What were the causes of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war during the Cold War period, 1945-1991?

The 1948 Arab-Israeli war was primarily caused by the partition of Palestine and the establishment of the state of Israel.

The roots of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war can be traced back to the end of the First World War, when Britain took control of Palestine from the Ottoman Empire. The Balfour Declaration of 1917, in which Britain expressed support for a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, had already sown the seeds of conflict. This was exacerbated by the significant increase in Jewish immigration to Palestine during the interwar period, particularly from Europe, which led to growing tensions between the Jewish immigrants and the Arab population.

The immediate cause of the war was the United Nations' decision to partition Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states in 1947. This was vehemently opposed by the Arab states, who saw it as a violation of the rights of the majority Arab population in Palestine. The Jewish Agency, on the other hand, accepted the partition plan, and on 14 May 1948, the state of Israel was proclaimed.

The establishment of Israel was met with immediate military response from neighbouring Arab states, including Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq, who launched an invasion of the new state. This marked the beginning of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, also known as the War of Independence in Israel or the Nakba (catastrophe) among Palestinians.

The war was also influenced by the wider geopolitical context of the Cold War period. The United States and the Soviet Union, the two superpowers at the time, were both initially supportive of the establishment of Israel, seeing it as a potential ally in a strategically important region. However, as the war progressed, their positions diverged, with the US becoming more supportive of Israel and the Soviet Union shifting towards the Arab states.

In conclusion, the 1948 Arab-Israeli war was caused by a complex interplay of local and international factors. The partition of Palestine and the establishment of Israel were the immediate triggers, but the conflict was rooted in longstanding tensions between Jews and Arabs in Palestine, and was influenced by the wider geopolitical context of the Cold War.