The Modern History
On November 29, 1947 the United Nations General Assembly approved a plan, UN General Assembly Resolution 181, to partition what was known as the land of Palestine into two parts: one Jewish and one Arab. At this time, the land was under British temporary rule in accordance with a mandate that was established by the League of Nations in 1920. This mandate forced Turkey to relinquish its claims to all the mideast territories of the collapsed Turkish Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire had been in control of the entire Middle East since the 16th century. The mandate gave Great Britain the job of administering the land of Palestine until such time as it could be self-ruled.
The representatives of the Palestinian Arabs and the Arab League strongly opposed the UN resolution and even rejected its authority to involve itself in the entire matter.
The British mandate over Palestine expired on May 15, 1948. In accordance with the UN resolution, on May 14, 1948 Israel declared itself an independent state. It was quickly recognized by the United States, the Soviet Union, and many other countries.
The state of Israel was not recognized or accepted by the surrounding Arab countries. They immediately made war on the new born State of Israel. Five Arab armies invaded Israel. Their intentions were declared by Azzam Pasha, Secretary-General of the Arab League:
This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades.
Why was the partitioning plan not accepted? The politically correct answer is that the Arab states wanted to create a United State of Palestine in place of the Jewish and Arab two-state UN Plan. However, the real answer is that stated by Azzam Pasha, the Secretary-General of the Arab League: to massacre and exterminate the Jews.
The fundamental reason there cannot be peace in the Middle East is that the Arab countries have as their goal the annihilation of the Jews. How and why this is their goal is what we will explore on this website.