Creation+of+Israel

__The Creation of Israel__ by Aly Thompson, Micaela Somerville, and Shannon Lott

**Introduction** On May 14, 1948, Israel was created. It was created as a safe place for Jews, and is thought to be the area in which Judaism first originated.

Theodore Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement, had been working for more than fifty years to create the ideal homeland for Jews. His work was backed up in 1917 by the Balfour Declaration, which declared that the British government supported the Jews in their quest to create a Jewish state in Palestine. Palestine became a British mandate after World War I, and the flow of Jewish immigration progressively increased. Britain started to try and limit the immigration, but international support for the Jews and their national goals overwhelmed them. The support was greatly increased after the Holocaust during World War II and the near-extinction of the Jewish race. Unfortunately, hostility between the Jewish and Arab societies also increased.  The international support of the Jews and their aspiration to create their own nation led to the UN Partition plan, which divided Palestine into separate Jewish and Arabic states, with Jerusalem under the control of the UN.
 * Background**
 * International Support and Conflicts**

**Israel’s War of Independence** Britain quit Palestine soon before the day the State of Israel was created, May 14, 1948. Israel was instantly attacked by armies from the neighboring Arabic states, who didn’t agree with the UN Partition plan. The conflict, known as Israel’s War of Independence, was ended by peace agreements between Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt during 1949. The peace agreements resulted in a 50% land increase for Israel.

**More Conflicts for Israel** In 1956, Israel, along with France and Britain, fought Egypt after it nationalized the Suez Canal and blockaded the Straits of Tiran. In 1957, Israeli forces withdrew after the UN set up the UNEF (UN Emergency Force) in the Gaza Strip and in Sinai. After the hostilities, Israel was attacked by terrorists for several years.  During June of 1967, Israel attacked certain targets in Syria, Jordan, and Egypt after the president of Egypt withdrew the UN peacekeepers in Sinai and placed Arab troops all around Israel’s borders. After six days of fighting, all of the countries agreed to stop fighting. This type of fighting continued for many, many years, until the Madrid Conference that was held after the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

**Madrid Conference** At the Madrid Conference, Israeli, Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, and Jordanian leaders started to begin the negotiations that were supposed to bring peace and economic welfare into the entire region. The Declaration of Principles was signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to transfer certain authorities between Israel and Palestine. The PLO and Israel also signed the Gaza-Jericho Agreement in 1994, and the Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities, also in 1994. In 1994, Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty, and the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement was signed in 1995.  Violence broke out in Israel, the west bank of the Jordan river, and in the Gaza Strip in September of 2000. Violence continued into 2003, even after many peace agreements and diplomats trying to stop the violence. Even after these efforts, violence continued until June 14, 2007 after a new government was put in. The new government is committed to keeping the peace and getting rid of the Hamas, the group that attacked Israel.
 * Even after Peace**



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