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Jewish Immigration to Pre-State Israel
Jewish immigration to what was now the Palestine mandate from Europe, which had been going on since the 1880s, increased just before the second world war due to persecution by the Nazis. The local Arabs wanted to limit the numbers arriving. There were clashes between the Jewish immigrants and Palestinians supported by neighbouring Arab states -
Gamal Abdel Nasser came in Power
Gamal Abdel Nasser came to power in Egypt. He integrated the armies of Egypt and Syria and nationalised the European-owned Suez canal. Israel joined with Britain and France, and on 29 October 1956, invaded the Sinai peninsular in Egypt. International pressure forced the Israelis to give up Sinai and the UK and France to remove their troops from the Suez canal. -
The Capture of Damascus
The Arabs took over Syria, led by Prince Faysal ibn Huseyn of the Arabian Hashemite dynasty. After the war, the League of Nations granted France and Britain control (‘mandates’) over the former Ottoman territories. -
British Mandate for Palestine
The British divided their mandate in two. East of the river Jordan became the emirate of Transjordan and was ruled by Faysal’s brother Abdullah. West of the Jordan became the Palestine mandate and remained under British control. -
Palestinian Liberation
The Palestinian Liberation Organisation was founded. Under the chairmanship of Yasser Arafat it would claim after the debacle of the six day war to be the sole representative of the Palestinian people. It vowed to reclaim their land and destroy the state of Israel.
