Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Middle East War (1)
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Other regions in the Middle East harbored their own sparks of conflict, but none could compare to the Levant, where Jews had concentrated their immigration.
Since 1933, when Jews began fleeing Nazi persecution in large numbers and migrating there, Arab uprisings had repeatedly erupted in the Levant region.
“It's because the British are tolerating it that the Jews are flooding in!”
“Drive out the Jews!”
As a result of the Arab Revolt that repeated from 1936 to 1939, Britain convened the Peel Commission to try dividing the region into Jewish and Arab residential areas.
But this compromise was rejected by the Arab side.
“Why do we have to share our land with the Jews? Would you split up your British Isles with immigrants?”
Even in such circumstances, Jews steadily poured into Palestine.
Despite the British government's official ban on immigration, they crammed their way in through illegal entries and smuggling.
“Stop coming in! This land isn't big enough for all of you!”
Britain tried shipping illegal immigrants to places like Mauritius to halt Jewish immigration, but it couldn't stem the increase in the Jewish population.
Amid all this, World War II broke out.
It was a misfortune for Europe's Jews, but an opportunity for those in Palestine.
Palestinian Jews gained permission from Britain to form their own military units.
About 30,000 Jews enlisted in the British Army, giving them the foundation to build a powerful armed organization.
David Ben-Gurion used this foundation to strengthen the paramilitary groups Haganah and Irgun.
Even after the war, Britain's blockade of the Levant continued, but Jewish immigration did not stop.
“If you keep blocking our immigration, you won't see a good end.”
Jews began launching terrorist attacks against British forces interfering with their immigration.
Britain grappled with the issue on its own end as well.
In truth, the Attlee government, which had little interest in colonies, wanted to quickly discard this headache of a territory.
But with the U.S. pressuring it to abandon much of its colonial empire, immediately relinquishing the Levant too was burdensome.
Handing the decision over to the UN was an option, but Mosley and Churchill wouldn't tolerate that either.
“Surrendering territory? Absolutely not.”
For these reasons, Attlee dragged his feet on deciding and eventually passed the buck to Churchill and Mosley.
Once in power, Churchill and Mosley naturally sought to maintain control over the Levant.
“We must dominate the Levant to protect the Suez Canal.”
To hold onto the Levant this way, Britain crushed the restless Arabs and Jews with force.
For a moment, it seemed possible.
But Britain, exhausted by wars like the one in India, no longer had the strength to grip the Levant.
France, fighting colonial wars alongside, had already signaled its intent to abandon Syria, so Britain made a clean decision as well.
“It wasn't a core colony anyway.”
This contradicted the declaration of not yielding an inch of existing territory, but even fascists weren't fools enough to ignore reality.
Filling the void left by Britain and France's ebbing retreat was the UN.
But with Britain and France having left a mess behind, there was nothing the UN could do.
The French mandates were hastily sorted into Syria and Lebanon, but the problem was Britain's Levant.
“We propose an independent Arab state, an independent Jewish state, and a neutral Jerusalem.”
The UN initially recommended dividing the Levant into three parts for the parties to share—fairly(?).
One of the stakeholders, the Arabs, immediately rejected it.
“This is our land, I tell you! Stop spouting nonsense about splitting it up!”
The Arabs vented their fury.
In contrast, the Jews expressed joy at having their independence recognized.
The Arabs moved first.
Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, who had commanded the Army of the Holy War during the Arab Revolt, entered the Levant and attempted to besiege Jerusalem's Jews.
“Have they lost their minds?”
The Jews sprang into action as well.
David Ben-Gurion, leader of the Palestinian Jews, began receiving funds from overseas Jews through Golda Meir.
And with that money, he bought weapons from the Soviet Union.
“Whether it's Red weapons or not, if it fits our hands, it's a good weapon.”
With preparations complete, the Jews launched a counteroffensive.
“To establish Israel, we have to sweep away all the Arabs between our lands.”
Israel executed Plan Dalet, ruthlessly driving out Palestinians.
This assault was tantamount to a declaration of war against the Arabs.
As the crowning touch, Israel declared statehood right after victory.
“We can't take it anymore. Let's dump the Jews into the Mediterranean!”
Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt declared Arab self-determination across the Levant and mobilized troops.
Thus began the Middle East War that would set the region ablaze.
*
“Middle East War, huh.”
Even amid the fog of uncertainty, this much was predictable.
Considering the Jews' long-held aspiration for Canaan, this war was inevitable.
Anyone who didn't know that needed to crack open a textbook.
I didn't see the situation as particularly serious.
‘Israel wins the war anyway.’
The reason was simple.
Israel had two superpowers behind it: America and the Soviet Union.
The funny part was that both America and the Soviets thought Israel was on their side.
‘Well, Israel is our kind of people, after all.’
Israel ran a variant socialist model called Jewish socialism while relying on America for security.
It was the polar opposite of us—black-flavored democracy and capitalism on the surface, but security backed by the Soviets.
“Your Excellency. How shall we handle recognizing Israel as a state?”
In the short term, betting on Israel, which would boost its position with victory, was the smart play.
But falling out with the Arabs would be a hassle in its own way.
From a long-term view, I chose silence.
It's easier to live in shades of gray, playing both sides, than in black-and-white absolutes.
“Pretend we don't know.”
The world wasn't on fire in just the Levant.
The whole world was an inferno.
No need to make a fuss over one extra blaze.
That said, doing nothing felt off, so I sent Ben-Gurion a single telegram.
“From a friend in the East. Your Excellency Ben-Gurion, we sincerely congratulate you on Israel's founding.”
We like you guys, but we can't help with official recognition.
That was exactly the position I wanted to show the Jews.
Anyway, this strategy worked.
The Jewish community provided more support for our nuclear program than expected.
Tacit advice from Jewish scientists involved in the Manhattan Project, capital for development, even some key nuclear technologies—all quietly passed to us.
Of course, there was a price.
We signed a contract to hand over nuclear warheads and manufacturing tech to Israel within six months of developing them.
Not a bad deal by any means.
Israel would arm itself with nukes anyway if left alone.
Borrowing their money, tech, and brains to accelerate our program was a bargain.
Satisfied with this secret cooperation, Israel made another proposal.
“While we're at it, we'd prefer reliable Korean-made weapons for security. Can we purchase some?”
Not aid—they offered to pay full price.
No reason not to sell.
Of course, to avoid aggro from the Arabs, we laundered the shipments.
“Japan's too conspicuous—use China.”
We first sent weapons to Chen Gongbo in Nanjing, then had him export them to Israel.
If things went south, Chen Gongbo would take the fall.
That's the beauty of puppet states.
The exported quantities were quite sweet.
‘This is gonna make us rich.’
But the joy didn't last.
“W-wait, Israel is getting pushed back?”
In the original history, didn't Israel win smoothly?
Too much had changed to invoke original history, but still, the flow should be similar.
I couldn't hide my bewilderment.
If Israel collapsed, our nuclear armament would suffer.
What was the problem?
It didn't take long to pinpoint the source.
Egypt.
These damn Egyptians were fighting too well and messing up the board.
In original history, Egypt's officer corps had deliberately botched winnable wars to sabotage the monarchy.
Why were they doing well now?
Something I didn't know was definitely at play.
Anyway, I felt urgency mounting.
Normally, I'd watch the fun while munching snacks, but not this time.
My nukes!
I urgently fired off a telegram to America.
“Your Excellency President. If Israel loses this war by any chance, the Holocaust will replay in the Middle East. We have a duty to prevent such a catastrophe.”
It was time for righteous humanitarian Lee Seong-jun, not military dictator Lee Seong-jun.
Wearing the mask of human rights, I persuaded America.
“Hmm, not sure if that's right, but let's try convincing our Middle East friends for now.”
America didn't refuse my request.
It paid off from diligently scratching their itches in recent major issues.
Soon, mediation occurred between the Arab coalition and Israel.
The ceasefire lasted 60 days.
‘Two months bought—that should give the Jews time to do something.’
Of course, I didn't rely solely on the time gained.
I ramped up weapon shipments through China.
So, come on.
Win this.
Unlike at the start, I anxiously monitored the Middle East situation.