Jimzu was to form part of the proposed Arab state...
and Danyal. Bombers were also used for the first time in the conflict to bombard the city. The IDF captured the city on July 11, 1948. The next day, Ramle also fell. The civilian populations of Lydda and Ramle were expelled to the Arab front lines, and following resistance in Lydda, the population there was expelled without provision of transport vehicles; some of the evictees died on the long walk under the hot July sun.
On 15-16 July, an attack on Latrun took place but did not manage to occupy the fort. A desperate second attempt occurred on 18 July by units from the
Yiftach BrigadeThe Yiftach Brigade was an Israeli infantry brigade...
equipped with armored vehicles, including two
Cromwell tankThe Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Cromwell , named after the English Civil War leader Oliver Cromwell, was one of the most successful series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in World War II. It was the first tank in the British arsenal to combine a dual-purpose gun, high speed, and reasonable armour...
s, but that attack also failed. Despite the second truce, which began on 18 July, the Israeli efforts to conquer Latrun continued until 20 July.
Operation Dekel
While Operation Dani proceeded in the centre, Operation Dekel was carried out in the north. Nazareth was captured on 16 July, and by the time the second truce took effect at 19:00 18 July, the whole lower Galilee from Haifa bay to the
Sea of GalileeThe Sea of Galilee, also Lake of Gennesaret, Lake Kinneret or Sea of Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, being approximately 53 km in circumference, about 21 km long, and 13 km wide. The lake has a total area of 166 km², and a maximum depth of approximately...
was captured by Israel.
Operation Kedem
Originally Operation Kedem was to be executed on 8 July, immediately after the first truce, by Irgun and Lehi. However, it was delayed by
David ShaltielDavid Shaltiel is most well-known for being the district commander of the Haganah in Jerusalem during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. He was born into a Portuguese orthodox Jewish family in Hamburg....
, possibly because he did not trust their ability after their failure to capture
Deir YassinDeir Yassin was a Palestinian Arab village of around 600 people near Jerusalem. It had declared its neutrality during the civil war between Arab and Jewish Palestinians...
without Haganah assistance.
The Irgun forces that were commanded by
Yehuda LapidotYehuda "Nimrod" Lapidot was a member of Irgun and an officer in the Israel Defense Forces. In 1980 he was appointed head of Lishkat Hakesher by former Irgun commander and then Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Lapidot received a Ph.D...
(Nimrod) were to break through at The New Gate, Lehi was to break through the wall stretching from the New Gate to the Jaffa Gate, and the Beit Hiron Battalion was to strike from
Mount ZionMount Zion is an elevation west of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Israel. Jewish scriptures apply the term "Mount Zion" to the Temple Mount or the City of David, both located on this elevation...
.
The battle was planned to begin on the
SabbathShabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from sundown Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night...
, at 20:00 on 16 July, a day before the Second Cease-fire of the Arab-Israeli war. The plan went wrong from the beginning and was postponed first to 23:00 and then to midnight. It was not until 02:30 that the battle actually began. The Irgunists managed to break through at the New Gate, but the other forces failed in their missions. At 05:45 on 17 July, Shaltiel ordered a retreat and to cease the hostilities.
Second truce: 18 July 1948 – 15 October 1948
At 19:00 on 18 July, the second truce of the conflict went into effect after intense diplomatic efforts by the UN.
On 16 September,
Folke BernadotteFolke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg was a Swedish diplomat noted for his negotiation of the release of about 31,000 prisoners from German concentration camps during World War II...
proposed a new partition for Palestine in which Jordan would annex Arab areas including the Negev, Lydda and Ramla. There would be a Jewish state in the whole of Galilee, internationalization of Jerusalem, and return or compensation for refugees. The plan was once again rejected by both sides. On the next day, 17 September, Bernadotte was assassinated by the Lehi; his deputy, American
Ralph BuncheRalph Johnson Bunche was an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine. He was the first person of color to be so honored in the history of the Prize. He was involved in formation and administration of the United...
, replaced him.
Israeli operations
Israel launched a series of military operations in order to drive out the Arab armies and secure the borders of Israel.
On 15 October the IDF launched
Operation YoavOperation Yoav was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15 October - 22 October, 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba-Hebron-Jerusalem road and ultimately to conquer the...
in the northern Negev. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the
BeershebaBeersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 186,100....
-
HebronHebron is the largest city in the West Bank, located in the south, 30 kilometers south of Jerusalem. It is home to some 166,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Israelis living in and around the historic Jewish Quarter. Hebron lies 930 meters above sea level...
-Jerusalem road and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev. Operation Yoav was headed by the Southern Front commander
Yigal AllonYigal Allon was an Israeli politician, a commander of the Palmach, and a general in the IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Israeli Labor party, acting Prime Minister of Israel, as well as being a member of Knesset and government minister from the tenth through the...
. The operation was a huge success as it shattered the Egyptian army ranks and forced the Egyptian forces to retreat from the northern Negev, Beersheba and
AshdodAshdod , is the fifth-largest city in Israel, located in the Southern District of the country, on the Mediterranean coast, with a population of 207,000. Ashdod is an important regional industrial centre...
. On 22 October the Israeli Navy
commandoThe term commando, in English, means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means élite light infantry and/or special forces units, specialised in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and effect...
es sank the Egyptian flagship
Emir Farouk.
22 October 1948 the third truce came into force.
On 24 October 1948, the IDF launched
Operation HiramOperation Hiram was a military operation conducted by the Israel Defence Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was led by General Moshe Carmel, and aimed at capturing the upper Galilee region from the Arab Liberation Army forces led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji and a Syrian battalion...
and captured the entire Upper Galilee, driving the ALA and Lebanese army back to Lebanon. At the end of the month, Israel had captured the whole Galilee and had advanced into Lebanon to the
Litani RiverThe Litani River is an important water resource in southern Lebanon. The river rises in the fertile Beqaa Valley valley, west of Baalbek, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre...
.
On 22 December the IDF drove the remaining Egyptian forces out of Israel by launching
Operation HorevDuring the Israeli War of Independence in October 1948, Operation Horev was a wide scale attack against the Egyptian army in the Western Negev. The operation started on December 22, 1948 and ended on January 7, 1949, with the Israeli Defence Forces putting foot into the Sinai peninsula.The name is...
(also called Operation Ayin). The goal of the operation was to secure the entire Negev from Egyptian presence, destroying the Egyptian threat on Israel's southern communities and forcing the Egyptians into a cease-fire. The operation was a decisive Israeli victory, and Israeli raids into the Nitzana area and the
Sinai peninsulaThe Sinai Peninsula or Sinai The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai (sina; Egyptian Arabic: سينا sina; sina'a; is a triangular peninsula in Egypt. It lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, forming a land bridge between Africa and Southwest...
forced the Egyptian army, which was encircled in the
Gaza StripThe Gaza Strip lies on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometers wide, with a total area of . The area is recognized internationally as part of the Palestinian territories...
, to withdraw and accept cease-fire. On 7 January 1949 a truce was achieved. Israeli forces withdrew from Sinai and Gaza under international pressure.
On 5 March Operation Uvda was launched. On 10 March the Israelis reached Umm Rashrash (where
EilatEilat is Israel's southernmost city, a busy port as well as a popular resort, located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on the Gulf of Eilat. Home to 65,000 people, the city is part of the Southern Negev Desert, at the southern end of the Arava...
was built later) and conquered it without a battle. The
Negev BrigadeThe 12th Negev Brigade was an Israeli infantry brigade that served in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It was commanded by Nahum "Sergei" Sarig and consisted of four Palmach battalions...
and
Golani BrigadeThe Golani Brigade is an Israeli infantry brigade which was formed on February 22, 1948 when the Levanoni Brigade in the Galilee split into the 1st Golani Brigade and the 2nd Carmeli Brigade...
took part in the operation. They raised a hand-made flag ("The Ink Flag") and claimed Umm Rashrash for Israel.
UN Resolution 194
In December 1948, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194 which declared (amongst other things) that in the context of a general peace agreement "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live in peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so" and that "compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return." The resolution also mandated the creation of the
United Nations Conciliation CommissionThe United Nations Conciliation Commission was created by UN General Assembly Resolution 194, in order to conclude the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.On December 11, 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the proposal to set up the committee with delegates of three nations. France, Turkey and the United...
. However, parts of the resolution were never implemented, resulting in the
Palestinian refugeePalestinian refugees or Palestine refugees are the people and their descendants, predominantly Arabs, who fled or were expelled from their homes during and after the 1948 Palestine War, within that part of the British Mandate of Palestine that after that war became the territory of the State of...
crisis.
British aircraft
On 20 November 1948, an unarmed RAF photo-reconnaissance
De Havilland MosquitoThe de Havilland Mosquito was a British combat aircraft that excelled in versatility during the Second World War. Originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, the Mosquito adapted to many other roles in during the air war in both the Pacific theatre of Operations and the European theatre,...
of No. 13 Squadron RAF on an intelligence sortie was shot down by a
P-51The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was a long-range single-seat World War II fighter aircraft. Designed, built and airborne in just 117 days, the Mustang first flew in RAF service as a fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft before conversion to a bomber escort, employed in raids over...
flown by Wayne Peake.
Just before noon on 7 January 1949, four
SpitfireSpitfire may refer to:* Supermarine Spitfire, a British single-seat fighter aircraft used in World War II* Triumph Spitfire, a small two-seat British sports car from Triumph Motor Company developed in the 1960s...
FR. 18s from
No. 208 Squadron RAFNo 208 Squadron is a unit of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. It operates the BAe Hawk aircraft.-World War I:The squadron was established as part of the Royal Naval Air Service in October 1916 at Dunkirk as No. 8 Squadron. In its earlier days, the unit flew Sopwith Pups,...
on routine reconnaissance in the Deir al-Balah area inadvertently flew over an Israeli convoy that had just been attacked by the Royal Egyptian Air Force. IDF soldiers in the convoy shot down one of the British planes. The remaining three planes were then shot down by patrolling Israeli Air Force Spitfires flown by Slick Goodlin and John McElroy, volunteers from the United States and
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
respectively. Later that day four RAF Spitfires from the same squadron escorted by seven
No. 213 Squadron RAFNo. 213 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. The squadron was formed on 1 April 1918 from No. 13 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service...
TempestsThe Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. The Tempest was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, and one of the most powerful fighter aircraft used during the war....
and another eight Tempests from
No. 6 Squadron RAFNo. 6 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operated the Jaguar GR.3 from RAF Coltishall, Norfolk until April 2006, moving to RAF Coningsby and operating until May 2007....
, searching for the lost planes from No. 208 Squadron were attacked by four Israeli Air Force Spitfires. The Tempests found they could not jettison their external fuel tanks, and some found they had non-operational guns. One of the Tempests was shot down, killing its pilot David Tattersfield. Another Tempest was damaged by an IAF plane flown by
Ezer Weizman' was the seventh President of Israel, first elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. Before the presidency, Weizman was commander of the Israeli Air Force and Minister of Defense.-Biography:...
.
Weapons
Largely leftover World War II era weapons were used by both sides. Egypt had some British equipment; the Syrian army had some French. German and British equipment was used by Israel.
| Type |
Arab armies |
IDF |
| Tanks |
Matilda tankThe Infantry Tank Mark II known as the Matilda II was a British Infantry tank of the Second World War. It was also identified from its General Staff Specification A12....
s, Mark IV tanks, R-39s, FT-17s, R35s, Panzer IVThe Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
s (dug in and used stationarily by Egypt) |
CromwellThe Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Cromwell , named after the English Civil War leader Oliver Cromwell, was one of the most successful series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in World War II. It was the first tank in the British arsenal to combine a dual-purpose gun, high speed, and reasonable armour...
tanks, H39The Hotchkiss H35 or Char léger modèle 1935 H was a French light tank developed prior to World War II.-Development:In 1926 it had been decided to provide armour support to the regular infantry divisions by creating autonomous tank battalions equipped with a light and cheap infantry tank, a char...
s, ValentineThe Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Over 8,000 of the type were produced in 11 different marks plus various purpose-built variants, accounting for approximately a quarter of wartime British tank production...
s |
APCs/IFVsAn infantry fighting vehicle is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide fire support for them.- Background :...
|
British WW2 era trucks, Humber Mk III & IV The Humber Armoured Car was one of the most widely produced British armoured cars of World War II. It supplemented the Humber Light Reconnaissance Car and remained in service until the end of the war.-History:...
, Automitrailleuses Dodge of the Bich type, improvised armored cars/trucks, Marmon-Herrington Armoured CarSouth African Reconnaissance Car, better known under its British designation Marmon-Herrington Armoured Car, was an armoured vehicle produced in South Africa and adopted by the British Army during the World War II.-History:...
s, Universal CarrierThe Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong. Produced between 1934 and 1960, the vehicle was used widely by Allied forces during the Second World War...
s, Lloyd Towing CarrierThe Carden Loyd tankettes were a series of British pre-World War II tankettes, the most successful of which was the Mark VI, the only version built in significant numbers. It became a classic tankette design worldwide, was license-built by several countries and became the basis of several designs...
s |
British WW2 era trucks, improvised armored cars/trucks, White M3A1 Scout Cars, Daimler Armoured CarThe Daimler Armoured Car was a British armoured car of the Second World War.-History:The Daimler Armoured Car was a development of the Daimler Scout car known as the "Dingo", a small armoured vehicle for scouting and liaison roles. A larger version fitted with the turret of the Tetrarch Light Tank...
s, M3 Half-trackIHC M14 Half-tracks, M3 Half-tracks, M5 Half-tracks |
| Artillery |
Mortars A mortar is a muzzle-loading indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It typically has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber.- Function :...
, 15 cm sIG33 auf Pz IIs, 25 mm anti-tank guns on Bren carriersThe Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong. Produced between 1934 and 1960, the vehicle was used widely by Allied forces during the Second World War...
, improvised self-propelled guns used by Syrians in 1948-49, 65 mm mountain guns on Lorraine 38LThe Lorraine 37L or Tracteur de ravitaillement pour chars 1937 L, was a light tracked armoured vehicle developed during the Interbellum by the Lorraine company to a French Army requirement.-Development:...
chenillettes, 2-pounder anti-tank guns, 6-pounder anti-tank guns |
Mortars, converted 19th century museum pieces, 2 inch British mortars, 65 mm French howitzers, "Napoleonchiks", 120 mm French mortars, Davidka artillery pieces The Davidka was a homemade Israeli mortar used in Safed and Jerusalem during the initial stages of the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. Its shells were reported to be extremely loud, but otherwise of little value, besides that of using fear tactics against the Arab forces...
|
| Aircraft |
SpitfiresThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries through the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used into the 1950s both as a front line fighter and in secondary roles...
, T-6 TexanThe North American T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train fighter pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II. Designed by North American Aviation, The T-6 is...
s, C-47 Dakotas, Hawker HurricaneThe Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. Some production of the Hurricane was carried out in Canada by the Canada Car and Foundry Co Ltd....
s, Avro AnsonThe Avro Anson was a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces during the Second World War and afterwards. Named for British admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was soon...
s |
SpitfiresThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries through the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used into the 1950s both as a front line fighter and in secondary roles...
, Avia S-199The Avia S-199 was a fighter aircraft built after World War II by the Avia Company , a branch of the enormous Škoda Works in Czechoslovakia. It was constructed with parts and plans left over from Luftwaffe aircraft production that had taken place under the country's German occupation during the war...
s, B-17 Flying FortressThe Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed for the United States Army Air Corps , introduced in the 1930s. Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, the Boeing entry outperformed both competitors and more than met the Air Corps'...
es, P-51 MustangThe North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was a long-range single-seat World War II fighter aircraft. Designed, built and airborne in just 117 days, the Mustang first flew in RAF service as a fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft before conversion to a bomber escort, employed in raids over...
s |
| Small Arms |
Lee Enfield rifles |
Sten guns The Sten was a family of British 9 mm submachine guns used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War...
, Mills grenadesMills bomb is the popular name for a series of prominent British hand grenades.-Overview:William Mills - a golf club designer from Sunderland - patented, developed and manufactured the 'Mills bomb' at the Mills Munition Factory in Birmingham, England, in 1915. The Mills bomb was adopted by the...
, Karabiner 98kThe Karabiner 98 Kurz was a bolt-action rifle adopted as the standard infantry rifle in 1935 by the German Wehrmacht, and was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles.-General information:The Karabiner 98k was a controlled-feed bolt-action rifle based on the Mauser...
(Czech copies) |
1949 Armistice Agreements
In 1949, Israel signed separate
armisticeAn armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
s with Egypt on 24 February, Lebanon on 23 March, Jordan on 3 April, and Syria on 20 July. The new borders of Israel, as set by the agreements, encompassed about 78% of Mandatory Palestine as it stood after the independence of Jordan in 1946. Regarding the original British Mandate (including Jordan, which was included within the Mandate in the summer of 1921 but excluded from the provisions for a Jewish National Home), Israel was created on 18% of the total area of Palestine and Jordan. This was about 50% more than the UN partition proposal allotted it. These cease-fire lines were known afterwards as the "
Green LineThe term Green Line is used to refer to the 1949 Armistice lines established between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
". The Gaza Strip and the
West BankThe West Bank is a landlocked territory and is the eastern part of the Palestinian territories; on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel, which maintains the security of this area. To the east,...
were occupied by Egypt and Jordan respectively. The
United Nations Truce Supervision OrganizationThe United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is an organization founded on 29 May 1948 for peacekeeping in the Middle East. Its primary task was providing the military command structure to the peace keeping forces in the Middle East to enable the peace keepers to observe and maintain the...
and
Mixed Armistice CommissionsThe Mixed Armistice Commissions . An organisation for monitoring the cease fire along the lines set by the General Armistice Agreements. It was composed of United Nations Military Observers and was part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization peacekeeping force in the Middle East...
were set up to monitor ceasefires, supervise the armistice agreements; to prevent isolated incidents from escalating and assist other UN peacekeeping operations in the region.
Casualties
Israel lost about 1% of its population in the war: 6,373 of its people. About 4,000 were soldiers and the rest were civilians.
The exact number of Arab losses is unknown but are estimated at between 10,000 and 15,000 people.
Demographic outcome
During the 1947-1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine and the 1948 Arab–Israeli War that followed, around 750,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes. In 1951 the UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine estimated that the number of Palestinian refugees displaced out of Israel was 711,000. This number did not include displaced Palestinians inside Israeli-held territory. The list of villages depopulated during the Arab-Israeli conflict includes more than 400 Arab villages depopulated during the war. It also includes about ten Jewish villages and neighbourhoods.
The
Causes of the 1948 Palestinian exodusThe causes and explanations of the exodus of Palestinian Arabs that arose during the 1947-1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War are a matter of great controversy among historians of, and commentators on, the Arab-Israeli conflict....
are a controversial topic among historians.
The Palestinian refugee problem and the debate around the
right of their returnThe Palestinian right of return is a political position or principle asserting that Palestinian refugees, both first-generation refugees and their descendants, have a right to return to the property they left or which they were forced to leave in the former British Mandate of Palestine , as part of...
are also major issues of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Arab Palestinians have staged annual demonstrations and protests on 15 May of each year. The popularity and number of participants in these annual
al Nakba demonstrations has varied over time, though the increasing anti-Israeli sentiment in the Middle East has tended to increase the attendance in recent years. During the
al-Aqsa IntifadaThe Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
after the failure of the
Camp David 2000 SummitThe Middle East Peace Summit at Camp David of July 2000 took place between United States President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat...
, the attendance at the demonstrations against Israel increased.
During the 1948 War, around 10,000 Jews were forced to evacuate their homes in Palestine or Israel, but in the three years following the war, 700,000 Jews settled in Israel, mainly along the borders and in former Arab lands. Around 136,000 came from the 250,000 displaced Jews of World War II. Most others were part of the 758,000 to 900,000 Jews who
fled or left Arab countriesThe Jewish exodus from Arab lands refers to the 20th century expulsion or mass departure of Jews, primarily of Sephardi and Mizrahi background, from Arab and Islamic countries...
between 1948 and the
Six-Day WarThe Six-Day War of June 5-10, 1967 was a war between the Israel army and the armies of the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The Arab states of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria also contributed troops and arms. At the war's end, Israel had gained control of the...
following widespread anti-Jewish attacks.
IDF forces in 1948
Israeli Defence Forces formerly
HaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
:
- Chief of General Staff
- Combat Engineering Corps (Israel)
- Guard Corps
The Guard Corps , also Guard Force, was the stationary military unit of the Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary organization in Mandatory Palestine. It was responsible for guarding the Jewish villages from attacks, especially by Arab gangs.The Guard Corps was founded in 1939, following the 1936–1939...
(Home Guard)
- IDF Artillery Corps (Israel)
- IDF Infantry/Armored Brigades (formed from both Jewish Brigade
The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group was a military formation of the British Army that served in Europe during the Second World War. Although the brigade was formed in 1944, some of its experienced personnel had been employed against the Axis powers in Greece, the Middle East and East Africa...
and 1939 HISHThe Hish was a corps formed by the Haganah in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1939 following the disbandment of the smaller mobilized force known as the Fosh. It was the Haganah's main surface corps, alongside Him and the Palmach.1939 was a turning point for the Jewish Defence forces...
which in turn was formed from the 1937–1939 FOSHThe FOSH was an elite Jewish strike force established as the commando arm of the Haganah in 1937, during the Great Arab Revolt of 1936-1939 in the British Mandate of Palestine...
/Special Night SquadsThe Special Night Squads were a joint British-Jewish counter-insurgency unit, established by Orde Wingate in Palestine in 1938, during the 1936-1939 Arab revolt...
units):
- 1st Brigade a.k.a. Golani Brigade
The Golani Brigade is an Israeli infantry brigade which was formed on February 22, 1948 when the Levanoni Brigade in the Galilee split into the 1st Golani Brigade and the 2nd Carmeli Brigade...
(made from a part of the Levanoni Brigade on 1 February 1948)
- 2nd Brigade a.k.a. Carmeli Brigade (later changed to 18th Brigade and today known as Barak Armored Brigade
The 188th "Barak"/"Lightning" Armor Brigade is an Israeli regular armor brigade, under command of the Northern Command. The symbol of the Barak Armor Brigade is a shield with a red border, blue and white Haifa coastline background and a sword on it...
)
- 3rd Brigade a.k.a. Alexandroni Brigade
The Alexandroni Brigade is an Israel Defense Forces brigade that fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Along with the 7th Armoured Brigade both units had 139 killed during the first battle of Latrun - Operation Ben Nun....
(32nd Battalion in LatrunLatrun is a strategic hilltop in the Ayalon Valley overlooking the road to Jerusalem. It is located 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla.-Etymology:...
Battle)
- 4th Brigade a.k.a. Kiryati Brigade
The Kiryati Brigade was formed in 1948 by David Ben-Gurion and was one of the original nine brigades that made up the Haganah. The Kiryati Brigade was initially responsible for securing the area in and around Tel Aviv...
- 5th Brigade a.k.a. Givati Brigade
The Givati Brigade functions as the amphibious force and is one of the infantry brigades in the Israel Defense Forces. Givati soldiers are designated by purple berets...
- 6th Brigade a.k.a. Etzioni Brigade
- 7th Armoured Brigade aka Sheva Brigade (71st; 72nd; 73rd Battalions in Latrun
Latrun is a strategic hilltop in the Ayalon Valley overlooking the road to Jerusalem. It is located 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla.-Etymology:...
Battle)
- 8th Armored Brigade aka Shmone Brigade
- 9th Brigade aka Oded Brigade
The Oded Brigade was an Israeli infantry brigade. It was headquartered in Jerusalem....
- 10th Armored Brigade aka Harel Brigade (Palmach
The Palmach was the regular fighting force of the Haganah, the unofficial army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
)
- 11th Brigade aka Yiftach Brigade
The Yiftach Brigade was an Israeli infantry brigade...
(PalmachThe Palmach was the regular fighting force of the Haganah, the unofficial army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
) (consisting of 3 Palmach Battalions and 54th Reconnaissance Battalion (Samson's FoxesSamson's Foxes was an Israeli commando unit during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was part of the 54th Battalion in the Givati Brigade....
)).
- 12th Brigade aka Negev Brigade
The 12th Negev Brigade was an Israeli infantry brigade that served in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It was commanded by Nahum "Sergei" Sarig and consisted of four Palmach battalions...
(PalmachThe Palmach was the regular fighting force of the Haganah, the unofficial army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
) (consisting of 4 Palmach Battalions)
- Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the Israel Defense Forces...
(formerly Sherut AvirSherut Avir was the air force of the Haganah and the forerunner of the Israeli Air Force.-Founding:...
):
- 69 Squadron IAF
The 69 Squadron Israeli Air Force was formed in 1948, and saw its first action on July 15, 1948 when Israeli fighters bombed targets in Cairo, Egypt...
- 100 Squadron IAF
The 100 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force, also known as the Flying Camel Squadron, is a Beech 200 squadron based at Sde Dov Airport....
(liaison/supply)
- 101 Squadron IAF
The 101 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force, also known as the First Fighter Squadron, is Israel's first fighter squadron, created May 20, 1948 at former RAF Aqir Airbase. Four Avia S-199s flew the squadron's first mission on May 29. It currently operates F-16C/D fighters out of Hatzor...
- 103 Squadron IAF
The 103 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force, also known as the Elephants Squadron, is a C-130E and KC-130H squadron based at Lod Airport....
(transport)
- 106 Squadron IAF
The 106 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force, also known as The Edge of the Spear , was created on June 13, 1948. It first participated in Operation Balek, but was soon disbanded in June 1949. It was not reformed until June 11, 1982, and fought in the 1982 Lebanon War. It currently operates F-15C/D...
- 114 Squadron IAF
The 114 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force, also known as the Night Leaders Squadron, is a helicopter squadron of CH-53-2000 Sea Stallions based at Tel Nof Airbase....
- 115 Squadron IAF
- Israeli Sea Corps
The Israeli Navy is the naval arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea in the west and in the Gulf of Aqaba , Red Sea, and Gulf of Suez in the south...
:
- Logistics Corps (Israel)
- Mahal (Israel)
- Medical Corps (Israel)
- Military Rabbinate
The Military Rabbinate is a unit in the Israel Defense Forces that provides religious services to soldiers, primarily to Jews but also including non-Jews, and makes decisions on issues of religion and military affairs. The Military Rabbinate is headed by the Chief Military Rabbi, who is ranked a...
- Nahal
Nahal is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Historically, it refers to a program that combines military service and establishment of new agricultural settlements, often in outlying areas...
- Notrim
The Notrim were a Jewish Police Force set up by the British in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1936. The force was divided into Supernumerary Police and highly mobile Settlement Police. Members were recruited almost entirely from the Haganah...
:
- Jewish Settlement Police
The Jewish Settlement Police were a division of the Notrim established in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1936. They were developed by the Haganah into an élite force. Members, known as Nodedot, were trained by their commander, Yitzhak Sadeh, in the art of unconventional warfare and...
- Jewish Supernumerary Police
The Jewish Supernumerary Police were a branch of the Guards set up by the British in Mandate Palestine in June 1936. Around 22,000 Notrim were appointed, armed and equipped by the British to act as a protective militia for Jewish settlements...
- Israel Police
The Israel Police is a civilian force in the State of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control and maintaining public safety...
- Frontier Corps (later Israel Border Police
The Israel Border Police is the military branch of the Israeli Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav , meaning border guard, whilst its members are colloquially known as Magavnikim...
)
- Military Police Corps (Israel)
- Ordnance Corps
- SHAI
Shai was the intelligence and counter-espionage arm of the Haganah and the forebear of the Military Intelligence Directorate in pre-state Israel...
(later Aman)
- Israeli Women's Corps
- Non-Haganah/Palmach Units:
- Circassian
The term Circassian may refer to:*Circassians, term used to designated various peoples of the north Caucasus.* Northwest Caucasian languages, specifically:**Adyghe language, West Circassian**Kabardian language, East Circassian...
units
- Druze
The Druze are a religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, whose traditional religion is said to have begun as an offshoot of Islam, but is unique in its incorporation of Gnostic, neo-Platonic and other philosophies, similar to other followers of Ismaili Shi'a...
units
- Irgun
Irgun was a militant Zionist group that operated in the British mandate of Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah...
(disbanded and absorbed into IDF)
- Lehi
Lehi was an armed underground Zionist group in Mandatory Palestine.
(disbanded and absorbed into IDF)
See also
- Israeli-Arab conflict
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing dispute between Israel and the Palestinians. It forms part of the wider Arab–Israeli conflict. The term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Zionist halutzim and the Arab population living in Palestine under...
- Wars of Israel
The state of Israel has experienced seven wars, and two intifadas since its establishment, which constitute the militaristic component of the Arab-Israeli conflict.-Wars of Israel:...
- 1948 Palestinian exodus
The 1948 Palestinian exodus , also known as al Nakba , meaning the "disaster", "catastrophe", or "cataclysm", occurred when between 650,000 and 750,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes by Jewish or Israeli forces, during the creation of the state of Israel and the civil war...
- Jewish exodus from Arab lands
The Jewish exodus from Arab lands refers to the 20th century expulsion or mass departure of Jews, primarily of Sephardi and Mizrahi background, from Arab and Islamic countries...
- Killings and massacres during the 1948 Palestine War
- List of Israeli military operations in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
- List of villages depopulated during the Arab-Israeli conflict
Further reading
- Aloni, Shlomo (2001). Arab-Israeli Air Wars 1947-82. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1841762946
- Beckman, Morris (1999). The Jewish Brigade: An Army With Two Masters, 1944-45. Sarpedon Publishers. ISBN 978-1862274235
- Ben-Ami, Shlomo (2006). Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195181581
- Benvenisti, Meron (2002). Sacred Landscape. University of California Press. ISBN 0520234227
- Flapan, Simha (1987), 'The Birth of Israel: Myths and Realities', Pantheon Books, New York.
- Gilbert, Martin (1976). The Arab-Israeli Conflict Weidenfeld & Nicholson. ISBN 0297772414
- Landis, Joshua
Joshua M. Landis is Associate Professor in the School of International and Area Studies at the University of Oklahoma and Director of the Center of Middle Eastern Studies...
. "Syria and the Palestine War: fighting King 'Abdullah's 'Greater Syria plan.'" Rogan and Shlaim. The War for Palestine. 178-205.
- Masalha, Nur (1992). Expulsion of the Palestinians: The Concept of 'Transfer' in Zionist Political Thought, 1882–1948, Institute for Palestine Studies, ISBN 0-88728-235-0
- Sheleg, Yair (2001). A Short History of Terror Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
.
- Zertal, Idith (2005). Israel's Holocaust and the Politics of Nationhood. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521850967
Fiction
- The Hope
The Hope is a historical novel by Herman Wouk about pivotal events in the history of the State of Israel from 1948 to 1967. These include Israel's War of Independence, the 1956 Sinai War , and the Six-Day War...
by Herman WoukHerman Wouk is a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning Jewish American author with a number of notable novels to his credit, including The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance.- Biography :...
, a historical novel that includes a fictionalized version of Israel's War of Independence.
External links
Maps