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The Creation of Israel and the Suez Crisis (The Suez Crisis (In 1952, The…

- - - - The Arab village of Der Yassin was attacked by Jewish forces and several hundred inhabitants were killed
      - In August 1947 the UN drew plans to divide Palestine. They adopted a resolution requiring the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine by 29th November 1947. Arabs were against any partition, however, as they believed that Palestine was theirs by right
        
        Despite their beliefs, the land they were granted were the poorest parts of Palestine, so they wouldn't of taken it anyway. The partition was also criticised by Jews, as Jerusalem wasn't in the Jewish state; it was UN controlled, basically part of no country. The resolution was never passed
        
        The fighting between the 2 groups become even more ferocious, and led to the capture of Haifa by Jewish forces from the Arabs. 300,000 Arabs had fled Palestine by this time
        
        As the final day of the Mandate arrived, Ben Gurion proclaimed the state of Israel into existence, becoming it's first Prime Minister. Ironically, part of it's declaration of independence stated that 'It will guarantee freedom of religion'.
      - In revolt, Arabs killed Jews in Jerusalem. In revolt to this, Jews killed Arabs in Sefad. British soldiers were ambushed during such attacks. In 3 years, 338 British soldiers were killed by Jewish terrorists
- - - - By September of that year, Bernadotte was assassinated by the Stern Gang. Some Israelis condemned this action
    - - Transjorden, the only experiment fighting force in the Arab legion, held Jerusalem
    - - The Israelis bought weaponry from the US, $50 million dollars worth
      - The Arabs were badly commanded, causing great inefficiency and confusion between the armies
      - The Haganah were the bulk of the Israeli army, and had been trained by the British while serving for them during WW2. Therefore, their fighting and strategic capabilities were notoriously good
      - The Separate nations made truces with Israel, from Jan-Jul 1949 . This eased the pressure off of Israel gradually, allowing them to concentrate on different fronts more intensely
    - - Israeli was now bigger than the UN partition planned it to be.
      - No peace treaty was signed, so hostiles could attack at any time. They lost 6,000 soldiers during the war, so they had to be on a permanent war footing
        
        Military spending accounted for 20% of it's GDP. Military training and conscription was mandatory expect for the most Orthodox of Jews. this was when it became the war anxious nation we see it a today
      - 800,000 Arabs left Israel. This created a refugee crisis that would dominate Middle Eastern affairs for the next 50 years
      - US citizens who donated money to Israel during the war became an Israeli dependency. Now Israel had a strong link with the US government, whether it liked it or not
      - In 1949, 239,000 Jews emigrated. The Jewish population rose from 770,000 in 1948 to 1,717,814 in 1954. This new populous began inhabiting originally Arab areas that were captured by Israel. The Arabs were most displeased
      - In 1950, The Law of Return gave every Jew the right to return to Israel. unsurprisingly, the population increased rapidly as a result
      - Israel become a democracy, allowing all it's citizens, including remaining Arabs, to vote. The US and the USSR recognised Israel
      - It spurred on the Arab nations to destroy Israel. This also increased support for Arab nationalists, like Nasser in Egypt
        
        The war increased suspicion of the West and the US in particular as it immediately recognised Israel. The Arabs began to look towards to Soviets for assistance
        
        Arab nations now had 800,000 refugees to organise, and they were living in squalid conditions in refugee camps. These became a training and recruitment ground for the Fedayeen, who were to play a major role in forming terrorist groups between the 70's and the 80's
        
        They began attacks immediately. 137 Israelis died at the hands of Palestinian terrorists in 1951, and 238 in 1955
        
        Th most important and infamous guerrilla group was AL Fatah, formed in 1956 by Yasser Arafat. It was paramount to the formation of the PLO in 1964
        
        Both sides bombarded each other with artillery for the next few years
        
        The Tripartite Declaration (1950) set out to calm the situation. Britain, France and the US said they would use force on either faction if they altered armistice. War broke out nevertheless in 1956
- - - - 115 T-34 tanks
      - Of course, Stalin was opened handed and ready with modern military equipment, along with 1,000 technicians and advisers
        
        Israel was aware of Egyptian armament, and was considering striking before a war could break out which they couldn't defend themselves against. If they were going to strike, they needed international support, and Britain wasn't going to act. France wouldn't act without Britain either
        
        This changed when Nasser was refused funding for the Aswan Dam. The US, Britain and the World Bank agreed to help finance the bridge but used out when they found out about Nasser's commie cosy-ups. Nasser's immediate reaction was to nationalise the Suez canal, which was British and French owned. He said that he would use the funds from nationalising the canal to build the Aswan dam
        
        In Sept 1956, a conference was held in London to discuss the Suez, and it was agreed that the US, Britain and France would jointly run the canal through an international organisation. Egypt and the USSR rejected it. The USSR vetoed a comprise the following month
        
        These actions were seen as extreme by the British and the French, and they acted accordingly
        
        The canal falling into Nasser's hands was, in Prime Minister Eden's words, placing 'his thumb on our windpipe'. Britain was reliant on Middle Eastern oil and it's trade links to the Far East. Eden as described Nasser as a 'Fascist Dictator' and stated the Egyptians would not be able to operate the canal effectively. Traffic increased under Nasser's control. It was also lead to believe that Nasser was unpopular in Egypt, and intervention could prompt a second coup
        
        This was the perfect opportunity for Israel to strike, so on 23rd and 24th of Oct 1956 Britain, France and Israel met in Sèvres to secretly plan an invasion:
        
        3 more items...
      - 45 Ilyushin Bombers
      - 80 Mig 15 Jets
  - - - To create his vision of Egypt (and keep the soviets happy) he needed to enforce authoritarian rule. He introduced social and economic reforms that modernised the nation. He was seen as a dictator by the west, and the French were very cautious due to Nasser's support to Algerian nationalists, who were rebelling against French rule.
        
        The French, in fact, gave Israel Mystére 4's, the newest and most advanced fighter jets in Europe. At the same time, Britain retracted all their Suez based military stations