During and after world war II, European influence in middle east waned, and muslim states became, independent: Lebanon in 1941, Syria in 1945, Jordan in 1946, Pakistan in 1951. The British pullout from Palestine in 1948 was accompanied by the creation of Israel, and the hostility between the Israelis and the Arabs immediately became one of the defining influences in the region. Although British influence in Egypt and Iraq had ended by 1958, and France completely withdrew from North Africa in the period 1958-1962, the United States and the Soviet Union began taking a new interest in the region, or at least in its oil supplies. Some would argue that European colonialism was simply replaced by American neocolonialism, and the U.S. presence came to be seen by many Muslims as just the latest chapter in the history of Western interference in the affairs of Islam.