Short of arms and training, the Israeli forces still have the advantage of having just beaten al-Husseini's irregulars, and their morale is high.

A key element of Ben-Gurion's statism is the integration of Israel's independent military forces into a unified military structure.

On May 25, 1948, Ben-Gurion presents the following aims to his general staff: “…we should prepare to go over to the offensive with the aim of smashing Lebanon, Transjordan and Syria...The weak point in the Arab coalition is Lebanon [for] the Moslem regime is artificial and easy to undermine. A Christian state should be established, with its southern border on the Litani river [within Lebanon]. We will make an alliance with it. When we smash the [Arab] Legion's strength and bomb Amman, we will eliminate Transjordan too, and then Syria will fall. If Egypt still dares to fight on, we shall bomb Port Said, Alexandria, and Cairo.” (Chomsky, Noam: Fateful Triangle: the United States, Israel, and the Palestinians (p. 162, 1983 Updated Edition 1999, South End Press, Boston MA, USA.)