Cairo – In the context of the decades of Arab-Israel conflict, the 1948 warfare is known as Nakbastand as the most tragic and consequential starting point in modern Middle Eastern history.
The war marked a fundamental moment in the establishment of the Israeli state, but represents a profound and ongoing tragedy for the Palestinian people, with strategic, political and social consequences that continue today.
The roots of this conflict can be traced back to the 19th century with the emergence of the Zionist movement, based on the idea of establishing a national homeland for Jews in Palestine.
The movement took advantage of a variety of historical and religious claims and benefited from strong Western support, particularly from the UK and the US. Zionism played a critical role in building a strong and organized Jewish community in Palestine through a centralised reconciliation mechanism that was particularly accelerated after the Balfour Declaration in 1917.
The period of the British Order to Palestine (1920–1948) was a pivotal stage in the evolution of the Zionist Project. The order allowed Britain to create ideal conditions for implementing the Balfour Declaration by promoting Jewish immigration and allowing Zionist organizations to acquire vast lands.
In this context, Zionist groups such as Hagana, Stern, Ilgan and Palmach managed to transform the settlement into a well-trained military centre, establishing important military and economic entities that paved the way for the establishment of Israel after the end of the British order in 1948.
Jewish reconciliation efforts in Palestine were not random. Rather, they were strategically organized. The Zionist organization intentionally established settlements in strategic regions along the borders with neighboring Arab countries, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Syria, securing the future boundaries of the Jewish state.
The Arab forces mobilization in 1948 proved that military power alone was insufficient to achieve victory without a clear and coordinated political and strategic vision. They also concentrated in resource-rich regions such as Flavalley and Galilee, giving them clear strategic advantages during the subsequent war.
Meanwhile, Palestinians and Arabs were recognized early in the dangers associated with Jewish reconciliation, but they failed to effectively organize.
This failure was due to internal divisions, a lack of a unified strategy and a reliance on hope that Britain would change its stance. As a result, Arab efforts to stand up to the Zionist project were weak and uncooperative, in stark contrast to high-level organizations and strategic planning on the part of Jews.
As the end of British orders approached, Zionist organizations established a strong military presence on the ground. Hagana alone boasts over 100,000 fighters, and thanks to robust international support, it has made it the most organized and sophisticated military force in the region.
At the same time, the Arab Liberation Army and nearby Arab countries’ troops suffered from a serious shortage of arms and training, as well as lacked organization, coordination and clear strategies.
When Israel was declared on May 15, 1948, the Arab troops who participated in the war faced great challenges. Despite the mobilization of Arab forces, including troops from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, these forces suffered from poor organization, lack of military coordination, and lack of clear objectives and joint strategies. This cooperation and the failure of the co-leaders have provided great advantages for Israel.
On the battlefield, Jordanian forces led by British Glubb Pasha played a prominent role in maintaining control of strategic regions such as Jerusalem and the West Bank. The Iraqi Army also achieved notable success, particularly at the Battle of Jenin City. However, Baghdad’s political leadership did not provide sufficient support to maintain business and expand the military benefits achieved on the ground.
Similarly, the Egyptian army faced many challenges, including a lack of weapons among its commanders, inadequate training, and weak combat experience. Despite courageous battles in battles such as the Battle of Fallujah, such as the siege and isolation of Egyptian forces by the Israelites, there were major flaws in Egyptian military planning. Poor political and military decisions have resulted in the Egyptian forces suffering heavy losses and failing to achieve a strategic victory.
Meanwhile, Israeli leaders under David Ben Gullion managed the battle with strategic insight. Israel has successfully used these periods to import large quantities of weapons and military equipment, particularly from Eastern Europe and the United States, to significantly strengthen its military capabilities during the UN imposed ceasefire. This military support was a key factor in ensuring Israel was able to achieve battlefield advantage and successive victory.
Western countries – primarily the UK, the US and France – provided substantial political, military and economic support to the Zionist Project. The issue of “flawed weapons” that emerged in postwar Egypt clearly revealed the extent of political and military turmoil between Arab countries. Although the investigation did not prove that weapon failure was the decisive cause of defeat, this episode reflects corruption, mismanagement and a lack of strategic planning. This scandal was one of the factors that contributed to Egypt’s July 1952 revolution.
In a broader political context, Western countries – primarily the UK, the US, France – provided substantial political, military and economic support to the Zionist project.
This was evident in promoting Jewish immigration to Palestine and providing political support at the UN for its 1947 divisional program. In contrast, Arab countries were unable to counter this support, leading to a worsening situation on earth in favor of Israel.
By the end of the war, Israel had managed to manage about 78% of historic Palestine and had managed to expel hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who became known as Naqba. This tragic result marked the beginning of a continuous wave of Palestinian refugees and the refugee crisis that continues to this day, creating deep and complex humanitarian and political issues that remain unresolved.
The war left deep wounds in Arab and Palestinian memories, highlighting the weakness of Arab military and political capabilities compared to Israeli strategic organizations and meticulous planning.
The war was a direct cause of a prolonged Arab-Israel conflict, and military power alone proved insufficient to achieve victory without a clear, coordinated political and strategic vision.
The war of 1948 remains an important strategic lesson on the importance of planning, organization, coordination and international cooperation.
The victory was not only a result of military power, but also a combination of political, diplomatic and military efforts at the time, but the Arabs clearly failed, leading to the continued suffering of the Palestinians and the worsening of the Middle Eastern crisis.
The Palestinian issue, which began as a major crisis during Naqba in 1948 and has continued for decades, continues to pose a deep challenge to security and stability in the Middle East.
To remedy past strategic mistakes, Arab countries must reformulate their strategies in a different way than their previous approaches.
Post-Nakba experiences have shown that military solutions alone are not enough to advance the Palestinian cause, particularly in light of Western support for Israel. Rather, a comprehensive, coordinated Arab strategy with a clear vision of purpose is needed, taking into account the balance of international and regional power.
The main element is to build a unified, powerful Arab position that can put pressure on the international stage by adopting a joint and clear stance on core issues such as Jerusalem, rights of return, and settlements. This will improve the effectiveness of Arab negotiations and improve the terms.
Furthermore, post-Nakba experiences show that military solutions alone are not sufficient to advance the Palestinian cause, particularly in light of Western support for Israel. Therefore, Arabs must strive to strengthen their diplomatic and political tools in major international organizations and to build new international partnerships.
In this context, Arab countries can effectively put pressure on Israel by using economic and diplomatic forces to leverage economic and trade relations and strengthening relations with emerging global forces such as China, India and Russia.
This will help create a new international balance that reduces unconditional support for Israel, respects Palestinian rights, and increases pressure on it to implement relevant international resolutions.
On the Palestinian domestic front, decades of experience demonstrates the need for Arabs to support a new Palestinian strategy based on strengthening national unity and ending the division between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian internal divisions are one of the main factors leading to the deterioration of the Palestinian cause, weakening negotiating status regionally and internationally.
Arab countries therefore must play a pivotal role in supporting the formation of a unified and effective Palestinian government that can achieve Palestinian national reconciliation and address the challenges and increasing international legitimacy.
In this respect, Arabs can provide powerful political and material support to Palestinian authority, promote the economic and social development of occupied Palestinian territory, and become viable political entities rather than vulnerable parties calling for solutions.
The most important strategic factor in overcoming past Arab failures is the need to adopt a steady strategy that is the cultural and media front. Experience over the past few decades reveals the weakness of Arab media to confront Israeli stories internationally, allowing Israel to present Israeli versions to be more effective and acceptable to global public opinion.
It is therefore important to invest more in media and culture diplomacy by establishing a powerful media platform in multiple languages to clearly present Palestinian and Arab stories, highlighting the historical injustice that Palestinian people suffered, and countering Israeli misinformation campaigns.
These efforts should not be limited to traditional media, but they should use social media more effectively to reach more audiences, especially young people and decision makers around the world.
Finally, the most important strategic factor in overcoming past Arab failures is not limited to mere reactions, but the need to adopt a steady long-term strategy based on the construction of joint Palestinian and Arab strategic capabilities that can withstand pressure and resist Israeli measures.
This requires integrated efforts to strengthen Palestinian infrastructure and gradually develop economic, political and military capabilities, allowing Palestinians and Arabs to move away from a position of relative strength that allows them to impose mere solutions.
Only in this way can Nakba’s memory be transformed from the moment of defeat into a new strategic approach to regionally and internationally restoring the centrality of the Palestinian cause.
By Mostafa Kamal