Former Israeli government spokesman **Eylon Levy** issued a pointed reminder about the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict, arguing that the events of 1948 are often misrepresented or forgotten in today’s debates.

Levy noted that in 1947, the **United Nations** proposed a peaceful partition of the British Mandate territory into two states — one Jewish and one Arab — under what became known as **United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine**. The Jewish leadership accepted the proposal despite reservations over the territory’s size and borders, and Jewish communities publicly celebrated the vote.

Arab leaders, however, rejected the plan outright. Rather than pursue a diplomatic track, neighboring Arab states launched a military campaign in 1948 aimed at preventing the establishment of the Jewish state. What followed was Israel’s War of Independence — a defining moment in modern Middle Eastern history.