ABSTRACT
Israel's supporters claim that Arab governments broadcast orders to Palestinian civilians to get out so that their armies could more easily attack the Israelis, but no evidence documents this claim. Ever since Israel's rebirth, its engineers had tried to get more fresh water to irrigate its lands. To the Israelis and their admirers, the war was a struggle for Jewish independence, fought first against the resistance of the indigenous Palestinians, later against British imperialism, and finally against the armies of the Arab states. The leaders also agreed to cooperate, despite their religious differences, to preserve Lebanon's independence and territorial integrity. Syria's ethnic and religious minorities, such as the Armenians, other Christian sects, Shi'a Muslims, Alawites, Druze, and Jews, generally fared badly in this era of rising Arab nationalism. If for them the war was just starting, for the Israelis it had been going on for years.
