Consequences of the Arab Israel War

Consequences of the Arab Israel War

The Middle East region has been characterized by rivalry and conflict over a long period. Evidently, the most common conflict is the Arab-Israel war, According to research; historians report that the 1948 Arab-Israel was the first case in which hostility and bloodshed occurred for the prolonged period in the region β€œ ”. The war was caused by many factors, and it resulted in severe consequences. In this discussion, a close examination at the end of World War I, the fall of the Ottoman Empire will be the focus as the main causes of the war. Additionally, the Balfour Declaration, the Mandate of the British in Palestine, the Migration of the Jews and Land Appropriation, the UN Partition Vote are considered in depth as the major causes of the Arab-Israel war. On the aspect of the consequences, the discussion harbors insights about the Palestinian refugees and territorial gain for Israel. Causes of the Arab-Israel War
The Balfour Declaration
The declaration was set in in 1917 motion when the British made the promise to establish a national home for the Jews which had been the aim of the Zionist Movement from the beginning. The pledge made by Britain was a selfish move to ensure that the Palestinian ethnic group of Nakba was cleansed β€œ ”. The declaration was made during World War I in which the Britons established their mandate for Palestine which had ensued after the Ottoman Empire had been dissolved. Apparently, in the Balfour Declaration, Britain mandated the control of the emerging states to be done by the winners in World War I until they became independent. However, it was evident that the case of Palestine was unique. The British Mandate was aimed at creating a national home for the Jews who were considered to be less than 10 percent of the overall population of at the period. The European Jews were immigrated to Palestine and it was evident over the years that followed up to 1935, the population of the Jews increased drastically from 9 percent to 27 percent β€œ ”. Contrary to the promises made to the Palestine Arabs by Britain in 1915, the Balfour Declaration conflicted with the promises by ensuring Palestine would be under the British Empire. Britain had promised Palestine Arab that they were subject to their independence but the declaration becomes one of the moves which portrayed the colonization of Palestine. Since the Zionist movement was one of the developments that the Jews established in Palestine, the Palestine Arabs strongly opposed the movement and the pledges in the Balfour Declaration. Apparently, the Declaration was viewed as a way of displacing the Palestine Arabs from their land. Therefore, war broke out between the Zionists and the Palestine Arabs.
Migration of the Jews and Land Appropriation
The migration of the Jews from Britain to Palestine was facilitated by the Balfour Declaration as well as the British Mandate. Despite the increased migration, it was evident that the Arabs in Palestine still constituted the largest population by 1940s accounting for up to 70 percent of the population β€œ ”. Therefore, the Palestinian society was divided into two; the Arabs and the Jews. Considering their ethnic and religious differences, the Arabs and Jews did not war to war because of these reasons, but the war was a motivation of the struggle for land ownership. The Palestinian Arabs insisted that the land was theirs considering that they had been living in the country for over hundred years as well as the fact that they constituted the highest percentage of the population.
On the contrary, the Jewish society that was fast-growing in the Palestinian nation claimed that the land belonged to them based on the Biblical point of view. The Jewish community was growing fast, and it prompted the formation of Israel as a nation. The Jewish community established the Zionist Movement which held ideologies of land being theirs as presented by the Biblical point of view β€œ ”. A conflict ensued between the two groups which led to the Arab- Israel war. Much to the contempt of the Arabs, the influx of the Jews progressed towards the establishment of the Israel nation. The need for the Palestinian nation to harbor the Arabs and the Zionists pushed for conflict regarding land ownership, the political and religious ideological differences. Led by the fear and suspicion of each other, the communities ended up in a violent confrontation starting from 1929 . The increasing advantages for the Jews in the political, economic and social spheres increased the conflict that resulted in violent collisions later in 1948.
The U.N. Partition Vote
The initially discussed causes of the Arab-Israel war were long-term because they were gradually increased the tensions and conflict between the Arabs in Palestine and the Jews. However, it is significant to note that one factor resulted in the immediate eruption of the war. The U.N. vote to partition Palestine into two nations immediately escalated the Arab-Jewish conflict β€œ ”. The partitioning meant that the British Mandate would end in Palestine and the two states; Israel and Palestine would be independent. However, according to the recommendation by the U.N. committee, the Jewish State was supposed to be larger than the Arab State. The U.N. vote to make the Jewish sates larger than the Arab state failed to take into consideration the large population and the fact that the Arabs were the majority in Palestine β€œ ”. Therefore, they deserved a larger state than that of the Jews. Instead, the contrary was suggested in the vote. In response, the Jews protested against the decision which led to the invasion of the Arabs in the Israel state.The War
Immediately, the British Mandate was terminated in Palestine in 1948; war erupted between the Jews and the Arabs. The Arabs rejected the partition plan recommended by the United Nations. The rejection of the partition plan was the outcome of the six Arab states attacking Israel. The states include Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Syria β€œ ”. The five Arab states wanted to restore the one Palestine state as it used to be before the partitioning. The nations assembled their military forces against the small number of military troops from Israel. Despite being small in number, the Israel troops were well equipped, trained and organized. Therefore, they ended up getting the victory against the Arab troops that were characterized by disorganization, poor training, and inferior arms. After the defeat of the Arabs, the war ended with an agreement in which the Arab states signed the Armistice agreements. Therefore, they agreed to have Palestine separated into two states; Israel was comprising 77 percent of the Palestine nation while the remaining 23 percent of the Palestine nation which harbored the Arabs β€œ ”. The British lost control over the region; the Arab league split, as well as the new nation of Israel, was established to harbor the Jews.
Consequences of the Arab-Israel War
The Palestinian Refugee Problem
The establishment of the Israel state resulted in the creation of a refugee crisis of Palestinians. Considering that before the declaration of Israel as an independent state from Palestine, more than million Palestinians used to live in the land that would, later on, become part of the Israel territory β€œ ”. The partitioning of the two states resulted in the change of the citizenry of the Palestinians who lived in these regions. Some remained in camps while others moved back into the Palestinian territories to become refugees. The battle between the Arabs and the Jews ended up in a victory for the Jews and a defeat for the Arabs. Since the Arabs were defeated, they had to leave the territories of the Jews in the newly established nation of Israel. Most of the Palestinians that owned land in the regions that were considered territories of the Jewish nation were forced to move back into Palestine because of the defeat. Israel used forceful means to expel the Arabs from their nation thus, increasing the number of refugees in Palestine β€œ ”. The Jews introduced the concept of ethnic cleansing in which did not entertain individuals that were not Jews in their nation. According to the Palestinians, the war resulted in the loss of a significant portion of their homeland to the Jewish nation because of their defeat in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The territorial Gain for Israel
While one community rejoiced after the war, the other lamented of their defeat as well as their forceful exiling. The Jewish community defeated the Arabs who inhabited in the Palestinian nation, and through the victory, the country managed to gain a third of the Palestinian land. In this way, more Jews migrated to Israel from other countries. One aspect that is evident from the war is the use of military force to retain part of the Palestinian territory contrary to the partition plan β€œ ”. According to reports, the military force occupied almost 80 percent of the Palestine land that was allocated to the Arabs which accounted for 20 percent more than what was pledged in the partitioning plan of the U.N. vote.
Conclusion
The British control instigated the events that occurred since 1820 in the Middle East in the region. The Arab-Israel war was prompted by different long-term and immediate factors as noted from this discussion. Primarily, the Balfour Declaration which encouraged the migration of the Jews from Europe into Palestine set the stage for the war. The conflict on the ownership of land in Palestine and their ideological differences created confrontations and hostility between the Arabs and the Jews. Considering the increasing population of the Jews and their sophistication in social, political and economic matters resulted in further conflict in Palestine. Later, Britain sought the help of the United Nations to solve the conflict between the Arabs and the Jews which resulted in the partition of the nation and an immediate cause for the war. Finally, it is evident that war resulted in the creation of a refugee crisis as well as a territorial gain for Israel.

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