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Israel: Kingdom & State

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Sarah
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« on: February 14, 2007, 12:02:01 am »

The State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info); Medinat Yisra'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةْ إِسْرَائِيل‎, Dawlat Isrā'īl) is a country in Western Asia on the southeastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a parliamentary democracy and the world's only Jewish state.

Name


The name "Israel" is rooted in the Hebrew Bible, where Jacob is renamed Israel after wrestling with a mysterious adversary.[2] The biblical nation fathered by Jacob was then called "The Children of Israel" or the "Israelites". Citizens of the modern State of Israel are referred to, in English, as "Israelis".

In an interlinear, literal translation of Genesis 32:28, the first mention of the word "Israel" in the Bible reads as follows: "And-he-is-saying not Jacob he-shall-be-said further name-of-you but rather Israel that you-are-upright with Elohim and with mortals and-you-are-prevailing."[3] Thus one literal translation of ישראל, Israel, is "Upright (with) God" (ישר-אל; Ishr-al).
« Last Edit: February 14, 2007, 12:05:15 am by Sarah » Report Spam   Logged

"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand fail..." - King David, Psalms 137:5

http://www.zwoje-scrolls.com/shoah/index.html

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« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2007, 12:10:39 am »

The Kingdom of Israel Hebrew: מַלְכוּת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard Hebrew Malḫut Yisraʼel, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ Yiśrāʼēl) was the Kingdom proclaimed by the Israelite nation around 1030-1020 BCE.

Biblical Account of Israel's Origins


According to the Biblical account, Israel is descended from Hebrew slaves who left the Land of Goshen, Egypt during the Exodus at an uncertain date, often considered to be in the late 13th century BCE. Prior to the establishment of the kingdom, the Hebrew people, (the Israelites) were led by the patriarchs and later by Judges. The notion of kingship was for a long time anathemetised, as it was seen as one man being put in a position of reverence and power that in their faith was reserved for the one true God. According to the Bible, it was Samuel, one of the last of the judges, to whom the nation appealed for a king, as his sons, who had been appointed judges over Israel, misused the office. Although he tried to dissuade them, they were resolute and Samuel anointed Saul ben Kish from the tribe of Benjamin as king.

Other Biblical references seem more amicable to the regal structure, accepting the eventual reality and putting restrictions on his behaviour in Deuteronomy 17:14.

United Monarchy

Approximate area under direct central royal administration during the United MonarchyAround 1025 BC, the children of the patriarch Jacob (Israel) united to form the Kingdom of Israel. Saul was the first King of Israel. He unified the tribes under a single Israelite authority, but, according to the first book of Samuel, due to his disobedience to God, he ruled for only two years, although some manuscripts read forty-two years (cf. the New Testament, which gives him a reign of forty years). The original figure, based on the number of battles ascribed to him, was probably twenty-two years, and has become corrupt (Finkelstein and Silberman, 2006).

David, the third King of Israel and the first king of Judah, established Jerusalem as Israel's national capital around 3,000 years ago. Before then, Hebron had been the capital of David's Judah and Mahanaim of Ishbaal's Israel, and before that Gibeah had been the capital of the United Monarchy under Saul.

David succeeded in truly unifying the Hebrew tribes, and firmly consolidated the monarchical government. He embarked on successful military campaigns against Israel's enemies, and defeated bitter foes such as the Philistines, thus creating secure borders for Israel. David established a central government in Jerusalem, a standing army, judiciaries across the land, and a sophisticated infrastructure.

Under King David, Israel grew from Kingdom to Empire, and its military and political sphere of influence in the Middle East expanded greatly, as it controlled a number of weaker client states around it.

The fourth King of Israel and the second of Judah, Solomon, (meaning "one whose peace is his" in Hebrew), is portrayed as a wise leader in the Hebrew Bible. Solomon constructed the First Temple in Jerusalem. His reign was a time of peace for Israel.

Following Solomon's death, tensions between the northern part of Israel, containing the ten northern tribes, and the southern section, dominated by Jerusalem and the southern tribes, increased, and around 931 BC, Israel split into two kingdoms: Israel in the north and Judah in the south. See also History of ancient Israel and Judah.

Soon after the death of Solomon, the prophecy of Ahijah (1 Kings 11:31-35) was fulfilled with the division of the kingdom. Rehoboam, the son and successor of Solomon, was scarcely seated on his throne when the old jealousies between Judah and the other tribes broke out anew, and Jeroboam was sent for from Egypt by the malcontents (12:2,3).

Rehoboam insolently refused to lighten the burdensome taxation and services that his father had imposed on his subjects (12:4), and the rebellion became complete. The Tribe of Ephraim and all Israel raised the old cry, "Every man to his tents, O Israel" (2 Samuel 20:1). Rehoboam fled to Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:1-18; 2 Chronicles 10), and Jeroboam was proclaimed king over all Israel at Shechem, with the Tribe of Judah and the Tribe of Benjamin remaining faithful to Rehoboam. War continued, with varying success, between the two kingdoms for about sixty years, until Jehoshaphat allied himself with the house of Ahab through marriage. Later, his son and successor Jehoram of Judah married Ahab's daughter Athaliah, cementing the alliance. The sons of Ahab were slaughtered by Jehu following his Coup d'état.

Extent of the Kingdom

Map of the southern Levant, c.800 BCE.The area of Solomon's kingdom, excluding the Phoenician territories on the shore of the Mediterranean, is usually agreed to not have much exceeded 34,000 km² (13,000 square miles). The kingdom of Israel encompassed about 24,000 km² (9,375 square miles). However, a minority of biblical literalists grant a much larger land area for his empire. [1] Shechem was the first capital of this kingdom (1 Kings 12:25), afterwards Tirza (14:17). Samaria was subsequently chosen as the capital (16:24), and continued as such until the destruction of the kingdom by the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:5). During the siege of Samaria (lasting for three years) by the Assyrians, Shalmaneser V died and was succeeded by Sargon II of Assyria, who himself records the capture of that city thus: "Samaria I looked at, I captured; 27,280 men who dwelt in it I carried away" (2 Kings 17:6) into Assyria. Thus, after a duration of two hundred fifty-three years, the kingdom of the nine tribes came to an end. They were scattered throughout the East, and are popularly known as the Lost ten tribes of Israel.

"Judah held its ground against Assyria for yet one hundred and twenty-three years, and became the rallying-point of the dispersed of every tribe, and eventually gave its name to the whole race. Those of the people who in the last struggle escaped into the territories of Judah or other neighbouring countries naturally looked to Judah as the head and home of their race. And when Judah itself was carried off to Babylon, many of the exiled Israelites joined them from Assyria, and swelled that immense population which made Babylonia a second Judah".
After the deportation of the ten tribes, the vacated land was colonized by various eastern tribes, especially Syrians, whom the king of Assyria sent there (Ezra 4:2, 10; 2 Kings 17:24-29).

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"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand fail..." - King David, Psalms 137:5

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http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/
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« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2007, 12:12:24 am »

The Kings of Israel

For this period, most historians follow either of the older chronologies established by William F. Albright or Edwin R. Thiele, or the newer chronology of Gershon Galil, all of which are shown below. All dates are BCE.

Albright dates Thiele dates Galil dates Common/Biblical name Regnal Name and style Notes

The House of Saul
c.1021–1000 c.1030–1010 Saul שאול בן-קיש מלך ישראל
Shaul ben Qysh, Melek Ysra'el Killed in battle
c.1000 c.1010–1008 Ishbaal
(Ish-boseth) איש-בשת בן-שאול מלך ישראל
Ishba'al ben Shaul, Melek Ysra'el Assassinated

The House of David
c.1000–962 c.1008–970 David דוד בן-ישי מלך ישראל
David ben Yishai, Melekh Ysra’el Son-in-law of Saul, brother-in-law of Ish-boseth
c.962–c.922 c.970–931 Solomon שלמה בן-דוד מלך ישראל
Shelomoh ben David, Melekh Ysra'el Son of David by Bathsheba, his rights of succession were disputed by his older half-brother Adonijah
Israel was divided into northern (Israel) and southern (Judah) kingdoms

The House of Jeroboam
922–901 931–910 931–909 Jeroboam I ירבעם בן-נבט מלך ישראל
Yerav’am ben Nevat, Melekh Yisra’el
901–900 910–909 909–908 Nadab נדב בן-ירבעם מלך ישראל
Nadav ben Yerav’am, Melekh Yisra’el Assassinated

The House of Baasha
900–877 909–886 908–885 Baasha בעשא בן-אחיה מלך ישראל
Ba’asha ben Achiyah, Melekh Yisra’el
877–876 886–885 885–884 Elah אלה בן-בעשא מלך ישראל
’Elah ben Ba’asha, Melekh Yisra’el Assassinated

The House of Zimri
876 885 884 Zimri זמרי מלך ישראל
Zimri, Melekh Yisra’el Servant of Elah, ruled for 7 days, committed suicide

The House of Omri
876–869 885–874 884–873 Omri עמרי מלך ישראל
’Omri, Melekh Yisra’el Captain of the Hosts. "Khumri" in some foreign records, founder of a new dynasty.
869–850 874–853 873–852 Ahab אחאב בן-עמרי מלך ישראל
Ah’av ben ’Omri, Melekh Yisra’el Sent troops against the Assyrians in the Battle of Karkar, 853; killed in siege
850–849 853–852 852–851 Ahaziah אחזיהו בן-אחאב מלך ישראל
’Ahazyahu ben 'Ah’av, Melekh Yisra’el
849–842 852–841 851–842 Joram יורם בן-אחאב מלך ישראל
Yoram ben ’Ah’av, Melekh Yisra’el Assassinated

The House of Jehu
842–815 841–814 842–815 Jehu יהוא בן-נמשי מלך ישראל
Yehu ben Nimshi, Melekh Yisra’el See Note 1
815–801 814–798 819–804 Jehoahaz יהואחז בן-יהוא מלך ישראל
Yeho’ahaz ben Yehu, Melekh Yisra’el
801–786 798–782 805–790 Jehoash
(Joash) יואש בן-יואחז מלך ישראל
Yeho’ash ben Yeho’ahaz, Melekh Yisra’el Jehoash paid tribute to King Adad-nirari III of Assyria (810–783).
786–746 782–753 790–750 Jeroboam II ירבעם בן-יואש מלך ישראל
Yerav’am ben Yeho’ash, Melekh Yisra’el Israel at the height of its power
746 753 750–749 Zachariah זכריה בן-ירבעם מלך ישראל
Zekharyah ben Yerav’am, Melekh Yisra’el Assassinated

The House of Jabesh
745 752 749 Shallum שלם בן-יבש מלך ישראל
Shallum ben Yavesh, Melekh Yisra’el
[edit]The Last Houses of Israel
745–738 752–742 749–738 Menahem מנחם בן-גדי מלך ישראל
Menahem ben Gadi, Melekh Yisra’el
738–737 742–740 738–736 Pekahiah פקחיה בן-מנחם מלך ישראל
Pekahyah ben Menahem, Melekh Yisra’el Assassinated
737–732 740–732 736–732 Pekah פקח בן-רמליהו מלך ישראל
Pekah ben Remalyahu, Melekh Yisra’el Assassinated
732–722 732–722 732–722 Hoshea הושע בן-אלה מלך ישראל
Hoshe’a ben ’Elah, Melekh Yisra’el Deposed. See Note 2


Notes


1. Jehu: Considered to be a contemporary of the Assyrian King Shalmaneser III (858–824) to whom he paid tribute. This is based on an inscription on The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III showing "Yaua" son of Omri paying tribute, dated to 841 BCE.

2. Hoshea: Paid tribute to the Assyrian King Shalmaneser V (727–722 BCE) but rebelled in 725 BCE. Shalmaneser besieged the capital, Samaria, but died shortly before the fall of the city. His brother Sargon II (722–705 BCE) completed the siege with success in 722, making Judah the sole remaining Hebrew kingdom. The ten tribes were exiled to other parts of the Assyrian Empire and never heard from again in recorded history. A small group of people fled south to take refuge in Judah.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Israel
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« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2007, 12:13:57 am »

Judea or Judaea (יהודה "Praise", Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) (Greek: Ιουδαία), (Latin: Iudaea) is a term used for the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael), an area now divided between Israel and the West Bank, and, in a few geographical definitions of Judea, Jordan.

In modern times, the name "Yehudah" may be used by Hebrew speakers to refer to a large southern section of Israel and the West Bank, or in the combined term Judea and Samaria to refer specifically to the West Bank.

The area was the site of the ancient Kingdom of Judah and the later Kingdom of Judea, a client-kingdom of the Roman Empire. The name Judea is a Greek and Roman adaptation of the name Judah and was originally applied to the whole of historic Palestine, but by the time of the New Testament it had been limited in scope to the south of the region.

Historical boundaries

The original boundaries were "Bethsûr" (near Hebron), on the south; Bethoron (today Beit Ur al Fawka in the West Bank), on the north; Emaüs, on the west (a few miles west of Jerusalem); the Jordan River on the east.

The historian Josephus used a more expanded definition, encompassing the lower half of what is now the West Bank in the north down to Beer Sheba in the south, and bordered on the east and west by the Mediterranean and the Jordan river.


Geography

Judea is a mountainous and arid region, much of which is considered to be a desert. It varies greatly in height, rising to an altitude of 1,020 m (3,346 ft) in the south at Mount Hebron, 19 miles (30 km) southwest of Jerusalem, and descending to as much as 400 m (1,312ft) below sea level in the east of the region. Major cities in the region include Jerusalem, Beitar Illit, Bethlehem, Efrata, Gush Etzion, Jericho and Hebron.

Geographers divide Judea into several distinct regions: the Hebron hills, the Jerusalem saddle, the Bethel hills and the Judean desert east of Jerusalem, which descends in a series of steps to the Dead Sea. In ancient times the hills were forested and the Bible records agriculture and sheep farming being practiced in the area. Animals are still grazed today, with shepherds moving them between the low ground to the hilltops (which have more rainfall) as summer approaches. The region dried out over the centuries and much of the ancient tree cover has since disappeared.


History

Human settlement in Judea stretches back to the Stone Age and the region is believed by paleoanthropologists to have been one of the routes through which homo sapiens travelled out of Africa to colonise the rest of the world around 100,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence of human settlement dates back 11,000 years in the case of the city of Jericho, believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world. In historic times, the region was inhabited by a number of peoples, most famously the Israelites. Judea is central to much of the narrative of the Torah, with the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob said to have been buried at Hebron in the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

In historic times, Judea was ruled by the Kingdom of Judah and later by the Kingdom of Judea, a client-kingdom of the Seleucid dynasty of Persia. It gained its independence briefly in the mid-2nd century BCE and again from 140 BCE. During the 1st century BCE Judea lost its autonomy to the Roman Empire by becoming first a client kingdom, then a province of the Empire.

For the history of Judaea under Roman rule, see Iudaea.

The region was conquered by Muslim Arabs in 640 but fell to the Crusaders in 1099. Arab control was restored in 1291. In 1516, the expanding Ottoman Empire took control of Judea, which it retained until the British defeated the Turks at the Battle of Megiddo on the site of the Biblical Battle of Armageddon.

It then became part of the British Mandate of Palestine, with the territory of Judea split between British-ruled Palestine and the autonomous Emirate of Transjordan (a territorial unit within the Mandate, later to become the independent Kingdom of Jordan). Jordan became independent in 1946, and the United Nations formed a plan to partition the remaining British mandate of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states in 1947. Jordan captured most of the Arab Palestinian partition following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, leaving only the Jewish partition under British mandate. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950 (though this annexation was recognized only by the United Kingdom and Pakistan) and remained part of Jordan until the 1967 Six-Day War, when it was taken by Israeli forces. This part of Judea is now generally known outside Israel as the West Bank - a name given to it by Jordan after 1948 which denotes that Judea and Samaria are located to the west of the Jordan river, as opposed to most of the territory of Jordan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judea
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http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/
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« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2007, 12:14:44 am »

Chronology
• until 63 BCE - independent Jewish state
• 63 BCE-6 CE - client kingdom of Rome
• 6-41 - Roman province
• 26-36 - procurator Pontius Pilatus
• 41-44 - ruling of Herod Agrippa (client king)
• 44-48 - Roman province Iudaea
• 48-100 - ruling of Herod Agrippa II (client king)
• 66-73 - First Jewish-Roman War
• 70 - Destruction of the Second Temple and fall of Jerusalem
• 73 - Fall of Masada
• 100 onwards - Roman province Iudea
• 115-117 - Kitos War
• 132-135 - Bar Kokhba's revolt
• 135 - Judea renamed Syria Palaestina by emperor Hadrian
• 400-638 - Byzantian Christian province
• 638 - Beginning of Muslim Arab rule
• 1099 - The Crusaders conquer the region
• 1291 - Defeat of the Crusaders and reassertion of Muslim rule
• 1516 - Beginning of Ottoman rule
• 1917 - Defeat of the Ottomans; beginning of British rule
• 1919 - Incorporation into the British Mandate of Palestine
• 1946 - Separation and independence of Trans-Jordan from the Mandate
• 1947 - United Nations partition plan for the remaining territory of Palestine
• 1948 - Historic Judea is captured by Trans-Jordan, the entire country is renamed into Jordan
• 1967 - Historic Judea is captured by Israel


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« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2007, 12:15:35 am »

Wars between the Jews and Romans: the subjugation of Judaea (63 BCE)

The Hasmonaean kingdom
(©**)
There have been several military engagements between the Jews and the Romans:
• the Roman general Pompey subdued Judaea in 63 BCE (after which it became a client kingdom)
• in 6 CE, the emperor Augustus deposed king Archel aus, and his governor of Syria, Quirinius, established the province of Judaea (which became a prefecture)
• in 66, a serious rebellion started, which led to the destruction of the Temple (September 70); this war was described by Flavius Josephus in his Jewish War
• a little later, the Romans took the fortress Masada (in 74)
• in 115, the Levantine Jews revolted against emperor Trajan
• when the emperor Hadrian forbade circumcision, Simon bar Kochba started a Messianic war, which lasted until 136. It meant the end of the multiform Judaism of the first century.
This is the first of seven documents, dealing with the first of the above mentioned engagements.

http://www.livius.org/ja-jn/jewish_wars/jwar01.htm
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« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2007, 12:16:28 am »

Kingdom of Judah

Kingdom of Judah (Hebrew מַמלְכת יְהוּדָה, Standard Hebrew Mamlkut Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ Yəhûḏāh) in the times of the Hebrew Bible, was the nation formed from the territories of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin after the Kingdom of Israel was divided, and was named after Judah, son of Jacob (Israel). The name Judah itself means Praise of God.


Map of the southern Levant, c.800 BCE. The territory of the Kingdom of Judah is marked dark red.Judah is often referred to as the Southern Kingdom to distinguish it from the Northern Kingdom (being the Kingdom of Israel) after the division of the Kingdom. Its capital was Jerusalem. See History of ancient Israel and Judah.

When the disruption took place at Shechem, at first only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David. But very soon after the tribe of Benjamin joined the tribe of Judah, and Jerusalem became the capital of the new kingdom (Joshua 18:28), which was called the kingdom of Judah.

For the first sixty years, the kings of Judah aimed at re-establishing their authority over the kingdom of the other ten tribes, so that there was a state of perpetual war between them. For the following eighty years, there was no open war between them. For the most part, they were in friendly alliance, co-operating against their common enemies, especially against Damascus. After the destruction of Israel, Judah continued to exist for about a century and a half until its final overthrow in (586 BC) by Nebuzar-adan, who was captain of Nebuchadnezzar's body-guard (2 Kings 25:8-21), an event which also saw the destruction of the First Temple.

The kingdom maintained a separate existence for three hundred and eighty-nine years. It occupied an area of about 8,900 km² (3,435 square miles).

Government of ancient Israel

The king of ancient Israel was not an absolute monarch. By tradition, the King was required to obey the laws of the Torah, which includes both religious laws and 'secular' laws; this was the first recorded instance of the rule of law in any nation.

The ministers of the king were not allowed to listen to the king if he commanded to break any laws.

However, the king had certain rights that the average citizen did not have, such as being allowed to create a thoroughfare through private property.

The king could be tried by the sanhedrin, the supreme court of Israel. This right originally applied to all kings of Israel, but was limited to kings of the house of King David when King Yanai of the house of Hasmoneans intimidated the sanhedrin.

The king had certain laws that he had to follow over and above the rest of the nation, such as having to always have a Torah scroll with him, and having limits on the amount of money and horses he was allowed to have.

The Jewish hope for a Messiah is that a king arise from the house of David who, while ruling over the people of Israel, will follow the laws of the Torah and build its institutions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_ancient_Israel
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« Reply #7 on: February 14, 2007, 12:17:32 am »

The Kings of Judah

For this period, most historians follow the chronology established by William F. Albright, by Edwin R. Thiele, or by Gershon Galil, all of which are shown below. All dates are BCE.

Albright dates Thiele dates Galil dates Common/Biblical Name Regnal name and style Notes

1000–962 1010–970 David דוד בן-ישי מלך ישראל
David ben Yishai, Melekh Ysra’el King of a united Israel
962–922 970–931 Solomon שלמה בן-דוד מלך ישראל
Shelomoh ben David, Melekh Ysra’el King of a united Israel - Son of David by Bathsheba, his rights of succession were disputed by his older half-brother Adonijah
922–915 931–913 931–914 Rehoboam רחבעם בן-שלמה מלך יהודה
Rehav’am ben Shlomoh, Melekh Yehudah
915–913 913–911 914–911 Abijam אבים בן-רחבעם מלך יהודה
’Aviyam ben Rehav’am, Melekh Yehudah
913–873 911–870 911–870 Asah אסא בן-אבים מלך יהודה
’Asa ben ’Aviyam, Melekh Yehudah
873–849 870–848 870–845 Jehoshaphat יהושפט בן-אסא מלך יהודה
Yehoshafat ben ’Asa, Melekh Yahudah
849–842 848–841 851–843 Jehoram יהורם בן-יהושפט מלך יהודה
Yehoram ben Yehoshafat, Melekh Yahudah Killed
842–842 841–841 843–842 Ahaziah אחזיהו בן-יהורם מלך יהודה
’Ahazyahu ben Yehoram, Melekh Yehudah Killed by Yehu, King of Israel
842–837 841–835 842–835 Athaliah עתליה בת-עמרי מלכת יהודה
‘Atalyah bat ‘Omri, Malkat Yehudah Queen Mother, wife of Jehoram; died in a coup
837–800 835–796 842–802 Jehoash יהואש בן-אחזיהו מלך יהודה
Yehoash ben ’Ahazyahu, Melekh Yehudah Killed by his servants
800–783 796–767 805–776 Amaziah אמציה בן-יהואש מלך יהודה
’Amatzyah ben Yehoash, Melekh Yehudah Assassinated
783–742 767–740 788–736 Uzziah
(Azariah) עזיה בן-אמציה מלך יהודה
‘Uziyah ben ’Amatzyah, Melekh Yehudah
עזריה בן-אמציה מלך יהודה
‘Azaryah ben ’Amatzyah, Melekh Yehudah George Syncellus wrote that the First Olympiad took place in Uzziah's 48th regnal year
742–735 740–732 758–742 Jotham יותם בן-עזיה מלך יהודה
Yotam ben ‘Uziyah, Melekh Yehudah
735–715 732–716 742–726 Ahaz אחז בן-יותם מלך יהודה
’Ahaz ben Yotam, Melekh Yehudah The Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III records he received tribute from Ahaz; compare 2 Kings 16:7-9; Fate unknown
715–687 716–687 726–697 Hezekiah חזקיה בן-אחז מלך יהודה
Hizqiyah ben ’Ahaz, Melekh Yehudah Contemporary with Sennacherib of Assyria, and Merodach-baladan of Babylon (but see note 1, below)
687–642 687–643 697–642 Manasseh מנשה בן-חזקיה מלך יהודה
Menasheh ben Hizqiyah, Melekh Yehudah Mentioned in Assyrian records as a contemporary of Esarhaddon.
642–640 643–641 642–640 Amon אמון בן-מנשה מלך יהודה
’Amon ben Menasheh, Melekh Yehudah Assassinated
640–609 641–609 640–609 Josiah יאשיהו בן-אמון מלך יהודה
Yo’shiyahu ben ’Amon, Melekh Yehudah Died in battle at Megiddo against Necho II of Egypt.
609 609 609 Jehoahaz
(Ahaz) יהואחז בן-יאשיהו מלך יהודה
Yeho’ahaz ben Yo’shiyahu, Melekh Yehudah
אחז בן-יאשיהו מלך יהודה
’Ahaz ben Yo’shiyahu, Melekh Yehudah
609–598 609–598 609–598 Jehoiakim יהויקים בן-יאשיהו מלך יהודה
Yehoyaqim ben Yo’shiyahu, Melekh Yehudah The Battle of Carchemish occurred in the fourth year of his reign (Jeremiah 46:2)
598 598 598–597 Jehoiachin
(Jeconiah) יהויכין בן-יהויקים מלך יהודה
Yehoyakhin ben Yehoyaqim, Melekh Yehudah
יכניהו בן-יהויקים מלך יהודה
Yekhonyahu ben Yehoyaqim, Melekh Yehudah Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians and Jehoiachin deposed on March 16, 597 BC. Called 'Jeconiah' in Jeremiah and Esther
597–587 597–586 597–586 Zedekiah צדקיהו בן-יהויכין מלך יהודה
Tzidqiyahu ben Yo’shiyahu, Melekh Yehudah The last king of Judah. Deposed, blinded and sent into exile; fate unknown. See note 2, below.


Notes


Hezekiah: contemporary with Sennacherib of Assyria, and Merodach-baladan of Babylon.
Zedekiah: King during the second rebellion (588–586 BCE). Jerusalem was captured after a lengthy siege, the temple burnt, Zedekiah taken into exile and Judah was reduced to a province. Nebuchadnezzar had left Gedaliah as his governor, who was killed in one last revolt, and the few members of the ruling classes left from the kingdom of Judah took the prophets Jeremiah and Baruch with them as they fled to sanctuary in Egypt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Judah
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« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2007, 12:18:23 am »

From the end of the kingdom to the present
After the end of the ancient kingdom the area passed into foreign rule, apart from brief periods, under the following powers:

586–539 BC: Babylonian Empire
539–332 BC: Persian Empire
332–305 BC: Empire of Alexander the Great
305–198 BC: Ptolemaics
198–141 BC: Seleucids
141–37 BC: The Hasmonean state in Israel established by the Maccabees, since 63 BC under Roman supremacy
37 BC–AD 70: Herodian Dynasty ruling Judea under Roman supremacy (37 BC-AD 6, AD 41-44), interchanging with direct Roman rule (6-41, 44-66). This ended in the first Jewish Revolt of 66 - 73, which saw the Temple destroyed in 70.
AD 70–395: province of Roman Empire first called Judea, after 135 called Palaestina. In 395 the Roman Empire is split into a Western and an Eastern part.
395–638: Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire
638–1099: Arab Caliphates and subject rulers
1099–1187: Crusader states, most notably the Kingdom of Jerusalem
1187–1260: dominated by the Ayyubides of Egypt
1260–1516: dominated by the Mamluks of Egypt
1516–1917: Ottoman Turks, having previously conquered the Byzantine Empire in 1453
1918–1948: British mandate of Palestine under, first, League of Nations, then, successor United Nations; the Emirate of Trans-Jordan was separated from the rest of Palestine in 1922, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan became independent upon the expiration of the League of Nations Mandate in 1946.
May 1948 to present: independent State of Israel
1948-1967 the West Bank was occupied by, and in 1950 annexed to, Jordan. Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt
1967 to present: the West Bank and Gaza Strip occupied by Israel in the Six Day War, since :1994 a semi-autonomous Palestinian Authority governs territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
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« Reply #9 on: February 14, 2007, 12:19:33 am »

Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel
 
David Ben Gurion (First Prime Minister of Israel) publicly pronouncing the Declaration of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948. Tel Aviv, Israel, beneath a large portrait of Theodore Herzl, founder of modern political Zionism.

State of Israel

The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948, was the official announcement that a new Jewish state, named the State of Israel (Medinat Yisrael in Hebrew), had been formally established in the British Mandate of Palestine, the land where the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah had once been.


It has been called the start of the "Third Jewish Commonwealth" by some observers. The "First Jewish Commonwealth" ended with the destruction of Solomon's Temple, and the second with the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem two thousand years ago.

Historical background

The Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel was publicly read in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948, before the expiration of the British Mandate of Palestine at midnight.
It was drafted during the preceding months, and the final version was a result of a compromise between the various parts of the Israeli public of that time. On May 14, 1948, the Vaad Leumi (Jewish National Council) gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and approved the proclamation.

However, "On May 12, the Jewish national administration was convened in order to decide whether to accept the American proposal for a truce or to declare the new state. ... [A] vote was taken and the decision to declare independence forthwith was supported by six of the ten voting members." (pages 5 & 7 of "The Evolution of the Israeli-Egyptian Rivalry, 1948-1979" by Professor of Political Science Dr. Zeev Maoz of Tel-Aviv University [[1]]).

The new state and its government was recognized de facto minutes later by the United States and three days later de jure by the Soviet Union (Stalin thought a communist or communist-oriented Jewish state could be a useful "thorn in the back" to his capitalist rivals in the Middle East).

It was however opposed by many others, particularly Arabs (both the surrounding Arab states and the Palestinian Arabs) who felt it was being established at their expense.


The declaration is written in a style reminiscent of UN resolutions, beginning with preambulatory sentences explaining the causes for the declaration and the right of Jews to an independent country, and then operative sentences detailing the attributes of the forthcoming State of Israel.


Context of the Declaration of the State of Israel
The document commences by drawing a direct line from Biblical times to the present:

...the Land of Israel, was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.
It acknowledges the Jewish exile over the millennia, mentioning both ancient "faith" and new "politics":

After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.
It speaks of the urge of Jews to return to their ancient homeland:


Impelled by this historic and traditional attachment, Jews strove in every successive generation to re-establish themselves in their ancient homeland. In recent decades they returned in their masses.
It describes Jewish immigrants to Israel in the following terms:

Pioneers ... and defenders, they made deserts bloom, revived the Hebrew language, built villages and towns, and created a thriving community controlling its own economy and culture, loving peace but knowing how to defend itself, bringing the blessings of progress to all the country's inhabitants, and aspiring towards independent nationhood.
In 1897, at the summons of the spiritual father of the Jewish State, Theodore Herzl, the First Zionist Congress convened and proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to national rebirth in what it claimed to be its own country. This right was supported by the British government in the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917 and re-affirmed in the Mandate of the League of Nations which, in particular, gave international sanction to the historic connection between the Jewish people and Palestine and to the right of the Jewish people to rebuild its National Home.
The European Holocaust of 1939 - 1945 is part of the imperative for the re-settlement of the homeland:

The catastrophe which recently befell the Jewish people—the massacre of millions of Jews in Europe—was another clear demonstration of the urgency of solving the problem of its homelessness by re-establishing in Israel the Jewish State, which would open the gates of the homeland wide to every Jew and confer upon the Jewish people the status of a fully privileged member of the community of nations.
Survivors of the Nazi Holocaust in Europe, as well as Jews from other parts of the world, continued to migrate to Israel, undaunted by difficulties, restrictions and dangers, and never ceased to assert their right to a life of dignity, freedom and honest toil in their national homeland.


In World War II, the Jewish community of Palestine supported the Allied Forces against the Axis Powers, and in particular against the Nazis, while some members of the Arab Palestinian community supported the Nazis. The declaration goes on to say:

"the Jewish community of this country contributed its full share to the struggle of the freedom- and peace-loving nations against the forces of Nazi wickedness and, by the blood of its soldiers and its war effort, gained the right to be reckoned among the peoples who founded the United Nations.
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a Jewish State in Israel, requiring the inhabitants of Israel to take such steps as were necessary on their part for the implementation of that resolution. This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish people to establish their State is irrevocable.


On the issues of sovereignty and self-determination:

This right is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign State.
Thus members and representatives of the Jews of Palestine and of the Zionist movement upon the end of the British Mandate, by virtue of "natural and historic right" and based on the United Nations resolution ... Hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in the land of Israel to be known as the State of Israel.
...Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the "Ingathering of the Exiles"; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.


The new state pledged that it will take steps to bring about the economic union of the whole of Eretz-Israel and appealed:

in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months - to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions. We extend our hand to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighbourliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.
A final appeal is made to the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora to rally round the Jews of Eretz-Israel in the tasks of immigration and upbuilding and to stand by them in the struggle for the realization of their age-old dream, the redemption of Israel.

Concluding by "Placing our trust in the Rock of Israel [language which was the result of a compromise between religious and secular groups]..." the signatories affixed their signatures. First to sign was David Ben-Gurion, and some of the famous names associated with the founding of the state: Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Golda Myerson (Meir), Rabbi Yehuda Leib Hacohen Fishman, Moshe Sharett.


 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_the_Establishment_of_the_State_of_Israel
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« Reply #10 on: February 14, 2007, 12:21:34 am »

1948 Arab-Israeli War

The 1948 Arab-Israeli War is referred to as the "War of Independence" (Hebrew: מלחמת העצמאות) or as the "War of Liberation" (Hebrew: מלחמת השחרור) by Israelis. For Palestinians, the war marked the beginning of the events referred to as "The Catastrophe" ("al Nakba," Arabic: النكبة). After the United Nations partitioned the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine into two states, Jewish and Arab, the Arabs refused to accept it and the armies of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq, supported by others, attacked the newly established State of Israel. It was the first in a series of open wars in the Arab-Israeli conflict. As a result, the region was divided between Israel, Egypt and Transjordan.

Background


Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the League of Nations granted the British and the French temporary colonial administration over former Ottoman provinces south of present day Turkey. These regions had been called vilayets under the Ottomans, but were referred to as mandates at the time, after the process that allocated them. The two powers drew arbitrary borders, dividing the area into four sections. Three of these -- Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon -- survive to this day as states.

The fourth section was created from what had been known as "southern Syria." The region was officially named the British Mandate of Palestine, and was called "Falastin" in Arabic and "Palestina (E.I.)" in Hebrew. The British revised its borders repeatedly, but under the direction of Winston Churchill the region was divided along the Jordan River, forming two administrative regions. The portion east of the Jordan River was then known as Transjordan, and later became the Kingdom of Jordan. The area to the west of the Jordan retained the former name of Palestine.

At this time (1922) the population of Palestine consisted of approximately 589,200 Muslims, 83,800 Jews, 71,500 Christians and 7,600 others (1922 census [1]). However, this area gradually saw a large influx of Jewish immigrants (most of whom were fleeing the increasing persecution in Europe). This immigration and accompanying call for a Jewish state in Palestine drew violent opposition from local Arabs, in part because of Zionism's stated goal of a Jewish state, which would require the subjugation or the removal of the existing non-Jewish population. Theodor Herzl at one time wrote that the indigenous population could be motivated to leave if they were given jobs in other countries. Herzl also wrote about the possibility of a harmonious partnership of Jews, Arabs and Christians in which Jewish capital and expertise would transform Palestine from its third world status into an advanced society where all would benefit. Some Zionists, such as Vladimir Jabotinsky, believed in Revisionist Zionism. Jabotinsky wrote in The Iron Wall (1923) that an agreement with the Arabs was impossible, and that military force would be required to establish a Jewish state. Other Zionists believed in Labor Zionism, and had strong socialist leanings. They organized the labor movement in Palestine, and joined with the Palestinian masses in campaigns for improved wages and working conditions.

Under the leadership of Haj Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, the local Arabs rebelled against the British, and attacked the growing Jewish population repeatedly. These sporadic attacks began with the riots in Palestine of 1920 and Jaffa riots (or "Hurani Riots") of 1921. During the riots in Palestine of 1929, 67 Jews were massacred in Hebron, and the survivors were driven out.

The Great Arab Revolt (1936-1939) and its aftermath


In the late 1920s and early 1930s several factions of Palestinian society became impatient with the internecine divisions and ineffectiveness of the Palestinian elite and engaged in grass-roots anti-British and anti-Zionist activism organized by groups such as the Young Men's Muslim Association. There was also support for the growth in influence of the radical nationalist Independence Party (Hizb al-Istiqlal), which called for a boycott of the British in the manner of the Indian Congress Party. Most of these initiatives were contained and defeated by notables in the pay of the Mandatory Administration, particularly the mufti and his cousin Jamal al-Husayni. The death of the preacher Shaykh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam at the hands of the British police near Jenin in November 1935 generated widespread outrage and huge crowds accompanied Qassam's body to his grave in Haifa. A few months later a spontaneous Arab national general strike broke out. This lasted until October 1936. During the summer of that year thousands of Jewish-farmed acres and orchards were destroyed, Jews were attacked and killed and some Jewish communities, such as those in Beisan and Acre, fled to safer areas.[2] In the wake of the strike and the Peel Commission recommendation of partition of the country into a small Jewish state and an Arab state to be attached to Jordan, an armed uprising spread through the country. Over the next 18 months the British lost control of Jerusalem, Nablus and Hebron. During this period from 1936-1939, known as the Great Arab Revolt or the "Great Uprising", British forces, supported by 6,000 armed Jewish auxiliary police,[3] suppressed the widespread riots with overwhelming force. This resulted in the deaths of 5,000 Palestinians and the wounding of 10,000. In total 10 per cent of the adult male population was killed, wounded, imprisoned, or exiled (see Khalidi, 2001). The Jewish population suffered 400 killed; the British 200. In another significant development during this time the British officer Charles Orde Wingate (who supported a Zionist revival for religious reasons[4]) organized Special Night Squads composed of British soldiers and Haganah volunteers, which "scored significant successes against the Arab rebels in the lower Galilee and in the Jezreel valley"[5] by conducting raids on Arab villages. The squads were known for an excessive and indiscriminate use of force, much of which has been documented by Israeli academic Anita Shapira.[6] The Haganah mobilised up to 20,000 policemen, field troops and night squads; the latter included Yigal Allon and Moshe Dayan. Significantly, from 1936 to 1945, whilst establishing collaborative security arrangements with the Jewish Agency (see below for details), the British confiscated 13,200 firearms from Arabs and 521 weapons from Jews.[7]

In assessing the overall impact of the revolt on subsequent events Rashid Khalidi argues that its negative effects on Palestinian national leadership, social cohesion and military capabilities contributed to the outcome of 1948 because "when the Palestinians faced their most fateful challenge in 1947-49, they were still suffering from the British repression of 1936-39, and were in effect without a unified leadership. Indeed, it might be argued that they were virtually without any leadership at all".[8]

The attacks on the Jewish population by Arabs had three lasting effects: First, they led to the formation and development of Jewish underground militias, primarily the Haganah ("The Defense"), which were to prove decisive in 1948. Secondly, it became clear that the two communities could not be reconciled, and the idea of partition was born. Thirdly, the British responded to Arab opposition with the White Paper of 1939, which severely restricted Jewish immigration. However, with the advent of World War II, even this reduced immigration quota was not reached. The White Paper policy also radicalized segments of the Jewish population, who after the war would no longer cooperate with the British.
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« Reply #11 on: February 14, 2007, 12:23:26 am »

Initial balance of forces

Military assessments


Benny Morris has argued that although, by the end of 1947, the Palestinians "had a healthy and demoralising respect for the Yishuv's military power" they believed in decades or centuries "that the Jews, like the medieval crusader kingdoms, would ultimately be overcome by the Arab world".[25]

Summarising the military assessments of the British, Jewish Agency and the Arabs, Morris writes, "all observers - Jewish, British, Palestinian Arab, and external Arab - agreed on the eve of the war that the Palestinians were incapable of beating the Zionists or of withstanding Zionist assault. The Palestinians were simply too weak.[26]

However, on 12 May Ben Gurion was told by his chief military advisers (who tended to overestimate the strength of Arab armies) that Israel's chances of winning a war against the Arab states was only about even ('הצ'אנסים שקולים מאד).[27]


Yishuv forces

In November 1947, the Haganah was an underground paramilitary force that had existed as a highly organised, national force since the riots of 1920-21, riots of 1929 (also known as the Hebron Massacre), and Great Uprising of 1936-39[28] It had a mobile force, the HISH, which had 2,000 full time fighters (men and women) and 10,000 reservists (all aged between 18 and 25) and an elite unit, the Palmach composed of 2,100 fighters and 1,000 reservists. The reservists trained 3-4 days a month and went back to civilian life the rest of the time. These mobile forces could rely on a garrison force, the HIM (Heil Mishmar, or guard force), composed of people aged more than 25. The Yishuv's total strength was around 35,000 with 15,000 to 18,000 fighters and a garrison force of roughly 20,000.[29] The two clandestine groups Irgun and Lehi had respectively 2000-4000 and 500-800 members. There were also several thousand men and women who had served in the British Army in World War II who did not serve in any of the underground militias but would provide valuable military experience during the war.[30]

Few of the units had been trained by December 1947.[31]

In 1946 Ben-Gurion decided that the Yishuv would probably have to defend itself against both the Palestinian Arabs and neighbouring Arab states and accordingly began a "massive, covert arms acquisition campaign in the West". By September 1947 the Haganah had "10,489 rifles, 702 light machine-guns, 2,666 submachine guns, 186 medium machine-guns, 672 two-inch mortars and 92 three-inch mortars" and acquired many more during the first few months of hostilities. The Yishuv also had "a relatively advanced arms producing capacity," that between October 1947 and July 1948 "produced 3 million 9mm bullets, 150,000 mills grenades, 16,000 submachine guns (Sten Guns) and 210 three-inch mortars".[32] Still, however, before the arrival of arms shipments from Czechoslovakia as part of Operation Balak, there was roughly one weapon for every three fighters and even the Palmach armed only two out of every three of its active members. Initially, the Haganah had no heavy machine guns, artillery, armoured vehicles, anti-tank or anti-aircraft weapons.[33]


Arab forces

Arab Palestinian forces


There was no national military organisation in the Arab Palestinian community. There were two paramilitary youth organizations, the pro-Husayni Futuwa and the anti-Husayni Najjada (auxiliary corps). According to Karsh, these groups had 11,000-12,000 members[34], but according to Morris, the Najjada, which was based in Jaffa and had 2000-3000 members, was destroyed in the run-up to the 1948 war, during Husayni's attempt to seize control of it, and the Futuwa never numbered more than a few hundred.[35] At the outbreak of the war, new local militia groups, the National Guard, mushroomed in towns and cities. Each was answerable to its local Arab National Committee.[36]

In December, Abd al-Qadir Husseini arrived in Jerusalem with one hundred combatants who had trained in Syria and that would form the cadre of the Holy War Army. His forces were joined by a few hundred young villagers and veterans of the British army.[37]

The equipment of the Palestinian forces was very poor. The British confiscated most of their arsenal during the 1936-39 rebellion and World War II[38] A report of 1942 by the Haganah intelligence service assessed the number of firearms at the disposal of the Palestinian at 50,000 (...) [but] this was probably an overestimate[39] or even "highly exaggerated".[40]


Arab Liberation Army

Approx. 6,000


Transjordan

Transjordan's Arab Legion was considered the most effective Arab force. Armed, trained and commanded by British officers, this 8,000-12,000 strong force was organised in four infantry/mechanised regiments supported by some 40 artillery pieces and 75 armoured cars. Until January 1948, it was reinforced by the 3,000-strong Transjordanian Frontier Force.[41]


Iraq

In 1948 Iraq had an army of 21,000 men in 12 brigades and the Iraqi Air Force had 100, mostly British, planes. Initially the Iraqis committed 5,000 men to the war effort including four infantry brigades, one armoured battalion and support personnel. Ultimately, the Iraqi expeditionary force numbered around 15,000 to 18,000 men.[42]

The first Iraqi forces to be deployed reached Transjordan in April, 1948 under the command of Gen. Nur ad-Din Mahmud. On 15 May Iraqi engineers built a pontoon bridge across the Jordan River and attacked the Israeli settlement of Gesher with little success. Following this defeat Iraqi forces moved into the Nablus-Jenin-Tulkarm strategic triangle, where they suffered heavy casualties in the Israeli attack on Jenin which began on 3 June, but managed to hold on to their positions. Active Iraqi involvement in the war effectively ended at this point.[43]


Egypt

In 1948 Egypt was able to put a maximum of around 40,000 men into the field, 80 per cent of its military-age male population being unfit for military service and its embryonic logistics system being limited in its ability to support ground forces deployed beyond its borders. Initially, an expeditionary force of 10,000 men was sent to Palestine under the command of Maj. Gen. Ahmed Ali al-Mwawi. This force consisted of five infantry battalions, one armoured battalion equipped with British Mark IV and Matilda tanks, one battalion of sixteen 25-pounder guns a battalion of eight 6-pounder guns and one medium-machine-gun battalion with supporting troops.

The Egyptian Air Force had over 30 Spitfires, 4 Hawker Hurricanes and 20 C47s modified into crude bombers.

By the time of the second truce the Egyptians had 20,000 men in the field in thirteen battalions equipped with 135 tanks, (...) and 90 artillery pieces.[44]


Syria

Syria had 12,000 soldiers at the beginning of the 1948 War grouped into three infantry brigades and an armoured force of approximately battalion size. The Syrian Air Force had fifty planes, the 10 newest of which were World War II-generation models.

On 14 May Syria invaded Palestine with the 1st Infantry Brigade supported by a battalion of armoured cars, a company of French R 35 and R 37 tanks, an artillery battalion and other units. On 15-16 May they attacked the Israeli village Zemach, which they captured, following a renewed offensive, on 18 May. The village was abandoned following Syrian forces' defeat at the Deganias a few days later. Subsequently, the Syrians scored a victory at Mishmar HaYarden on 10 June after which they reverted to a defensive posture, conducting only a few minor attacks on small, exposed Israeli settlements.[45]


Lebanon

The Lebanese army was the smallest of the Arab armies, consisting of only 3,500 soldiers.[46] Of these a token force of 1,000 was committed to the invasion. It crossed into the northern Galilee and was repulsed by Israeli forces who occupied South Lebanon until an armistice agreement was signed on 23 March, 1949.[47] Ben-Gurion wrote in his diary on 24 May

The weak link in the Arab coalition is Lebanon. Muslim rule is artificial and easy to undermine. A Christian state should be established whose southern border would be the Litani. We shall sign a treaty with it. By breaking the power of the Legion and bombing Amman, we shall also finish off Transjordan and then Syria will fall. If Egypt still dares to fight - we shall bomb Port Said, Alexandria and Cairo.[48]

Saudi Arabia and Yemen

Saudi Arabia sent a contingent of 800[49]-1,200[50] men to fight with Egyptian forces.

Yemen also committed a small expeditionary force to the war effort.


British forces in Palestine

There were 100,000 British troops deployed in Palestine "in two ground forces divisions, two independent infantry brigades, two mechanised regiments, some artillery units and a number of RAF squadrons (Karsh, p. 28). The peak deployment was in July 1947 when 70,200 British troops were stationed in Palestine, serviced by 1,277 civilian drivers and 28,155 civilian employees.[51]
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« Reply #12 on: February 14, 2007, 12:24:48 am »

Phases of the War

First phase: November 29, 1947 - April 1, 1948
On the day following the adoption of the UN resolution seven Jews were killed by Arabs in Palestine in three separate incidents: at 8 o'clock in the morning, in what came to be seen as the opening shots of the 1948 War [52], three Arabs attacked a bus from Netanya to Jerusalem, killing five Jewish passengers. Half an hour later a second bus attack left one passenger dead. Later in the day a twenty-five-year old man was shot dead in Jaffa,[53] where wild rumors spread about alleged attacks on Arabs by Jews [54]. Arab prisoners also attempted to assault Jews in Acre prison, but were beaten back by guards. In Jerusalem the Arab Higher Committee called a three-day general strike from Tuesday, 2 December to be followed by mass demonstrations after Friday prayers. The Committee's statement included eight resolutions, the last of which called on the British Government "to hand over Palestine forthwith to its Arab people".[55] On 2 December a mob looted and burned shops in the Jewish commercial district in Jerusalem, unopposed by British forces. From the beginning of the strike onwards Arab and Jewish clashes escalated and by 11 December the Jerusalem correspondent of The Times estimated that at least 130 people had died, "about 70 of them being Jews, 50 Arabs, and among the rest three British soldiers and one British policeman". [56]

As the end of British involvement in Palestine drew nearer and attacks on them by Irgun and Lehi increased, their intervention grew steadily more inconsistent and reluctant. Two British deserters, Eddie Brown, a police captain who claimed that the Irgun had killed his brother, and Peter Madison, an army corporal, are known to have taken part in car bomb attacks on the Palestine Post on 1 February and on a shopping crowd in Ben-Yehuda Street on 22 February. [57] British deserters also fought with Jewish units; most notably with Yitzhak Sadeh's Eighth Armored Brigade along with Moshe Dayan.

At the same time, violence steadily increased as both Jews and Arabs engaged in sniping, raids, and bombings that cost many lives on both sides. Between November 30, 1947 and February 1, 1948 427 Arabs, 381 Jews and 46 British were killed and 1,035 Arabs, 725 Jews and 135 Brits were wounded. In March of 1948 alone, 271 Jews and 257 Arabs were killed.

Over the months following the partition, larger organized forces became increasingly engaged in the violence. The Arab Legion attacked a Jewish civilian bus convoy at Beit Nabala on December 14, and on December 18 Haganah forces, possibly belonging to its kibbutz-based force, the Palmach, attacked the village of Al-Khisas. Three weeks later the first Arab irregulars arrived and the Arab leadership began to organize Palestinians in order to wage guerrilla war against the Jewish forces. The largest group was a volunteer army, the Arab Liberation Army, created by the Arab League and led by Arab nationalist Fawzi Al-Qawuqji. In January and February, Arab irregular forces attacked Jewish communities in northern Palestine but achieved no substantial successes.

The Arabs concentrated their efforts on cutting off roads to Jewish towns and Jewish neighborhoods in areas with mixed populations. They also massacred several Jewish convoys. At the end of March, the Arabs completely cut off the vital road going from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, where one sixth of Palestine's Jews lived.

The Haganah armed itself with arms bought from Czechoslovakia (see Operation Balak). The Yishuv began working on a plan called Plan Dalet (or Plan D).


Second phase: April 1, 1948 - May 15, 1948

Jewish forces proved to be militarily stronger than the Arabs expected, and by May their forces were counterattacking Arab towns and villages, especially those controlling roads to isolated Jewish populations.

The road to Jerusalem was interdicted by Arab fighters located in the villages surrounding the road. The city of Jerusalem was under siege by the Arabs. Numerous convoys of trucks bringing food and other supplies to the besieged city were attacked. In Operation Nachshon, the Haganah continued its attacks on Arab fighters co-located with civilians, and temporarily opened the road to Jerusalem (April 20).

Some of these villages along Jerusalem road were attacked and demolished. The April 9 Deir Yassin massacre, by Irgun and Lehi forces, of at least 107 Arabs was denounced by Ben Gurion. Some claim the denouncement was part of an attempt to distance himself and the Haganah from the attackers, possibly to gain political advantage in the struggle to lead the as yet unformed Israeli state. In any case, the events at Deir Yassin panicked Arab villagers, causing many to flee. While this may have benefited the Jewish forces, who then encountered less resistance from depopulated villages, it also inflamed public opinion in Arab countries, providing those countries further reason for sending regular troops into the conflict. Four days later, on April 13, the Arabs launched a strike on a medical convoy traveling to Hadassah Hospital. Around 77 doctors, nurses, and other Jewish civilians were massacred.

To lift the siege, the Jewish forces (guided by the American Army Colonel David (Mickey) Marcus) constructed the "Burma Road" (named for the road built by the Allies from Burma to China during World War II), a make-shift winding road through the difficult mountains to Jerusalem. The Burma Road allowed the Jewish forces to relieve the Arab siege on June 9, just days before the United Nations negotiated a cease-fire.

Meanwhile, frantic diplomatic activity took place between all parties. On May 10, Golda Meir represented the Yishuv in the last of a long series of clandestine meetings between the Zionists and Transjordan's King Abdullah. Whereas for months there had been a tacit agreement between the Zionists and Transjordan to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, with Transjordan taking over the Arab areas, at the May 10 meeting Abdullah offered the Yishuv leadership only autonomy within an enlarged Hashemite kingdom. This was unacceptable to the Jewish leadership. Nevertheless, with one exception, the Transjordanian army refrained from attacking the designated Jewish areas of Palestine in the ensuing war.

On May 13, the Arab League met and agreed to send regular troops into Palestine when the Mandate expired. Abdullah of Transjordan was named as the commander-in-chief of the Arab armies, but the various Arab armies remained largely uncoordinated throughout the war.


Third phase: May 14, 1948 - June 11, 1948

The British mandate over Palestine was due to expire on May 15, but Jewish Leadership led by future Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, declared independence on May 14. The State of Israel declared itself as an independent nation, and was quickly recognized by the Soviet Union, the United States, and many other countries.

Over the next few days, approximately 1,000 Lebanese, 5,000 Syrian, 5,000 Iraqi, 10,000 Egyptian and 4,000 Transjordanian troops invaded the newly-established state. They were aided by corps of volunteers from Saudi Arabia, Libya and Yemen.

In an official cablegram from the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States to the UN Secretary-General on May 15, 1948, the Arab states publically proclaimed their aim of creating a "United State of Palestine" in place of the Jewish and Arab, two-state, UN Plan. They claimed the latter was invalid, as it was opposed by Palestine's Arab majority, and maintained that the absence of legal authority made it necessary to intervene to protect Arab lives and property.[58] On the same day, however, the Arab League Secretary-General, Abdul Razek Azzam Pasha, said, "This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades". [59]

Israel, the US and the Soviets called the Arab states' entry into Palestine illegal aggression, UN secretary general Trygve Lie characterized it as "the first armed aggression which the world had seen since the end of the [Second World] War." China broadly backed the Arab claims. Both sides increased their manpower over the following months, but the Israeli advantage grew steadily as a result of the progressive mobilization of Israeli society and the influx of an average of 10,300 immigrants each month.
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« Reply #13 on: February 14, 2007, 12:25:59 am »

Israeli Forces 1948
 
Initial strength 29,677
4 June 40,825
17 July 63,586
7 October 88,033
28 October 92,275
2 December 106,900
23 December 107,652
30 December 108,300


(Source: Bregman, 2002, p. 24 citing Ben Gurion's diary of the war)

On May 26, 1948, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) was officially established and the Haganah, Palmach and Etzel were dissolved into the army of the young Jewish state.

However, on paper, the Arabs had clear superiority in heavy arms and firepower. The ordnance on May 15 were as follows:

IDF Arabs
Tanks 1 w/o gun 40
Armored cars (w/ cannon) 2 200
Armored cars (w/o cannon) 120 300
Artillery 5 140
AA and AT guns 24 220
Warplanes 0 74
Scout planes 28 57
Navy (armed ships) 3 12


(Source: Jehuda Wallach (Ed.), "Not on a silver platter")

 
Jordanian artillery shells Jerusalem in 1948.This imbalance in ordnance, along with the entry into the fray of the regular, relatively well-equipped and trained forces of the armies from the neighboring Arab states, led to a nearly universal, world military opinion about the outcome of the conflict. A typical example was the statement by Field Marshall Montgomery, commander of the victorious Allied armies in North Africa and Northern Europe, that the new State of Israel would be defeated within two weeks.

However as the war progressed, the IDF managed to field more troops than the Arab forces. By July 1948, the IDF was fielding 63,000 troops; by early spring 1949, 115,000. The Arab armies had an estimated 40,000 troops in July 1948, rising to 55,000 in October 1948, and slightly more by the spring of 1949.

All Jewish aviation assets were placed under the control of the Sherut Avir (Air Service, known as the SA) in November 1947 and flying operations began in the following month from a small civil airport on the outskirts of Tel Aviv called Sde Dov, with the first ground support operation (in an R.W.D. 13) taking place on 17 December. The Galilee Squadron was formed at Yavniel in March 1948 and the Negev Squadron was formed at Nir-Am in April. By 10 May, when the SA suffered its first combat loss, there were three flying units, an air staff, maintenance facilities and logistics support. At the outbreak of the war on 15 May the SA became the Israeli Air Force, but, during the first few weeks of the war, with its fleet of light planes it was no match for Arab forces flying T-6s, Spitfires, C-47s and Arab Ansons and indeed the main Arab losses were the result of RAF action in response to Egyptian raids on the British air base at Ramat David near Haifa on 22 May during which 5 Egyptian Spitfires were shot down. It was also during this time that the balance of air power began to swing in favor of the Israeli Air Force following the purchase of 25 Avia S-199s from Czechoslovakia, the first of which arrived in Israel on 20 May. This created the ironic situation of the young Jewish state using Nazi-designed Bf-109 derivatives to help counter the Egyptian Spitfires. The first raid on an Arab capital followed on the night of 31 May/1 June when three Israeli planes bombed Amman. [60] The IDF achieved air superiority by the fall of 1948. And the IDF had superiority in firepower and knowledgeable personnel, many of whom had seen action in World War II.[61]

The first mission of the IDF was to hold on against the Arab armies and stop them from destroying major Jewish settlements, until reinforcements and weapons arrived.

 
General John Glubb commanded the Arab Legion (1939-1956)The heaviest fighting would occur in Jerusalem and on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road, between Transjordan's Arab Legion and the Israeli forces. Abdullah ordered Glubb Pasha, the commander of the Transjordanian Arab Legion, to enter Jerusalem on May 17, and heavy house-to-house fighting occurred between May 19 and May 28, with the Arab Legion succeeding in expelling Israeli forces from the Arab quarters of Jerusalem as well as the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. All the Jewish inhabitants of the Old City were expelled by the Jordanians. Iraqi troops failed in attacks on Jewish settlements (the most notable battle was on Mishmar Haemek), and instead took defensive positions around Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarm.

In the north, the Syrian army was blocked in the kibbutz Degania, where the settlers managed to stop the Syrian armored forces only with light weapons. One tank that was disabled by a Molotov cocktail is still presented at the Kibbutz. Later, an artillery bombardment, made by cannons jury-rigged from 19th century museum pieces, led to the withdrawal of the Syrians from the Kibbutz.

During the following months, the Syrian army was repelled, and so were the Palestinian irregulars and the ALA.

In the south, an Egyptian attack was able to penetrate the defenses of several Israeli kibbutzim, but with heavy cost. This attack was stopped near Ashdod.

The Israeli military managed not only to maintain their military control of the Jewish territories, but to expand their holdings.


First truce: June 11, 1948 - July 8, 1948
 
Official UN mediator, Count Folke Bernadotte, assassinated in 1948The UN declared a truce on May 29, which came into effect on June 11 and would last 28 days. The cease-fire was overseen by the UN mediator Folke Bernadotte. An arms embargo was declared with the intention that neither side would make any gains from the truce. At the end of the truce, Folke Bernadotte presented a new partition plan that would give the Galilee to the Jews and the Negev to the Arabs. Both sides rejected the plan. On July 8, Egyptian forces resumed warfare, thus re-starting the fighting.

Fourth phase: July 8, 1948 - July 18, 1948
The ten days at the height of the summer between the two truces were dominated by large scale Israeli offensives and a defensive posture from the Arab side. Operation Dani was the most important one, aimed at securing and enlarging the corridor between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv by capturing the roadside cities Lydda (later renamed Lod) and Ramle. Following their capture, the residents of Lydda and Ramle, some 50,000 Palestinians, chose to leave the city, in the largest single exodus of the war.

In a second planned stage of the operation the fortified positions of Latrun, overlooking Jerusalem, and the city Ramallah were also to be captured.

The second plan was Operation Dekel whose aim was to capture the lower Galilee including the Arab city Nazareth. The third plan, to which fewer resources were allocated, Operation Kedem was to secure the Old City of Jerusalem.[62]


Operation Dani

Lydda (Lod) was mainly defended by the Transjordanian Army, but also local Palestinian militias and the Arab Liberation Army were present. The city was attacked from the north via Majdal al-Sadiq and al-Muzayri'a and from the east via Khulda, al-Qubab, Jimzu and Danyal. Bombers were also used for the first time in the conflict to bombard the city. On July 11, 1948 the IDF captured the city.

The next day, July 12, 1948 Ramle also fell to the hands of Israel.

July 15-16 an attack on Latrun took place but did not manage to occupy the city. A desperate second attempt occurred July 18 by units from the Yiftach Brigade equipped with armored vehicles, including two Cromwell tanks, but that attack also failed. Despite the second truce, which began on July 18, the Israeli efforts to conquer Latrun continued until July 20.


Operation Dekel

While Operation Dani proceeded in the centre, Operation Dekel was carried out in the north. Nazareth was captured July 16 and when the second truce took effect at 19.00 July 18, the whole lower Galilee from Haifa bay to Lake Kinneret was captured by Israel.


Operation Kedem

Originally the operation was to be done on July 8, immediately after the first truce, by Irgun and Lehi but it was delayed by David Shaltiel possibly because he did not trust their ability after their failure to capture Deir Yassin without Haganah's assistance.

The Irgun forces that were commanded by Yehuda Lapidot (Nimrod) were to break through at The New Gate, Lehi was to break through the wall stretching from the New Gate to the Jaffa Gate and the Beit Hiron Batallion was to strike from Mount Zion.

The battle was planned to begin on the Sabbath, at 20.00 Friday July 16 a day before the Second Cease-fire of the Arab-Israeli war. The plan went wrong from the beginning and was postponed first to 23.00 and then to midnight. It wasn't until 02.30 that the battle actually began. The Irgunists managed to break through at the New Gate but the other forces failed in their missions. At 05.45 in the morning Shaltiel ordered a retreat and to cease the hostilities.


Second truce: July 18, 1948 - October 15, 1948

19.00 July 18, the second truce of the conflict went into effect after intense diplomatic efforts by the UN.

On September 16, Folke Bernadotte proposed a new partition for Palestine in which Transjordan would annex Arab areas including the Negev, al-Ramla, Lydda. There would be a Jewish state in the whole of Galilee, internationalization of Jerusalem, and return or compensation for refugees. The plan was once again rejected by both sides. On the next day, September 17, Bernadotte was assassinated by the Lehi and his deputy the American Ralph Bunche replaced him.


Fifth phase: October 15, 1948 - July 20, 1949
Israeli operations


Between October 15 and July 20 Israel launched a series of military operations in order to drive out the Arab armies and secure the borders of Israel.

 
October battlesOn October 24, the IDF launched Operation Hiram and captured the entire Upper Galilee, driving the ALA and Lebanese army back to Lebanon. It was a complete success and at the end of the month, Israel had not only managed to capture the whole Galilee but had also advanced 5 miles into Lebanon to the Litani River.

On October 15, the IDF launched Operation Yoav in the northern Negev. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba-Hebron-Jerusalem road and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev. Operation Yoav was headed by the Southern Front commander Yigal Allon. The Operation was a huge success as it shattered the Egyptian army ranks and forced the Egyptian forces to retreat from the northern Negev, Beersheba and Ashdod. On October 22 the Israeli Navy commandoes sunk the Egyptian flagship Amir Faruk.

On December 22, the IDF drove the remaining Egyptian forces out of Israel, by launching Operation Horev (also called Operation Ayin). The goal of the operation was to liberate the entire Negev from Egyptian presence, destroying the Egyptian threat on Israel's southern communities and forcing the Egyptians into a cease-fire after all the Negev was liberated.

The operation was a decisive Israeli victory, and Israeli raids into the Nitzana and the Sinai peninsula forced the Egyptian army, which was encircled in the Gaza Strip, to withdraw and accept cease-fire. On January 7, a truce was achieved. Israeli forces withdrew from Sinai and Gaza under international pressure.

On March 5, Operation Uvda was launched. On March 10, the Israelis reached Umm Rashrash (where Eilat was built later) and conquered it without a battle. The Negev Brigade and Golani Brigade took part in the operation. They raised an ink-made flag ("The Ink Flag") and claimed Umm Rashrash for Israel.


UN Resolution 194

In December 1948, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194 which declared (amongst other things) that in the context of a general peace agreement "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live in peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so" and that "compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return." The resolution also mandated the creation of the United Nations Conciliation Commission. However, parts of the resolution were never implemented, resulting in the Palestinian refugee problem.


British airplanes

Just before noon on January 7, 1949, four RAF Spitfire FR. 18s from 208 Squadron on routine reconnaissance in the Dir El-Ballah area inadvertently flew over an Israeli convoy that had just been attacked by the Royal Egyptian Air Force. IDF soldiers in the convoy shot down one of the British planes. The remaining three planes were then shot down by patrolling Israeli Air Force Spitfires flown by Slick Goodlin and John McElroy, volunteers from the United States and Canada respectively. Later that day four RAF Spitfires from the same squadron escorted by 7 No. 213 Squadron Tempests and another 8 Tempests from No. 6 Squadron, searching for the lost planes from No. 208 Squadron were attacked by four Israeli Air Force Spitfires and one of the Tempests was shot down, killing its pilot David Tattersfield.[63] Another Tempest was damaged by an IAF plane flown by Ezer Weizman. There was only one other clash between the IAF and the RAF during the war when a No. 13 Squadron Mosquito PR. 34 on a photo-reconnaissance mission over Israel was shot down on 20 November 1948 by an Israeli P-51 flown by Waine Peake.[64]


Aftermath


1949 Armistice Agreements


In 1949, Israel signed separate armistices with Egypt on February 24, Lebanon on March 23, Transjordan on April 3, and Syria on July 20. Israel was generally able to create its own borders, comprising 78 percent of Mandatory Palestine, 50 percent more than the UN partition proposal allotted it. These cease-fire lines were known afterwards as the "Green Line". The Gaza Strip and the West Bank were occupied by Egypt and Transjordan respectively.


Casualties

Israel lost about 1% of its population in the war: 6,373 of its people. About 4,000 were soldiers and the rest were civilians.

The exact number of Arab losses is unknown but are estimated at between 5,000 and 15,000 people.[65]


Demographic outcome


Around 758,000 to 866,000 of the Jews living in Arab countries and territories left or were forced to leave the countries of their birth; 600,000 of these people fled or emigrated to Israel, with another 300,000 seeking refuge in various Western countries, primarily France. The United Nations estimated that 711,000 Palestinians fled or immigrated during this conflict.[66]

The humiliation of the Arab armies at having been routed by the Jewish forces, together with the rising nationalism in Arab nations, contributed to rising hatred for the Jews living in Arab lands. The status of Jews in Arab states varied greatly from state to state. Some observers maintain that the Jewish populations were more "prevented from leaving" than "expelled." Their civil liberties, too, were in many cases vastly inferior to those of their Muslim fellow citizens. For example, in Yemen, Jews were and are prohibited from carrying weapons of any type, even to the point of prohibiting traditional ceremonial Yemeni knives, carried by a large portion of the Yemeni population.
The net result was that after over two thousand years of living in Arab controlled countries, the atmosphere was sufficiently anti-Jewish that entire communities of Jews in the hundreds of thousands felt they had no option but to take leave of old homes and move to the uncertainties of the new Jewish state of Israel, in effect becoming "refugees" in everything but name. These war-intensified fears came upon the heels of the Holocaust, which ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany three years before the founding of the state of Israel.

Arab Palestinians have staged annual demonstrations and protests on May 15 of each year, one day after the anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence. The popularity and number of participants in these annual al Nakba demonstrations has varied over time, though the increasing anti-Israeli sentiment in the Middle East has tended to increase the attendance in recent years. During the al-Aqsa Intifada after the failure of the Camp David 2000 Summit, the attendance at the demonstrations against Israel increased exponentially.[citation needed]

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Arab-Israeli_War
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« Reply #14 on: February 14, 2007, 12:27:12 am »

The Arab-Israeli conflict (Arabic: الصراع العربي الإسرائيلي‎, Hebrew: הסכסוך הישראלי ערבי) spans about a century of political tensions and open hostilities. It involves the establishment of the modern State of Israel as a Jewish nation state, as well as the relationship between the Arab nations and the state of Israel (see related Israeli-Palestinian conflict). Some uses of the term Middle East conflict refer to this matter; however, the region has been host to other conflicts not involving Israel (see List of conflicts in the Middle East).

Despite involving a relatively small land area and number of casualties, the conflict has been the focus of worldwide media and diplomatic attention for decades. Many countries, individuals and non-governmental organizations elsewhere in the world feel involved in this conflict for reasons such as cultural and religious ties with Islam, Arab culture, Christianity, Judaism, Jewish culture or for ideological, human rights, or strategic reasons. While some consider the Arab-Israeli conflict a part of (or a precursor to) a wider clash of civilizations between the Western World and the Arab or Muslim world[1][2], others oppose this view.[3] Animosity emanating from this conflict has caused numerous attacks on supporters (or perceived supporters) of one side by supporters of the other side in many countries around the world.

History

The Arab-Israeli conflict dates back to the end of the 19th century. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1917, the conflict became a major international issue. Over time, the League of Nations, Great Britain, the United Nations, the United States, and the USSR, have all played major roles in the conflict, as does the Quartet on the Middle East today. The conflict spans major wars including the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, 1956 Suez War, 1967 Six Day War, 1970 War of Attrition, 1973 Yom Kippur War, and 1982 Lebanon War as well as a number of lesser conflicts. A major theme in the history of the conflict has been the refusal of Arab nations to create a Palestinian state that would not involve the destruction of Israel. In the course of the conflict, many Arabs were displaced from what is now Israel, and many Jews were displaced from what is now Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen (see Palestinian refugees and Jewish exodus from Arab lands). The conflict has also been the source of two major Palestinian intifadas (uprisings). Al-Qaeda, a largely Arab organization, has cited the conflict among its justifications for attacks on targets in the West.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab-Israeli_conflict
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