The First Arab-Israeli war, 1948-1949

Preparation
1. Jewish Preparations
  1. Conscription introduced to the Haganah for all 17 to 25 year old men and women. The force was eventually increased to 100,000 people.
  2. Armaments were ordered from the Skoda factory in Czechslovakia such as rifles, machine guns and fighter aircraft. These were, ironically, the latest versions produced by the Nazis but never used.
2. Arab preparations
  1. The Arab League supplied 10,000 rifles to the Palestinians
  2. The Arab League assisted in the organisation of an Arab Liberation Army of 3,000 volunteers to fight against Israel.
3. With the British withdrawal coming closer and the UN plan approved the Arabs and Jews prepared themselves for a struggle by accessing and taking control of key areas. In April 1948 the Jews captured Haifa, a major port, from the Arabs and also attacked and seized villages and roads between Jaffa and Jerusalem. This divided Arab areas and helped the Jews gain a strategic advantage. Also, many thousands of Arabs fled the fighting, especially thanks to the Deir Yassin massacre, making it easier for the Jews in their battle for the Jerusalem roads.
Key phases of the war
1. The war started on the 15th May, this was the day the Jewish state was formed. The first phase was when Israel was invaded by the states of the Arab League. 30,000 soldiers invaded Israel however they invaded separately with different aims. Jordanian forces fought hard but only for Jerusalem and the West Bank and Egypt invaded northwards along the strip of land on the coast.
2. The second phase of the war was when the Jews fought back and were victorious after a month long truce arranged by the UN. This truce enabled them to reorganize and bring in weapons and supplies previously purchased from Czechoslovakia. After the truce the Jews enjoyed a successful period of pushing back the Egyptian forces on the coast to Gaza and seized territory from Jordanian and Syrian forces in central and northern Palestine. After securing the Negev desert and the whole of the Galilee the Arabs began to make separate truces.
Reason for Israeli victory
1. The Israelis were determined to create a national homeland
2. Israelis were able to purchase a large number of military supplies from abroad.
3. Good leadership in the Israeli military and better organised
4. Israelis were experience from fighting both British and Palestinians.
5. Arab states were poorly equipped and badly trained.
6. Arab states were not prepared to unite fully and were suspicious of each other.
7. Lack of Arab willpower to see the conflict through when faced with stout opposition.
8. Palestinians lacked good organisation and good leadership.
9. Israeli forces were expanded rapidly and soon outnumbered the Arab states
Consequences of the war
1. Arab states agreed a truce but refused to recognise the state of Israel.
2. Large numbers of Palestinian refugees fled from Israel settling across the borders in neighbouring Arab states
3. Some Palestinian refugees organised into squads of militia groups determined to strike at Israel.
4. Israel was placed on a permanent war footing
5. Israel expanded and was recognised by most of the international community
6. Larger numbers of Jews began to move to Israel
7. The Arab states entered a period of crisis and new governments came to power.
8. The war increased the suspicion in the Arab world that the West was pro-Israel.

Nächster

The First Arab-Israeli war, 1948-1949

Beschreibung

Zusammenfassung der Ressource

ähnlicher Inhalt

	Erstellt von UGQS786 vor etwa 9 Jahre