In an attempt to settle disputes and a solution, the United Nations suggested in 1947 that Palestine be partitioned between the Jews and the Arabs (Timeline 5).
On May 14, 1948, the Arabs were no match for the Jewish forces and the Jewish state of Israel was declared. The First Middle East War took place during the time of 1948 to 1949. The Arab's goal was to eliminate the Jewish threat in Palestine. And the Israeli's objective was to maintain existing position in Palestine, and hopefully to expand to reclaim what they considered to be their rightful homeland in the Middle East. Soon the Israeli forces became victorious and declared its independence. The Jews controlled 77% of Palestinian Land and over one million Palestinians were forced out of their country (Timeline 5-6).
The tension escalated even more between the Arabs and Israelis. In 1964, the PLO or Palestinian Liberation Organization was established, seeking revenge and a chance to take back Palestine. During the Six Day War, Israel conquered the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights, which became collectively known as the Occupied Territories. Land under Israel's jurisdiction after the1967 war was about four times the size of the area they occupied in 1949. The new occupied territories included an Arab population of about 1.5million. Ever since then the Israelis have felt that Jerusalem is its capital. For years the Arabs have also been asking for a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital (Mideast 15-17).
In 1973, the Yom Kipur War took place. This was an attempt by the two Arab states of Syria and Egypt to regain the land taken by Israel in the Six Day War of 1967. The Arabs had support from Soviet forces and the Israelis had support from the United States. From the result of this war, the Israelis, with American aid, manage to capture territory from Syria and crossed the Suez Canal. Arab forces were finally withdrawn on May 7, 1974 due to troops sent in by the UN to negotiate peace (Mideast 18).
