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November 1947
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| The General Assembly of the
United Nations recommended the partition of British-mandate Palestine
into two separate states, one for Jews and one for Arabs. Fighting
breaks out soon thereafter, as all the surrounding Arab states rejected
the partition plan too. |
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An Israeli Perspective
Zionist leaders accepted the proposed partition for tactical and
strategic reasons.
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A Palestinian Perspective
Palestinians considered the proposal unrepresentative of the demographic
distribution of Jews and Arabs living in Palestine at that time,
and so rejected it.
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| In May, Zionist leaders proclaimed
the state of Israel. Fighting breaks out between the newly declared
state of Israel and its Arab neighbors as British troops are leaving
the country. |
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The war is known by Israelis as the "Milhemet Ha-atzma’ut,"
or "War of Independence" by Israelis. Some 700,000 Palestinians
leave what had been British-mandate Palestine. Israel gains control
over large tracts of land, including some five hundred Palestinian
villages. |
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The war is known as "al-Nakbah" or "the
Catastrophe," by Palestinians. Some 700,000 Palestinians flee
or are driven from what had been British-mandate Palestine. Israel
annexes large tracts of land and destroys some five hundred Palestinian
villages.
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Jordan establishes control over the West Bank with
the tacit agreement of Israel and Egypt establishes control of the
Gaza Strip. Control of Jerusalem is split between Israel in the
west and Jordan in the east.
On December 11, the UN General Assembly passes Resolution 194, stating
that Palestinian refugees who wish to return to their homes should
be permitted to do so and that those who do not wish to return should
be compensated by the state of Israel.
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| Ongoing skirmishes between Israel
and its Arab neighbors. |
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| Following an Arab League decision,
422 Palestinian national figures meet in Jerusalem under the chairmanship
of Ahmad Shuqeiri, who founded the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) and laid down the structure of the Palestine National Council
(PNC), the PLO Executive Committee, the National Fund and the Palestine
Liberation Army (PLA). The meeting also approved a Palestinian national
covenant and basic law. |
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In what Israelis call the "Six Day War," Israel conducts
a pre-emptive attack against Egypt and gains control over territory
formerly controlled by Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Israel gains control
over the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Golan Heights
from Syria, and the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan. In
six days, Israel roughly triples the size of the territory under
its control.
Israel begins establishing settlements in Gaza, the Sinai Peninsula,
and the West Bank, which right-wing Israelis refer to by the biblical
names "Judea and Samaria" and consider the biblical lands
of the Jewish people.
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In an attack that begins what became known as the "al-Naksah,"
or "the Setback," to Palestinians, Israel seizes Egyptian,
Syrian and Jordanian territory. The Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip
are captured from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the West
Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan. Israel begins establishing
settlements in the West Bank, Gaza, and the Sinai Peninsula. Palestinians
view this as a violation of international law regarding territory
seized during war.
Iraq sends forces into Jordan to support the war, even though Jordan
had not requested such action.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) moves its operations
from the West Bank to Jordan.
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| In response to the war, the
UN Security Council passes Resolution 242, which calls for the "withdrawal
of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict
[in official UN languages other than English the article "the"
precedes "territories," thus implying that Israel has to
return all the conquered territory]; termination of all claims or
states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the
sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every
state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and
recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." This
resolution, with its formula of "land for peace," is the
basis of for all subsequent peace negotiations between Israel, Palestinians,
and the surrounding Arab states. |
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| Frustrated with
and feeling threatened by the Palestine Liberation Organization’s
involvement in Jordanian politics, King Hussein declares war on the
PLO and imposes martial law. Three thousand people lost their lives
in the fighting that ensued between the Jordanian and the PLO forces.
In a peace agreement brokered by the Arab League and by Gamel Abdel
Nasser, leader of Egypt, the PLO agreed to move its headquarters from
Jordan to Lebanon. This was one of Nasser’s last acts as leader
of Egypt, as he died later that month of a heart attack. |
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| Palestinian gunmen kill 11 Israeli
athletes at the Munich Olympics. |
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| Egypt and Syria organize a surprise
attack on Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights
on the day of the Jewish fast of Yom Kippur and the Muslim month of
Ramadan, in which the annual fast is performed. The war lasted for
3 weeks, ending on October 22 on the Syrian front and October 26 on
the Egyptian front. |
| Israelis
refer to the war as the Yom Kippur war. Israel saw the war
as a military victory because it maintained possession of the Sinai
Peninsula and the Golan Heights. |
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Arabs refer to the war as the Ramadan war. Egypt and Syria
made initial gains but retreated after Israeli counter-attacks.
Because they successfully carried out a surprise attack, the war
was a political victory for Egypt and Syria. Though they overextended
their forces and did not succeed in regaining control over the Sinai
Peninsula and Golan Heights, Israel’s military vulnerabilities
were exposed, particularly because the U.S. air-lifted a large supply
of weapons to Israel, without which Israel might not have been as
successful in defending its territory.
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| The UN Security Council passes
Resolution 338, which calls for an immediate cease-fire and the immediate
commencement of negotiations toward the implementation of UNSCR 242
with the goal of "establishing a just and durable peace in the
Middle East." |
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