Talk:1948 Arab–Israeli War/Archive 2
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Let's see... Weren't the "Stern gang" (a.k.a Lehi) and Irgun created in the late 30s? And weren't their actions carried out towards the late 40s? So why put them in 1920? And finally, wasn't there a third organisation... Haganah? Which could not be called terrorist no matter how hard you try? Funny that's not mentioned. --Uriyan
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- Repeated Arab assaults and attacks lead to the formation of Jewish armed groups. Two of these groups, the Stern gang and the Irgun, resort to acts widely condemned by both Jews and non-Jews as terrorism; this terrorism was against British and Arab targets, both military and civilian.
Don't ask me... all I did was change "self-defense groups" into "armed groups", and delete the bit about "Most of whose actions were non-controversial" (or whatever it said), since I'm sure a lot of people (e.g. Palestinians) don't consider any of those acts non-controversial.
This article needs a lot of work. It doesn't feel NPOV, but then I really don't know much about the creation of Israel. There are some grammar issues (changing tense, not to mention most of it is in the 'present' tense) but I didn't fix them simply because most of this article is about the creation of Israel, _not_ the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. I don't know if there is a topic already present that covers the creation of Israel. If there is, most of this should be eliminated except what can be merged. If there isn't, most of this topic probably can be moved to a new topic covering Israel's creation. The information on the war itself could do with some expanding too. Takers? Rgamble
- The creation of the State of Israel is more-or-less about the same series of events as the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. You can't separate the two, unless you are referring to the 150 year history of modern political Zionism which led to the creation of the State of Israel; I agree that this would belong in a separate article, and it already is. See the article on Zionism. Maybe we should note this in the article's text. [[[user:RK|RK]]]
With the Golan Heights, it is not exact as to what actually constitutes the Golan Heights or where the border ran. There was a debate between Britain and France over the northern border of Palestine, and the location of Jewish settlements in the region did affect the outcome, however, most of the Golan Heights was then in French hands. Danny
Removed this:
- (Much in this entry is disputed by many Palestinian Arabs, but not by most Western historians.)
As it basically says that the Palestinians are lying and this is the correct version. Instead, lets find a version that we all can agree on. BL
Changelog:
- Mandate of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state The Arab claimed it was unreasonable that Israel should get the best land, most of the industrial capacity and 60% of the area, when they made up less than a third of the population
Jews were not less than a third but almost exactly a third of the population. What "industrial capacity" are you talking about? Palestine did not have a developed industrial system (and neither does Israel now, 50 years later). Finally, perhaps it is 55% (not 60%!) of the area, but that's including the Negev desert, which takes up a very fair share. Now if you remember, Arabs rejected a portion the Negev at the Camp David talks because they thought it was useless. Now it's definitely suited for urban development (after Israel installed water pipes that lead water from the Kinneret to the Negev); 50 years ago it was a total loss. You can't consistently use both an argument and its opposite.
As you might have perhaps noticed, most of the lands were state-owned. If you bring up the "communal holding" argument (as in here), then it's invalid, as it doesn't give a figure to compare with. What the reader would probably want to know is land utilization, of the Jews and the Arabs. Otherwise it's comparison between apples and oranges.
- (). The Arab leadership rejected the partition offer, turning to neighboring Arab nations to ask for their help to prevent the UN partition plan from going into effect, in return for the lands of Palestine.
It is documented in many places that the Arab leadership's request was to remove the Jews (I believe the wording was "pushing the Jews into the sea"). It seems unfortunate that you ignore this. I find this "invention", which goes in a direct contradiction to the facts, fallacious and biased.
You ignore the fact that the first part of the 1948 war was a defensive. Well, it was. Egyptians were contained at kibbutz Yad Mordechai; Syrian forces were stopped in Jezreel; Israel was unable to hold the Jewish Quarter of Old Jerusalem, but still grasped on the Jewish Western neighborhoods. As to "/who else" part: do you really want to know this, or you don't care? --Uri
I'm somewhat surprised that an article allegedly about the Arab-Israeli War has only a few paragraphs on the actual war! I appreciate the desire to put things in context, but that should fall short of describing the entire thing... Martin
- Israel made efforts to allow Arab Jews to come to Israel. "Operation Magic Carpet" culminated a deal to transport 45,000 Yemeni Jews to Israel and "Operation Ezra and Nechemia" transported 130,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel. In both cases, the Arab states of origin had beforehand prohibitted their Jewish populations from leaving.
- See http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Immigration/carpet.html and http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Immigration/ezra.html.
- Egyptian Jews were expelled after Israel's 1956 invasion of the Sinai Peninsula, and in the context that some of them had participated in an Israel-sponsored bombing plot in 1953. And Morocco, the source of some 240,000 Jewish refugees, prohibited emigration to Israel until 1961.
The paragraphs above don't belong in this article which is supposed to be about the 1948 war. Move them to History of Israel or somewhere similar. -- zero
Good point. I will also remove " and more than 600,000 Jewish refugees (See Map and Israeli Estimate), were created during this conflict." for the same reason.137.186.217.254 07:16, 13 Feb 2004 (UTC)
I removed "The British administration did little to mitigate the riots." because it is wrong. The British increased their military and police force several fold, killed thousands of Arabs in more or less open battle, imposed curfews, conducted hundreds of raids, destroyed hundreds of houses (including at least one whole village), and hanged more than 100 Arabs. -- zero
A number of errors that stand out:
1) The goal of Plan "D" (or Dalet), prepared by the Haganah High Command in March of 1948, was not just "to take over and control the areas alotted to the Jewish state in the partition plan", but was to include "those of the blocs of Jewish settlements and such Jewish population as were outside those borders" (see http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/d442111e70e417e3802564740045a309?OpenDocument). Also, Plan "D" should be moved to the latter part of the "First phase".
2) The "First phase" announces that "Arabs...took the offensive" without taking into account the facts as related by numerous leaders of Israeli military planning, including what Mr. Menachem Begin, an Irgun leader wrote (again, from http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/d442111e70e417e3802564740045a309?OpenDocument):
"In the months preceding the Arab invasion, and while the five Arab States (Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Transjordan) were conducting preparations for concerted aggression, we continued to make sallies into the Arab area. In the early days of 1948, we were explaining to our officers and men, however, that this was not enough. Attacks of this nature carried out by any Jewish forces were indeed of great psychological importance, and their military effect, to the extent that they widened the Arab front and forced the enemies on to the defensive, was not without value. But it was clear to us that even most daring sallies carried out by partisan troops would never be able to decide the issue. Our hope lay in gaining control of territory.
"At the end of January, 1948, at a meeting of the Command of the Irgun in which the Planning Section participated, we outlined four strategic objectives: (1) Jerusalem; (2) Jaffa; (3) the Lydda-Ramleh plain; and (4) the Triangle.
"Setting ourselves these objectives we knew that their achievement would be dependent on many factors but primarily on the strength in men and arms that we would have at our disposal. We consequently decided to treat the plans as 'alternatives': we would carry out what we could. As it happened, of the four parts of the strategic plan we executed only the second in full.
"In the first and third parts we were able to record important achievements on the battlefield - but we did not attain decisive victories.
"As for the fourth part, we were never allowed an opportunity even to begin to put the plan into operation. The conquest of Jaffa, however, stands out as an event of first-rate importance in the struggle for Hebrew independence."
Also, Ben-Gurion writes (again, from http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/d442111e70e417e3802564740045a309?OpenDocument):
"...Field troops and Palmach in particular were thus deployed and quickly showed the mettle that was soon to animate our army and bring it victory.
"...New Jerusalem was occupied, and the guerrillas were expelled from Haifa, Jaffa, Tiberias, Safad while still the Mandatory was present. It needed sagacity and self-control not to fall foul of the British army. The Hagana did its job; until a day or two before the Arab invasion not a settlement was lost, no road cut, although movement was seriously dislocated, despite express assurances of the British to keep the roads safe so long as they remained. Arabs started fleeing from the cities almost as soon as disturbances began in the early days of December 1947. As fighting spread, the exodus was joined by bedouin and fellahin, but not the remotest Jewish homestead was abandoned and nothing a tottering Administration (meaning the British Mandatory) could unkindly do stopped us from reaching our goal on May 14, 1948 in a State made larger and Jewish by the Haganah ..."
3) The "Third phase" claims "[t]he UN approved" accepting Israel as a member state in May 1948, when that did not happen until 11 May 1949, or the latter part of the "Fourth phase", as outlined on this site.
4) Again, in the "Third phase", it is claimed that:
"Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi, and Egyptian troops invaded Israel and joined the arab guerrillas. A bitter war ensued."
While obviously and shamefully short, especially considering this article is supposedly concerning these two sentences, it is factually incorrect. Another snippet from http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/d442111e70e417e3802564740045a309?OpenDocument:
During the months preceding the end of the Mandate, Jewish forces had moved to occupy key cities and areas in the territory designated for the Arab State. Ben-Gurion writes that before the Mandate ended:
"... no Jewish settlement, however remote, was entered or seized by the Arabs, while the Haganah ... captured many Arab positions and liberated Tiberias and Haifa, Jaffa and Safad ... So, on the day of destiny, that part of Palestine where the Haganah could operate was almost clear of Arabs".
The major part of Jerusalem meant to be internationalized under the partition plan, had also been occupied by Jewish forces.
On the termination of the Mandate, Jewish forces moved to occupy further territory beyond the boundaries specified by the Partition resolution. This lead to the influx of neighboring Arab militias, who entered, according to these reasons as outlined in the cable the Arab League sent the United Nations Secretary-General:
"Now that the Mandate over Palestine has come to an end, leaving no legally constituted authority behind in order to administer law and order in the country and afford the necessary and adequate protection to life and property, the Arab States declare as follows:
"(a) The right to set up a Government in Palestine pertains to its inhabitants under the principles of self-determination recognized by the Covenant of the League of Nations as well as the United Nations Charter;
"(b) Peace and order have been completely upset in Palestine, and, in consequence of Jewish aggression, approximately over a quarter of a million of the Arab population have been compelled to leave their homes and emigrate to neighbouring Arab countries. The prevailing events in Palestine exposed the concealed aggressive intentions of the Zionists and their imperialistic motives ...
"(c) The Mandatory has already announced that on the termination of the Mandate it will no longer be responsible for the maintenance of law and order in Palestine ... This leaves Palestine absolutely without any administrative authority ...
"...
"(e) ... The recent disturbances in Palestine further constitute a serious and direct threat to peace and security within the territories of the Arab States themselves. For these reasons, and considering that the security of Palestine is a sacred trust for them, and out of anxiousness to check the further deterioration of the prevailing conditions and to prevent the spread of disorder and lawlessness into the neighbouring Arab lands, and in order to fill the vacuum created by the termination of the Mandate and the failure to replace it by any legally constituted authority, the Arab Governments find themselves compelled to intervene for the sole purpose of restoring peace and security and establishing law and order in Palestine.
"The Arab States recognize that the independence and sovereignty of Palestine which was so far subject to the British Mandate has now, with the termination of the Mandate, become established in fact, and maintain that the lawful inhabitants of Palestine are alone competent and entitled to set up an administration in Palestine for the discharge of all governmental functions without any external interference. As soon as that stage is reached for the intervention of the Arab States, which is confined to the restoration of peace and establishment of law and order, shall be put an end to, and the sovereign State of Palestine will be competent in co-operation with the other States members of the Arab League, to take every step for the promotion of the welfare and security of its peoples and territory ..."
Here is where the meat of the story begins, which the UN document sums up with the following:
"The fighting between the Arab forces on one hand and what were now Israeli forces on the other escalated into the first Middle East War. The Israeli forces were well manned and well trained, drawing on the Jewish Brigade formed during the Second World War, and on the various armed groups such as the Haganah, the Palmach, and the Irgun. They were well equipped with arms acquired within and without Palestine during the Mandate period. The intervention by the Arab States in support of the "Arab State" in Palestine proved largely ineffective in the face of decisive Israeli military superiority. Within weeks, Israel had occupied most of the territory of Palestine, with the exception of the "West Bank" of the Jordan, held by the Arab Legion from Jordan and the Gaza Strip, held by Egyptian forces (map at annex II.) But for these exceptions, Israel now controlled virtually the entire territory claimed by the Zionist Movement at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as the "Jewish national home"."
5) The section "First Truce" incorrectly states that "[o]n June 11 a general truce was agreed upon largely due to mediator Count Folke Bernadotte's efforts". The cease-fire was ordered by the Security Council on 29 May 1948 and Bernadotte was sent to the region to supervise the cease-fire.
6) The omission of Bernadotte's end is surprising. Both of his recommendations were rejected by both sides, but before the UN could act on either of the recommendations, Bernadotte was assassinated by Lehi (Israel's official explanation, although they then claimed that Lehi existed only as a political group and had disbanded its military), sometimes referred to as the Stern Gang. A report to the UN on the assassination included information that the Count's killers were wearing Israeli army uniforms and also noted that "the Provisional Government of Israel must assume the full responsibility ... for these assassinations ..." The Security Council requested the Israeli Government to investigate the assassination and to submit a report to the Council, but no report was received. (see the UN document)
7) The section under "1949 Armistice Agreements" is incorrect. Though the agreements were separately signed from Feb through July 1949, they "specified inter alia that the 'armistice between the armed forces [was] an indispensable step toward the liquidation of armed conflict and the restoration of peace in Palestine', recognizing 'the principle that no military or political advantage should be gained". The agreements "being dictated exclusively by military, and not political, considerations' did not prejudice the political positions of any of the parties on the ultimate settlement of the Palestine question. Thus they gave Israel no legal right to the territories occupied during the 1948 hostilities, beyond the lines specified in the partition resolution." (see the UN document)
"While in occupation of territories beyond those allotted by the resolution, Israel applied for admission to the United Nations on 29 November 1948. It was criticized in the Security Council for its non-compliance with United Nations resolutions and on 17 December 1948 its application failed, receiving 5 votes in favour, 1 against, with 5 abstentions." (see UN document)
8) Another omission is resolution 194, establishing "the right of peaceful return of the Palestinians to their homes (a right that has been reiterated annually by the General Assembly up to the present time)". (again, see UN document)
9) Again, the "1949 Armistice Agreements" section omits any mention of the inconclusive Conciliation Commission for Palestine, whose report showed that Israel "now envisaged a Palestinian Arab State limited to the territories occupied by Egypt and Jordan, but this was unacceptable at the time to both the Palestinian Arabs and to the Arab States". (see UN document)
10) The article omits the correct date that Israel was admitted into the UN: 11 May 1949.
11) The "neutral" stasis of the article is betrayed by the mentioning of Jews having their rights diminished in Arab states without mentioning the reciprocal situation as existed (and exists) in Israel.
More errors may remain, but that is all the time I have now...
- Earthsound 22:12, 23 Aug 2003 (UTC)
Please be proactive and work on the article itself. Of course you are right that there are lots of problems with the article as it stands. Btw, the Bernadotte assassination is at Folke Bernadotte and Lehi so maybe no more than a pointer is needed here. -- zero 06:10, 24 Aug 2003 (UTC)
Zero: I got my numbers for the sizes of the Arab regular forces from Eugene Rogan's article Jordan and 1948: The Persistence of an official History in The War for Palestine, Cambridge University Press, 2001. This is the text of his footnote:
- Glubb, Soldier with the Arabs, p. 94; Madi and Musa, Tarkih al-urdunn, p. 472. British sources set the relative strength of Israeli and Arab forces on the eve of Britain's withdrawal at 74,000 and 19,200, respectively. Wilson, King 'Abdullah, p. 170.
I have no reason to believe that this source is better than yours. But as there seems to be disagreement on the numbers, I think we should include a footnote or citation or whatever to indicate where we got them. Where did you get your numbers? Is there disagreement between different reports?
- I got the values from Morris, Righteous Victims. I know there are differences of opinion on the numbers. I'm going away for a few days and won't have time to look at the citations until I get back (however I'm not sure I'd trust Glubb except maybe for the Jordanian strength). -- zero 21:55, 28 Aug 2003 (UTC)
WHO removed Plan Dalet?????????????????+ BL 04:36, 5 Oct 2003 (UTC)
Minor edit: changing "Naqba" to "Nakba." The latter, spelled in Arabic with kaf, means disaster, calamity, catastrophe. The former (incorrect) transliteration, spelled in Arabic with qaf, means opening, breach, hole; and I am given to understand that it has the vulgar colloquial (and anatomical) meaning that you might expect. (Note: my username is JBJD, and even though I'm logged in, the preview of the page doesn't appear to list my username after my comment. I'm a Wiki newbie and admittedly haven't gone through the FAQs at any length. Anybody know how to do this, or should I just RTFM?)
Fixed several English language problems, and added references to Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the general leader of the Palestinian Arabs during the Mandatory period. He was missing from the text, possibly because of his collaboration with the Nazis and family relation to Yasser Arafat.
The war simply cannot be understood without the inclusion of the Grand Mufti. He set in stone both Palestinian Arab ideology and their strategy of of sporadic, disorganized terror.
There are other strategic omissions, including the Siege of Jerusalem and the Arab League meetings of November and December, 1947, during which the war was declared and funded.
Noam Chomsky among others says that Al-Aqsa intifada is NOT the result of Sharon's visit to the temple mount. OneVoice 21:14, 16 Feb 2004 (UTC)
I reverted whoever changed the text to read that the Israelis refer to this war as the "War of Conquest", because it seems exceptionally unlikely. If anyone has evidence that this is indeed the case (rather than "War of Independence") then please supply it here. DJ Clayworth 15:27, 20 Apr 2004 (UTC)
UNGA Resolution 194 stipulates many things. One of these is return of refuges (Article 11), with no word limited only to Arabs. However, a condition is set: wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours. Arabs ignored this article no less than Israel. In addition, Arabs ignored Article 7 (free access to Holy Places). Access to Jerusalem (Article 9) was also blocked. Both Israel and Arabs, as well as UN Security Council, ignored Article 8 (demilitarization of Jerusalem, corpus separatum). -- 128.139.226.36 08:14, 24 May 2004
- The text as you had it implies a symmetry of reaction on the refugee issue, since no other issue is mentioned. Of course there was no such symmetry. The Arabs announced they would implement the refugee clauses if Israel did too, but of course Israel was deadset against this. --Zero 10:53, 2 Jun 2004 (UTC)
There are many different published figures for the strength of the Arab armies. The numbers in the article come from the book of Israeli military historian Amitzur Ilan, which is a recent specialist book that examines this question closely. Don't change them unless you have a source that you can argue is better. --Zero 09:10, 6 Jun 2004 (UTC)