oped. The Jews felt that their new nation was indefensible, and surrounded only by enemies. In May of 1948 Israel declared its independence, and was set upon almost immediately by Egypt and Syria in an attempt to drive the Jews out of Palestine. The war lasted until 1949, and resulted in huge gains in land for the Jews. Now they controlled nearly 78% of the original lands set out by the U.N., with Egypt controlling portions of the Gaza strip, and Jordan controlling the West bank. Nearly 700,000 Arabs were forced out of the country and forced to live in refugee camps inside of Jordan and Syria. While a cease fire effectively ended the war, the Arab nations refused to sign a peace accord with Israel, or to recognize the new nation. Thus the stage was set for more violence, as the Arab nations would try again to destroy the new Jewish state.
             Tensions arose once again in 1967, as Syria attempted to divert water from the Jordan river. At the same time, Egyptian leader Gamal Nasser closed the straights of Tiran, in an effort to close off their source of trade. The Israelis, believing that they could not win a conventional war with 3 countries, decided to strike a blow first in what they felt was an unavoidable war. They launched a preemptive strike with their forces, and seized the Sinai peninsula, the West bank, and the Golan Heights. Again, more Palestinians were displaced, and the U.N. Drafted resolution 242 calling for Israel to return all lands taken in the war, and a permanent peace settlement to be created. While Israel originally offered to return most of the lands that they captured, when it became clear that the Arabs were uninterested in peace, they pushed to expand Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.
             In 1973, on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur the Arab nations of Egypt and Syria attempted once again to conquer Israel. Attacking without warning, they made serious gains before they were repulsed by ...