The  Zionist  movement,  calling  for  an independent community for Jews in
Palestine  ,  began  in  the 19th century, and in 1917 Britain declared its
support for the idea . In 1920 the League of Nations placed Palestine under
British  administration  , and the British government was immediately faced
with  the rival claims of Jews who wished to settle there and the Arabs who
opposed them. In 1937 Britain proposed separate Arab and Jewish communities
;  this  was  accepted by the Jews but not by the Arabs, and fighting broke
out between them.

Creation of Israel
------------------

In 1947 the British plan for partition was supported by United Nations, and
when Britain ended its Palestinian mandate 1948, an Israel was proclaimed ,
with  David  Ben-Gurion  as  prime  minister. Neighbouring Arab states sent
forces  to  crush  Israel  but  failed, and when a cease-fire agreement was
reached  1949,  Israel  controlled  more  land  than  had  been  originally
allocated  to  it.  The  remaning of Palestine, known as the West Bank, was
controled by Jordan, and Gaza Strip wa controled by Egypt.

The  creation  of  Israel  encouraged Jewish immigration on a large scale ,
about  2  million having arrived from all over the world by 1962 . Hundreds
of  thousands of Arab residents fled from Israel to neighbouring countries,
such  as Jordan and Lebanon. In 1964 a number of Palestinian Arabs in exile
founded  the  Palestine  Liberation Organization (PLO), aiming to overthrow
Israel.