The document summarizes the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It describes how the UN partition plan led to conflict between Jewish and Arab groups in Palestine. Five Arab nations then invaded territories of the former Palestinian mandate after Israel declared independence in May 1948. The war resulted in massive refugee crises, territorial changes, and the first Arab defeat by Israel, destabilizing the region and laying the foundation for ongoing conflict.

1. ARAB-ISRAEL WAR 1948
PRESENTED BY:
MEHREEN AYUB
SHAYAN SARDAR

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS:-
 SEEDS OF WAR
 PALESTINIAN NAKBAH
 CAUSES OF WAR
 BEGINNING OF WAR
 CEASE FIRES
 CONSEQUENCES OF WAR
 CONCLUSION

3. Seeds of War
 On November 29, 1947, the United Nations
General Assembly adopted Resolution 181
(also known as the Partition Resolution) that
would divide Great Britain’s former
Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab
states in May 1948.
 Under the resolution, the area of religious
significance surrounding Jerusalem would
remain under international control
administered by the United Nations. The
Palestinian Arabs refused to recognize this
arrangement, which they regarded as
favorable to the Jews and unfair to the Arab
population that would remain in Jewish
territory under the partition.
 The United States sought a middle way by
supporting the United Nations resolution, but
also encouraging negotiations between
Arabs and Jews in the Middle East.

4. Palestinian Nakbah
The Arab-Israeli War of 1948 broke out
when five Arab nations invaded territory
in the former Palestinian mandate
immediately following the announcement
of the independence of the state of Israel
on May 14, 1948.
 In 1947, and again on May 14, 1948, the
United States had offered de facto
recognition of the Israeli Provisional
Government, but during the war, the
United States maintained an arms
embargo against all belligerents.

5. Causes of WAR
The 1948 war was caused by a number of
‘international and intraregional factors’ intertwining
to create a complex situation and catalyst for war .
I will discuss three key causes: Zionism, Arab
nationalism and British foreign policy
ZIONISM
 The Classic Zionist idea originated in the ‘deep-
rooted biblical tradition’ in the idea of a proclaimed
‘land of Israel’ where Jewish independence would
be restored.
 within the context of centuries of European anti-
Semitism and persecution that modern political
Zionism arose
 The idealogy of Zionism is “the Jewish people
constituted a nation and this nationhood needed
to be affirmed; assimilation was rejected’ as it was
neither desirable nor possible”.

6.  The ‘religious and cultural ties to the Land of Israel made
Palestine the logical territorial claim’ and was perceived as
the ‘only viable and permanent solution to the problem of the
Jews.
 Moreover, the holocaust in Europe ‘generated a renewed and
intense determination’ to create a Jewish state
 Therefore Zionism promoted the belief that Jews were
entitled to Palestine and fuelled their zeal in pursuing their
fight and struggle to have self-determination.
ARAB NATIONALISM
 Arab nationalism, on the other hand, was born out of the
shared language, religion (Islam) and history of the Middle
East region and therefore Arab nationalists ‘aspired to
political co-operation’ through the Arab League
 Modern Arab nationalism arose at the end of the eighteenth
century, partly as opposition to European colonialism.
 The Arabs often perceived western rulers to be pro-Israel. To
Arab nationalist radicals, Israel was not just an enemy
because of the ‘injustice against their brethren in Palestine’,
but also because of what Western imperialist perceive
towards the region’, particularly in regard to oil reserves.

7. when the United Nations General Assembly
passed a resolution calling for the establishment of
a Jewish state, this confirmed their criticisms and
suspicions of the West. Arab leaders did not
understand why they should have to suffer as a
result the holocaust.
BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY
Another arguable cause of the 1948 Arab-Israeli
war is the impact of British foreign policy and
consequently United Nations’ (UN) policy
regarding the Middle East.
After the First World War, both sides (Zionists and
Arab nationalists) ‘believed Palestine had been
promised to them’ by the British.
After the Second World War, Britain held the
mandate for Palestine. However the circumstances
were ‘utterly transformed by the massacre of
European Jews by Nazi Germany’.

8.  Due to the ‘wave of sympathy’ felt towards the persecuted
Jews of Europe along with the sense of responsibility, ‘Britain
came under increasing pressure to permit Jewish
immigration into Palestine’, especially from America
 The British were in an impossible situation, caught between
two conflicting but understandable viewpoints. Therefore they
decided to hand the problem over to the UN and withdrew
from Palestine in 1948.
 The UN established a Special Committee for Palestine
(UNSCOP) which came to the conclusion that ‘the only viable
solution to the conflict was the separation of the two
communities
 Therefore UNSCOP drew up the Partition Plan. However, this
was naturally problematic, and as a result, both Jews and
Arabs ‘started to arm themselves

9. Beginning of War
 The United Nations resolution sparked conflict between
Jewish and Arab groups within Palestine. Fighting began with
attacks by irregular bands of Palestinian Arabs attached to
local units of the Arab Liberation Army composed of
volunteers from Palestine and neighboring Arab countries.
 These groups launched their attacks against Jewish cities,
settlements, and armed forces. The Jewish forces were
composed of the Haganah, the underground militia of the
Jewish community in Palestine, and two small irregular
groups, the Irgun, and LEHI.
 The goal of the Arabs was initially to block the Partition
Resolution and to prevent the establishment of the Jewish
state. The Jews, on the other hand, hoped to gain control
over the territory allotted to them under the Partition Plan.

10. Conti…
 After Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948, the
fighting intensified with other Arab forces joining the
Palestinian Arabs in attacking territory in the former
Palestinian mandate.
 On the eve of May 14, the Arabs launched an air attack on
Tel Aviv, which the Israelis resisted. This action was followed
by the invasion of the former Palestinian mandate by Arab
armies from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt.
 Saudi Arabia sent a formation that fought under the Egyptian
command.
 British trained forces from Transjordan eventually intervened
in the conflict, but only in areas that had been designated as
part of the Arab state under the United Nations Partition Plan
and the corpus separatum of Jerusalem.
 After tense early fighting, Israeli forces, now under joint
command, were able to gain the offensive.

11. Resolutions and Armistices
 Though the United Nations brokered two cease-fires during
the conflict, fighting continued into 1949. Israel and the Arab
states did not reach any formal armistice agreements until
February.
 Under separate agreements between Israel and the
neighboring states of Egypt, Lebanon, Transjordan, and
Syria, these bordering nations agreed to formal armistice
lines.
 Israel gained some territory formerly granted to Palestinian
Arabs under the United Nations resolution in 1947. Egypt and
Jordan retained control over the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank respectively.
 These armistice lines held until 1967. The United States did
not become directly involved with the armistice negotiations,
but hoped that instability in the Middle East would not
interfere with the international balance of power between the
Soviet Union and the United States.

12. Consequences of War
Destruction and loss of life
 Not only was there the loss of life from soldiers in both sides, but
also innocents were murdered.
 For example, the Deir Yassin massacre witnessed the death of
245 men, women and children. Moreover, the same month, the
Arabs retaliated, killing 77 mainly Jewish doctors and nurses.
Refugee Crisis
 By the end of the war, the UN estimated that the total refugee
population by June 1949 was 940,000 from 369 Palestinian
towns and villages.
 However there are disputes over how many Palestinians
actually left, as sources vary.
 It is the solution to this problem which caused further dispute
between Arabs and Jews.
 The Jewish argument was that Palestinians should be
integrated into the Arab states, whereas the Arabs argued that
refugees should be able to return to their rightful homes

13. Territory Changes
 Another consequence of the Arab-Israeli war was the territory
changes.
 For Israel this was arguably positive, having increased its
territory by 21 per cent in comparison to the partition resolution
boundaries.
 Contrarily, this could also be viewed as negative as it increased
hostility from the Arabs who believed Israel should have no land
whatsoever.
 The Arab states increased their territory, with Transjordan
gaining the West Bank and Egypt gaining the Gaza strip.
 Palestine, however, ‘lost any possibility of a state of their own’
due to the acquisition of land of the Arabs or Israel
 To this day, ‘partition remains controversial among Palestinians’.
It has been considered that the Palestinians have undergone
‘extraordinary change since 1948’ having been transformed into
a ‘mobile people

14. The Arab defeat
 Firstly it demonstrated the lack of united aims and
cooperation between the so-called Arab League.
 The Arab governments ‘all pursued their own objectives’, with
King Abdullah of Transjordan willing to accept a Jewish state
in return for territorial gains.
 However, most significantly, the Arab defeat had ‘important
domestic repercussions’. It ‘de-legitimised the existing
leadership, leading to revolutions, military coups and
instability.
 For example in Syria, the 1948 defeat was a ‘great tragedy’
and a ‘personal failure’ considered a ‘national calamity’
 So this paced way for Arab spring and future wars.

15. Conclusion
 The 1948 arab-israeli war was a highly complex conflict with
its origins going as far back as biblical times.
 The impacts of the first and second world war contributed to
the foreign policy of the british in handing over the palestine
mandate to the un, which consequently resulted in the
declaration of independence for israel.
 It was this declaration which created uproar amongst jews
and arabs alike, and instigated the war.
 The consequences of this war have been catastrophic in
shaping middle eastern politics even until today.
 Hinchcliffe states that ‘while major military confrontation
between Israel and its Arab neighbors' has not occurred
since 1982, the ‘absence of meaningful peace’ has continued
to the end of the century.
 But Zionist have launched 4 major massacres owing to
genocide and mass killing of Palestinians and territory gain
till date and there has been no solution found instead we see
the great powers are assisting the Israel in gaining more
power and territory