From wiki
History of Israel
Following World War II, the British announced their intention to
withdraw from the British mandate of Palestine. The United Nations
General Assembly proposed the partition of Palestine into two
states, an Arab state and a Jewish state, with Jerusalem to be
under United Nations administration. Most Jews in Palestine
accepted the proposal, while most of the Arabs in Palestine
rejected it.
Violence between Arab and Jewish communities erupted almost
immediately. Toward the end of the British mandate, the Jews
planned to declare a separate state, a development the Arabs were
determined to prevent. On May 14, 1948, the last British forces
withdrew from Palestine, and the Jews, led by David Ben-Gurion,
declared the creation of the State of Israel, in accordance with
the 1947 UN Partition Plan.
Immediately following the Declaration of Independence of the State
of Israel, Egyptian, Syrian, Iraqi, Jordanian, and Lebanese forces
invaded the newly formed state on all fronts. In a desperate and
costly war characterized by use of makeshift armaments and
resourceful tactics, Israel eventually repelled the attacking
armies, and then advanced its forces to occupy some of the
territory set aside under the Partition Plan for the Arabs and for
the City of Jerusalem. A cease fire agreement was signed between
the two sides, with the current front line becoming the boundary
between Israel and the Arab territories. As a result of the 1948
war, Israel controlled all the territory allotted to them under the
Partition Plan, much of the territory allotted to the Arabs under
the Plan, and half of what was to be the UN-administered City of
Jerusalem. The remaining Arab territories were the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip; the West Bank was administered by Jordan, while the
Gaza Strip was administered by Egypt.
