or were expelled.

[178]

On 14 May 1948, the day before the expiration of the British Mandate, David Ben-
Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, declared "the establishment of a Jewish
state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel."[42][179] The only
reference in the text of the Declaration to the borders of the new state is the use
of the term Eretz-Israel ("Land of Israel").[180] The following day, the armies of
four Arab countries—Egypt, Syria, Transjordan and Iraq—entered what had been
British Mandatory Palestine, launching the 1948 Arab–Israeli War;[181][182]
contingents from Yemen, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Sudan joined the war.[183][184]
The apparent purpose of the invasion was to prevent the establishment of the Jewish
state at inception, and some Arab leaders talked about driving the Jews into the
sea.[185][41][186] According to Benny Morris, Jews felt that the invading Arab
armies aimed to slaughter the Jews.[187] The Arab league stated that the invasion
was to restore law and order and to prevent further bloodshed.[188]

After a year of fighting, a ceasefire was declared and temporary borders, known as
the Green Line, were established.[189] Jordan annexed what became known as the West
Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip. The UN
estimated that more than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled by or fled from
advancing Israeli forces during the conflict—what would become known in Arabic as
the Nakba ("catastrophe").[190] Some 156,000 remained and became Arab citizens of
Israel.[191]

Early years of the State of Israel