Transcript Conflict in the Middle East

Conflict in the Middle East
Learning Objectives
Understand the historical roots of the
Middle East Conflict.
Describe the outcome of each of the wars
fought by Israel and her neighbors.
Describe the terms of the various peace
accords signed by Israel and her opponents.
Background
Ground Zero for Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
Judaism: Israel = Biblical “Promised Land”
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Occupied by Moses and Hebrews around 1000 B.C.
Invaded and occupied by Philistines
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Greeks and Romans call it “Land of Philistines”, which becomes
Palestine.
Region of Jesus Christ’s birth, ministry, and death.
“Ownership” changes hands frequently.
Muslims capture in 640
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built Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem in 691
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Spot where Mohammed stopped on his way to heaven.
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Holiest site in Islam outside Saudi Arabia.
Ottoman Turks control from 1500’s-1900’s.
Balfour Declaration
European Jews face persecution in late 1800’s.
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Founded movement called Zionism to establish Jewish
homeland in Palestine.
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Begin establishing communities in Palestine prior to World
War One.
British Foreign Secretary Balfour supported the
idea of a “national home” for the Jews.
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Hoped to gain Jewish support for World War One.
Balfour Declaration endorses this homeland as well as
an independent state for Arabs.
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Arabs interpret the independent state clause to specify
Palestine; Brits say that isn’t what they had in mind.
The British Mandate
Ottoman Turks on losing side of WW I;
gain control of Palestine in 1920.
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British
90k Jews
Palestinians and Jews begin arming themselves
and conducting terrorist attacks against their
counterparts.
Rise of Nazism brings flood of new Jewish settlers
to Palestine from Europe in 1930’s.
UN votes to divide Palestine into Jewish and Arab
states in 1947, giving the Jews 55% of the land
west of the Jordan River and designating
Jerusalem as an international enclave.
Arab-Israeli War of 1948
14 May 1948: Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion
declares that Israel is an independent state.
Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, and Iraq invade
on 15 May.
Fighting continues until Jan 1949.
Israel prevails and gains territory in Galilee to the
north and the Negev Desert to the south.
Jerusalem is divided between Israel and Jordan.
Fate of 700k Palestinian refugees is left undecided.
Arab-Israeli War of 1956
USSR signs arms agreement with Egypt in 1955.
Israelis feel threatened by arms build up and
launch pre-emptive strike against Egypt.
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Attack and seize the Sinai and Gaza Strip.
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Relinquished in 1957.
French and British retake Suez Canal which Egypt
had seized several months earlier.
UN establishes peace keeping force in Sinai that is
still in place today.
Arafat and the PLO
Arafat forms Al-Fatah (Palestinian National
Liberation Front) in 1959.
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Goal was to liberate Palestine from Israel through
guerilla warfare.
Variety of Palestinian factions form the Palestinian
Liberation Organization in 1964.
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Arafat becomes chairman in 1969.
Charter calls for elimination of state of Israel.
Hussien feels threatened and expels PLO from
Jordan in 1970.
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Arafat moves HQ to Lebanon.
PLO driven out of Lebanon by Israel in 1982.
Six Day War
5-10 June 1967
Egypt, Jordan, and Syria begin military
mobilization.
Israel launches surprise pre-emptive strike.
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Destroys most of Egyptian Air Force on the ground.
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Knocked out 350 aircraft in first three hours.
Armored forces supported by air and infantry quickly
take Sinai, Golan Heights, West Bank (including Arab
portion of Jerusalem, and Gaza.
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Destroyed over 200 Arab tanks in two days.
UN arranges cease-fire, but terms did not specify
exactly what land Israel was required to give up.
Yom Kippur War
6 Oct 1973 Egypt and Syria launch surprise attack on
holiest day of Jewish year.
IDF not fully mobilized and is initially pushed back.
Arab integrated air defenses and anti-tank missiles take
heavy toll on IDF.
10-14 Oct IDF pushed Syrians out of Golan and entered
Syria.
15-24 Oct IDF pushes Egyptians back across the Suez.
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Soviets threaten to intervene when Egyptians are surrounded.
Kissinger/US convince Israel to accept truce.
Israeli invincibility brought into question; Arabs
emboldened.
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OPEC doubles oil prices and embargoes Israeli supporters.
Lebanon
Israel launches air strikes against PLO
positions in Lebanon in retaliation for
terrorist attacks.
Subsequently invades Lebanon and
surrounds Beirut in 1982.
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US-led UN coalition establishes presence
ashore to keep the peace.
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Departs after bombing of barracks.
PLO agrees to leave Beirut.
Israel completes withdrawal of its
troops from Lebanon in May 2000.
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Nearly 1k IDF soldiers killed during 22
year occupation.
Peace Accords
Camp David 1979
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Egypt recognizes Israel’s right to exist.
Israel returns Sinai to Egypt.
Leads to Sadat’s assassination in 1981.
Oslo Accords 1993
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Israel and PLO accept each other’s right to exist.
Allows limited Palestinian self-rule in Gaza and
Jericho.
Establishes framework for settlement of Gaza and West
Bank issues.
Leads to Rabin’s assassination in 1995.
Peace Accords
Wye River Accords 1998
Arafat agrees to crack down on terrorists.
 Israeli will pull troops back from occupied
territories.
 14.2 percent of the West Bank land will be
transferred to Palestinian control.
 Safe passage corridors will be established for
Palestinians between Gaza and the West Bank.
 750 Palestinians will be released from Israeli
prisons.
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Where Do We Stand?
Israel has begun implementing its provisions from Wye.
Many blame Arafat for terrorism; he argues it is beyond his
control.
Both sides constrained by hard-liners among their backers.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Sharon visits Temple Mount
in Jerusalem in Sept 2000, spurring a rash of riots and
terrorism by Palestinians.
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Israel responds to riots with force.
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Guns beat rocks…
Status of Jerusalem and religious sites is the critical issue for both
sides, and the issue that is least open to compromise.
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Both sides claim as their capital.
Boundaries of Palestinian state also still at issue.
For Further Study
From Beirut to Jerusalem
Friedman
A History of the Middle East Mansfield
Six Days in June
Hammel
No Victor, No Vanquished: Yom Kippur War
O’Balance
The Root
Hammel
The Haj
Uris