Initially, conditions favored the Arabs.  Ultimately, they possessed some 70 000 to 80 000 troops, and at the beginning of the war, they controlled superior weapons.  However, of these soldiers, the Arabs countries collectively sent around 25 000.  Most of these armies were poorly trained, and inexperienced in modern warfare.  They were also poorly led because of the jealousies and rivalries that plagued the Arab leaders.  They simply could not agree on an effective military command, or a consistent over-all strategy.  Each separate army fought for its own interests with little coordination with other armies.  As for the weapons and supplies, Arab stocks were initially better, however, they were never sufficient for war.  On top of this, supply lines were often extremely long, and very inefficient. 
     Throughout the War of Independence, Israel maintained numerical superiority.  This, however, was their only advantage in the beginning.  The Haganah made up the bulk of the Israeli army, with 60 000 to 70 000 trained soldiers.  To this was added the members of the extremist Irgun and Stern Gang, who operated independently of the Haganah.  The soldiers of the Haganah were also better trained and experienced than the Arab troops.  Roughly 25 000 of the Haganah had served in various Western military units during World War II, giving them valuable modern warfare experience.  The Jewish forces, however, didn't have enough arms to supply all their troops.  This was not a problem for long.  Israel was full of technically proficient Jews, and other industries were quickly converted into war industries.  Before long they were producing their own arms; something of which the Arabs were not capable.  When war broke out, lack of arms was not the Israelis only disadvantage.  They too suffered from poor organization.  After all, their country had just been formed.  On top of that, they had to devote some manpower to maintaining internal security.  This was affliction the Arabs bore too.  Perhaps more so. 
     In 1948, Arab armies seemed to continue to advance, and the Israelis had to concentrate their forces in one spot just to hold ground.  This tactic worked against the Arabs poor organization, and bought the Jews the times they needed.  The UN soon enforced a four week seize fire.  The Arabs, of course, complained, but the Israeli welcomed the time to regroup, reorganize, and stockpile arms and supplies.  This was the turning point in the war that secured Israeli victory.  While both sides accumulated more troops, the Jews augmented their forces from 60 000 to 100 000, while the Arabs only increased by a marginal 15 000.  They were outnumbered 2 to 1. 
     When the four weeks were up, Arabs insisted on the resumption of hostilities, most likely to appease the Arab public, and possibly due to the influence of individuals such as the Mufti of Jerusalem.  They were quickly pushed back, as the Jews gained more and more territory.  By Armistice negotiations were started with Egypt in early 1949, and others followed suit. 
     The military defeats dealt to the Arab countries only added to the unrest, and instability of the Middle East.  King Abdulllah was accused  of being a traitor, and was assassinated on July 20, 1951.  In Egypt, the corrupt Faruq government was overthrown by Colonel Gamel Nasser.  The War of Independence served to widen the already wide gape between the Arab states.  It also helped raise the Israeli ego to a point where negotiations with the Arabs to develop a fair and lasting resolution became next to impossible. 
     In the case of the War of Independence, as with the others in this series of wars, the Arab forces began stronger, but severely underestimated the Israeli forces.  With enough time, the Jewish army was able to reorganize and sufficiently arm itself to repel the Arab advances, and eventually gain territory.