When did the Arab-Israeli conflict begin? Religious Jews trace their ownership of the land back to the Biblical kingdoms of King David and King Solomon, centuries before the birth of Christ. Arab leaders have often considered their struggle an extension of the medieval Crusades, which defined relations between Europe and the Arab world from the 11th to the 13th century. What is clear is that Jewish migration to the region beginning in the late 19th century transformed the land once again, setting the stage for a battle of competing national visions that even the world's greatest superpower has been powerless to end. This is an overview of the personalities, military conflicts, and diplomatic wrangling that have defined the conflict for the past 60 years.
David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, and his wife Paula celebrate Israel's independence at Haifa harbor. For Ben Gurion, who migrated to Ottoman-controlled Palestine in 1906, this marked the culmination of a lifetime of struggle. Israel's declaration of independence, signed on May 14, 1948, asserted that self-determination represents "the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate."
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