A report on Israel, Palestinians, 1948 Arab–Israeli War and East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem (القدس الشرقية, al-Quds ash-Sharqiya; מִזְרַח יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, Mizraḥ Yerushalayim) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel.
- East JerusalemDespite various wars and exoduses, roughly one half of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the territory of former British Palestine, now encompassing the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (the Palestinian territories) as well as Israel.
- PalestiniansIn this combined area,, Palestinians constituted 49 percent of all inhabitants, encompassing the entire population of the Gaza Strip (1.865 million), the majority of the population of the West Bank (approximately 2,785,000 versus some 600,000 Israeli settlers, which includes about 200,000 in East Jerusalem), and almost 21 percent of the population of Israel proper as part of its Arab citizens.
- PalestiniansPalestinians and many in the international community consider East Jerusalem to be the future capital of the State of Palestine.
- East JerusalemThe war internationalized into the 1948 Arab–Israeli War between Israel and several surrounding Arab states and concluded with the 1949 Armistice Agreements that saw Israel in control of most of the former mandate territory, while the West Bank and Gaza were held by Jordan and Egypt respectively.
- IsraelTransjordan took control of East Jerusalem and what became known as the West Bank, annexing it the following year, and the Egyptian military took control of the Gaza Strip.
- 1948 Arab–Israeli WarOver 700,000 Palestinian Arabs, about half of the pre-war Arab population, were expelled from or fled the territory Israel would come to control.
- IsraelIsrael has effectively annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, though these actions have been rejected as illegal by the international community, and established settlements within the occupied territories, which are also considered illegal under international law.
- IsraelOn 14 May 1948, David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel and the 1948 Palestine war entered its second phase with the intervention of the Arab state armies and the beginning of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
- 1948 Arab–Israeli WarIsrael was established in parts of Palestine in 1948, and in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the West Bank was ruled by Jordan, and the Gaza Strip by Egypt, with both countries continuing to administer these areas until Israel occupied them in the Six-Day War.
- PalestiniansMore than 1.4 million Palestinians still live in 58 recognised refugee camps, while more than 5 million Palestinians live outside Israel and the Palestinian territories.
- 1948 Arab–Israeli War4 related topics with Alpha
Jerusalem
3 linksCity in Western Asia.
City in Western Asia.
The city straddles the Green Line between Israel and the West Bank; both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital.
During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the areas captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured and later annexed by Jordan.
West Bank
2 linksLandlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean in Western Asia.
Landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean in Western Asia.
It is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel (see Green Line) to the south, west, and north.
The West Bank's borders also include the lands that comprise East Jerusalem.
It initially emerged as a Jordanian-occupied territory after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, before being annexed outright by Jordan in 1950, and was given its name during this time based on its location on the left bank of the Jordan River.
It has an estimated population of 2,747,943 Palestinians, and over 670,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, of which 220,000 live in East Jerusalem.
Jordanian annexation of the West Bank
2 linksThe Jordanian annexation of the West Bank formally occurred on 24 April 1950, after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, during which Transjordan occupied territory that had previously been part of Mandatory Palestine and had been earmarked by the UN General Assembly Resolution 181 of 29 November 1947 for an independent Arab state to be established there alongside a Jewish state mainly to its west.
Prior to hostilities in 1948, Palestine (modern-day West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel) had been under the Mandate for Palestine control of the British Empire, which captured it from the Ottomans in 1917.
Jordanian forces remained in most positions they held in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Old City.
In 1974, the Arab League decided to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
David Ben-Gurion
1 linksDavid Ben-Gurion (דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first Prime Minister of Israel.
Ben-Gurion led Israel during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and united the various Jewish militias into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Ben-Gurion recognized the strong attachment of Palestinian Arabs to the land.
Israel then captured the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria in a series of campaigns.