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|map = Map-of-palestine-and-israel.png
 
|map = Map-of-palestine-and-israel.png
 
|lang_official = Hebrew
 
|lang_official = Hebrew
|Anthem = [http://images.wikia.com/althistory/images/2/26/Hatikvah_instrumental.ogg Hatikvah]
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|Anthem = [[:File:Hatikvah instrumental.ogg|Hatikvah]]
|capital = Jerusalem (de jure)<br>Tel Aviv (de facto)
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|capital = Jerusalem <small>(de jure)</small><br>Tel Aviv <small>(de facto)</small>
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|city_largest = Tel Aviv
 
|city_other = Haifa, Rishon LeZion, Petah Tikva
 
|city_other = Haifa, Rishon LeZion, Petah Tikva
 
|religion = Judaism; Christianity; Islam; Druze
 
|religion = Judaism; Christianity; Islam; Druze
|ethnic_group = Jews; Arab
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|ethnic_group = Jews; Arabs
 
|demonym = Israeli
 
|demonym = Israeli
 
|regime = Unitary state; parliamentary republic
 
|regime = Unitary state; parliamentary republic
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|map_caption = Location of Israel (in dark blue)
 
|map_caption = Location of Israel (in dark blue)
 
|otl = Jewish territories of 1947 Partition Plan}}
 
|otl = Jewish territories of 1947 Partition Plan}}
'''Israel''' (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Yisrā'el''), officially the '''State of Israel''' (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Medīnat Yisrā'el'') is [[List of Nations (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)#Western Asia|a country in the Middle East]], comprised by five administrative districts: Northeast, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Negev and West Jerusalem. Northeast District bordered with [[Syria (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Syria]] to the east, with [[Palestine (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Palestine]] to the west and south, and with [[Lebanon (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Lebanon]] to the north. Haifa bordered mostly with Palestine to the east and Mediterranean Sea to the west. Negev bordered with Palestine to the north and northwest, with [[Egypt (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Egypt]] to the west, and [[Jordan (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Jordan]] to the east.
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'''Israel''' (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Yisrā'el''), officially the '''State of Israel''' (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Medīnat Yisrā'el'') is [[List of Nations (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)#Western Asia|a country in the Middle East]], consisted of five geographic regions: Tiberias, Coastal Plain, the Golan Heights, West Jerusalem and the Negev. Israel is bordered by [[Palestine (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Palestine]] to the east, by Mediterranean Sea and the Palestinian enclave of Gaza to the west, by [[Egypt (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Egypt]] to the southwest and by [[Jordan (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Jordan]] to the southeast. The Israeli enclaves of Tiberias and the Golan is bordered by [[Lebanon (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Lebanon]] to the north, by the Palestinian enclave of Galilee to the west, by [[Syria (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Syria]] to the east and by Jordan to the south.
   
 
== History ==
 
== History ==
 
===Zionist Movement (1870–1917) ===
 
===Zionist Movement (1870–1917) ===
 
[[File:Second_aliyah_Pioneers_in_Migdal_1912_in_kuffiyeh.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Second Aliyah workers eating lunch in the fields of Migdal]]Since the Jewish Diaspora, some Jews have aspired to return to "Zion" and the "Land of Israel", though the amount of effort that should be spent towards such an aim was a matter of dispute. With the increasing persecution and pogroms in Eastern Europe, a small wave of Jewish immigrants fled to Ottoman-ruled Southern Syria in the late 19th century. The new migration was accompanied by a revival of the Hebrew language with the creation of the first modern Hebrew dictionary by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda.
 
Since the Jewish Diaspora, some Jews have aspired to return to "Zion" and the "Land of Israel", though the amount of effort that should be spent towards such an aim was a matter of dispute. With the increasing persecution and pogroms in Eastern Europe, a small wave of Jewish immigrants fled to Ottoman-ruled Southern Syria in the late 19th century. The new migration was accompanied by a revival of the Hebrew language with the creation of the first modern Hebrew dictionary by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda.
 
   
 
Many early migrants left due to difficulty finding work and the early settlements often remained dependent on foreign donations. Despite the difficulties, new settlements arose and the community grew. By 1890, Southern Syria, which was part of the Ottoman Empire, was inhabited by about half a million people, mostly Muslim and Christian Arabs, with Jews as a majority in Jerusalem.
 
Many early migrants left due to difficulty finding work and the early settlements often remained dependent on foreign donations. Despite the difficulties, new settlements arose and the community grew. By 1890, Southern Syria, which was part of the Ottoman Empire, was inhabited by about half a million people, mostly Muslim and Christian Arabs, with Jews as a majority in Jerusalem.
   
[[Austria-Hungary (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Austro-Hungarian]] journalist Theodor Herzl is credited for founding Zionism, a movement which sought to establish a Jewish state either in Palestine or in other places as a refuge from rising antisemitism in Europe. The Zionist Organization was formally founded in 1897. After the controversial plan by the British government in 1903 to establish a Jewish state at modern-day Kenya, the Zionist Organization was split between the ones who still preferred Palestine as the sole focus of Zionist aspirations and the Jewish Territorialist Organization who willing to establish a Jewish homeland anywhere.
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[[File:Theodor_herzl.jpg|thumb|100px|Theodor Herzl (1860–1904), the father of modern Zionism]][[Austria-Hungary (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Austro-Hungarian]] journalist Theodor Herzl is credited for founding Zionism, a movement which sought to establish a Jewish state either in Palestine or in other places as a refuge from rising antisemitism in Europe. The Zionist Organization was formally founded in 1897. After the controversial plan by the British government in 1903 to establish a Jewish state at modern-day Kenya, the Zionist Organization was split between the ones who still preferred Palestine as the sole focus of Zionist aspirations and the Jewish Territorialist Organization who willing to establish a Jewish homeland anywhere.
   
 
During [[World War I (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|World War I]], most Jews supported the [[German Empire (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Germans]] because they were fighting the [[Russian Empire (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Russians]] who were regarded as the Jews' main enemy. In Britain, the government formed the Jewish Legion as a means of recruiting Russian Jewish immigrants to the British war effort. The most prominent Russian Jewish migrant in Britain was chemist Chaim Weizmann who developed a new process to produce Acetone, a critical ingredient in manufacturing explosives that Britain was unable to manufacture in sufficient quantity. With different national sections of the movement supporting different sides in the war, Zionist policy, however, was to maintain strict neutrality and "to demonstrate complete loyalty to Turkey", the ally of [[German Empire (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Germany]].
 
During [[World War I (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|World War I]], most Jews supported the [[German Empire (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Germans]] because they were fighting the [[Russian Empire (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Russians]] who were regarded as the Jews' main enemy. In Britain, the government formed the Jewish Legion as a means of recruiting Russian Jewish immigrants to the British war effort. The most prominent Russian Jewish migrant in Britain was chemist Chaim Weizmann who developed a new process to produce Acetone, a critical ingredient in manufacturing explosives that Britain was unable to manufacture in sufficient quantity. With different national sections of the movement supporting different sides in the war, Zionist policy, however, was to maintain strict neutrality and "to demonstrate complete loyalty to Turkey", the ally of [[German Empire (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Germany]].
   
 
===Mandatory Palestine (1916–1948) ===
 
===Mandatory Palestine (1916–1948) ===
 
 
Under the secret Sykes–Picot Agreement of 1916, the [[United Kingdom (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|British]] and the [[France (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|French]] divided each others' spheres of influences at the Middle East into several League of Nations mandates, which became the real cornerstone of the geopolitics structuring the entire region. The agreement gave Britain control over what parties would begin to call "Palestine". On November 2, 1917, the British Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour, expressing the government's view in favour of "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" that known as the Balfour Declaration.
 
Under the secret Sykes–Picot Agreement of 1916, the [[United Kingdom (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|British]] and the [[France (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|French]] divided each others' spheres of influences at the Middle East into several League of Nations mandates, which became the real cornerstone of the geopolitics structuring the entire region. The agreement gave Britain control over what parties would begin to call "Palestine". On November 2, 1917, the British Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour, expressing the government's view in favour of "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" that known as the Balfour Declaration.
   
The British-led Egyptian Expeditionary Force, commanded by Edmund Allenby, captured Jerusalem on December 9, 1917 and occupied the whole of the Levant following the defeat of Ottoman forces in Palestine at the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918 and the capitulation of Ottoman Empire on October 31. The British Mandate for Palestine was confirmed by the League of Nations in 1922 and came into effect in 1923. The boundaries of Palestine initially included modern Jordan, which was removed from the territory a few years later. Britain signed a treaty with the [[United States (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|United States]] (which did not join the League of Nations) in which the United States endorsed the terms of the Mandate.
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The British-led Egyptian Expeditionary Force, commanded by Edmund Allenby, captured Jerusalem on December 9, 1917 and occupied the whole of the Levant following the defeat of Ottoman forces in Palestine at the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918 and the capitulation of Ottoman Empire on October 31. The British Mandate for Palestine (המנדט הבריטי על ארץ ישראל ''haManḏaṭ haBriṭi ʿel Ereṣ Yišrael'') was confirmed by the League of Nations in 1922 and came into effect in 1923. The boundaries of Palestine initially included modern Jordan, which was removed from the territory a few years later. Britain signed a treaty with the [[United States (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|United States]] (which did not join the League of Nations) in which the United States endorsed the terms of the Mandate.
   
Between 1919 and 1923, another 40,000 Russian Jews arrived in Palestine, escaping the revolutionary chaos in Russia and the Ukraine. Many of these immigrants became known as "pioneers" (halutzim), experienced or trained in agriculture and capable of establishing self-sustaining economies. The Jezreel Valley and the Hefer Plain marshes were drained and converted to agricultural use. Land was bought by the Jewish National Fund, a Zionist charity which collected money abroad for that purpose. A mainly underground Jewish militia, Haganah ("Defense"), was established to defend outlying Jewish settlements.
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Between 1919 and 1923, another 40,000 Russian Jews arrived in Palestine, escaping the revolutionary chaos in Russia and the Ukraine. Many of these immigrants became known as "pioneers" (halutzim), experienced or trained in agriculture and capable of establishing self-sustaining economies. The Jezreel Valley and the Hefer Plain marshes were drained and converted to agricultural use. Land was bought by the Jewish National Fund, a Zionist charity which collected money abroad for that purpose. A mainly underground Jewish militia, Haganah (ההגנה, "The Defense"), was established to defend outlying Jewish settlements.
   
 
During the whole interwar period, the British, appealing to the terms of the Mandate, rejected the principle of majority rule or any other measure that would give the Arab population, who formed the majority of the population, control over Palestinian territory. From 1928, the democratically elected Jewish National Council ("Va'ad Leumi") became the main institution of the Palestine Jewish community ("Yishuv") and included non-Zionist Jews. As the Yishuv grew, the Va'ad Leumi adopted more government-type functions, such as education, health care and security. With British permission, the Va'ad raised its own taxes and ran independent services for the Jewish population. From 1929 its leadership was elected by Jews from 26 countries.
 
During the whole interwar period, the British, appealing to the terms of the Mandate, rejected the principle of majority rule or any other measure that would give the Arab population, who formed the majority of the population, control over Palestinian territory. From 1928, the democratically elected Jewish National Council ("Va'ad Leumi") became the main institution of the Palestine Jewish community ("Yishuv") and included non-Zionist Jews. As the Yishuv grew, the Va'ad Leumi adopted more government-type functions, such as education, health care and security. With British permission, the Va'ad raised its own taxes and ran independent services for the Jewish population. From 1929 its leadership was elected by Jews from 26 countries.
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In 1933, the Jewish Agency and the Nazis negotiated the Ha'avara Agreement, under which 50,000 Jews would be transferred to Palestine and in return the Nazis allowed the Ha'avara organization to purchase 14 million pounds worth of German goods for export to Palestine. The agreement was controversial and the Labour Zionist leader who negotiated the agreement, Haim Arlosoroff, was assassinated in Tel Aviv in 1933. Between 1929 and 1938, 250,000 Jews arrived in Palestine. Between 1929 and 1938, 250,000 Jews arrived in Palestine.
 
In 1933, the Jewish Agency and the Nazis negotiated the Ha'avara Agreement, under which 50,000 Jews would be transferred to Palestine and in return the Nazis allowed the Ha'avara organization to purchase 14 million pounds worth of German goods for export to Palestine. The agreement was controversial and the Labour Zionist leader who negotiated the agreement, Haim Arlosoroff, was assassinated in Tel Aviv in 1933. Between 1929 and 1938, 250,000 Jews arrived in Palestine. Between 1929 and 1938, 250,000 Jews arrived in Palestine.
   
The death of Palestinian Arab nationalist leader, Shaykh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, and an increasing Jewish immigration contributed to the large-scale 1936–1939 Arab uprising in Palestine, a largely nationalist revolt directed at ending British rule. Attacks were mainly directed at British strategic installations such as the Trans Arabian Pipeline (TAP) and railways, and to a lesser extent against Jewish settlements, secluded Jewish neighborhoods in the mixed cities, and Jews, both individually and in groups. The violence abated for about a year while the British sent the Peel Commission to investigate.
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[[File:Resolution_194_ONU.jpg|thumb|150px|The Jewish delegates in London Conference, St. James' Palace, on February 1939]]The death of Palestinian Arab nationalist leader, Shaykh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, and an increasing Jewish immigration contributed to the large-scale 1936–1939 Arab uprising in Palestine, a largely nationalist revolt directed at ending British rule. Attacks were mainly directed at British strategic installations such as the Trans Arabian Pipeline (TAP) and railways, and to a lesser extent against Jewish settlements, secluded Jewish neighborhoods in the mixed cities, and Jews, both individually and in groups. The violence abated for about a year while the British sent the Peel Commission to investigate.
   
 
The Peel Commission then recommended that an exclusively Jewish territory be created in the Galilee and western coast (including the population transfer of 225,000 Arabs); the rest becoming an exclusively Arab area. With the Arab rejection of this proposal, the revolt resumed during the autumn of 1937. Violence continued throughout 1938 and eventually petered out in 1939. By the time the revolt concluded in March 1939, more than 5,000 Arabs, 400 Jews, and 200 British had been killed and at least 15,000 Arabs were wounded.
 
The Peel Commission then recommended that an exclusively Jewish territory be created in the Galilee and western coast (including the population transfer of 225,000 Arabs); the rest becoming an exclusively Arab area. With the Arab rejection of this proposal, the revolt resumed during the autumn of 1937. Violence continued throughout 1938 and eventually petered out in 1939. By the time the revolt concluded in March 1939, more than 5,000 Arabs, 400 Jews, and 200 British had been killed and at least 15,000 Arabs were wounded.
====World War II (1939–1945)====
 
   
 
====World War II (1939–1945)====
On June 10, 1940, [[Italy (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Italy]] declared war on the United Kingdom and sided with [[Nazi Germany (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Germany]]. Within a month, the Italians attacked Palestine from the air, bombing Tel Aviv and Haifa, inflicting multiple casualties. In May 1941, the Palmach was established to defend the Yishuv when the forces of German General Erwin Rommel advanced east in North Africa towards the Suez Canal and there was fear that they would conquer Palestine. In June 1944 the British agreed to create a Jewish Brigade that would fight in Italy. Approximately 1.5 million Jews around the world also served in every branch of the allied armies, mainly in the [[Soviet Union (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Soviet]] and U.S. armies. 200,000 Jews died serving in the Soviet army alone.
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[[File:JB_HQ.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Jewish Brigade headquarters under the Union Flag and Jewish flag]]On June 10, 1940, [[Italy (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Italy]] declared war on the United Kingdom and sided with [[Nazi Germany (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Germany]]. Within a month, the Italians attacked Palestine from the air, bombing Tel Aviv and Haifa, inflicting multiple casualties. In May 1941, the Palmach was established to defend the Yishuv when the forces of German General Erwin Rommel advanced east in North Africa towards the Suez Canal and there was fear that they would conquer Palestine. In June 1944 the British agreed to create a Jewish Brigade that would fight in Italy. Approximately 1.5 million Jews around the world also served in every branch of the allied armies, mainly in the [[Soviet Union (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Soviet]] and U.S. armies. 200,000 Jews died serving in the Soviet army alone.
   
 
Between 1939 and 1945, the Nazis led systematic efforts to kill every person of Jewish extraction in Europe called the Holocaust), causing the deaths of approximately 6 million Jews. During the Holocaust Europe's Jews were cut off from and disowned by the outside world. Jews were systematically impoverished, starved and murdered. The 1942 Zionist conference could not be held because of the war. Instead 600 Jewish leaders met at the Biltmore Hotel in New York and adopted a statement known as the Biltmore Program. They agreed that the Zionist movement would seek the creation of a Jewish state after the war and that all Jewish organizations would fight to ensure free Jewish migration into Palestine.
 
Between 1939 and 1945, the Nazis led systematic efforts to kill every person of Jewish extraction in Europe called the Holocaust), causing the deaths of approximately 6 million Jews. During the Holocaust Europe's Jews were cut off from and disowned by the outside world. Jews were systematically impoverished, starved and murdered. The 1942 Zionist conference could not be held because of the war. Instead 600 Jewish leaders met at the Biltmore Hotel in New York and adopted a statement known as the Biltmore Program. They agreed that the Zionist movement would seek the creation of a Jewish state after the war and that all Jewish organizations would fight to ensure free Jewish migration into Palestine.
   
 
====Zionist insurgency (1945–1947)====
 
====Zionist insurgency (1945–1947)====
 
[[File:KD_1946.jpg|thumb|125px|The King David Hotel after the bombing by the Irgun, 1946.]]The [[British Empire (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|British Empire]] was severely weakened at the end of war. In the Middle East, the war had made Britain conscious of its dependence on Arab oil and were concerned about maintaining Arab support. Even after the Labour Party won the general election in Britain in 1945, the British Government decided to maintain the 1939 White Paper policies that reduced the number of immigrants allowed into Palestine, restricted Jewish land purchases, and recommended that an independent Palestine, governed jointly by Arabs and Jews, be established within 10 years.
   
 
In an effort to win independence, the Zionists now waged a guerrilla war against the British. The main underground Jewish militia, the Haganah, formed an alliance called the Jewish Resistance Movement with the Etzel and the Lehi to fight the British. In June 1946, following instances of Jewish sabotage, the British launched Operation Agatha, arresting 2700 Jews, including the leadership of the Jewish Agency, whose headquarters were raided. In July 1946, the Irgun blew up the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, the headquarters of the British administration, killing 92 people. The situation in Palestine caused the Mandate to become widely unpopular in Britain, and caused the [[United States Congress (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|United States Congress]] delayed the loans that vital for British reconstruction. By 1947 the Labour-led British Government was ready to refer the Palestine problem to the newly created United Nations.
The [[British Empire (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|British Empire]] was severely weakened at the end of war. In the Middle East, the war had made Britain conscious of its dependence on Arab oil and were concerned about maintaining Arab support. Even after the Labour Party won the general election in Britain in 1945, the British Government decided to maintain the 1939 White Paper policies that reduced the number of immigrants allowed into Palestine, restricted Jewish land purchases, and recommended that an independent Palestine, governed jointly by Arabs and Jews, be established within 10 years.
 
 
In an effort to win independence, Zionists now waged a guerrilla war against the British. The main underground Jewish militia, the Haganah, formed an alliance called the Jewish Resistance Movement with the Etzel and the Lehi to fight the British. In June 1946, following instances of Jewish sabotage, the British launched Operation Agatha, arresting 2700 Jews, including the leadership of the Jewish Agency, whose headquarters were raided. In July 1946, the Irgun blew up the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, the headquarters of the British administration, killing 92 people. The situation in Palestine caused the Mandate to become widely unpopular in Britain, and caused the United States Congress delayed the loans that vital for British reconstruction. By 1947 the Labour-led British Government was ready to refer the Palestine problem to the newly created United Nations.
 
   
 
====Partition of Palestine (1947–1948)====
 
====Partition of Palestine (1947–1948)====
 
On April 1947, the United Nations created the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) to find a quick solution to the Palestine question. The majority of the members of UNSCOP proposed a partition with Economic Union of Mandatory Palestine to follow the termination of the British Mandate. On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state (with Jerusalem becoming an international enclave). The General Assembly's vote caused joy in the Jewish community and discontent among the Arab community. Large-scale fighting soon broke out between two sides.
   
 
From January 1948, the fighting became increasingly militarized, with Arab volunteers of the Arab Liberation Army (Arabic: جيش الإنقاذ العربي‎ ''Jaysh al-Inqadh al-Arabi'', "Inqadh") entered Palestine to fight with the Palestinians. They consolidated their presence in Galilee and Samaria. Meanwhile, a veteran of 1936–39 Arab uprising and 1941 Mesopotamian Revolution, [[Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni]], arrived in the Jerusalem sector from [[Egypt (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Egypt]] with several hundred men of the Army of the Holy War (Arabic: جيش الجهاد المقدس ''Jaysh al-Jihad al-Muqaddas'', "Muqaddas") in December 1947. He was joined by a hundred or so young villagers and Arab veterans of the British Army. His army soon had several thousand men, and it moved its training quarters to Bir Zeit, a town near Ramallah.
On April 1947, the United Nations created the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) to find a quick solution to the Palestine question. The majority of the members of UNSCOP proposed a partition with Economic Union of Mandatory Palestine to follow the termination of the British Mandate. On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state (with Jerusalem becoming an international enclave). The General Assembly's vote caused joy in the Jewish community and discontent among the Arab community. Large-scale fighting soon broke out between the sides.
 
   
 
On the other side, the Haganah was reorganized by the Jewish leadership and every Jewish man and woman in Mandatory Palestine had to receive military training. Thanks to funds raised by Golda Meir from sympathizers in the United States, and [[Sergei Kirov (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Sergei Kirov]]'s decision to support the Zionist cause, the Jewish representatives of Palestine were able to purchase important arms in Eastern Europe. Under Yigael Yadin, the Haganah passed from the defensive posture to the offensive one. Its principal objective was to secure Yishuv's uninterrupted territorial connections.
From January 1948, the fightings became increasingly militarized, with Arab volunteers of the Arab Liberation Army entered Palestine to fight with the Palestinians. They consolidated their presence in Galilee and Samaria. Meanwhile, a veteran of 1936–39 Arab uprising and 1941 Mesopotamian Revolution, [[Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni]], arrived in the Jerusalem sector from [[Egypt (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Egypt]] with several hundred men of the Army of the Holy War in December 1947. He was joined by a hundred or so young villagers and Arab veterans of the British Army. His army soon had several thousand men, and it moved its training quarters to Bir Zeit, a town near Ramallah.
 
 
On the other side, the Haganah was reorganized by the Jewish leadership and every Jewish man and woman in Palestine had to receive military training. Thanks to funds raised by Golda Meir from sympathizers in the United States, and [[Sergei Kirov (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Sergei Kirov]]'s decision to support the Zionist cause, the Jewish representatives of Palestine were able to purchase important arms in Eastern Europe. Under Yigael Yadin, the Haganah passed from the defensive to the offensive. Its principal objective was to secure Yishuv's uninterrupted territorial connections.
 
   
 
===State of Israel (1948–present)===
 
===State of Israel (1948–present)===
====1948 Arab–Israeli War (1948–1950)====
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====1948 Arab–Israeli War (1948–1949)====
On May 14, 1948, on the day the last British forces left from Haifa, the Jewish People's Council, led by [[David Ben-Gurion (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|David Ben-Gurion]], gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum and proclaimed "the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, to be known as the State of Israel". Following independence, the Haganah became the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Other Jewish militants were required to cease independent operations and join the IDF.
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[[File:DECLARATION_OF_INDEPENDENCE_Israel_Wwwm1876.jpg|thumb|150px|David Ben-Gurion declaring the independence of Israel at the Tel Aviv Museum in Tel Aviv]]On May 14, 1948, on the day the last British forces left from Haifa, the Jewish People's Council, led by [[David Ben-Gurion (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|David Ben-Gurion]], gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum and proclaimed "the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, to be known as the State of Israel". Following independence, the Haganah became the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Other Jewish militants were required to cease independent operations and join the IDF.
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The neighboring Arab states refused to accept the UN partition plan and had declared they would intervene to prevent its implementation and support the Palestinian Arab population. On May 15, [[Hejaz (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Hejaz]], [[Iraq (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Iraq]], [[Egypt (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Egypt]], [[Jordan (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Transjordan]] and [[Syria (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Syria]], invaded the former territory of British Mandate for Palestine, thus marking the beginning of 1948 Arab–Israeli War. On June 11, 1948, a month-long UN truce was put into effect. Neither side respected the truce. Both sides used this time to improve their positions, a direct violation of the terms of the ceasefire. The fighting then continued on July 8, 1948 for ten days until the UN Security Council issued the second truce on July 18.
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[[File:PikiWiki_Israel_46061_David_Ben_Gurion.jpg|thumb|left|99px|David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973), the first and third Prime Minister of Israel (1948–54; 1955–63)]]On September 16, UN mediator, Count Folke Bernadotte, proposed a new partition for Palestine in which Jordan would annex Lydda and Ramla, the Negev would be divided between Jordan and Egypt and there would be a Jewish state in the whole of Galilee. The plan was also rejected by both sides and on September 17, Bernadotte was assassinated in Jerusalem by the militant Zionist group Lehi. On September 20, 1948, the [[Palestine (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|All-Palestine Government]] was formed in Gaza with [[Ahmed Hilmi Abd al-Baqi (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Ahmed Hilmi Abd al-Baqi]] as its Prime Minister and on October 1, 1948, it declared the independence over the whole of Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital. The fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians then resumed on October 15, 1948.
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On October 24, the Israeli forces captured the entire upper Galilee, driving the Inqadh and Lebanese Army out, and successfully ambushing and destroying an entire Syrian battalion. An estimated 50,000 Arab inhabitants fled into Lebanon, some of them fleeing ahead of the advancing forces, and some expelled from villages which had resisted. The third truce was issued on November 7, 1948. Both sides used this opportunity to consolidate their territorial gains. By November 1948, the Israeli forces effectively controlled Galilee and northern Negev, while the Palestinian and Arab forces controlled Gaza, Jerusalem and most of West Bank. After the fighting resumed on December 5, 1948, Israel focused its operations to secure the northern and southern borders. Israel secured western Negev from Egypt on December 27, 1948.
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[[File:Raising_the_Ink_Flag_at_Umm_Rashrash_(Eilat).jpg|thumb|97px|The raising of the Ink Flag at Umm Rashrash which marking the end of the war, 1949.]]The first legislative election was held in the middle of war on January 25, 1949. The Mapai Party (מִפְלֶגֶת פּוֹעֲלֵי אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") won large support during the election. On February 16, 1949, Chaim Weizmann was elected as the first President of Israel. The first government of Israel was formed on March 8, 1949 with David Ben-Gurion as the Prime Minister. Under Ben-Gurion's first government, Israel signed separate armistices with Egypt on February 24, Lebanon on March 23, Jordan on April 3, Hejaz on April 24 and Syria on July 20.
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On March 10, 1949, the Israeli forces had reached the shores of the Red Sea at Umm Rashrash, securing the Southern Negev from Jordan. After took it without a battle, the Israeli soldiers raised a hand-made Israeli flag ("The Ink Flag"). The raising of the Ink Flag is considered to be the end of the war. Following the armistices with the Arab countries, Israel was admitted to the United Nations on May 11, 1949. On May 12, 1949, Israel and Palestine concluded the armistice agreement and a demarcation line was set out, known as the Green Line, establishing ''de facto'' borders between two countries, in which the State of Israel had control over the Northeast Coastal Plain, Galilee, the Negev and West Jerusalem.
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====Ben-Gurion I and Sharett governments (1949–1955)====
   
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As Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion presided various national projects aimed at the rapid development of the country. Under his government, the educational law in 1949 was enacted which introduced compulsory schooling for all children between the ages of 5 to 14. In September 1949, the Defense Service Law, providing for a period of mandatory military service for citizens, was also enacted. During the 1949 Lausanne Conference, Israel and Palestine had agreed for the repatriation of ethnic Arab refugees from the then-Israeli territories to the West Bank and Gaza. Israel has refused the return of Arab refugees to its territories, while at the same time promoted Jewish mass immigration and Jewish immigrants moved into the homes of the refugees.
The neighbouring Arab states refused to accept the UN partition plan and had declared they would intervene to prevent its implementation and support the Palestinian Arab population. On May 15, [[Iraq (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Iraq]], [[Egypt (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Egypt]], [[Jordan (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Transjordan]] and [[Syria (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Syria]], invaded what had, until the previous day, been the British Mandate for Palestine, thereby starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
 
   
  +
Immigration doubled the Jewish population of Israel between 1949 and 1951 which increased by nearly 700,000 Jewish immigrants from the Middle East and Europe. In June 1949, Operation Magic Carpet (כנפי נשרים‎ ''Kanfei Nesharim'', lit. "Operation On Wings of Eagles") was launched by the government to airlift the Jews from [[Hejaz (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Hejaz]], North Yemen, Aden, [[Nejd (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)|Nejd]] as well as from Djibouti and Eritrea in secret to Israel. In 1950, the Law of Return was passed, which granted to all Jews and those of Jewish ancestry, and their spouses, the right to settle in Israel and gain citizenship. The influx of Jewish immigrants, however, resulted to the experience of shortage of food and money to the society.
On June 11, 1948, a month-long UN truce was put into effect. Neither side respected the truce. Both sides used this time to improve their positions, a direct violation of the terms of the ceasefire. The fighting then continued on July 8, 1948 for ten days until the UN Security Council issued the second truce on July 18. On September 16, UN mediator, Count Folke Bernadotte, proposed a new partition for Palestine in which Jordan would annex Lydda and Ramla, the Negev would be divided between Jordan and Egypt and there would be a Jewish state in the whole of Galilee. The plan was also rejected by both sides and on September 17, Bernadotte was assassinated in Jerusalem by the militant Zionist group Lehi.
 
   
  +
On April 26, 1949, Ben-Gurion ordered the establishment of the Ministry of Rationing and Supply to supervise distribution of necessary resources to ensure equal and ample rations for all citizens.
On September 20, 1948, the All-Palestine Government was formed by the Arab League in Gaza with Ahmed Hilmi Abd al-Baqi as its Prime Minister. On October 1, 1948, the government declared the independence over the whole of Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital. The fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians then resumed on October 15, 1948. On October 24, the Israeli forces captured the entire upper Galilee, driving the Arab Liberation Army and Lebanese Army back to Lebanon, and successfully ambushing and destroying an entire Syrian battalion.
 
   
  +
====Ben Gurion II government (1955–1963)====
The third truce was issued on November 7, 1948. Both sides used this opportunity to consolidate their territorial gains. By November 1948, the Israeli forces effectively controlled Galilee and northern Negev, while the Palestinian and Arab forces controlled Gaza, Jerusalem and most of West Bank.
 
 
[[Category:Israel]]
 
[[Category:Israel]]
 
[[Category:Nations (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)]]
 
[[Category:Nations (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)]]

Revision as of 11:14, 5 August 2020

State of Israel
מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל
Timeline: Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum

OTL equivalent: Jewish territories of 1947 Partition Plan
Flag Coat of Arms
Flag Coat of Arms
Location of State of Israel
Location of Israel (in dark blue)
Anthem "Hatikvah"
Capital Jerusalem (de jure)
Tel Aviv (de facto)
Largest city Tel Aviv
Other cities Haifa, Rishon LeZion, Petah Tikva
Language Hebrew
Religion Judaism; Christianity; Islam; Druze
Ethnic Group Jews; Arabs
Demonym Israeli
Government Unitary state; parliamentary republic
  Legislature Knesset
Population 7,400,000 
Independence from Mandatory Palestine
  declared May 14, 1948
  recognized July 28, 1950
Currency New shekel
Time Zone (UTC+2)
  summer (UTC+3)
Calling Code +972
Internet TLD .il

Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Yisrā'el), officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'el) is a country in the Middle East, consisted of five geographic regions: Tiberias, Coastal Plain, the Golan Heights, West Jerusalem and the Negev. Israel is bordered by Palestine to the east, by Mediterranean Sea and the Palestinian enclave of Gaza to the west, by Egypt to the southwest and by Jordan to the southeast. The Israeli enclaves of Tiberias and the Golan is bordered by Lebanon to the north, by the Palestinian enclave of Galilee to the west, by Syria to the east and by Jordan to the south.

History

Zionist Movement (1870–1917)

Second aliyah Pioneers in Migdal 1912 in kuffiyeh

Second Aliyah workers eating lunch in the fields of Migdal

Since the Jewish Diaspora, some Jews have aspired to return to "Zion" and the "Land of Israel", though the amount of effort that should be spent towards such an aim was a matter of dispute. With the increasing persecution and pogroms in Eastern Europe, a small wave of Jewish immigrants fled to Ottoman-ruled Southern Syria in the late 19th century. The new migration was accompanied by a revival of the Hebrew language with the creation of the first modern Hebrew dictionary by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda.

Many early migrants left due to difficulty finding work and the early settlements often remained dependent on foreign donations. Despite the difficulties, new settlements arose and the community grew. By 1890, Southern Syria, which was part of the Ottoman Empire, was inhabited by about half a million people, mostly Muslim and Christian Arabs, with Jews as a majority in Jerusalem.

Theodor herzl

Theodor Herzl (1860–1904), the father of modern Zionism

Austro-Hungarian journalist Theodor Herzl is credited for founding Zionism, a movement which sought to establish a Jewish state either in Palestine or in other places as a refuge from rising antisemitism in Europe. The Zionist Organization was formally founded in 1897. After the controversial plan by the British government in 1903 to establish a Jewish state at modern-day Kenya, the Zionist Organization was split between the ones who still preferred Palestine as the sole focus of Zionist aspirations and the Jewish Territorialist Organization who willing to establish a Jewish homeland anywhere.

During World War I, most Jews supported the Germans because they were fighting the Russians who were regarded as the Jews' main enemy. In Britain, the government formed the Jewish Legion as a means of recruiting Russian Jewish immigrants to the British war effort. The most prominent Russian Jewish migrant in Britain was chemist Chaim Weizmann who developed a new process to produce Acetone, a critical ingredient in manufacturing explosives that Britain was unable to manufacture in sufficient quantity. With different national sections of the movement supporting different sides in the war, Zionist policy, however, was to maintain strict neutrality and "to demonstrate complete loyalty to Turkey", the ally of Germany.

Mandatory Palestine (1916–1948)

Under the secret Sykes–Picot Agreement of 1916, the British and the French divided each others' spheres of influences at the Middle East into several League of Nations mandates, which became the real cornerstone of the geopolitics structuring the entire region. The agreement gave Britain control over what parties would begin to call "Palestine". On November 2, 1917, the British Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour, expressing the government's view in favour of "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" that known as the Balfour Declaration.

The British-led Egyptian Expeditionary Force, commanded by Edmund Allenby, captured Jerusalem on December 9, 1917 and occupied the whole of the Levant following the defeat of Ottoman forces in Palestine at the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918 and the capitulation of Ottoman Empire on October 31. The British Mandate for Palestine (המנדט הבריטי על ארץ ישראל haManḏaṭ haBriṭi ʿel Ereṣ Yišrael) was confirmed by the League of Nations in 1922 and came into effect in 1923. The boundaries of Palestine initially included modern Jordan, which was removed from the territory a few years later. Britain signed a treaty with the United States (which did not join the League of Nations) in which the United States endorsed the terms of the Mandate.

Between 1919 and 1923, another 40,000 Russian Jews arrived in Palestine, escaping the revolutionary chaos in Russia and the Ukraine. Many of these immigrants became known as "pioneers" (halutzim), experienced or trained in agriculture and capable of establishing self-sustaining economies. The Jezreel Valley and the Hefer Plain marshes were drained and converted to agricultural use. Land was bought by the Jewish National Fund, a Zionist charity which collected money abroad for that purpose. A mainly underground Jewish militia, Haganah (ההגנה, "The Defense"), was established to defend outlying Jewish settlements.

During the whole interwar period, the British, appealing to the terms of the Mandate, rejected the principle of majority rule or any other measure that would give the Arab population, who formed the majority of the population, control over Palestinian territory. From 1928, the democratically elected Jewish National Council ("Va'ad Leumi") became the main institution of the Palestine Jewish community ("Yishuv") and included non-Zionist Jews. As the Yishuv grew, the Va'ad Leumi adopted more government-type functions, such as education, health care and security. With British permission, the Va'ad raised its own taxes and ran independent services for the Jewish population. From 1929 its leadership was elected by Jews from 26 countries.

In 1933, the Jewish Agency and the Nazis negotiated the Ha'avara Agreement, under which 50,000 Jews would be transferred to Palestine and in return the Nazis allowed the Ha'avara organization to purchase 14 million pounds worth of German goods for export to Palestine. The agreement was controversial and the Labour Zionist leader who negotiated the agreement, Haim Arlosoroff, was assassinated in Tel Aviv in 1933. Between 1929 and 1938, 250,000 Jews arrived in Palestine. Between 1929 and 1938, 250,000 Jews arrived in Palestine.

Resolution 194 ONU

The Jewish delegates in London Conference, St. James' Palace, on February 1939

The death of Palestinian Arab nationalist leader, Shaykh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, and an increasing Jewish immigration contributed to the large-scale 1936–1939 Arab uprising in Palestine, a largely nationalist revolt directed at ending British rule. Attacks were mainly directed at British strategic installations such as the Trans Arabian Pipeline (TAP) and railways, and to a lesser extent against Jewish settlements, secluded Jewish neighborhoods in the mixed cities, and Jews, both individually and in groups. The violence abated for about a year while the British sent the Peel Commission to investigate.

The Peel Commission then recommended that an exclusively Jewish territory be created in the Galilee and western coast (including the population transfer of 225,000 Arabs); the rest becoming an exclusively Arab area. With the Arab rejection of this proposal, the revolt resumed during the autumn of 1937. Violence continued throughout 1938 and eventually petered out in 1939. By the time the revolt concluded in March 1939, more than 5,000 Arabs, 400 Jews, and 200 British had been killed and at least 15,000 Arabs were wounded.

World War II (1939–1945)

JB HQ

Jewish Brigade headquarters under the Union Flag and Jewish flag

On June 10, 1940, Italy declared war on the United Kingdom and sided with Germany. Within a month, the Italians attacked Palestine from the air, bombing Tel Aviv and Haifa, inflicting multiple casualties. In May 1941, the Palmach was established to defend the Yishuv when the forces of German General Erwin Rommel advanced east in North Africa towards the Suez Canal and there was fear that they would conquer Palestine. In June 1944 the British agreed to create a Jewish Brigade that would fight in Italy. Approximately 1.5 million Jews around the world also served in every branch of the allied armies, mainly in the Soviet and U.S. armies. 200,000 Jews died serving in the Soviet army alone.

Between 1939 and 1945, the Nazis led systematic efforts to kill every person of Jewish extraction in Europe called the Holocaust), causing the deaths of approximately 6 million Jews. During the Holocaust Europe's Jews were cut off from and disowned by the outside world. Jews were systematically impoverished, starved and murdered. The 1942 Zionist conference could not be held because of the war. Instead 600 Jewish leaders met at the Biltmore Hotel in New York and adopted a statement known as the Biltmore Program. They agreed that the Zionist movement would seek the creation of a Jewish state after the war and that all Jewish organizations would fight to ensure free Jewish migration into Palestine.

Zionist insurgency (1945–1947)

KD 1946

The King David Hotel after the bombing by the Irgun, 1946.

The British Empire was severely weakened at the end of war. In the Middle East, the war had made Britain conscious of its dependence on Arab oil and were concerned about maintaining Arab support. Even after the Labour Party won the general election in Britain in 1945, the British Government decided to maintain the 1939 White Paper policies that reduced the number of immigrants allowed into Palestine, restricted Jewish land purchases, and recommended that an independent Palestine, governed jointly by Arabs and Jews, be established within 10 years.

In an effort to win independence, the Zionists now waged a guerrilla war against the British. The main underground Jewish militia, the Haganah, formed an alliance called the Jewish Resistance Movement with the Etzel and the Lehi to fight the British. In June 1946, following instances of Jewish sabotage, the British launched Operation Agatha, arresting 2700 Jews, including the leadership of the Jewish Agency, whose headquarters were raided. In July 1946, the Irgun blew up the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, the headquarters of the British administration, killing 92 people. The situation in Palestine caused the Mandate to become widely unpopular in Britain, and caused the United States Congress delayed the loans that vital for British reconstruction. By 1947 the Labour-led British Government was ready to refer the Palestine problem to the newly created United Nations.

Partition of Palestine (1947–1948)

On April 1947, the United Nations created the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) to find a quick solution to the Palestine question. The majority of the members of UNSCOP proposed a partition with Economic Union of Mandatory Palestine to follow the termination of the British Mandate. On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state (with Jerusalem becoming an international enclave). The General Assembly's vote caused joy in the Jewish community and discontent among the Arab community. Large-scale fighting soon broke out between two sides.

From January 1948, the fighting became increasingly militarized, with Arab volunteers of the Arab Liberation Army (Arabic: جيش الإنقاذ العربي‎ Jaysh al-Inqadh al-Arabi, "Inqadh") entered Palestine to fight with the Palestinians. They consolidated their presence in Galilee and Samaria. Meanwhile, a veteran of 1936–39 Arab uprising and 1941 Mesopotamian Revolution, Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, arrived in the Jerusalem sector from Egypt with several hundred men of the Army of the Holy War (Arabic: جيش الجهاد المقدس Jaysh al-Jihad al-Muqaddas, "Muqaddas") in December 1947. He was joined by a hundred or so young villagers and Arab veterans of the British Army. His army soon had several thousand men, and it moved its training quarters to Bir Zeit, a town near Ramallah.

On the other side, the Haganah was reorganized by the Jewish leadership and every Jewish man and woman in Mandatory Palestine had to receive military training. Thanks to funds raised by Golda Meir from sympathizers in the United States, and Sergei Kirov's decision to support the Zionist cause, the Jewish representatives of Palestine were able to purchase important arms in Eastern Europe. Under Yigael Yadin, the Haganah passed from the defensive posture to the offensive one. Its principal objective was to secure Yishuv's uninterrupted territorial connections.

State of Israel (1948–present)

1948 Arab–Israeli War (1948–1949)

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE Israel Wwwm1876

David Ben-Gurion declaring the independence of Israel at the Tel Aviv Museum in Tel Aviv

On May 14, 1948, on the day the last British forces left from Haifa, the Jewish People's Council, led by David Ben-Gurion, gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum and proclaimed "the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, to be known as the State of Israel". Following independence, the Haganah became the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Other Jewish militants were required to cease independent operations and join the IDF.

The neighboring Arab states refused to accept the UN partition plan and had declared they would intervene to prevent its implementation and support the Palestinian Arab population. On May 15, HejazIraq, Egypt, Transjordan and Syria, invaded the former territory of British Mandate for Palestine, thus marking the beginning of 1948 Arab–Israeli War. On June 11, 1948, a month-long UN truce was put into effect. Neither side respected the truce. Both sides used this time to improve their positions, a direct violation of the terms of the ceasefire. The fighting then continued on July 8, 1948 for ten days until the UN Security Council issued the second truce on July 18.

PikiWiki Israel 46061 David Ben Gurion

David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973), the first and third Prime Minister of Israel (1948–54; 1955–63)

On September 16, UN mediator, Count Folke Bernadotte, proposed a new partition for Palestine in which Jordan would annex Lydda and Ramla, the Negev would be divided between Jordan and Egypt and there would be a Jewish state in the whole of Galilee. The plan was also rejected by both sides and on September 17, Bernadotte was assassinated in Jerusalem by the militant Zionist group Lehi. On September 20, 1948, the All-Palestine Government was formed in Gaza with Ahmed Hilmi Abd al-Baqi as its Prime Minister and on October 1, 1948, it declared the independence over the whole of Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital. The fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians then resumed on October 15, 1948.

On October 24, the Israeli forces captured the entire upper Galilee, driving the Inqadh and Lebanese Army out, and successfully ambushing and destroying an entire Syrian battalion. An estimated 50,000 Arab inhabitants fled into Lebanon, some of them fleeing ahead of the advancing forces, and some expelled from villages which had resisted. The third truce was issued on November 7, 1948. Both sides used this opportunity to consolidate their territorial gains. By November 1948, the Israeli forces effectively controlled Galilee and northern Negev, while the Palestinian and Arab forces controlled Gaza, Jerusalem and most of West Bank. After the fighting resumed on December 5, 1948, Israel focused its operations to secure the northern and southern borders. Israel secured western Negev from Egypt on December 27, 1948.

Raising the Ink Flag at Umm Rashrash (Eilat)

The raising of the Ink Flag at Umm Rashrash which marking the end of the war, 1949.

The first legislative election was held in the middle of war on January 25, 1949. The Mapai Party (מִפְלֶגֶת פּוֹעֲלֵי אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael, lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") won large support during the election. On February 16, 1949, Chaim Weizmann was elected as the first President of Israel. The first government of Israel was formed on March 8, 1949 with David Ben-Gurion as the Prime Minister. Under Ben-Gurion's first government, Israel signed separate armistices with Egypt on February 24, Lebanon on March 23, Jordan on April 3, Hejaz on April 24 and Syria on July 20.

On March 10, 1949, the Israeli forces had reached the shores of the Red Sea at Umm Rashrash, securing the Southern Negev from Jordan. After took it without a battle, the Israeli soldiers raised a hand-made Israeli flag ("The Ink Flag"). The raising of the Ink Flag is considered to be the end of the war. Following the armistices with the Arab countries, Israel was admitted to the United Nations on May 11, 1949. On May 12, 1949, Israel and Palestine concluded the armistice agreement and a demarcation line was set out, known as the Green Line, establishing de facto borders between two countries, in which the State of Israel had control over the Northeast Coastal Plain, Galilee, the Negev and West Jerusalem.

Ben-Gurion I and Sharett governments (1949–1955)

As Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion presided various national projects aimed at the rapid development of the country. Under his government, the educational law in 1949 was enacted which introduced compulsory schooling for all children between the ages of 5 to 14. In September 1949, the Defense Service Law, providing for a period of mandatory military service for citizens, was also enacted. During the 1949 Lausanne Conference, Israel and Palestine had agreed for the repatriation of ethnic Arab refugees from the then-Israeli territories to the West Bank and Gaza. Israel has refused the return of Arab refugees to its territories, while at the same time promoted Jewish mass immigration and Jewish immigrants moved into the homes of the refugees.

Immigration doubled the Jewish population of Israel between 1949 and 1951 which increased by nearly 700,000 Jewish immigrants from the Middle East and Europe. In June 1949, Operation Magic Carpet (כנפי נשרים‎ Kanfei Nesharim, lit. "Operation On Wings of Eagles") was launched by the government to airlift the Jews from Hejaz, North Yemen, Aden, Nejd as well as from Djibouti and Eritrea in secret to Israel. In 1950, the Law of Return was passed, which granted to all Jews and those of Jewish ancestry, and their spouses, the right to settle in Israel and gain citizenship. The influx of Jewish immigrants, however, resulted to the experience of shortage of food and money to the society.

On April 26, 1949, Ben-Gurion ordered the establishment of the Ministry of Rationing and Supply to supervise distribution of necessary resources to ensure equal and ample rations for all citizens.

Ben Gurion II government (1955–1963)