However, the troops from the Arab states were not sufficiently prepared
for war. After two brief cease-fires and nearly a year of fighting,
armistice was negotiated between Israel and each of its opponents. Over
the course of the war and the armistice negotiations, Israel captured
50% more territory than had been allotted to it in the UN partition
plan. [Map of Armistice] 780,000 Palestinian
refugees streamed from Jewish-held areas, having fled or been evicted.
Gaza was taken by Egypt, while Jordan took possession of east Jerusalem
and the West Bank. [Map of Palestinian
Refugee Camps]
The Suez Crisis
During the next seven years, Israel’s relationship with Syria
and Egypt continued to be tense. The threats and acts of violence were
constant, and Israel began to feel lacking in Western support after
a pact was signed between Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, and the UK.
In 1956, a new Egyptian government closed the Suez Canal to Israeli
shipping. In retaliation for this offense as well as recent border raids,
Israel invaded Sinai on October 29. Several thousand casualties resulted,
mostly on the Egyptian side and mostly civilian. A few months later
Israel withdrew when UN peacekeepers arrived and US guaranteed right
of passage through the contested straits.
