Growth of Arab Nationalism

Arab nationalism was a movement striving for Arab political unity in the Middle East. There was undoubtedly a huge increase in an Arab sense of nationalism between the years 1948 and 1973. One major reason for this was the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, which gave the Arab powers something to unite against, because not a single Arab nation recognised Israel as a legitimate state. There were other reasons, however, most notably the continuing struggle of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, Nasser and Arab frustrations with the actions of the west.
The State of Israel was created in 1948 after the British withdrew from their mandate after years of terrorism. In its first day of existence it was attacked by all of its neighbouring Arab states simultaneously. This was because of a joint opinion between the Arab Nations that the State of Israel was in fact Palestine, and an “indivisible part of the Arab homeland”. Its creation therefore united the Arab countries in their hatred of Israel and gave them a common cause to fight against. This unity through their non-recognition of Israel’s borders clearly boosted and idealised Arab nationalism, and forced them to come together despite religious and political differences in their quest to “liquidate” Israel. The Arab world’s hatred towards the Jewish State was boosted in the following war due to a loss of all land given to Palestine in the UN’s partition plan. This loss of Arab land became known as the “Catastrophe of 1948 and 1949”, and further united the Arab world. It offered a focal point which all the Arab countries could strive towards regaining, and was also something which could be later used in propaganda against Israel. The creation of the State of Israel therefore united the Arab States through their hatred of it, and the further loss of land after its creation gave the Arabs something to strive towards.
The creation of Israel and subsequent loss of Palestine from the