The international reaction to the violence was one of disgust and disbelief, yet it was no surprise that the nations thought that Israel would be destroyed because it was vulnerable, facing attack from Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq, all at the same time- “Powerful Arab interests, both inside and outside Palestine, are defying the resolution of the General Assembly and are engaged in a deliberate effort to alter by force the settlement envisaged therein”. Though the attack on Israel was a surprise one, Israel was surprisingly well equipped at a military level. The country had a navy and many in her army were experienced in combat as a result of World War Two. Israel had also bought three B-17 bombers in America on the black market. In July 1948, these were used to bomb the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The Arab nations didn’t fight effectively, deciding to attack at different times rather than as one full army, and as a result, the Arab nations involved negotiated their own peace talks – a further sign that they were only united by their desire to attack Israel. Egypt signed a peace settlement in February 1949, and over the next few months Lebanon, Jordan and Syria did the same culminating in peace in July 1949. Iraq simply withdrew her forces but did not sign any peace settlement.
By the end of this “War of Independence” as the Israelis called it, the future of Israel was secured, although the threat of war was by no means eradicated, yet the Jews could now extend their territories and absorb the Palestine areas which still existed. The Israelis eradicated the traces of Arab settlement in their areas by destroying the local governments, obliterating local villages and massacring thousands of innocent Palestinians. A famous, but gruesome example of Israeli dictatorship was in the destruction of Deir Yassin, on the 10th April 1948, where 132 Zionist terrorists killed 250 men, women and children in the village. “The Jews used machine guns, then grenades and finished of with knives. Women's bellies were cut open and babies were butchered in the hands of their helpless mothers. Around 250 people were murdered in cold blood. Of them 25 pregnant women were bayoneted in the abdomen while still alive. 52 children were maimed under the eyes of their own mothers, and they were slain and their heads cut off.” This cruel description of the massacre is seen as propaganda by the Jews, who believe that the town was a reasonable target for the military forces, that efficient warnings were given by the soldiers to the residents, and that the men were Arab extremists whom fought a fierce battle with the Israeli soldiers over the day. It is fair to say that the Israeli government had already planned to occupy the town, but demolish it first and create an Israeli stronghold on the land. Whatever the claims by both sides, the attack was carried out by the Stern Gang, led by Menachem Begin and this type of atrocity was repeated all over the West Bank borders. The Palestinians, afraid at being murdered by the troops left in anticipation of a war, defying the Arab belief in protecting their pieces of land. In all, 900,000 Arabs left their towns and villages in 1948, fleeing to the neighbouring Arab Nations of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Today the Palestinian Refugee problem continues to grow, as the number of children born to refugees have increased in the camps in the belief of “raising an army to destroy the Jewish infidels”, but the main problem for the Israelis to worry about is the continuation of Arab Nationalist Terrorist Organisations such as the P.L.O (Palestinian Liberation Organisation). These organisations encourages the Refugees to accept handouts from the international countries, which causes great distrust of the Jews for their actions during the 1940’s, yet some of the Arabs were disgusted at the way some of the leading countries refused to help care for the sick and wounded.
The main effects of the 1948 war are varied and some of the more long- term effects exist today. Israel still exists as a state, for the Jews it offers a homeland free from tyranny, and a safe place where they can practice their culture in the land that belongs to them completely, as it was promised to them by god. Creating the state would encourage more antagonism amongst the Arab populations, giving them a physical heartland to attack – internationally recognised by the UN, but not recognised by the Arab nations- it now causes many Palestinians to become terrorists to defeat the threat to their country “Kill the Jews wherever you find them, this is pleasing to Allah” . The Transjordan Prime Minister once wrote in a letter to the United Nations- “Our position is clear, and has been proclaimed on every occasion. It is never to allow the creation of a Jewish State in Palestine and to exclude partition. And our object is to cooperate with the other Arab States in her deliverance. Once this aim is attained, the determination of her future status is the right and concern of her own people. Theirs alone is the last word. We have no other object or aim in view”. The Muslim view is that Israel is a Naqbah (catastrophe), an affront to their religious faith. As such, Israel must be resisted by all available means and eradicated as soon as possible. This view is the basis for not only the events of 1947-1948, but . One result of the Arab attacks on the State of Israel and its Jewish population was the flight of Arabs from their homes in Israel. Even though they were encouraged to stay by the new Israeli government, and those who did remain became citizens, many fled at the urging of their Arab leaders who expected a quick victory over the Jews.
By 1967, the feelings of the local Arab population around Israel were a climate of oppression and fear at the way in which the former campaigns had been crushed so violently. Ultimately, the creation of a Jewish state had increased the amount of terrorism on the borders of Israel, and this was done under a new organisation formed from 14 different Arab states known as the P.L.O- the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. From early 1965 to the Six-Day War in June 1967, the PLO through Fatah pursued a consistent policy of border attacks, particularly along the Jordanian and Lebanese borders. Criticism of these activities by the Arab governments and by local public opinion persuaded Fatah leaders to adopt a new approach known as "the entanglement theory." This involved using sabotage to force Israel to adopt an offensive position, which in turn would force the Arabs to step up their military preparedness. This cycle of action-retaliation-reaction would lead to a gradual escalation of tension on the borders, and eventually to the Six Day War in 1967. As well as terrorism, there was much military provocation by the Arabs – especially after a peace deal was arranged between them – on March 13th President Nasser said that – “We shall not enter Palestine with its soil covered in sand. We shall enter it with its soil saturated in blood”. These promises of war exited the refugees, as they thought that the country would be returned to them, but the Israelis responded to the build-up of the troops on the Egyptian front, declaring war on the Arabs. On May 22, Egypt to all Israeli shipping and all ships bound for . This blockade cut off Israel's only supply route with Asia and stopped the flow of from its main supplier, Iran. In , the United States gave Israel assurances that it recognized the Jewish State's right of access to the Straits of Tiran. In 1957, at the UN, 17 maritime powers declared that Israel had a right to transit the Strait. Moreover, the blockade violated the Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone, which was adopted by the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea on April 27, 1958.
President Johnson expressed the belief that the blockade was illegal and unsuccessfully tried to organize an international flotilla to test it. After the war, he acknowledged the closure of the Strait of Tiran was the casus belli (June 19, 1967):“If a single act of folly was more responsible for this explosion than any other it was the arbitrary and dangerous announced decision that the Strait of Tiran would be closed. The right of innocent maritime passage must be preserved for all nations.” The Israeli forces attacked the Arab air forces on the 5th June 1967,- the Day of Independence, and with this air superiority they soon captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula – then on the 7th of June, the Israelis took control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and then captured the Golan Heights from Syria on the 9th June. On the 10th of June, after many days of embarrassment, the ceasefire ended the war.
The main effect of the Six Day War was the fact that the Israelis now controlled 100% of Palestine, and parts of Egypt and Syria. The Israelis had only lost 700 men, but more than this they had a moral boost from the victory, still proving that their armies were stronger than the Arab nations combined. The UN was unimpressed by the invasion of these areas and wanted Israel to give back the lands they gained from the Egyptians and Syrians and pull out of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Resolution 242 was passed on the 21st of June 1967, saying “UNSCR 242 calls on all parties to the conflict to negotiate a solution. It anticipates that Israel will withdraw to secure borders (not specified in the resolution) in exchange for peace guarantees from the Arab parties.” This Resolution has become the cornerstone of a peace process in the Middle East, yet obviously the Israelis continue to be reluctant to give back the lands today, as it goes against their Zionist beliefs and will probably incite more terrorism in the area. Therefore to establish their dominance of Palestinian areas, they moved the new Jewish refugees into the West Bank. Since 1967, Israeli governments have maintained a willingness to withdraw from areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in a peace agreement with the Arabs. In such a case, it was commonly expected that at least some of the settlements would have to be uprooted, just as the Israeli town of Yamit was dismantled following Israel's peace agreement with Egypt. At , Ehud Barak reportedly offered to uproot all Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and the isolated settlements on up to 95 percent of the territory of the West Bank, as part of a final status agreement. The Palestinians rejected this offer, as it goes against their own religions to accept any peace deals with the enemies.
This invasion of Arab land put over a million under the control of the Israelis, and became forced to live as second class citizens – “displaced persons” very much like the Jews had been just under a hundred years ago. 300,000 decided to leave the area, adding to the already worrying Refugee crisis. Overall the number of displaced Palestinians has risen to just under 1.5 million people. Permanent settlements have been put up in areas of Jordan and Lebanon, and have become targets of terrorism for the Jewish extremist groups, but there has been much sympathy for the Arab refugees from the international community, and continue to maintain that the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is illegal and should be given back to the Palestinians. However this wouldn’t solve any of the extremist problems within the groups, as 100% of the land is not under their control. In addition to this, Jerusalem is finally fully controlled by the Israelis, who can now practice their religion and cultures openly, but continue to allow the Muslims to worship their own prophets without fear or prejudice. There has been much controversy over who will own Jerusalem in the future, but it is fair to say that the Jews care more for the city and its inhabitants, while Muslims would worship more in the Saudi Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina.
Overall, it is important to realise the full effect of the Jewish take- over of Palestine. Within 40 years they have created their own state, and extended their lands to fully occupy Palestine, which they do to this day. The Palestinians have been driven from their homes, taunted and been humiliated through military engagement. Although they can still choose to live in the West Bank, it no longer belongs to them. The hatred of the Jews has increased dramatically over the years, and with this, the Arab tactics have changed from warfare to terrorism in a bid to anger the enemy. Therefore this is perhaps why there is so much tension today, even if the Peace deal was to succeed it would never solve the ultimate problem- shared ownership of Palestine.
