The end of the British mandate in Palestine heralded the birth of the new state of Israel. It also marked the end of one of the most tumultuous and momentous chapters in Israeli history. But the new state, born into a hostile environment and struggling with the manifold demands of sovereignty, would have to face many post-Independence challenges to its existence, not least in the form of armed conflict and confrontation with its Arab neighbours. This volume examines the conflicts that from the 1948 until the 1967 Six Day War came to define the Israeli struggle for existence.