The continuing conflict between the Arab world and the Jewish State of Israel is a political and military strife that dates back almost seven decades. The conflict commenced with the rise of both Jewish Zionism and Arab nationalism. These two ideologies, were set to collide when Theodor Herzl and a group of European Zionists began to search for a permanent home for the Jews of the world. When the Ottoman Empire fell during the aftermath of World War I, the British took control of present day Israel and Jordan while France was given control of modern day Syria and Lebanon. Because Jerusalem is the center of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, Jews and Arabs were put in a very close proximity of each other, which immediately created tension between the two peoples. In 1947, British Mandate of Palestine was decided to to be partitioned by the United Nations to create one Jewish state and one Arab state, the conflict evolved from riots in Palestine to an all out war in 1948. Israel has had to fight for its existence from the very beginning. On May 14, 1948, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, declared an independent and sovereign Jewish state of Israel. While the United States and much of the world was quick to acknowledge Israel's right to exist, the entire Arab world unilaterally refused to accept a Jewish state. That day, the armies of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq, swiftly invaded Israel simultaneously. These invasions began the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and Israel's War of Independence. The war lasted a year and a half, but Israel's infantile military succeeded in repelling the five Arab armies from Israel and gained more territory in the process. With the exception of the Gaza Strip, being controlled by Egypt, and the West Bank, under Jordanian control, Israel secured its status in the world as a sovereign Jewish state. However, it also began the Palestinians' lack of a country and the still occurring bitter clashes with Israel. Between 1956 and 1967, there were frequent border clashes wi