Cycles+of+violence

Chapter 3 Cycles of Violence

Initially, violence was instigated by the Arab party. The Arabs were unhappy with the direction with which Palestine was being taken in regards to the Jews establishing more of a foothold in Palestine and obtaining their own Jewish state. As such, the Arab Liberation Army took the offensive and Haganah was forced on the defensive. The Arab Liberation Army was successful initially, and they took control of the roads, controlling the lines of communication and isolating outlying villages from the focal points of the Jewish Population. However, this was relatively short lived as the Haganah received a shipment of arms from Communist Czechoslovakia, and Haganah was then able to take the offensive, and reclaim land lost to the Arabs. Both sides resorted to terrorist attacks on the other, the Jews gaining contributions from their radical organizations, the Irgun and LEHI groups. The Jews, with some momentum built up, continued on their offensive, eventually gaining assistance from the British and succeeding in obtaining a state that was about the same size as approved by the United Nations.