The conflict over Palestine begins with two national movements claiming one land. Understanding the origins — Zionism, the British Mandate, the Holocaust, UN partition and the 1948 Foundation War — is essential, because every later flashpoint and peace attempt traces back to 1948. This is the foundational topic of the elective.
How this content is examined
- Essays. Reasons for the 1948 war / the creation of Israel; the role of various factors in the foundation of the conflict.
- Source analysis (Section One, Unit 4). The Israeli Declaration of Independence, Truman's 1948 recognition statement, and UN documents recur — you need precise contextual knowledge.
1. Long-term causes
- Zionism. The 19th-century movement to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine, driven by European antisemitism; early land purchases and Jewish migration began before WWI.
- The Balfour Declaration (1917). Britain expressed support for "a national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine — while it was also making conflicting promises to Arabs. After WWI, Britain governed Palestine under a League of Nations Mandate.
- Mandate tensions. Rising Jewish immigration and Arab resistance produced mounting violence; the Peel Commission (1937) recommended partition into separate Arab and Jewish states.
2. Immediate causes
- WWII and the Holocaust. The murder of six million Jews created overwhelming moral and political pressure for a Jewish state and a surge of survivors seeking refuge.
- The collapse of British rule. Caught between Arab and Jewish demands and facing Jewish insurgent violence (e.g. the 1946 King David Hotel bombing by the Irgun), Britain referred the problem to the United Nations (1947).
- UN Partition (Resolution 181, 1947). The UN voted (33–13, 10 abstentions) to partition Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. Jewish leaders accepted; Arab leaders rejected it as unjust.
3. The Foundation War (1948–49)
- On 14 May 1948 Israel declared independence; the surrounding Arab states (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon) invaded.
- Israeli forces (the Haganah, with the Irgun and LEHI) prevailed; Israel survived and expanded beyond the partition borders.
- The Nakba ("catastrophe"): the war created the enduring problem of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees displaced from their land — the root grievance of the entire conflict.
4. Historical perspectives
- Two competing national narratives: Israeli (a war of independence and survival against invasion) vs Palestinian (dispossession and the Nakba). The exam rewards understanding both without taking sides.
- Who bears responsibility? British mismanagement of the Mandate and conflicting promises; the international community; or the irreconcilability of two national movements over one territory.
5. Recurring exam question patterns & what high answers do
- "Analyse the reasons for the 1948 war / the creation of Israel." High answers: split causes into long-term (Zionism, Balfour, Mandate, Peel) and immediate (Holocaust, British withdrawal, Partition), and weigh them.
- Source questions on the Declaration of Independence or Truman's recognition: explain context, purpose and what the source omits (especially the Palestinian Arab perspective).