1948 Arab-Israeli War begins
The collapse of the Turkish Ottoman empire after World War I led to much of the Arab world being governed by Britain and France as “mandates”: the British were given Palestine and Iraq to supervise, while France took over ruling Syria and Lebanon. The most problematic of these territories was Palestine where the local Arab population resented Jewish immigration and where a number of radical Jewish groups wished to expel the British and establish an independent Jewish state. Terrorism and atrocities were the order of the day for both sides.
After the Second World War, Britain was desperate to be rid of its Palestinian mandate, having tried to keep the peace but ending up unpopular with both Arabs and Jews. In late 1947, the United Nations proposed a partition of the territory, allotting land for both a Jewish and an Arab state while maintaining Jerusalem and Bethlehem under an international regime. Both Arabs and Jews prepared for conflict, gathering troops, establishing fortifications and buying weapons abroad. Sporadic fighting broke out and terrorist attacks were undertaken. When the partition was to take effect and the republic of Israel was declared, war erupted on May 15. Irregular forces of Muslim volunteers from the Holy War Army and the Arab Liberation Army, the Arab Legion of Jordan, and the armies of Egypt, Syria and Iraq descended upon Jewish-held territories; fighting lasted over 9 months. When the smoke cleared the Israeli state had survived and expanded its territory, Jordan had seized the West Bank, and a massive relocation of refugees begun. Seventy-four years later, the wounds have not healed.