The Arab-Israeli Conflict

1. The Arab-Israeli Conflict Chapter 26, Section 4 and Chapter 28, Section 2

2. Zionism • During the 1800s, persecution of Jews led to the modern form of Zionism. • Zionism is a political movement which called for the reestablishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. • As anti-Semitism spread throughout Europe, the calls for Zionism became much louder.

3. Zionism • In 1897, Theodor Herzl, a Hungarian Jew living in Austria, formed an organization to promote Zionism. • Under Herzl’s encouragement, Jews from Eastern Europe began migrating to the British mandate of Palestine. • They set up communities there and called on Britain and other European powers to support them.

4. The Balfour Declaration • In 1917, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration. • The key paragraph declared: • “His Majesty’s Government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people … it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.”

5. Arab Response • At the same time as the Balfour Declaration, nationalism was spreading throughout the Middle East. • Although Arabs greatly outnumbered Jewish settlers in Palestine, increasing Jewish migration during the 1930s led to heightened tensions. • Zionist leaders helped Jews to buy land from Arab farmers. • Those landless Arab farmers were then forced to move to the cities where they found little opportunities and severe hardships.

6. The Founding of Israel • During and after World War II, thousands of Jewish refugees had left Europe for Palestine. • Hitler’s murder of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust showed the need for a homeland where Jews could live in safety. • Arabs, unhappy to be giving up their land to the Jews, began attacking Jewish settlements. • Unable to end the violence, and exhausted by World War II, Britain withdrew from Palestine and turned the area over to the United Nations.

7. Partition and War • In 1947, the UN recommended that Palestine be partitioned, or divided, into a Jewish state and an Arab state. • Zionists accepted the plan. • Arabs, however, objected to giving any territory to Jews. • When the last British troops left Palestine in May 1948, Jews announced the creation of the state of Israel. • Israel then won recognition from major world powers.

8. Arab-Israeli War • To neighboring Arabs, Israel was a creation of the western powers who wanted to continue their domination of the Middle East. • Vowing to destroy Israel, Arab nations declared war at once. • Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon send separate military forces against Israel. • Despite suffering heavy losses, Israel defended itself and defeated the divided Arab forces.

9. Palestinian Refugees • More than 500,000 Arabs fled or were driven out of Palestine during and after the 1948 war. • Many Palestinians settled in UN refugee camps. • These camps were designed to be temporary, but soon became home to several generations of Palestinians. • Arab and Palestinian leaders resisted leaving these camps because they felt that would be interpreted as a willingness to give up their goal of regaining a Palestinian homeland.

10. Continued Conflict • Since the 1948 war, the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors had erupted into three more wars. • While Israel won each of these wars, its enemies were not entirely defeated. • Cold War • During the Cold War, the United States provided military and economic aid to Israel. • Israel’s Arab enemies turned to the Soviet Union for support.

11. PLO • In 1964, Palestinian leaders formed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to reclaim Palestine and destroy Israel. • PLO activists waged guerrilla war against Israel. • By the 1970s, the PLO and other radical groups spread the Arab-Israeli conflict beyond the Middle East. • They lashed out at the United States and other nations which had supported Israel. • They often used kidnappings, assassinations, and terror attacks to achieve their means. Former PLO President Yasser Arafat

12. The Struggle to Achieve Peace • Peace between Israel and the Arab world has been difficult. • Over the years, several peace attempts have been made: • Camp David Accords: President Carter, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat. • Egypt agreed to recognize Israel in order to gain formerly lost land. • The Arab world saw Egypt as betraying them. • Sadat was assassinated two years later.

13. Intifada • In 1987, Palestinians, angered over years of Israeli military control, began a mass uprising against Jews. • This uprising is known as the intifada, or “the shaking.” • Israel responded forcefully to this uprising, killing many and destroying homes. • Arabs began to turn to extremist groups (Hamas, Fatah) in order to have their needs met.

14. Further Attempts at Peace • One of the main areas of contention between the Israelis and Palestinians concerned the occupied territoriesof the West Bank,Golan Heights, and Gaza Strip. • At the 1993 Oslo Accords, Israel and the PLO agreed to recognize one another in an attempt to stop the ongoing violence.

15. Unresolved Issues • Several issues between Israel and Palestine continue to exist because the Oslo Accords did not solve them. • These issues include: • Control of Jerusalem (In 1980, Israel made Jerusalem its capital. Palestinians want to make East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine.) • The “right of return:” Palestinians want to return to the lands that they fled during the Arab-Israeli wars. • The future of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Eastern Jerusalem. • Compromise is difficult because both sides believe in the justice of their cause. • As a result, the bloodshed continues in the Middle East.