gee_22-23r.qxp_Special Report 2/2/22 5:42 PM Page 22
Special Report
PHOTO COURTESY BETTMANN/CONTRIBUTOR VIA GETTY IMAGES
The Palestine Conflict and the Militarization Of the Middle East By John Gee
A Haganah mortar group unit lines up on May 28, 1948, in Acre, Palestine, ready for the battle on the Lebanese frontier. The Israeli fighters are using British‐type equipment. THE STOCKHOLM International Peace Research Institute has found that, from 2016-2020, five of the top ten arms importing states were Arab Middle Eastern and North African states: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Qatar and the UAE. As a result of past, current or anticipated conflicts or domestic control uses, Middle Eastern states generally have armies that are over-sized in relation to their population, compared to other regions. The Egyptian army is 340,000 strong; Israel’s regular armed forces number 169,500 with 465,000 reservists on stand-by when needed. The Middle East is recognized today as one of the most heavily militarized regions of the world, but it was not so 75 years ago. Various factors have contributed to its transformation, but a big initial impetus was given by the violent foundation of the State of Israel and its successive wars since.
John Gee is a free‐lance journalist based in Singapore and the author of Unequal Conflict: The Palestinians and Israel. 22
On June 16, 1948, Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, described the war between his state and the Arab “belligerents” as one in which “700,000 Jews are pitted against 27 million Arabs— one against 40.” Despite the apparently overwhelming odds, on the ground, the Israeli forces were more than equal to the Arab armies and the volunteers facing them. The Arab states and their armies were not united in their goals. Israeli organization was superior and so, for the most part, was their training. The number of Arab soldiers committed began as roughly equal or slightly to Israel’s advantage in May 1948, and tilted increasingly in Israel’s favor as the 1948 war continued. Israel’s fighting forces may have been at a disadvantage in armaments during the first fortnight of the war, but not after that. Weaponry streamed in from Czechoslovakia and other sources— A nascent local arms industry produced new weapons or refurbished old armaments used by the Jewish Brigade that fought in WWII or those left behind by the British.
WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
MARCH/APRIL 2022
