The Jews had long wanted their Promised Land back what event caused this to happen?

Answer 1

The creation of modern Israel resulted from the culmination of a number of events, rather than just one event.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the total Jewish population of Palestine was estimated at around 20,000 persons, but this quickly increased with legal and illegal Immigration. Until 1948 the holy land, Palestine, was a British mandated territory. British policy on the territory was informed by the Balfour Declaration of 1917, whereby Palestine would be regarded as a homeland for the Jews, subject to the rights of the Arabs, but would not necessarily be an independent state. By 1939, Britain was moving away from this position, and a white Paper recommended that an Arab state of Palestine be created.

In order to force Britain's hand and ensure a favourable outcome, the Jews commenced a program of terrorism, with the Stern Gang as the main participant. In 1946, the British headquarters in the King David Hotel were blown up. By February 1947, the number of British casualties in Palestine has risen sharply and Britain called on the UN to solve the Palestinian problem.

At this point, the United States reached agreement with USSR that Palestine was to be divided. In November 1947, a UN Special Committee on Palestine presented a report to the General Assembly, with a majority advocating division, but a minority advocating a unitary state based on democracy. Intense pressure by USA and USSR was necessary to gain the necessary two thirds majority vote for partition.

In 1947, King Abdullah of Jordan held secret negotiations with the Jewish agency to divide Palestine between his kingdom and the Jews. By this means, the Palestinians were effectively isolated from a potential ally.

At first, the international solution was for the Palestinians to receive the major portion of the divided territory, but the Jews gradually achieved concessions, until a "Green Line" was drawn, dividing the territory approximately into two, by means of four sectors which touched at one point, so that a Jew or Palestinian need not cross the other's territory in order to move from one of his two territories to the other.

After the British forces moved out, the Jews declared independence for Israel and commenced a civil war to extend its area. This was successful, and the recognised boundaries of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were far more favourable to Israel than provided by the Green Line. Palestinians were deported from their ancestral homes, changing the proportions between Jews and Arabs in the Israeli zone. Between May 1948 and January 1949, 370 Palestinian villages were wiped out just in the coastal strip between Tel-Aviv and Haifa. In many cases, if the villagers refused to leave, they were put onto trucks and driven away to the West Bank.

Some publications that may provide more information include:

· A history of modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples(2004) by Professor Ilan Pappe (University of Haifa, Israel);

· The History of Israel (1998) by Professor Arnold Blumberg;

· Bitter Harvest: A Modern History of Palestine (1989), by Sami Hadawi (official land valuer during the British Mandate)