1948 War of Independance
On 14 May 1948 the State of Israel was proclaimed according to the UN partition plan (1947). Less than 24 hours later, the regular armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq invaded the country, forcing Israel to defend the sovereignty it had regained in its ancestral homeland.
On 14 May 1948 the State of Israel was proclaimed according to the UN partition plan (1947). Less than 24 hours later, the regular armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq invaded the country, forcing Israel to defend the sovereignty it had regained in its ancestral homeland.
looks like your history book has a selective memory. Seems like you overlooked the issue of WHY the Arab states attacked the Israeli army in 1948. You make it sound like the Arabs were bored and had nothing better to do with their time. Feel free to find out WHY using the following link:
Your history book also seems to be missing the years 1967 and 1982.
1967:
As you may or may not (choose to) recall, the Six-Day War was launched by Israel as a PRE-EMPTIVE strike against it’s neighbours, following an increase in tensions in the area between Israel and Arabs. In my opinion, the concept of launching a pre-emptive strike against a country is scary as hell. Imagine if the Cold War or the tensions between the Koreas would (or would have) culminated in a pre-emptive strike. Imagine if all countries felt at liberty to launch pre-emptive strikes against potential aggressors. Not exactly the best way to work toward peace or stability in a region, including the Middle-East. The Six-Days War was a clear demonstration of aggression by Israel, the effects of which are still present today. Clearly a step in the wrong direction. And certainly no argument for WMD!
Add the fact that Israel, in direct violation of UN resolution 242, acquired territory during this war (some of which they still control), simply adds fuel to the already hostile situation.
1973:
The Yom-Kippur War was indeed launched by Arab states. But again you chose to ignore WHY they attacked. It was an attempt to get back their territory annexed by Israel 6 years earlier. The fact that you used this as part of your main argument to show that the Arab states were aggressive, is silly to put it mildly.
1982:
Israel, in an attempt to root out the PLO along the Lebanese border launched an attack to the North. Problem was, that they didn’t stop until they reached Beirut. Subsequently, a massacre on Sabra and Shatila took place on Palestinian refugees that made the My-Lai massacre look like a children’s party. Thousands of innocent men, women and children were killed.
I lost all respect for them when CNN showed footage of Palestinians dancing in the streets on 9/11...
(I just took the liberty of checking the net for stories related to those video clips. Seems like there are a number of theories, some of them far-fetched. However, I clearly remember seeing them before 911 and making a big fuss about it to my girlfriend as I saw them the second time around on the day of the attacks. What is for certain is that the footage came from Reuter’s news agency (subsequently sold to CNN and co.), which may explain why I saw them on German TV first. Who knows.)
To clarify:
Although I’m only coming down hard on Israel in this particular post, let me reiterate that both sides are to blame for the situation. I pointed out only Israel’s faults in an attempt to show that Israel is not the innocent victim here. Both sides need to accept the fact that huge mistakes and atrocities have been committed by both sides. To believe that one side is the victim and the other side is the perpetrator will fuel the conflict for generations to come.
Also:
I listed the BBC as the main source, as the BBC as a whole, seems to have no problems with criticizing both sides. The information can be found elsewhere as well, but I deliberately steered clear of sources that may be deemed biased (American/Israeli/Arabic) in one direction or the other.
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