rom then until the war ended, more than 600,000 Palestinians fled areas that had been allotted to the Jewish state. Jewish leaders celebrated their good fortune, for many had feared that Arab inhabitants in a Jewish state would constitute a ôfifth columnö of dissent (Flapan 83). Debate rages to this day as to whether the Palestinians fled because of fear, a call from their leaders, or Israeli tactics designed to chase them out. Whatever the reason, it opened up spots for the arriving Jewish immigrants and helped insure a Jewish character for the nascent state.
From the beginning, Israel has claimed a willingness to talk with its neighbors. This image of Israel, hand extended in peace, contrasted with the seeming intransigence of the Arabs. Eban (91) writes that ôthere was no powerful incentive for the Arab states to make peace.ö Such an image, however, may not have been accu
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