The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 marked the beginning of the Arab-Israeli conflict. I will focus on how the creation of the state of Israel increased tensions between the Arabs and the Jews, in the period 1947-1956, as it led to the War of Independence, a refugee crisis, increased immigration and the Suez Crisis.
Plans for the creation of Israel began after Britain announced that it was withdrawing from Palestine and handing control to The United Nations. As a result, UNSCOP was created and on the 29th November 1947 they voted in favour of Resolution 181. The resolution proposed a ‘Jewish State covering 56.47% of Palestine… and an Arab State covering 43.53% of Palestine’ (1) whilst Jerusalem would remain under the control of The …show more content…
After the Deir Yassin massacre, which saw ‘600 villagers’ (7) killed by the Stern Gang and Irgun, and the war following the UN resolution, ‘a general terror was built up among the Arabs.’ (8) Encouraged by their Arab leaders, and driven by fear, the first wave of refugees left of their own free will. However, many believe that the majority of the 700,000 refugees were expelled by force and terrorised into leaving by the Israelis in order to seize land for the new state. However, in a speech the Chief Israeli representative to the United Nations stated “The Arab refugee problem was caused by a war…launched by the Arab States…Once you have determined the responsibility for that war, you have determined the responsibility for the refugee problem.” (9) This source implies that the Israelis believed that they had no role in the creation of the refugee crisis; however, this source may not be highly reliable as an Israeli representative is unlikely to say anything that discredits the Israeli cause and so may not be a truly accurate representation. However, in context this source would have been likely to represent the view of the majority of Israelis at the time and is useful for gaining a different perspective on the conflict. ‘Two-thirds of [refugees] found refuge in the remaining 22.8 percent of Palestine controlled by Arab forces after the war…around 300,000 other refugees found themselves in the surrounding Arab …show more content…
I believe the following quotation that describes how the Arabs “would fight for every inch of their country” holds a significant amount of weight, in comparison to all the sources, as it embodies the root cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict and both sides determination to defend what they believe is rightfully
Plans for the creation of Israel began after Britain announced that it was withdrawing from Palestine and handing control to The United Nations. As a result, UNSCOP was created and on the 29th November 1947 they voted in favour of Resolution 181. The resolution proposed a ‘Jewish State covering 56.47% of Palestine… and an Arab State covering 43.53% of Palestine’ (1) whilst Jerusalem would remain under the control of The …show more content…
After the Deir Yassin massacre, which saw ‘600 villagers’ (7) killed by the Stern Gang and Irgun, and the war following the UN resolution, ‘a general terror was built up among the Arabs.’ (8) Encouraged by their Arab leaders, and driven by fear, the first wave of refugees left of their own free will. However, many believe that the majority of the 700,000 refugees were expelled by force and terrorised into leaving by the Israelis in order to seize land for the new state. However, in a speech the Chief Israeli representative to the United Nations stated “The Arab refugee problem was caused by a war…launched by the Arab States…Once you have determined the responsibility for that war, you have determined the responsibility for the refugee problem.” (9) This source implies that the Israelis believed that they had no role in the creation of the refugee crisis; however, this source may not be highly reliable as an Israeli representative is unlikely to say anything that discredits the Israeli cause and so may not be a truly accurate representation. However, in context this source would have been likely to represent the view of the majority of Israelis at the time and is useful for gaining a different perspective on the conflict. ‘Two-thirds of [refugees] found refuge in the remaining 22.8 percent of Palestine controlled by Arab forces after the war…around 300,000 other refugees found themselves in the surrounding Arab …show more content…
I believe the following quotation that describes how the Arabs “would fight for every inch of their country” holds a significant amount of weight, in comparison to all the sources, as it embodies the root cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict and both sides determination to defend what they believe is rightfully