Includes bibliographical references (p. 421-505) and index.

Staking claims: the historical background -- The United Nations steps in: UNSCOP and the partition resolution -- The first stage of the civil war, November 1947--March 1948 -- The second stage of the civil war, April--mid-May 1948 -- The pan-Arab invasion, 15 May--11 June 1948 -- The first truce, 11 June--8 July 1948, and the international community, and the War -- The "ten days" and after -- Operations Yoav and Hiram -- Operation Horev, December 1948--January 1949 -- The armistice agreements, January--July 1949 -- Some conclusions.

This history of the foundational war in the Arab-Israeli conflict is groundbreaking, objective, and deeply revisionist. Besides the military account, it also focuses on the war's political dimensions. Historian Morris probes the motives and aims of the protagonists on the basis of newly opened Israeli and Western documentation. The Arab side--where the archives are still closed--is illuminated with the help of intelligence and diplomatic materials. Morris stresses the jihadi character of the two-stage Arab assault on the Jewish community in Palestine. He examines the dialectic between the war's military and political developments and highlights the military impetus in the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem. He looks both at high politics and general staff decision-making and at the nitty-gritty of combat in the battles that resulted in the emergence of the State of Israel and the humiliation of the Arab world--a humiliation that underlies the continued Arab antagonism toward Israel.--From publisher description.