ON THIS DAY

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May 14, 1948

Establishment of the State of Israel

The declaration of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948 marked the culmination of decades of Jewish nationalist aspirations and the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, made the declaration in a ceremony held at the Tel Aviv Museum. In his proclamation, he announced the establishment of a Jewish state in the land of Israel, to be known as the State of Israel. The declaration emphasised the historical connection of the Jewish people to the land, the hardships they had endured throughout history, and their right to self-determination. It also extended an olive branch, calling for peace with neighboring states and assuring the Arab inhabitants of Israel of their civil rights.

David Ben-Gurion declaring the establishment of Israel on 14 May 1948

Neighbouring Arab states invaded the area the next day, beginning the First Arab–Israeli War. Subsequent armistice agreements established Israeli control over 77 percent of the former Mandate territory.The majority of Palestinian Arabs were either expelled or fled in what is known as the Nakba, with those remaining becoming the new state's main minority.

Over the following decades, Israel's population increased greatly as the country received an influx of Jews who emigrated, fled or were expelled from the Muslim world. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and Syrian Golan Heights. Israel established and continues to expand settlements across the illegally occupied territories, contrary to international law, and has effectively annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in moves largely unrecognised internationally.

After the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel signed peace treaties with Egypt—returning the Sinai in 1982—and Jordan. In 1993, Israel signed the Oslo Accords, which established mutual recognition and limited Palestinian self-governance in parts of the West Bank and Gaza. In the 2020s, it normalised relations with several more Arab countries via the Abraham Accords. However, efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict after the interim Oslo Accords have not succeeded, and the country has engaged in several wars and clashes with Palestinian militant groups.

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