ABSTRACT
The Forgotten War: Jewish-Palestinian Strife in Mandatory Palestine, December 1947-May 1948
David Tal
This essay examines the Jewish-Palestinian struggle that preceded the 1948 War. In doing so it analyses the key developments that ultimately led to conflict between the opposing parties. It argues that the defining event was the Jewish acceptance of the United Nations Partition Resolution of 1947, as this determined the strategy that was adopted by the Jewish forces in the initial stages of the conflict. It then argues that, though determined to prevent the creation of a Jewish state, the Palestine Arabs, divided as they were by internal conflicts and disagreements within the governments of the surrounding Arab states, were neither prepared nor equipped for the task they undertook.
