Arab Israeli War Of 1948

Arab Israeli War of 1948

The Start of what will become 50 years of war

The Zionist Movement• The Zionist movement started

in the late 1800s in which a large numbers of Jewish people immigrated to Palestine in hopes of finding The Promised Land

• With the Publication of Theodor Herzl’s The Jewish state and anti-Semitic pogroms in Poland and Russia 60 000 Jews immigrated to Palestine between 1881 and 1914

• By 1914 almost 100 000 acres of land in Palestine was purchased by Philanthropists and Zionists abroad

Picture Depicts the early Zionists of around 1910 to 1930

Reactions to the Zionist Movement

• In 1922 Britain was given a League of Nations mandate over Palestine

• The Arabs inhabiting that area were growing uneasy about the large numbers of incoming Jewish immigrants

• As a result of Hitler’s persecution of the Jews between 1928 and 1937 the Jewish population increased from 150 000 to 400 000

Herzl’s Jewish State

The Beginnings of a War

• Because the Arabs were worried about the incoming alien race to a land they inhabited for 1 000 years the British were stuck between the oil and strategic interests with the Palestinians and their promise to the Jews.

• As a result they put a ceiling on Jewish immigration but many Jews tried to immigrate illegally which caused bitter fighting between the two

The British give up

• In 1947 the British gave up its mandate and put the problem in front of the United Nations.

• The UN created a special committee to decide what to do with Palestine. The committee suggested that the area be separated into two different states

• One state would consist of 55% of the land and will contain a 58% Jewish population while the other 45% of the land will have a population of 99% Arab

Tensions Rise• The creation of the two states

was accepted by the Jews while it was turned down by the Arabs

• “Nationalism, that is a greater force than any which drives us.”-Azzam Pasha Secretary General of the Arab League

• During the Voting of the partition to instate the two states the Arab League declared that if it was vote into effect they would go to war against the Jews as soon as the British left. The Partition was accepted

Azzam Pasha

Plans for War

• After the partition was accepted the seven members of the Arab league met in Cairo to decide what would be done.

• They agreed to supply 10 000 rifles, 3 000 volunteers, and £1 000 000 to start an immediate beginning of guerilla operations against the Zionists in Palestine

• The leader of the Zionist army Ben-Gurion called an emergency meeting in Jerusalem and decided to use the war as a way to gain more land for the new Jewish state

Deir Yassin

• April 1948 Jewish extremists of Irgun and Stern groups massacred the inhabitants of Deir Yassin, a small village near Jerusalem

• Even though Ben-Gurion showed his shock of this event on TV and the Chief rabbi of Jerusalem excommunicated those who participated. This event elicited demands for vengeance and become a symbol of the homelessness of hundreds of thousands of Arab refugees

The Final Decision

• After the carnage of Deir Yassin Golda Meir was sent to the King Abjullah of Transjordan in a last ditch effort at peace

• The meeting ended in failure as the King could make no decisions on his own and the Zionists refused to postpone the creation of the Jewish state

• May 12: Ben-Gurion called a secret meeting of the National Council to decide what to do with the British mandate on the verge of expiring. By a vote of 6 out of 11 it was decided that the Jewish state would be declared immediately

Acceptance (But for What Purpose)

• May 14: at 4 p.m. two hours before the termination of the British mandate, Ben-Gurion announced the birth of Israel

• The delegates of the U.S and the Soviet Union shortly after declared that they recognized the new state

Causes Discussed

• It seems that largeness of the Zionist movement is definitely the largest cause to causing the war of 1948. It also did not help that the persecution by Russia, Poland, and Germany forced the Jewish immigrants to try and get in illegally which only worsened matters

• In a close second is the fact that no one intervened. Since the USSR only wanted to help the Arabs in hope of causing confusion and gaining land there and the US would not allow it to act in fear of Soviet influence in the Middle East. Britain also was unable to act and simply gave up and did not even help enforce the UN’s partition

More Causes Discussed

• There is also the limited choices that were left for both sides. As a result of the alliance between the states in the Arab league King Abjullah was unable to do anything and the inability of the Jews to postpone the creation of the Jewish state forced the war to have to happen

The Building of on Army

• After the passing of the Partition both sides saw that there was no time to lose.

• The countries of Lebanon and Syria had just gained there sovereignty and as a result were able to legally buy arms most of which were bought from the leading arms manufacturer of Czechoslovakia

• The Zionist on the other hand had a tougher time gaining arms. One way in which they were able to do this was by buying American Surplus arms and machine tools that were scrap

How to Get By Customs

• To get through British arms embargos each weapon was broken down and given a code and sent under labels such as random pieces for a textile machine

• Another method used was using the stationary of other countries for orders and this allowed for the Zionist to get orders filled out from Czechoslovakia

Weapons

Invasion

• May 15: Israel is simultaneously invaded by the Egyptian army from the south, the Transjordanian Arab Legion from the east, and the forces of Syria and Lebanon from the north

• The total strength of the invading army was approximately 23 000 men, equipped with tanks, airplanes, heavy artillery, spare parts, and ammunition.

• The Israeli forces consisted of 3 000 regulars and 14 000 recruits. They had 10 000 rifles and 3 600 submachine guns, and four ancient cannons smuggled from Mexico

Birth of the IDF

• On 26 May 1948 the Israeli Defense force was created

• As the war progressed the IDF was able to field more soldiers than the Arab forces in July 1948 the IDF had fielded 63 000 troops and by early spring 1949 it had 115 000 troops

• The Arab forces had 40 000 troops in July and in October 1948 it had 55 000 and it was only slightly larger in spring 1949

2 IDF soldiers

Battle in the Skies

• All Jewish aviation assets were placed under the control of the Sherut Avir in November 1947 and flying operations began in the following month

• 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 Force, but, during the first few weeks of the war, with its fleet of light planes it was no match for Arab forces flying T-6s, Spitfires, C-47s and Avro Ansons and indeed 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 5 Egyptian Spitfires were shot down.

Tables Turn

• On 20 May the IDF had purchased 25 Avia S-199s from Czechoslovakia

• The first raid on an Arab capital followed on the night of 31 May/1 June when three Israeli planes bombed Amman.

• The IDF achieved air superiority by the fall of 1948.

Map

Urban Warfare

• “The heaviest fighting would occur in Jerusalem and on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road, between Transjordan's Arab Legion and the Israeli forces. Abdullah ordered Glubb Pasha, the commander of the Transjordanian 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 HaEmek), and instead took defensive positions around Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarm.”

Tight D

• “On May 24, 1948 IDF forces at Latrun-consisting of the 7th Armoured Brigade (Israel) and the Alexandroni Brigade-attacked the Arab Legion forces in Operation "Bin-Nun A" and on June 1, 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 of a total of 139 killed.”

• “In the north, the Syrian army was blocked in the kibbutz Degania, where the settlers managed to stop the Syrian armored forces with only light weapons. One tank that was disabled by a Molotov cocktail is still present at the kibbutz. Later, an artillery bombardment, made by cannons jury-rigged from 19th century museum pieces, led to the withdrawal of the Syrians from the kibbutz.”

Israel Stands Strong

• “During the following months, the Syrian army was repelled, and so were the Palestinian irregulars and the ALA. In the south, an Egyptian attack was able to penetrate the defenses of several Israeli kibbutzim, but with heavy cost. This attack was stopped near Ashdod.”

• The Israeli military managed not only to maintain their military control of the Jewish territories, but to expand their holdings.

The First Truce

• 29 May the UN declared a truce that was put into effect on 11 June which would last 28 days. During which an arms embargo was put into place so that neither side gained anything

• At the end of the truce the UN proposed the partition that would give Galilee to the Jews and Negev to the Arabs

• On 8 July before the truce was over Egypt renewed its attacks

Operation Dani

• Operation Dani: 11 July 1948 Israel invaded Lydda in which armies attacked from the north and east and bombers bombarded the city. The next day Israel also took over Ramle

• 15 July- 16 July Israel attempted to take over Latrun but failed. It tried again a second time with vehicles which included two Cromwell tanks but failed again and continued its attacks until 20 July even though there was a second truce on 18 July

Other Operations

• Operation Dekel: While Operation Dani proceeded in the centre, Operation Dekel was carried out in the north. Nazareth was captured on 16 July and when the second truce took effect at 19:00 18 July, the whole lower Galilee from Haifa bay to the Sea of Galilee was captured by Israel.

• Operation Kedem: originally planned for 8 July but was delayed because there was not much confidence in winning with out support from others. It was later planned to begin on 20:00 16 July a day before the second truce and kept on being delayed until 2:30 but not many succeeded in their missions and a retreat was called at 5:45

Second Truce

• 19:00 18 July the second truce went into effect as a result of the UN

• A second proposition was written up in which Transjordan would annex Negev, al-Ramla, and Lydda. There would be a Jewish state in all of Galilee, internationalization of Jerusalem and compensation for all refugees

• Both sides rejected again

October Battles

• Between 15 October and 20 July Israel launched a series of attacks to secure its borders

• Operation Hiram: 24 October the IDF tried to take over northern Galilee driving the Arab League Army and Lebanese army back to Lebanon. The operation was a complete success and by the end of the month Israel had advanced 5 miles into Lebanon

• Operation Yoav: 15 October the IDF tried to wedge itself between the Egyptian forces along the coast and between the Beersheba-Hebron-Jerusalem road in northern Negev and ultimately conquer all of it. The operation was a huge success as it pushed the Egyptian forces from northern Negev, Beersheba, and Ashdod.

Final Battle

• Operation Horev: 22 December the IDF was able to drive out the remaining Egyptian forces from Israel this would seize complete control of Negev and would ensure that the southern Israel communities would be safe and it also forced the Egyptians to cease fire after all of Negev was liberated

• After the battle was won the Israeli army was able to raid Nitzana and the Sinai Peninsula which the forced the Egyptian army that encircled the Gaza Strip to retreat and accept a cease fire on January 7 a truce was declared and as a result of international pressure Israel withdrew its forces from Sinai and Gaza

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.

Armistice Agreement

• In 1949, Israel signed separate armistices with Egypt on 24 February, Lebanon on 23 March, Transjordan 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. This was about 50 percent more than the UN partition proposal allotted it. These cease-fire lines were known afterwards as the "Green Line". The Gaza Strip and the West Bank were occupied by Egypt and Transjordan respectively.

The Fighting is Over

• Armistice agreements were concluded in 1949• The problem rose for the new Jewish state on

what to do with the Arab refugees whether to risk the destruction of the state by allowing 1 000 000 Arab refugees to return to their homes when there were only 700 000 Jews

• The Jews took back few and compensated some but most were left in the refugee camps. At the same time large numbers of Jews were driven out of Iraq, Egypt, and Morocco

Or is it?

• Early 1950s: Palestinian Arab fedayeen from the refugee population mounted raids on Israeli territory that over time increased in frequency and ferocity. The Israeli forced repelled the attacks and despite the armistice fighting still continued

Bibliography

• Stoessinger, John: Why Nations Go to War, Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, Belmont, CA, 2005.

• Accessed on 27 March 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Arab-Israeli_War#First_phase:_14_May_1948.E2.80.9311_June_1948