Plausibility Check: A More Successful Israel in 1948-1949?

CaliGuy

Banned
Would it have been realistic for Israel to be more successful in its 1948-1949 war? If so, how much more successful could it have realistically been in this war?

Also, out of curiosity--had a slightly smaller number of Jews been killed in the Holocaust and thus a greater number of Jewish immigrants would have arrived in Israel in the 1945-1949 time period, would Israel have performed better, as well as, or worse in its 1948-1949 in comparison to our TL? (On one hand, Israel would have a larger army; however, on the other hand, these Jewish immigrants might need to be trained in regards to warfare before they would actually be able to fight effectively.)

Anyway, any thoughts on all of this?
 

CaliGuy

Banned
Also, let me guess--having Israel conquer the Gaza Strip in 1948-1949 would be impractical since, even if it was successfully conquered, the Gaza Strip's large Palestinian population would "need" to be expelled in order for Israel to annex this strip afterwards--thus resulting in a large-scale Israeli expulsion operation which will make Israel look bad in the eyes of the international community, correct?
 
Israel almost captured Hebron and Gaza, but Ben Gurion thought that it will be too much for the arabs and that they will never make peace. As they don't want peace anyway, it was a mistake in retrospect. An operation to recapture east Jerusalem was canceled in the last minute. If both Jerusalem and Hebron are taken, the Jordanians would have probably retreated from Judea to the Ramalla- Jerico line
 

CaliGuy

Banned
Israel almost captured Hebron and Gaza, but Ben Gurion thought that it will be too much for the arabs and that they will never make peace. As they don't want peace anyway, it was a mistake in retrospect. An operation to recapture east Jerusalem was canceled in the last minute. If both Jerusalem and Hebron are taken, the Jordanians would have probably retreated from Judea to the Ramalla- Jerico line
Do you have more information on the East Jerusalem planned operation as well as on the planned Hebron operation?
 
Do you have more information on the East Jerusalem planned operation as well as on the planned Hebron operation?
The last attempt to recapture east Jerusalem was operation Kedem that failed mainly because the explosives that they brought in order to breach the wall wasn't strong enough. Have that operation succeed or have the many attempts to east to reinforce the Jewish quarter suceed (one possible way is that the hagana doesn't evacuate the Armenian quarter) and you have Jerusalem in full Israeli hands, and thus ben gurion might have more will to capture hebron and the rest of Judea. The area was sparsely populated and most of the Bedouin fleeing or even join the Israelis in order to get revenge on the Palestinians. The hebron arabs would surly fled, fearing retribution on their massacre of the city's Jews in 1929.
 

CaliGuy

Banned
The last attempt to recapture east Jerusalem was operation Kedem that failed mainly because the explosives that they brought in order to breach the wall wasn't strong enough. Have that operation succeed

How exactly would the Zionists get stronger explosives? By making them themselves?

or have the many attempts to east to reinforce the Jewish quarter suceed (one possible way is that the hagana doesn't evacuate the Armenian quarter)

Why was the Armenian Quarter evacuated?

and you have Jerusalem in full Israeli hands, and thus ben gurion might have more will to capture hebron and the rest of Judea. The area was sparsely populated and most of the Bedouin fleeing or even join the Israelis in order to get revenge on the Palestinians. The hebron arabs would surly fled, fearing retribution on their massacre of the city's Jews in 1929.

In such a scenario, would Israel also have been able to capture cities such as Bethlehem and Jericho? If so, why stop there rather than try to drive Jordan out of Samaria?
 
How exactly would the Zionists get stronger explosives? By making them themselves?



Why was the Armenian Quarter evacuated?



In such a scenario, would Israel also have been able to capture cities such as Bethlehem and Jericho? If so, why stop there rather than try to drive Jordan out of Samaria?
They might bring simply more explosives, but I think that the earlier operations have bigger chances to succeed.
The Armenian quarter was evacuated because the Armenian asked, and they promised to remain natural, but following the evacuation the Arabs invaded the quarter almost immediately ,thus causing the Jewish quarter to have a much much worse strategic position.
If both Jerusalem and hebron are captured then the Jordanians simply can't hold bet-lehem and after its fall their is nothing of importance in judea. They will hold jericho because it is right across the Jordan river, but that's it. Samaria was much more defended by not only the Arab legion, but also by the Iraqi aramy. Samaria alao had a larger Palestinian arab population then judea and was easier to defended.
 

CaliGuy

Banned
They might bring simply more explosives, but I think that the earlier operations have bigger chances to succeed.
The Armenian quarter was evacuated because the Armenian asked, and they promised to remain natural, but following the evacuation the Arabs invaded the quarter almost immediately ,thus causing the Jewish quarter to have a much much worse strategic position.
If both Jerusalem and hebron are captured then the Jordanians simply can't hold bet-lehem and after its fall their is nothing of importance in judea. They will hold jericho because it is right across the Jordan river, but that's it. Samaria was much more defended by not only the Arab legion, but also by the Iraqi aramy. Samaria alao had a larger Palestinian arab population then judea and was easier to defended.
Thanks for all of this information! :)

Also, though, did Israel actually have the military capacity to conquer Hebron in 1948-1949?
 
Thanks for all of this information! :)

Also, though, did Israel actually have the military capacity to conquer Hebron in 1948-1949?
Probably. In the end of the war, Israel invaded the Sinai and the Iraqi aramy was forced to windraw from all the areas it occupied. In 1949 the arab forces were mostly defeated , so hebron or gaza are doable in my opinion.
 
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