Transcript The Arab Israeli Conflict

THE ARAB ISRAELI CONFLICT
1949-2000
WHERE WE ARE
The 1948 War was bloody and horrific
After the 1948 War:
 Israel controlled 75% of the land and shared a
border with Jerusalem
 Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip and Jordan
occupied the West Bank
 Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees
had fled their homes and were unable to return
 These refugees were not welcomed by the Arab
countries they fled to-no education, jobs, civil
rights, etc.
1956 SUEZ CRISIS
The Suez Canal connected the
Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea (and
the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean)
The Canal was controlled by British and
French investors and used heavily by
Israel
In 1956, Egypt “nationalized” the canalclaimed it for Egypt and ban Israeli ships
Britain, France, and Israel all attack
Egypt and force the canal to reopen
1964 PALESTINIAN LIBERATION ORGANIZATION
FORMS
Founded with the goal of “liberating
Palestine through armed struggle”
Rejected Zionism
Called for the right of Palestinian
refugees to return home
Eventually began to call for a Palestinian
state
1969-2004 headed by Yasser Arafat
1967 THE SIX DAY WAR
Tensions were high between Israel and its
Arab neighbors; both sides were
building up their militaries
On June 5, 1967, Israel attacked Egypt
and destroyed the Egyptian air force,
then defeats Syria, Lebanon, Jordan,
and Iraq
Israel wins; occupies Sinai Peninsula
(Egypt), Golan Heights (Syria), and West
Bank and Gaza Strip (Palestinians)including complete control of Jerusalem
1973 YOM KIPPUR WAR/RAMADAN WAR
On Yom Kippur and during Ramadan,
Syria and Egypt attack Israel
Egypt experiences early successes, but
Syria struggles, forcing Egypt to take
major risks to help Syria
The risks fail, and Israel wins again
CAMP DAVID ACCORDS
Negotiations between Egypt, Israel, and
the USA
Israel agrees to withdraw from the Sinai
Peninsula, Egypt guarantees use of the
Suez Canal for Israel and reduces its
number of troops on Israel’s border
The sides come up with a framework for
Palestinian autonomy, but it is rejected
by the UN
Both sides began to get billions of
dollars in US aid every year
1970S-TERRORISM
1970 Avivim School Bus Bombing-Israeli
school bus is attacked, killing 12,
wounding 25
1972 Lod Airport Massacre-Terrorists kill
26 in an airport attack
1972 Munich Olympics Massacre-11
members of the Israeli Olympic team
taken hostage and murdered
1982 LEBANON WAR
Israel invades Lebanon to stop PLO
attacks from refugee camps in that
country
The resulting conflict leads to the
development of Hezbollah, a Shia
political party and militant group
opposed to Israel
Israel continues to skirmish with militant
groups in Southern Lebanon until 2000
1987-1991 THE FIRST INTIFADA
Intifada means “uprising”
Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank
began refusing to pay taxes, do work for
Israelis, started vandalizing property, and
throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at
Israeli soldiers
Israel responded with 80,000 soldiers, killing
over 1000 Palestinians (many children)
Major setback for Israel
 Condemned for brutality
 Legitimized the PLO
 The world saw Israel as an occupying force
1993 OSLO ACCORDS
The PLO recognizes Israel’s existence
Israel recognized the PLO as its
negotiating partner
Created a Palestinian Authority to begin
governing the West Bank and Gaza
Did not address many major issues of the
conflict or create a Palestinian state
2000 CAMP DAVID TALKS
Talks between President Clinton, Yasser
Arafat, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Barak
Palestinians were offered a state with all
of Gaza and 86% of the West Bank,
but no agreement was made on a
number of other issues
Talks broke down