The outbreak of the First Arab Israeli War was due to the

declaration of independence by Israel. Discuss.

The 1948 Arab Israeli War was the first in a series of wars fought
between the State of Israel and its Arab neighbors in the continuing
Arab-Israeli conflict- a conflict about land and territory, complicated
by religion and competing ideologies. Certainly, the declaration of
independence by Israel contributed by triggering the entire war in
the first place, setting things in motion for the outbreak of the 1948
war. More importantly, however, were the underlying and immediate
factors that gave rise to the conditions to develop into the trigger of
the outbreak of the war such as the fundamental difference in
religious and cultural views between both parities, the policies
implemented by the British, as well as the Arab war aims of
territorial interests.
The declaration of independence by Israel led to the outbreak of the
First Arab Israeli War by triggering the conflict, setting the conditions
for aggression of the Arab states which started the war. The
independence of Israel was met with a great and deep sense of
anger and animosity from the Arab nations, especially after the
implementation of the UN partition plan in 1947. From the
perspective of the Arabs, the independence of Israel was seen as a
violation of the previous Hussein-McMahon agreement that would
favor the Arabs by ceding Palestine to them. As such, the
declaration of independence by Israel triggered the conflict as they
were perceived to be illegitimate intruders into the territory which
rightfully belonged to the Arabs. Therefore, in order to protect and
prevent Palestine from being taken away by Israel, the Arabs
initiated the aggressive war by preparing to attack Israel who was
deemed as a threat, leading to Israel retaliating with further
aggressive actions, thus triggering the outbreak of the First Arab
Israeli War.
However, by default, the declaration of independence by Israel was
not important enough to be considered to have led to the outbreak
of the war entirely. Certainly, it is crucial to consider the underlying
and immediate reasons that gave rise to the trigger in the first
place. The fundamental difference in religious and cultural views
between Israel and the Arab states was a key underlying reason that
led to tensions and conflict that would eventually culminate into the
trigger for the outbreak of the war. In other words, it served to sow
the seeds of discord and rivalry that became apparent with the
declaration of independence by Israel. Classical Zionism was one of
the two clashing ideologies, which was based on the traditional
Jewish ties to the Land of Israel, and the belief that Jewish
independence would be restored with the coming of the Messiah. It
deemed Jerusalem as a significant and important religious site
dating back to accounts of King David. However, these sites were

also of utmost importance to the Arabs, where Arab nationalism was

in direct conflict with Zionism. They view these sites as important
holy ground, as it was supposedly where Prophet Muhammad
ascended to heaven. This direct competition and overlapping of
Zionism versus Arab nationalism was therefore crucial in leading to
the outbreak of the Cold War by creating a situation of a zero
competition, becoming the underlying cause of tension which was
the impetus for the aggression seen when Israel declared its
independence.
Beyond the fundamental differences in ideologies, the British
policies also served in contributing to the underlying tensions and
misunderstandings, which ultimately manifested itself after the
declaration of independence by Israel, causing the outbreak of the
First Arab Israeli War. The Arabs were supported by the British
initially due to their desire to control the oil in Arab states, thus
promising Arab independence. However, later on, the British began
to consider the Zionists as a potential ally, thus supporting Israel.
Furthermore, British officials in Palestine tended to favor the Arabs
due to influence from Muslim opinion in neighboring Arab states.
However, at the same time, the British also sided with the Jews in
the international arena. The apparent contradictions and ambiguity
in their policies thus contributed to the tensions and suspicions as
the Zionists believed that Britain was pro-Arab and the Arabs
believed otherwise. This misunderstanding led to increased
tensions, forming the underlying factor that led to the outbreak of
the war.
Arguably, the Arab nations war aims and territorial
ambitions/interests also contributed to the outbreak of the First Arab
Israeli War by necessitating the use of force and aggression, which
was a clear mark of the start of the war. This immediate reason for
the outbreak of the war also served in building up towards the
trigger of the conflict-the declaration of independence by Israel. The
aim of the intervention of the Arab states was officially to liberate
Palestine. However, upon closer inspection by removing this faade,
it was actually the Arabs own expansionistic desires that led to the
outbreak of the war. For example, it was because of the desire for
territorial gains in the area of Palestine that necessitated the
preparation of military arms to invade Israel upon their declaration
of independence in 1948. Clearly, this was an important reason for
the outbreak of the war as the Arabs turned to using violence and
aggressive means to achieve their ambitions, prompting retaliatory
actions from Israel, marking the start of the First Arab Israeli War.
Ultimately, the declaration of independence by Israel certainly
triggered the outbreak of the First Arab Israeli War as it led to the
Arab nations feeling threatened. This, coupled with pre existing
fundamental differences in ideologies as well as misunderstandings
over British policies, sparked the war. Therefore it can be seen that

while the declaration of independence by Israel did trigger the

outbreak, the underlying and immediate reasons were more crucial
to the outbreak of the war in developing the conditions for the
trigger.