War Of Independence: 1948

The Israelites have long dreamed of a nation of their own and will obtain it through the War of Independence. The partition of Palestine proposed by the United Nations created conflict that could only resolved by war. When the Palestinians rejected the partition, the Jewish people and Arabs embarked on warfare even before Israel was declared a state. In November of 1947, the Jewish People were put against Arab armies from Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. The British colonialists, who were previously in control of the region, admitted they could do little to help, and they left the fighting to the Jewish People. The Arabs nations were all in agreement that the region desired by the Jewish people was property of the Palestinians. On May 6, 1948, the Arabs attacked a Jewish settlement at Kfar Etzion. The Arabs massacred the defenders. Although from this battle the Jewish people suffered great defeat, they still managed to prevail because the Arabs were “poorly armed and poorly trained, and they lacked the will to fight.” On June 11, 1948, a truce was declared and Israel won its independence. The following year, 1949, there was still sporadic fighting but the Arab nations grudgingly agreed to acknowledge Israel's borders and an uneasy peace fell over the Middle East.