Israel’s Wars: The History and Legacy of the Jewish State’s Most Important Military Conflicts

*Includes pictures
*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading
*Includes a ToC

The Ottoman Empire quickly collapsed after World War I, and its extensive lands were divvied up between the French and British. While the French gained control of the Levant, which would later become modern day nations like Syria, the British were given the Mandate for Palestine from the newly created League of Nations. The British Mandate for Palestine gave the British control over the lands that have since become Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. The terms of the British Mandate incorporated the language of the Balfour Declaration, recognizing the “historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine.” The British were also tasked with creating a Jewish state, which the United States Congress endorsed in 1922.

In 1947, the British delegated the issue of partitioning the British Mandate to the United Nations, and the U.N. General Assembly set up the Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP). UNSCOP eventually came up with what is now known as the U.N. Partition Plan of 1947. The Partition Plan carved up two strange looking states, but their motive was to create an Israel in which the Jewish population was a 55% majority, while Palestine had an over 90% Palestinian Arab majority. Meanwhile, the city of Jerusalem would be administered internationally, due to the sensitive religious concerns of Muslims, Christians, and Jews. In addition to several Christian holy spots, Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam, and it is situated right next to the Western Wall, the Jews’ holiest remaining site.

On May 14, 1948, the British Mandate officially expired. That same day, the Jewish National Council issued the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel. About 10 minutes later, President Truman officially recognized the State of Israel, and the Soviet Union also quickly recognized Israel. However, the Palestinians and the Arab League did not recognize the new state, and the very next day, armies from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq invaded the former British Mandate to squelch Israel, while Saudi Arabia assisted the Arab armies. Jordan would also get involved in the war, fighting the Israelis around Jerusalem.

In early 1949, Israel began signing armistices with Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, which left Israel in control of nearly 75% of the lands that were to be partitioned into the two states under the 1947 plan. Jordan now occupied Judea and Samaria, which later became known as the West Bank due to its position on the western bank of the Jordan River. Jordan also occupied three quarters of Jerusalem, with the Israelis controlling only about a quarter in the western part of the city. To the west, Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip. The new armistice lines became known as the “Green Line,” and the conflict has continued to involve those lines and the issues that were contested in a war now nearly 70 years old.

In early June 1967, the Israelis captured Jordanian intelligence that indicated an invasion was imminent and thus launched preemptive strikes. Over the next six days, the Israelis overwhelmed the Egyptians in the west, destroying thousands of tanks and capturing the Gaza Strip and the entire Sinai Peninsula. At the same time, Israel drove the Jordanians out of Jerusalem and the West Bank, and it captured the Golan Heights from Syria near the border of Lebanon. In the span of a week, Israel had tripled the size of the lands it controlled. Israel had gone from less than 10 miles wide in some spots to over 200 miles wide from the Sinai Peninsula to the West Bank. Israel also unified Jerusalem.

On October 6, 1973, Syria and Egypt caught Israel off guard during the Jewish holy holiday of Yom Kippur, surprise attacking the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights. The Israelis turned the tide within a week, going on the counteroffensive and winning the war within 3 weeks.