The creation of Israel, the war of 1948–49 and the Suez Crisis of 1956

Question 1

How did world opinion change?

Answer 1

• The British lost international sympathy through its attempts to restrict Jewish immigration
• Turning back survivors of the Holocaust damaged its reputation and led to pressure from the USA to admit more refugees
• The forced return to Germany of 4,500 refugees on board the Exodus in 1947 highlighted the problem

Question 2

Explain why Britain gave up its Mandate in February 1947?

Answer 2

• Britain asked the UN to find a solution to the Palestinian problem and announced that it would leave by May 1948
• Palestine was costing too much to police and Britain’s economy had been overstretched by WW2
• British opinion was against further loss of British servicemen, such as the taking of two sergeants as hostages and then hanging them in retaliation for the execution of the Irgun members
• Britain was under growing international pressure to allow more Jewish immigration, but the more Jews they let in the greater Arab resistance

Question 3

What was the UN Partition Plan (1947)

Answer 3

• The holy city of Jerusalem was to be controlled by an international force
• Arabs were angry because the Jews were to receive more land despite their smaller population, which included the best areas of Palestine
• This caused fighting between the Jews and Arabs over land, particularly over the approaches to Jerusalem, to intensify
• After the British left in May 1948, Jewish leader David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the state of Israel
• By then 300,000 Arabs had fled, mostly to live in refugee camps in Jordan

Question 4

Summarise the Arab-Israeli war of 1948-49

Answer 4

• The surrounding Arab states (Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq) refused to recognise Israel’s right to exist and immediately attacked
• The war consisted of a series of clashes
• The Israelis won even though they lacked planes and heavy artillery and had few armoured vehicles
• UN mediator Count Bernadotte proposed a truce in June 1948 but the Israelis rejected this as it would mean Arab control of Jerusalem, loss of land in the south and the return of Arab refugees
• Bernadotte was assassinated by the Stern gang and fighting resumed
• The Israelis then captured all of Galilee and pushed the Arabs back into the Sinai desert

Question 5

What were the consequences for Israel in the Arab - Israeli War of 1948-49?

Answer 5

• Israel had gained more land than it had been allocated by the UN
• Israel’s borders were vulnerable to attack as they were based on an armistice, not permanent peace
• The Arabs refused to sign a treaty as that would have meant recognising Israel’s right to exist; This meant that Israel had to be constantly prepared for another war, with universal military service
• The state of Israel began to become to dependent for support on the USA
• The Law of Return was implemented in 1950 and it stated that any Jew in the world had a right to return to Israel; This led to Israel’s population to increase from 770,000 to 1,718,000 in 1948-54
• Israel began to develop the land and irrigate the desert for agriculture

Question 6

What were the consequences for the Arabs in the Arab - Israeli War of 1948-49?

Answer 6

• Nearly 800,000 Arabs fled to neighbouring countries where they lived in poor conditions in refugee camps
• This led to the uprise of resistance fighters called Fedayeen
• The Arabs wanted revenge after their defeat
• Arabs states began to look to the USSR for aid in response to the links between Israel and the USA

Question 7

What was the Refugee Crisis?

Answer 7

• Israelis maintained that the Arab refugee problem was caused by the Arab states’ attack on its territory in 1948
• Arabs believed that it had been caused by Israel’s wrongful seizure of Palestinian land

Question 8

Two things that give an Israeli Sense of National Identity?

Answer 8

• The slogan ‘Masada shall not fall again’
• The trail of Adolf Eichmann

Question 9

Who was Colonel Nasser (1954-70)?

Answer 9

• He was an Egyptian politician who served as the 2nd president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970.
• He was an Arab nationalist who wanted to modernise Egypt, end Western influence in the Middle East and unite the Arabs in a single movement
• He was non-aligned, meaning he was willing to take aid either from the USA or USSR
• He wanted to make Egypt independent

Question 10

Summarise the events LEADING UP to the Suez Canal Crisis?

Answer 10

• Nasser negotiated the withdrawal of British troops from the Suez Canal zone in 1954
• His request for modern weapons from the USA was denied because they believed he would use the weapons against Israel
• In February 1955, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a raid on the Egyptian army headquarters, claiming it was a reprisal attack
• Nasser negotiated a secret arms deal with Soviet ally Czechoslovakia in return for $300 million in Egyptian cotton
• In August 1955 a Fedayeen raid in Israel resulted in a reprisal attack by the IDF on Gaza that killed 72 Egyptian soldiers
• Nasser made the Czechoslovakian arms deal public and imposed a complete blockade on all trade through the Straits of Tiran
• In October 1955, the USA and Britain offered to loan Egypt $270 million for the Aswam Dam in an attempt to win back Egypt from an alliance with the USSR
• In July 1956, the USA and Britain withdrew their offer

Question 11

Summarise the Suez Canal Crisis (1956)

Answer 11

• Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal
• In October 1956 a secret deal known as the Sèvres Agreement took place between Britain, France and Israel which stated that Israel would invade Egypt in order to allow Britain and France to invade under the guise of peace-keeping so that they could regain control of the Suez Canal
• President Eisenhower publicly condemned the attack
• The USSR threatened to intervene on Egypt’s side

Question 12

What were the consequences of the Suez Canal Crisis for BRITAIN & FRANCE?

Answer 12

• Their prestige in the Middle East was significantly weakened
• Their property in Egypt was confiscated by the Egyptian government
• The superpowers increased their competition with each other for influence in the Middle East
• In 1957, President Eisenhower offered aid to any country in the Middle East that was threatened by Communism in the Eisenhower Doctrine
• The USSR increased its aid for Egypt, sending thousands of military advisers there

Question 13

What were the consequences of the Suez Canal Crisis for ISRAEL?

Answer 13

• Israel had established its military superiority
• It became more secure by destroying Fedayeen bases in the Sinai and by having the UN forces policing the Sinai
• Israel was able to gain access to the Gulf of Aqaba
• It was still surrounded by hostile Arab states and now Nasser had a reason to seek revenge

Question 14

What were the consequences of the Suez Canal Crisis for EGYPT?

Answer 14

• Despite losing the land battle, the fact that Nasser had stood up to aggression meant that he became a hero in the Arab world
• Nasser’s aim was to create a pan-Arab movement in the Middle East
• In 1958, the pro-Western monarchy in Iraq was overthrown partly due to his influence
• From 1958-61, Syria and Egypt were combined in the United Arab Republic