1948 Arab–Israeli War

1948 Arab-Israeli War (Arab-Israeli conflict) Attacks 15 May–10 June 1948 Date November 1947–March 1949 Location Middle East Result 1949 Armistice Agreements Belligerents Israel Egypt Syria Transjordan Lebanon Saudi Arabia Iraq Holy War Army Arab Liberation Army Commanders and leaders Yaakov Dori Yigael Yadin Glubb Pasha Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni† Hasan Salama† Fawzi al-Qawuqji Strength 29,677 initially–108,300 by December 1948 Egypt: 10,000 initially rising to 20,000 Iraq: 5,000 initially rising to 15–18,000 Syria: 2,500–5,000 Transjordan: 6,000–12,000 Lebanon: 1,000 initially rising to 2,000 (Pollack, 2004; Sadeh, 1997) Saudi: 800–1,200 An unknown number of Yemeni troops Arab Liberation Army: 3,500-6,000 Casualties and losses 6,373 (4,000 troops and about 2,400 civilians) unknown (between 5,000 and 15,000)

The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, referred to as the "War of Independence" (Template:Lang-he) or as the "War of Liberation" (Template:Lang-he) by Israelis, is the first in a series of armed conflicts fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors in the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. For Palestinians, the war marked the beginning of the events they refer to as "The Catastrophe" ("al Nakba", Template:Lang-ar). After the United Nations proposed to partition the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine into two states, Jewish and Arab, the Arabs refused to accept it and the armies of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq, supported by others, attacked the newly established State of Israel which they refused to recognize. As a result, the region was divided between Israel, Egypt and Transjordan.

Background

Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the League of Nations granted the British and the French temporary colonial administration over former Ottoman provinces south of present day Turkey. These regions had been called vilayets under the Ottomans, but were referred to as mandates at the time, after the process that allocated them. The two powers drew arbitrary borders, dividing the area into four sections. Three of these — Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon — survive to this day as states.

The fourth section was created from what had been known as "southern Syria". The region was officially named the British Mandate of Palestine, and was called "Falastin" in Arabic and "Palestina (E.I.)" in Hebrew. The British revised its borders repeatedly, but under the direction of Winston Churchill the region was divided along the Jordan River, forming two administrative regions. The portion east of the Jordan River was then known as Transjordan, and later became the Kingdom of Jordan. The area to the west of the Jordan retained the former name of Palestine.

At that time (1922) the population of Palestine consisted of approximately 589,200 Muslims, 83,800 Jews, 71,500 Christians and 7,600 others (1922 census}. However, this area gradually saw a large influx of Jewish immigrants (most of whom were fleeing the increasing persecution in Europe). This immigration and accompanying call for a Jewish state in Palestine drew violent opposition from local Arabs, in part because of Zionism's stated goal of a Jewish state, which many Arabs believed would require the subjugation or the removal of the existing non-Jewish population. Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism, at one time wrote that the indigenous population could be motivated to leave if they were given jobs in other countries. Herzl also wrote about the possibility of a harmonious partnership of Jews, Arabs and Christians in which Jewish capital and expertise would transform Palestine from its third world status into an advanced society where all would benefit. Some Zionists, such as Vladimir Jabotinsky, believed in Revisionist Zionism. Jabotinsky wrote in The Iron Wall (1923) that an agreement with the Arabs was impossible, and that military force would be required to establish a Jewish state. Other Zionists believed in Labor Zionism, and had strong socialist leanings. They organized the labor movement in Palestine, and joined with the Palestinian masses in campaigns for improved wages and working conditions.

Under the leadership of Haj Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti 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 riots (or "Hurani Riots") of 1921. During the 1929 Palestine riots, 67 Jews were massacred in Hebron, and the survivors were evacuated by the British.

The Arab Revolt (1936–1939) and its aftermath

Main article: 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, several factions of Palestinian society became impatient with the internecine divisions and ineffectiveness of the Palestinian elite and engaged in grass-roots anti-British and anti-Zionist activism organized by groups such as the Young Men's Muslim Association. There was also support for the growth in influence of the radical nationalist Independence Party (Hizb al-Istiqlal), which called for a boycott of the British in the manner of the Indian Congress Party. 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-Husayni. The death of the preacher Shaykh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam at the hands of the British police near Jenin, in November 1935, generated widespread outrage and huge crowds accompanied Qassam's body to his grave in Haifa. A few months later, a spontaneous Arab national general strike broke out. This lasted until October 1936. During the summer of that year, thousands of acres of Jewish farmland and orchards were destroyed, Jews were attacked and murdered and some Jewish communities, such as those in Beisan and Acre, fled to safer areas.

In the wake of the strike and the Peel Commission recommendation of partition of the country into a small Jewish state and an Arab state to be attached to Jordan, an armed uprising spread through the country. Over the next 18 months, the British lost control of Jerusalem, Nablus and Hebron. During this period, from 1936 to 1939, known as the Great Arab Revolt or the Great Uprising, British forces, supported by 6,000 armed Jewish auxiliary police, suppressed the widespread violence with overwhelming force. In another significant development during this time, the British officer Charles Orde Wingate (who supported a Zionist revival for religious reasons) organized Special Night Squads composed of British soldiers and Haganah volunteers, 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 Shapira. The Haganah mobilised up to 20,000 policemen, field troops and night squads; the latter included Yigal Allon and Moshe Dayan. Significantly, from 1936 to 1945, while establishing collaborative security arrangements with the Jewish Agency (see below for details), 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 formation and development of Jewish underground militias, primarily the Haganah ("The Defense"), which were to prove decisive in 1948. Secondly, it became clear 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 1939, which severely restricted Jewish immigration throughout World War II, permanently alienating the Jewish community, which could no longer cooperate with the British.

Temporary cooperation between the Mandatory government and the Jewish population

Under pressure of the Arab rebellion From 1936 through 1938, 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 (Notrim), which were divided into the 6,000 to 14,000-strong Jewish Supernumerary Police, the élite and highly mobile 6,000–8,000 strong Jewish Settlement Police and the Special Night Squads, the forerunner of the Chindits. There was also an élite strike force known as the FOSH, or Field Companies, with around 1,500 members, which were replaced by the larger HISH or Field Force in 1939. The SHAI, the intelligence and counter-espionage arm of the Haganah, was the forebear of Mossad.

Cooperation between the British and the Jewish Agency ceased after the British issued their White Paper policy.

World War II

On 6 August 1940 Anthony Eden, the Secretary of State for War, informed Parliament that the Cabinet had decided to recruit Arab and Jewish units as battalions of the Royal East Kent Regiment (the "Buffs"). At a luncheon with Chaim Weizmann on 3 September Winston Churchill 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 Rommel's advance in Egypt, the British government decided on 15 April 1941 that the 10,000 Jews dispersed in the single defense 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 Dill. The Special Operations Executive (SOE) in Cairo approved a Haganah proposal for guerrilla activities in northern Palestine led by the Palmach, as part of which Yitzhak Sadeh devised Plan North for an armed enclave in the Carmel range from which the Yishuv could defend the region and from which they could attack Nazi communications and supply lines, if necessary. British intelligence also trained a small radio network under Moshe Dayan 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 Brigade with hand-picked Jewish and also non-Jewish senior officers. On 20 September 1944, an official communique by the War Office announced the formation of the Jewish Brigade Group of the British Army. The Zionist flag was officially approved as its standard. It included more than 5,000 Jewish volunteers from Palestine organized into three infantry battalions and several supporting units.

As soon as the war ended, British policy reverted to that of the period immediately before the war and arms were confiscated and some Haganah members were arrested and tried, one notable case being that of Eliahu Sacharoff who received a sentence of seven years' imprisonment for possession of two more cartridges than his firearms licence allowed.

Twilight of colonial rule in the region

Meanwhile, many of the surrounding Arab nations were also emerging from colonial rule. Transjordan, under the Hashemite ruler Abdullah, gained independence from Britain in 1946, but it remained under heavy British influence. The British placed Abdullah's half-brother Faisal on the throne in Iraq. The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 included provisions by which Britain would maintain a garrison of troops on the Suez Canal. 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 Arabia, Syria, Transjordan, and Yemen formed the Arab League to coordinate policy between the Arab states. Iraq and Transjordan coordinated policies closely, signing a mutual defense 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

Main article: 1947 UN Partition Plan

On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly approved a plan, UN General Assembly Resolution 181, to resolve the Arab-Jewish conflict by partitioning the British Mandate of 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. In consideration of its religious significance, the Jerusalem area, including Bethlehem, was assigned to an international zone to be administered by the UN. Although both Jews and Arabs criticized aspects of the plan, the resolution was welcomed by most of the Jewish population, including the Jewish Agency, but was considered unacceptable by the Arab population in Palestine and by the surrounding Arab states.

Political objectives of the protagonists

The Arab Higher Committee of Amin al-Husayni

Main article: Amin al-Husayni

The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husayni, the Chairman of the Arab Higher Committee collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II. In 1940, he asked 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 World War II 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." In the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, such statements by Arab leaders (along with the Mufti's violently antisemitic history) led to a widespread belief that the Jews were facing a new “warrant for genocide.”

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 Damascus in February 1948 to organize Palestinian Field Commands; however, the commanders of his Holy War Army, Hasan Salama and Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, were allocated only the Lydda district and Jerusalem. 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 [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-Husayni, on 8 April.

Following rumors 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 Government in Gaza 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 Transjordan.

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 to be disbanded. Glubb Pasha carried out the order ruthlessly and efficiently.

King Abdullah of Transjordan

When the international Arab forces met in Damascus on May 13-14 to discuss their military strategy, Abdullah insisted on the title of Supreme Commander of the Arab Forces, and with this power, Abdullah shaped the Arabs' plan according to his own goal to conquer in the name of Jordan the parts of mandate Palestine defined by the UN Partition Plan to be the new Palestinian state. Because the British supported Abdullah in this endeavor, Abdullah refrained "from violating the territory allocated to the Jewish state, so as not to embarrass his British patrons."

Arab League

The Arab League or League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية‎), is an organization of predominately Arab states (compare Arab world). Headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, the League's charter states that the League shall co-ordinate economic affairs, including commercial relations; communications; cultural affairs; nationality, passports, and visas; social affairs; and health affairs. The Charter of the Arab League also forbids member states from resorting to force against each other. Seven states formed the Arab League on March 22, 1945, defining its main goals as to: Serve the common good of all Arab countries, ensure better conditions for all Arab countries, guarantee the future of all Arab countries and fulfill the hopes and expectations of all Arab countries.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom played a small role if any, in the conflict. The Israelis were able to inherit three boeing bomber aircraft which aided in achieving a limited air support. Several British officers and soldiers from World War II were Jewish and consequently these experienced men put their skills into the fight. The United Kingdom abstained from voting in the U.N. when Israel declared its independence. Also, Britain was one of the last nations to recognize Israel as an independent nation. What their actually motives were are unknown.

Initial balance of forces

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 kingdoms, would ultimately be overcome by the Arab world".

On 12 May David Ben-Gurion was told by his chief military advisers that Israel's chances of winning a war against the Arab states was only about even (הצ'אנסים שקולים מאד).

Yishuv forces

By November 1947, the Haganah was an underground paramilitary force that had existed as a highly organised, national force since the riots of 1929 (also known as the Hebron Massacre), and Uprising of 1936–39 It had a mobile force, the HISH, 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 Palmach 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, or guard force), composed of people aged more than 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. Despite these numbers, Haganah was extremely short of arms, all of which had to be smuggled into the country or manufactured in secret workshops.

The two clandestine groups Irgun and Lehi had, respectively, 2,000–4,000 and 500–800 members. 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.

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 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 grenades, 16,000 submachine guns (Sten Guns) and 210 three-inch mortars". Still, however, before the arrival of arms shipments from Czechoslovakia as part of Operation Balak, there was roughly one weapon for every three fighters and even the Palmach armed only two out of every three of its active members. Initially, the Haganah had no heavy machine guns, artillery, armoured vehicles, anti-tank or anti-aircraft weapons.

Arab forces

Arab Palestinian 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 100 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".

Arab Liberation Army

Main article: Arab Liberation Army

The Arab Liberation Army (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-Qawuqji. Its officially allotted area was Northern Palestine, including Samaria.

Transjordan

Transjordan's Arab Legion 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 Transjordanian Frontier Force.

Iraq

In 1948, Iraq had an army of 21,000 men in 12 brigades and the Iraqi Air Force had 100, mostly British, planes. Initially the Iraqis committed 5,000 men to the war effort including four infantry brigades, one armoured battalion and support personnel. Ultimately, the Iraqi expeditionary force numbered around 15,000 to 18,000 men.

The first Iraqi forces to be deployed reached Transjordan in April 1948 under the command of Gen. Nur ad-Din Mahmud. On 15 May Iraqi engineers built a pontoon bridge across the Jordan River and attacked the Israeli settlement of Gesher with little success. Following this defeat Iraqi forces moved into the Nablus-Jenin-Tulkarm strategic triangle, where they suffered heavy casualties in the Israeli attack on Jenin which began on 3 June, but managed to hold on to their positions. Active Iraqi involvement in the war effectively ended at this point.

Egypt

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-Mwawi. This force consisted of five infantry battalions, one armoured battalion equipped with British Mark IV and Matilda 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 Spitfires, 4 Hawker Hurricanes and 20 C47s 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 artillery pieces.

Syria

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 Force had fifty planes, the 10 newest of which were World War II-generation models.

On 14 May Syria invaded Palestine with the 1st Infantry Brigade supported by a battalion of armoured cars, a company of French R 35 and R 37 tanks, an artillery battalion and other units. On 15–16 May they attacked the Israeli village Zemach, which they captured, following a renewed offensive, on 18 May. The village was abandoned following Syrian forces' defeat at the Deganias a few days later. Subsequently, the Syrians scored a victory at Mishmar HaYarden on 10 June after which they reverted to a defensive posture, conducting only a few minor attacks on small, exposed Israeli communities.

Lebanon

The Lebanese army was the smallest of the Arab armies, with four infantry battalions of 400-450 soldiers each plus support personnel. Three battalions were positioned along the border but only one of those was engaged in serious battles. They captured the Jewish village of Malikiyya (700 meters inside Palestine) on May 13-14, and lost it again on May 28-29. They were also involved in fighting with Israeli forces inside Lebanon. An armistice agreement was signed on 23 March 1949.

Saudi Arabia and Yemen

Saudi Arabia sent a contingent of 800–1,200 men to fight with Egyptian forces.

Yemen also committed a small expeditionary force to the war effort.

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 RAF 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.

Phases of the War

First phase: 29 November 1947–1 April 1948

On the day following the adoption of the UN resolution, seven Jews were killed by Arabs in Palestine in three separate incidents: at 8 o'clock in the morning, in what came to be seen as the opening shots of the 1948 War, three Arabs attacked a bus from Netanya to Jerusalem, killing five Jewish passengers. Half an hour later, a second bus attack left one passenger dead. Later in the day a twenty-five-year old man was shot dead in Jaffa, where wild rumors spread about alleged attacks on Arabs by Jews. Arab prisoners also attempted to assault Jews in Acre prison, but were beaten back by guards. In Jerusalem the Arab Higher Committee called a three-day general strike from Tuesday, 2 December to be followed by mass demonstrations after Friday prayers. The Committee's statement included eight resolutions, the last of which called on the British Government "to hand over Palestine forthwith to its Arab people". On 2 December a mob looted and burned shops in the Jewish commercial district in Jerusalem, unopposed by British forces. From the beginning of the strike onwards Arab and Jewish clashes escalated and by 11 December the Jerusalem correspondent of The Times estimated that at least 130 people had died, "about 70 of them being Jews, 50 Arabs, and among the rest three British soldiers and one British policeman".

As the end of British involvement in Palestine drew nearer and attacks on them by Irgun and Lehi increased, their intervention grew steadily more inconsistent and reluctant. Two British deserters, Eddie Brown, a police captain who claimed that the Irgun had killed his brother, and Peter Madison, an army corporal, are known to have taken part in car bomb attacks on the Palestine Post on 1 February and on a shopping crowd in Ben-Yehuda Street on 22 February. British deserters also fought with Jewish units; most notably with Yitzhak Sadeh's Eighth Armored Brigade along with Moshe Dayan.

At the same time, violence steadily increased as both Jews and Arabs engaged in sniping, raids, and bombings that cost many lives on both sides. Between 30 November 1947 and 1 February 1948 427 Arabs, 381 Jews, and 46 British were killed and 1,035 Arabs, 725 Jews, and 135 Britons were wounded. In March 1948 alone, 271 Jews and 257 Arabs were killed.

Over the months following the partition, larger organized forces became increasingly engaged. The Arab Legion, still officially a unit of the British Army, attacked a Jewish civilian bus convoy at Beit Nabala on 14 December. Three weeks later the first Arab irregulars arrived and the Arab leadership began to organize Palestinians in order to wage guerrilla war against the Jewish forces. The largest group was a volunteer army, the Arab Liberation Army, created by the Arab League and led by a pro-German Arab nationalist Fawzi Al-Qawuqji. In January and February, Arab irregular forces attacked Jewish communities in northern Palestine but achieved no substantial successes.

Siege of Jerusalem

The Arabs concentrated their efforts on cutting off roads to Jewish towns and Jewish neighborhoods in areas with mixed populations, especially in Jerusalem, where one sixth of the country's Jews lived. They also massacred several Jewish convoys on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road. Major Jewish institutions were bombed, including the Jewish Agency headquarters and the Palestine Post. As many as one hundred people were killed in the bombing of Ben Yehuda Street. By the end of March, municipal authorities concluded that 1,400 Jews had been killed in the city and on the roads leading to it.

The Haganah armed itself with arms bought from Czechoslovakia (see Operation Balak). The Yishuv began working on a plan called Plan Dalet (or Plan D) aimed at relieving the city.

Second phase: 1 April 1948–15 May 1948

Jewish forces proved to be militarily stronger than the Arabs expected, and, by May, their forces were attacking Arab towns and villages controlling roads to isolated Jewish populations, especially in Jerusalem.

The road to Jerusalem was interdicted by Arab fighters located in the villages surrounding the road. The city of Jerusalem was under siege by the Arabs. Numerous convoys of trucks bringing food and other supplies to the besieged city were attacked. In Operation Nachshon, the Haganah continued its attacks on Arab fighters co-located with civilians, and temporarily opened the road to Jerusalem (20 April).

Some of these villages along Jerusalem road were attacked and demolished. The 9 April Deir Yassin massacre, by Irgun and Lehi forces, of at least 107 Arabs was denounced by Ben-Gurion. Some claim the denouncement was part of an attempt to distance himself and the Haganah from the attackers, possibly to gain political advantage in the struggle to lead the as yet unformed Israeli state. In any case, the events at Deir Yassin caused panic amongst Arab villagers, causing many to flee. While this may have benefited the Jewish forces, who then encountered less resistance from depopulated villages, it also inflamed public opinion in Arab countries, providing those countries further reason for sending regular troops into the conflict. Four days later, on 13 April, the Arabs launched a strike on a medical convoy traveling to Hadassah Hospital. Around 77 doctors, nurses, and other Jewish civilians were massacred.

To lift the siege, the Jewish forces (guided by the American Army Colonel David (Mickey) Marcus) constructed the "Burma Road" (named for the road built by the Allies from Burma to China during World War II), a make-shift winding road through the difficult mountains to Jerusalem. The Burma Road allowed the Jewish forces to relieve the Arab siege on 9 June, just days before the United Nations negotiated a cease-fire.

Meanwhile, frantic diplomatic activity took place between all parties. On 10 May Golda Meir represented the Yishuv in the last of a long series of clandestine meetings between the Zionists and Transjordan's King Abdullah. Whereas for months there had been a tacit agreement between the Zionists and Transjordan to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, with Transjordan taking over the Arab areas, at the 10 May meeting Abdullah offered the Yishuv leadership only autonomy within an enlarged Hashemite kingdom. This was unacceptable to the Jewish leadership. Nevertheless, with one exception, the Transjordanian army refrained from attacking the designated Jewish areas of Palestine in the ensuing war.

On 13 May, the Arab League met and agreed to send regular troops into Palestine when the Mandate expired. Abdullah of Transjordan was named as the commander-in-chief of the Arab armies, but the various Arab armies remained largely uncoordinated throughout the war.

Third phase: 14 May 1948–11 June 1948

The British mandate over Palestine was due to expire on 15 May, but Jewish Leadership led by future Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, declared independence on 14 May. The State of Israel declared itself as an independent nation, and was quickly recognized by the Soviet Union, the United States, and many other countries.

Over the next few days, approximately 1,000 Lebanese, 5,000 Syrian, 5,000 Iraqi, 10,000 Egyptian troops invaded the newly-established state. Four thousand Transjordanian troops invaded the Corpus Separatum 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, Libya 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 US and the Soviets called the Arab states' entry into Palestine illegal aggression, UN secretary general Trygve Lie characterized it as "the first armed aggression which the world had seen since the end of the [Second World] War." China 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

(Source: Bregman, 2002, p. 24 citing Ben Gurion's diary of the war)

On 26 May 1948, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) was officially established and the Haganah, Palmach and Etzel were dissolved into the army of the new Jewish state.

Jordanian artillery shells Jerusalem in 1948.

As the war progressed, the IDF managed to field more troops than the Arab forces. By July 1948, the IDF was fielding 63,000 troops; by early spring 1949, 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 Avir (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 Aviv called Sde Dov, with the first ground support operation (in an R.W.D. 13) taking place on 17 December. The Galilee Squadron was formed at Yavniel 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 Force, but, during the first few weeks of the war, its fleet of light planes was no match for Arab T-6s, Spitfires, C-47s and Arab 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. 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-199s from Czechoslovakia, the first of which arrived in Israel on 20 May. This created the ironic situation of the young Jewish state using Nazi-designed Bf-109 derivatives to help counter the Egyptian Spitfires. 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, and the IDF had superiority in firepower and 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 communities, until reinforcements and weapons arrived.

File:John Glubb Pasha.jpg

General John Glubb commanded the Arab Legion (1939–1956)

Jewish Quarter residents evacuating the Old City through the Zion Gate, May 1948

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 communities (the most notable battle was on Mishmar Haemek), and instead took defensive positions around Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarm.

In the north, the Syrian army was blocked in the kibbutz Degania, where the settlers managed to stop the Syrian armored forces only with 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.

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.

First truce: 11 June 1948–8 July 1948

The UN declared a truce on 29 May which came into effect on 11 June and would last 28 days. The cease-fire was overseen by the UN mediator Folke Bernadotte. An arms embargo was declared with the intention that neither side would make any gains from the truce. At the end of the truce, Folke Bernadotte presented a new partition plan that would give the Galilee to the Jews and the Negev to the Arabs. Both sides rejected the plan. On 8 July, Egyptian forces resumed warfare, thus re-starting the fighting.

Fourth phase: 8 July 1948–18 July 1948

The ten days at the height of the summer between the two truces were dominated by large scale Israeli offensives and a defensive posture from the Arab side. Operation Dani was the most important one, aimed at securing and enlarging the corridor between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv by capturing the roadside cities Lydda (later renamed Lod) and Ramle. Following their capture, the residents of Lydda and Ramle, some 50,000 Palestinians, were forced to leave the city by the Israelis, in the largest single exodus of the war.

The second plan was Operation Dekel whose aim was to capture the lower Galilee including Nazareth. The third plan, to which fewer resources were allocated, Operation Kedem was to secure the Old City of Jerusalem.

Operation Dani

Lydda (Lod) was mainly defended by the Transjordanian Army, but also local Palestinian militias and the Arab Liberation Army were present. The city was attacked from the north via Majdal al-Sadiq and al-Muzayri'a and from the east via Khulda, al-Qubab, Jimzu and Danyal. Bombers were also used for the first time in the conflict to bombard the city. On 11 July 1948, the IDF captured the city.

The next day, 12 July 1948 Ramle also fell to the hands of Israel.

On 15 July–16 July, an attack on Latrun took place but did not manage to occupy the stronghold. A desperate second attempt occurred (18 July) by units from the Yiftach Brigade equipped with armored vehicles, including two Cromwell tanks, 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 center, 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 Lake Kinneret was captured by Israel.

Operation Kedem

Originally, the operation was to be launched on 8 July, immediately after the first truce, by Irgun and Lehi, but it was delayed by David Shaltiel, possibly because he did not trust their ability after their failure to capture Deir Yassin without Haganah's assistance.

The Irgun forces that were commanded by Yehuda Lapidot (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 Zion.

The battle was planned to begin on the Sabbath, at 20:00 Friday 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 in the morning, Shaltiel ordered a retreat and a cessation of hostilities.

Second truce: 18 July 1948–15 October 1948

19:00 18 July, the second truce of the conflict went into effect after intense diplomatic efforts by the UN.

On 16 September, Folke Bernadotte proposed a new partition for Palestine in which Transjordan would annex Arab areas including the Negev, al-Ramla, and Lydda. 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 and his deputy, American Ralph Bunche, replaced him.

Fifth phase: 15 October 1948–20 July 1949

Israeli operations

Between 15 October and 20 July, Israel launched a series of military operations in order to drive out the Arab armies and secure the borders of Israel.

October battles

File:הנפת דגל הדיו.jpg

Israeli soldiers raise the Ink Flag in Eilat

On 24 October, the IDF launched Operation Hiram and captured the entire Upper Galilee, driving the ALA and Lebanese army back to Lebanon. It was a complete success and at the end of the month, Israel had not only managed to capture the whole Galilee but had also advanced 5 miles into Lebanon to the Litani River.

On 15 October the IDF launched Operation Yoav in the northern Negev. 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 whole Negev. Operation Yoav was headed by the Southern Front commander Yigal Allon. 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 Ashdod. On 22 October the Israeli Navy commandos sunk the Egyptian flagship Amir Faruk.

On 22 December, the IDF drove the remaining Egyptian forces out of Israel, by launching Operation Horev (also called Operation Ayin). The goal of the operation was to liberate the entire Negev from Egyptian presence, destroying the Egyptian threat on Israel's southern communities and forcing the Egyptians into a cease-fire after all the Negev was liberated.

The operation was a decisive Israeli victory, and Israeli raids into the Nitzana and the Sinai peninsula forced the Egyptian army, which was encircled in the Gaza Strip, to withdraw and accept cease-fire. On 7 January 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 Eilat was built later) and conquered it without a battle. The Negev Brigade and Golani Brigade took part in the operation. They raised an ink-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 Commission. However, parts of the resolution were never implemented, resulting in the Palestinian refugee problem. This problem was exacerbated by many of the refugees being unable to prove their previous residence, and among them many were seasonal migrant workers that had no permanent home.

British Airplanes

Just before noon on 7 January 1949, five RAF Spitfire FR. 18s from 208 Squadron on routine reconnaissance in the Dir El-Ballah 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 Canada respectively. Later that day, four RAF Spitfires from the same squadron escorted by seven No. 213 Squadron Tempests and another eight Tempests from No. 6 Squadron, searching for the lost planes from No. 208 Squadron were attacked by four Israeli Air Force Spitfires and one of the Tempests was shot down, killing its pilot David Tattersfield. Another Tempest was damaged by an IAF plane flown by Ezer Weizman. There was only one other clash between the IAF and the RAF during the war when a No. 13 Squadron Mosquito PR. 34 on a photo-reconnaissance mission over Israel was shot down on 20 November 1948 by an Israeli P-51 Mustang flown by Waine Peake.

Aftermath

1949 Armistice Agreements

In 1949, Israel signed separate armistices with Egypt on 24 February, Lebanon on 23 March, Transjordan on 3 April, and Syria on 20 July. As a result of the wars, the State of Israel comprises 78% of Mandatory Palestine, 50% 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.

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 5,000 and 15,000 people.

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See also

• 1922 Text: League of Nations Palestine Mandate
• 1947 UN Partition Plan
• 1949 Armistice Agreements
• Arab-Israeli conflict
• Balfour Declaration 1917
• British Mandate of Palestine
• Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, May 14 1948
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Jewish exodus from Arab lands
• List of villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
• List of Israeli military operation in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
• List of massacres committed during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
• Plan Dalet
• Map comparing 1947 partition plan borders with 1949 armistice lines

People involved in the war

• Yigal Allon
• David Ben-Gurion
• Folke Bernadotte
• Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni
• Glubb Pasha
• Fawzi al-Qawuqji
• David Shaltiel

External links

• Resources > Modern Period > 20th Cent. > History of Israel > State of Israel > The Wars > War of Independence The Jewish History Resource Center, Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• About the War of Independence
• United Nations: System on the Question of Palestine
• Palestinian viewpoint
• Israeli viewpoint
• PLO position This link is 404.
• The BBC on the UN Partition Plan
• The BBC on the Formation of Israel
• Interview with Israeli historian Benny Morris
• Israel at War Current events and news about Israel's wars
• Brief video of the Grand Mufti and Hitler on YouTube, describing his association with Nazi Germany and the goal of exterminating the Jews as part of the background context of the 1948 War

Maps

• Arab invasion May 15 1948
• Israeli military operations May 15 - 11 June 1948
• Israeli military operations July 8 - 18, 1948
• July 18 1948 - November 1948
• Operation AYIN December 22 1948 - January 7 1949