Conditions Leading to Statehood in Israel- Palestinian Conflict 1948

Introduction

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been categorized as a political-ideological tussle rather war by many historians. The conflict, which occurred in 1948, is distinct due to precedent events that happened in the Arabian countries and Israel. The Israeli-Palestine war illuminates both diplomatic and political issues, such as the Zionist story, a move taken by the old historians to explain and record the activities of the war.¹ Up to date, the Palestinian war is a great controversy due to the ideological tussle between old and new historians. Ancient historians were dedicated to giving a deeper understanding of the Palestine war, and their works are documented in the Israel archives, which were unearthed in 1988.² Missing concepts in the historic Israeli- Palestine War and the formation of Jewish state has promoted ideological differences between old and new historians, whose conflicting opinions on have affected public relations among the states.

Summary of the Topic

Declassification of Israel’s historical documents occurred during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The declassification, which was the dissemination of archival papers, happened due to the rise of modern historians. This process brainstormed research on the ancient relationship between eastern and western Israel in the initial decade of statehood. The Zion strategy was the key policy in Israel during the critical stage of statehood since it laid the base for a robust global group referred to as the excellent power alliance. Nonrecognition of Palestinian identity was a crucial event in the Zion strategy since it led to the rise of new historians who addressed the importance of diverse ideologies in national and political growth. ³ The school of contemporary historians that began in 1980 included great historians such as Benny Morris, and Ilan Pappe who laid the facts about Palestinian evolution and how the war represented civil and political stands.

The missing dimension, an apparent factor that stands out in the war, addresses both political aspects not discussed by the Palestinian and Israel militants and unearths the cause of the rift between Israel and Palestine and how the Palestinians triumphed during the war to give rise to the Jewish state. Palestine was faced by two political issues during the 1948 war.⁴ The first challenge was the inability to carry out independent resolutions, as the choices of war and power tussled to break from Israel. The second problem was the overdependence on other Arab States, such as Jordan, during the war.⁵ Palestine depended on other nations for firearms, leading to a request from leaders in Arab countries, such as Syria. The Arab leaders removed the incumbent political leader, Hussay, from the Palestinian war against Israel, showing the place of political stands during the war.

Arguments and Debates from Other Historians about Israel Palestine War

David Tal, a historian, discusses the missing dimension during the Israel- Palestinian war. Although the war was military-based, relevant army information shows that political ideologies were not just the driving factor to the fallout. In his argument, David looks into two relevant cases, the fight between Israel and Jordan, the Palestine-Hagan conflict in March 1948, and the Israeli-Egypt war that happened in June 1948.⁶ During the Israel-Jordan conflict, the historian reveals that the war occurred due to conflicted conceptions between the leaders of the two States. Communication and dialogue were minimal during the war, and little misconceptions were propagated during the fight, resulting in economic instability in both countries. Strategic failure was reported in Israel’s attack on both Egypt and Hagan, and this shaped the nature of victory in the Jewish State.

In the article, missing dimension, David addresses the inadequacies posed by the Zion story, and this was the initial step to unearthing the strategic and ideological failures committed both by the Israel and Palestine soldiers during the war. Both the British public records office and the Israel archives stored the documents that pertained to the 1948 Palestine war.⁷ The archival sources were used for the first historic study by the new historians. The reliance on stored documents unearthed the mishaps in the reports given by the new historian, and therefore, military encounters were not recorded as satisfactory. War is a product of conflict and has several stages of development. The documents were given out to promote diplomacy between the states, and the historical information retrieved was not complete. The historians, however, managed to analyze Palestinian success in winning the tide of war.

The war on the road lays the Palestinian triumph in Major cities. The military controlled both the Palestine road and conquered Jerusalem. The destruction of deadly convoys that belonged to Hagan was destroyed in one week, and that was the biggest triumph, as stated in the Israel documents. David Ben, an old historian, termed Palestinian triumph as just a closure of roads. The mismatch is evident since Israel’s reaction and how they responded to the closure are not addressed.

The last weeks of the Israel-Palestine war were a mystery, and David addresses the failure in strategic planning amongst the Israelites, the decision-making process in the Palestine military camp, and the impact of Arab politics on the war results. The partition resolution for nations called for the Palestine military to account for their shortcomings in strategy development. Their response was that the country lacked the appropriate war machinery hence dependence on other Arab States. According to the new historians, the double fight picked up by Ex-mufti, a Syrian leader, against the Jews and the Arabs was a representation of misplaced war. A duality was created among the Palestine soldiers that reduced their success during the war.

Avi Shlaim, in his book, Israel between east and west, talks about the controversies that occurred in the Palestinian war that led to the conflict between the old and new historians and how their opinions shaped the magnitude of the war.⁸ Ideological differences were not adequately addressed in archived documents; hence the gaps affected judgment amongst the new historians. On the other hand, the reliance on incomplete data on war breached the authenticity of the findings by the new historians. From research findings, Palestine required external support from the Arab countries to build an independent Jewish State and break Israel’s policy on the matter. Israel’s government made policies that affirmed the union of both Palestinians and Israelites.

On the other hand, Palestine supported the recession, and its primary goal was to break the policies. According to Andrew, the United States had misconceptions about the cause of the conflict between Israel and Arabs.⁹ The misconceptions have led to falling back in the actions taken to rectify the widening rift between the Israelites and Arabs. Policymakers and diplomats have been trying to hide the controversies, further worsening the situation (Andrews 1989, 98). The war between Arabs and Israelites is a result of mischief and is artificially inspired.¹⁰ Reports given by Palestine show that the national claims made by the United States are mischievous and the real cause for the conflict. Additionally, they caused the Arabs’ refusal to accommodate the Palestinians and also fail to respect their right to space.

Strengths and Weaknesses in the above arguments

Based on the various historians, the war between Israel and Palestine was based on ideological differences. Arguments from the above historians portray weaknesses and strengths and how statehood developed. In missing dimension, David Tal analyzes the factors that predisposed the Palestinian war and how the place of military historians was overlooked. In his argument, David fully addresses the importance of diversified research on war and how inclusion would have given the old historians accurate information, which would be used by the new historians. Access to archived documents stored in Israel was a diplomatic approach and helped in understanding the controversies that accompanied the 1948 Palestine war.¹¹ Regarding the weaknesses, the author does not provide the best strategic military camp operations that would necessitate easy tracking of the war proceedings. Since the primary role of the book was to unearth the mistakes conducted by ancient historians, the paper does not provide a specific solution to curb future conflicts.

War on the roads outlines Palestine’s success and relates to the right to independence and the freedom of statehood. In fighting for the Jewish State, Tal outlines the strategic military actions taken by the Palestinians to conquer Jerusalem and Jaffa Road. The author shows how the duality of war among the Arabs placed Palestine in a better winning position.¹² One weakness that stands tall in the war on the roads article. Israelites’ response to the abduction of Jerusalem is not analyzed, leading to ambiguity.

In his article, Israel between East and West, Avi Shlain gives the importance of a collaborative approach between old and new historians and how it would efficiently describe conflicts. Shlain uses the cause-effect approach since he emphasizes understanding the cause of conflict as the first strategy to preventing the conflicts.¹³ Good international relations are destroyed once party research, such as the Zionist strategy adopted by old historians. In regard to the weaknesses, the article does not recommend strategies to promote efficient documentation of historic monuments. It is rather an analytical paper instead of a solution research.

Misconceptions about the cause of war totally subvert the fact-finding process and destroy diplomatic relations among the conflicting States. In his book, Tal addresses the pre-existing misconceptions among policymakers in the United States regarding Arab- the Israel war.¹⁴ The book unearths the implications of assumptions on relations and how they may result in future conflicts. Taking the case of the Palestine war and the fight for Jewish states, the United States, poetic justice thinking among the policy makers causes them insensitivity. It hence widens the rift between Arabs and Palestine.

Conclusion

Historians play a critical information dissemination role, which helps solve diplomatic issues that would rather become conflicts. Conflicts and war are the results of failed dialogue and according to historians, studying the causative agent to war helps nation’s diplomats and policymakers prevent subsequent occurrences. Since the historiography discusses the ideological differences between old and new historians regarding the Palestinian war, ta researcher can relate this war to the Soviet Union since there has been a conflict due to the split among the member states. Relating the concept of Palestine war to world wars, which translates into a huge geographical area is a critical topic worth addressing by a new researcher.

Bibliography

Andrews, Y., M. Carstens, Marie Muller, Theo Venter, Deon Geldenhuys, Ralph Lawrence, Albert Venter, and Albert Venter. “Book notes/Boeknotas.” (1989): 96-99.

Christison, Kathleen. “US Policy and the Palestinians: Bound by a Frame of Reference.” Journal of Palestine Studies 26, no. 4 (1997): 46-59.

Hahn, Peter L. Caught in the Middle East: US Policy toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1945-1961. University of North Carolina Press, 2004.

Morris, Benny. 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War. Yale University Press, 2008.

Shlaim, Avi. “Israel between East and West, 1948–56.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 36, no. 4 (2004): 657-673.

Tal, David. “The Historiography of the 1948 War in Palestine: The Missing Dimension.” Journal of Israeli History 24, no. 2 (2005): 183-202.

Footnotes

1. Avi Shlaim, “Israel between East and West, 1948–56.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 36, no. 4 (2004): 658.
2. Peter Hahn, “Caught in the Middle East: US policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict,” 1945-1961. University of North Carolina Press, 2004.
3. Kathleen Christison, “US Policy and the Palestinians,” Journal of Palestine Studies, 26, no. 4 (1997): 49.
4. Benny Morris, “1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War.” Yale University Press, 2008, 21.
5. Kathleen Christison, “US Policy and the Palestinians: Bound by a Frame of Reference.” Journal of Palestine Studies 26, no. 4 (1997): 55.
6. David Tal, “The Historiography of the 1948 War in Palestine: The Missing Dimension.” Journal of Israeli History 24, no. 2 (2005), 184.
7. Benny Morris, “1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War.”
8. Avi Shlaim, “Israel between East and West, 1948–56.” 672.
9. Andrews et al. “Book notes/Boeknotas.” (1989): 96.
10. Andrews, Y. et al., “Book notes/Boeknotas.” (1989): 98.
11. David Tal, “The Historiography of the 1948 War in Palestine.”199.
12. David Tal, “The Historiography of the 1948 War in Palestine.” 186.
13. Avi Shlaim, “Israel between East and West,” 1948–56.”
14. David Tal, “The Historiography of the 1948 War in Palestine.” 195.