1948

• After WWII, the U.N. proposed a plan to partition Palestine into two individual states:
  • A Jewish state
  • An Arab state
  • Jerusalem would be an International zone.
• However, the Jewish immigrants that were only accounting for one third of the population were granted 56.5% of the territory, so Arabs rejected the plan. 
  • When Arabs rejected the plan, extreme violence broke out and the British left.
  • This allowed Israel to declare its independence on May 14, 1948.
• The declaration started the First Nakba, which involved Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
  • Israel won the war and 77% of the land that was originally allocated to Palestinians.
• Approximately 15,000 Palestinians were killed in that war, and 700,000 were forced to leave.