History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

The region of Palestine had been under British control (as part of a League of Nations mandate) since the end of World War I. After World War II, the British, nearly bankrupt, began dismantling their empire. The British turned to the United Nations to address the issue of Palestine.

Nearly half a million Jews resided in Palestine in the late 1940s, with many more refugees arriving every day from Europe (Peretz 35). Two plans were presented at the United Nations. One called for a federation of autonomous Jewish and Arab states, with power divided between the states and the central government. The other plan called for partition of Palestine, with the Jewish state allotted 5,700 square miles and the Palestinian state allotted 4,300 square miles. Though Arabs outnumbered Jews, the UN committee reasoned that the flood of refugees from Europe would result in a greater Jewish population.

The Arabs were vehemently opposed to the partition plan and warned of war if it were implemented. Nonetheless, the partition plan passed, setting off a civil war in Palestine. The British, desperate to abandon the situation entirely, stood back. No matter what, on May 15, they were going to pull out.

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s and Israelis engaged in frequent border clashes. Those skirmishes reached their peak in the mid-1950s, and that, coupled with rising Arab nationalism, prompted a bold move by Israel and its allies, Britain and France. Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser had nationalized the Suez Canal and entered into an alliance with the Soviet Union. The British and French wanted Nasser out because they were the main beneficiaries of the canal, while the Israelis feared his rising power. As a pretext, Israel invaded Egypt in 1956, prompting Britain and France to issue warnings that, unless the fighting stopped, they would intervene. Israel accepted the ultimatum of its allies, Egypt did not, and in came British and French troops to reclaim the canal. Nasser suffered a crushing military defeat but emerged with a diplomatic triumph when the Americans and Soviets forced the invaders to withdraw. NasserÆs stature in the Arab world only increased, though Israel had achieved two major goals: defeat of the biggest Arab nation and freedom of navigation in the Gulf of Aqaba (Peretz 60-61). Meanwhile, the Palestinians had become quite disenchanted with their Arab allies and began to form organizations to advance their interests. The Arab Leagu
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2466
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)