MULLAHS AND MISSILES 173military situation would improve, but they would never catch up to their
opponents.
The Arab-Israeli wars can be traced to the Balfour Agreement, which
granted the Jews a homeland in Israel in return for their support of the
Allies in World War I. After World War I, Palestine became a British
protectorate and the immigration of European Jews into Palestine began.
Prior to and during World War II, the mufti of Jerusalem had spoken
out strongly against the Jews and had actively supported the Nazis. The
British had forced him to flee to Germany during the war, but his legacy
of hatred toward the Jews had taken strong root. As the Jewish population
in Palestine grew, tensions increased. The Palestinians resented the in-
creasing numbers of Jews in their midst and the pressure for a Jewish
homeland. Oddly, the numbers of Arabs in Palestine grew markedly be-
cause of the improved economy that resulted from the large Jewish pres-
ence—many of the Jews being successful business people. The tensions
grew into acts of terrorism as the Jews struggled to establish an indepen-
dent homeland and Arabs attacked the Jews as outside invaders. The sit-
uation became too difficult for the British, who abandoned Palestine in
1947 and by their withdrawal allowed a situation where the fledgling state
of Israel was faced by an invasion by the Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian,
and Egyptian armies.
It needs to be understood that the surrounding states had long histories
of territorial claims on the lands granted to Israel and the deep emotional
desire to control Jerusalem. The contest to conquer Israel saw the invading
armies as jealous of each other’s chance of success as they were eager to
defeat their Jewish enemies. Their attitudes remind one more of the medi-
eval warlordism of Zangi, Nur-al-Din, and Saladin than they do of a modern
alliance.
King Abdullah of Jordan was open in his territorial claims and also
sought a clear outlet to the Mediterranean Sea. Syria wanted to reestablish
“Greater Syria,” a process that continues to this day with its occupation
of Lebanon. Egypt had similar territorial objectives, with a historical lust
to claim Jerusalem that a pharaoh would have surely understood.
This competition between the Muslim states left almost no trust and
cooperation between the various armies,which should have permitted the
Jews to succeed in their 1948 War of Independence. However, the reasons
for Jewish success went beyond just that.
The armies of the Muslim states had devolved since the years of the
great conquests and the western crusades. The professional military
classes that had existed and dominated Muslim military history had at-
rophied and finally been destroyed by the century of European colonialism