argets. Both sides committed acts of terrorism against civilians. Large numbers of Palestinians panicked and fled to nearby countries. In May 1948, the Jewish Agency Executive Committee declared those parts of Palestine under Jewish control were now part of the State of Israel and that the provisions of the White Paper limiting Jewish immigration were null and void. Zionists urged the Arab inhabitants of Israel to "play their part in the development of the state, on the basis of full and equal citizenship". But many Palestinians distrusted the Zionists and looked to their Arab neighbors for help. In 1947-48, a war ensued between the Israel and the Arab nations. The Arab armies, underestimating the Israeli forces and determination, were defeated. From the Arabs' perspective, their defeat in Palestine humiliated their armies and discredited their regimes. The UN secured several cease-fires, each time fighting resumed; finally an armistice between each Arab country and Israel was agreed upon separately, after Israel had pushed Arab forces out of the Gaza area. The UN Conciliation Commission had assembled a conference for both sides to settle their outstanding differences, but negotiations broke down before they could even meet. Israel wanted a comprehensive settlement, while the Arabs demanded Israel to withdraw from the lands not allotted to the Jewish State in the 1947. The refugees suffered the most. Some voluntarily left their homes before the conflict started, while others had fled during the fighting. Israel claims that Arabs had broadcast orders to Palestinians to leave in order for their armies could easier move against Israelis, but no evidence has been found to prove Israel's allegations; Arabs claim Jewish extremists terrorized Palestinians until May 1948 and the Israel Defense Force drove out other Arabs during the later phases of the war. The Palestinians ended up in camps near Israel's borders with no state of their own. Arab...
