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1948 War
In accordance with the UN Partition Plan, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the independence of the new State of Israel on May 14, 1948 and became Israel’s first Prime Minister. The following day, Arab armies from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq attacked the new state.
This was the first Arab-Israeli war and is known in Israel as the War of
Independence and by the Palestinian Arabs as the Catastrophe -
Six Day War
In the days before the war, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq moved their
armies to Israel’s borders. Egypt closed the international water way, the
Straits of Tiran, to all Israeli shipping, an act of war in international law. -
Establishment of the PLO
In 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed with
the aim of destroying Israel and creating a Palestinian state in its place. -
1967 War
During the 1967 War, Israel gained land from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.
While Israel maintained that Jerusalem would remain a unified city, with
all religions having access to their holy sites, -
Settlement Construction Begins
The Israeli government approved the building of settlements in the
Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, and West Bank. The term settlements
refers to Israeli communities built on land that was captured in the 1967
War.
