Military History |
1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War: Israeli Independence and Arab Catastrophe
Posted 10 Mar 2002
On 14 May 1948, the British terminated their mandate over Palestine, and the Jews immediately proclaimed the independence of the state of Israel. The Soviet Union was the first country to recognize Israel, followed promptly by the United States. On the other hand the Israelis had already been fighting a unofficial war with the local Palestinians, and upon declaration of independence, also faced invasion by seven Arab armies (including those of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq). The then scratch built Israeli army managed to defeat these opponents thus establishing the boundaries of modern Israel.
Arab-Israeli Flags of 1948
Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi
Arabia, Syria
The Israelis called this war the "War of Independence". Not surprisingly the Palestinians have a different slant on this; to them it is al-Nakba ("the catastrophe").