Crisis and Conflict in the Middle East

1. Crisis and Conflict in the Middle East Introduction

2. The European contest to control the Arab world • The Arab-Israeli conflict originated in the contest among European powers to control the Arab territories of the Ottoman empire. • Developing Arab nationalism in the late 19th century was contested by European ambitions and a growing Jewish nationalist movement in Europe.

3. The Ottoman Empire • Spread from Anatolia (now Turkey) – along the eastern Mediterranean coast to Morocco and down the Arabian Peninsula to Mecca and Medina. By 1529 it reached to Vienna. • By the 19th century it had become weakened politically and economically. • European powers seized territory in Europe and North Africa

4. Britain takes territory • Britain wanted to control the trade routes to India. • By WW1 Britain controlled Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Egypt, Sudan, Aden & South Africa. • Britain also established special relations with local Arab rulers along the Persian Gulf

5. France & Italy counter • France countered by seizing Algeria, Tunisia & Morocco • Italy grabbed Libya. • The Ottoman Empire shrank to Anatolia and the Arab provinces on the eastern Mediterranean (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine), the Red Sea coast (Hejaz, Yemen), and Mesopotamia (Iraq).

6. Zionism • Jewish nationalism growing in Europe in the 1880s because of deep-seated anti-Semitism • Zionists felt that Jews needed their own independent state. • Jewish immigration to Palestine increased from 1882 to 1914 until they were 10% of the population • WZO (f.1897) assisted with purchase of land in Palestine with the aim of creating an independent state.

7. WW1 • Ottoman empire fought on the side of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire • Russia, France and England competed for the potential spoils of war – carving up the territory of the Ottoman empire. • To achieve this Britain made 3 contradictory agreements.

8. 1. The Hussein-McMahon Correspondence 1915 –1916 • Britain gained support of the ruler of the Hejaz (who was also the religious leader of Mecca and Medina) • Britain persuaded Sharif Hussein of Mecca to launch an Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire and seek Arab independence • Hussein and Arab nationalists thought that this would avoid European rule

9. But Britain insisted in ruling Iraq, kept protectorates in the Persian Gulf and Aden. They hinted that France would have a role in Lebanon. • Palestine was not mentioned as being excluded from the Arab zone. • Sharif Hussein’s forces helped the British take Palestine, Transjordan and Syria during 1917-18 • Britain seized Iraq and Hussein’s son, Faisal was made ruler of Syria.

10. 2. The Sykes-Picot Agreement of May 16, 1916 • A secret agreement between France and Britain. • France to control Lebanon, Syria and Northern Iraq • Britain to dominate Transjordan and southern Iraq. • Palestine – to be under international control and not in Arab areas that would receive independence.

11. The Arab area shrank to a small part of the Arabian peninsula • This agreement was the basis for the post war settlement that the League of Nations ratified.

12. 3. The Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917 • Britain told the Zionist movement that it favoured the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine • Britain hoped this would encourage American and Russian Jews to press their governments to fight harder in Europe. • Forming a Jewish national home under British protection would circumvent the promises to the French to internationalize Palestine and the inclusion of Palestine in the Arab zone.

13. By offering to help the Zionists establish a home in Palestine, Britain could place its own troops there and control the strategic territory near the Suez Canal and control the holy places in Jerusalem.

14. The League of Nations • These deals were sanctioned by the League of Nations. • Britain and France were given mandates to rule areas on behalf of their residents • Syria & Lebanon went to France. Iraq, Palestine, Transjordan to Britain. • The Balfour Declaration was written into Britain’s mandate over Palestine.

15. European colonial rule prevailed in the Middle East, at the expense of Arab independence. • Jewish nationalism was given priority over the rights of the Palestinians • Arabs felt betrayed and bitter at the carving up and colonisation of their territories.

16. 1946-67 • Israel and Palestine

17. Why was the state of Israel created in 1948? • The Holocaust created great sympathy for the Jews. Many western countries wanted to create a homeland where they could settle and feel safe. • Jews had been arriving in the area since the 1890s. Jews believed that Palestine was the ‘Promised Land’ of the Old Testament.

18. From 1921 Palestine was controlled by Britain. But in 1947 the British handed Palestine over to the United Nations. • The United Nations recommended dividing Palestine between Arabs and Jews. The plan was published in November 1947.

19. Why did the Arabs reject the UN Plan? • They believed that Palestine was theirs by right. • The Jews had been given 60 percent of the land. • The Arabs seemed to have been allocated the worst land.

20. As the British withdrew, the Palestinians fought to gain control of every town. • Israeli terrorist gangs forced Arabs to leave their homes and flee for their lives.

21. What was Israel like? • It was a secular state. All people living within its borders would have the full rights of citizenship. • Arabs would qualify as citizens and be able to vote and stand for the Knesset, • This did not satisfy many Arabs. They did not want to live in Israel. They wanted a state of their own.

22. Israel was created on 14 May 1948. On 15 May 1948 the armies of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt attacked Israel.

23. Why did the Israelis win the war of 1948-9? • The numbers of soldiers on both sides were about equal. But the Israeli army was well trained and used to fighting • The Arab armies were inexperienced and divided. • Israel’s forces were also much better armed and supplied than those of the Arabs. • There was great financial support for the new state of Israel in the USA.

24. What effects did the war have? • The Israelis took over all of the areas that the United Nations had set aside for Arabs. • About 800,000 Arabs left the new state of Israel. This created the Palestinian refugee problem. • The refugee camps became the training grounds for the freedom fighters or 'Fedayeen'. Attacks began almost immediately upon targets in Israel.

25. More Jewish immigrants began to arrive and new settlements were begun to house the new immigrants. Many of these were in areas that Israel had occupied during the war of 1948-9. • There were no peace treaties afterwards – only ceasefires. Another attack could be expected at any time. • The Israeli government tried to encourage more immigration in an effort to increase the Israeli population.

26. The Law of Return gave every Jew the right to return to Israel. The population rose rapidly as a result. • Arab states began to look towards the Soviet Union for support. • The war led to increased support for Arab nationalists such as Nasser in Egypt and led to the downfall of King Farouq of Egypt who was overthrown in a coup.

27. Why was there a Suez Crisis in 1956? • In Egypt in July 1952, there was a revolution. The new leader of Egypt was Colonel Gamal Abdul Nasser.

28. Nasser • Nasser wanted to force the British to leave the bases that they still held in Egypt and unite the Arab nations in one single movement with Egypt at its head. • In 1954 British agreed to evacuate all troops from Suez by April 1956, but retained the right to reoccupy the base in the event of an attack by any outside power on an Arab League state or Turkey.

29. US Policy • At this time the USA was attempting to build a barrier against Soviet expansion. • Baghdad Pact – Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and Britain – signed interlocking agreements in 1954 -55 – and received generous US economic and military aid. • Nasser refused to allow Egypt to join. Syria and Jordan declined too. - claiming imperialist aims of the west.

30. Nasser appealed to the USA for arms, but was refused. Instead he agreed to buy $200m Soviet arms from Czechoslovakia. • The US government offered $50,000,000 for the Aswan Dam project. But when Nasser also asked for help from the Soviet Union, the US government withdrew the offer.

31. Nasser’s response • Annoyed by the US refusal to help fund the $1 billion Aswan project, Nasser retaliated by nationalising the Suez Canal on 26 July 1956 • He said he would use the revenues to fund development projects the West refused to help. • Suez was operated by a French company

32. How did the West and Israel react? • The British government regarded Nasser's actions as a threat to the Commonwealth, which, it believed, depended upon the Canal for trade links. Anthony Eden called the nationalisation theft. • The French sent Israel 75 of their latest fighter aircraft. • The Israelis wanted to take advantage of the situation to launch an attack on Egypt.

33. On 29 October the Israeli army attacked Egypt through Sinai without warning. • On 30 October the British and French governments demanded that Egypt withdraw its forces from the Suez Canal, or they would intervene within twelve hours.

34. On 1 November British and French planes began to bomb the Egyptian airforce, destroying most of Nasser’s planes on the ground. • On 5 November, when the British and French dropped paratroops at Port Said. • On 6 November 200 British and French warships bombarded Port Said and then landed a further 22,000 troops many by helicopter. Nasser ordered the Canal to be blocked.

35. What effects did the Suez War have? • There was overwhelming condemnation of the invasion. • The General Assembly of the UN voted 64-5 for a cease-fire on the same day. • The Soviet Union threatened to send troops to support Egypt

36. President Eisenhower told the British government that it must withdraw. • On 7 November Britain and France announced a cease-fire.

37. The Israelis withdrew six months later and a UN peacekeeping force was put in place for ten years. • Israel was guaranteed the use of the Gulf of Aqaba. The port of Eilat, which had been blockaded by the Egyptians before the war, was now reopened. • This was a great victory for Nasser and the Arab countries.

38. Damage to Britain • The Sunday Times of London wrote • “[Eden was] the last British Prime Minister to believe that Britain was a Great Power and the first to confront a crisis which proved beyond doubt that she was not.” • January 16 1977

39. What effects did Suez have in the Middle East? • Arab hostility to Israel increased still further. • The pro-western regime in Iraq was overthrown in 1958 and Syria and Libya both began to look to the Soviet Union for military aid. • In 1958 Syria and Egypt formed the United Arab Republic, which lasted for three years. • In 1964 Nasser supported the setting up of the Palestine Liberation Organisation

40. Why did Superpower involvement increase in the Middle East? • To try to protect Israel and other countries from Soviet influence, the Eisenhower Doctrine was announced in 1957. • US aid was offered to any country in the Middle East threatened by communism. • The Soviet Union began to send military advisers to Egypt. By 1970 there were an estimated 20,000 and military aid worth more than $12,000,000,000 had been sent to the Arab countries.

41. All the equipment and weapons lost by Syria and Egypt in the wars of 1967 and 1973 were apparently immediately replaced by the Soviet Union. • From 1968 to 1973 the Soviet Union sent $2,600,000,000 worth of aid to the Arab states of Syria and Egypt. • Increased Soviet aid to the Arabs meant increased American aid to Israel. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the USA sent $2,000,000,000 to Israel.

42. What caused the Six Day War? • In May 1967 the Egyptian government began to make claims that the Israelis were building up forces for an attack. • President Nasser sent Egyptian forces into Sharm el Sheikh close to the Israeli border and ordered the UN forces (UNEF) to leave Egypt.

43. Nasser was hoping that the tone of his speeches and the increased strength of the Arab states, which were now equipped with modern Soviet weapons, would force Israel to back down. • The Israelis accused Nasser of threatening war. Nasser believed that his aggressive stance would gain him the approval and support of the other Arab nations.

44. On 5 June 1967 the Israeli armed forces attacked the Arab countries without warning. The Egyptian air force was virtually wiped out on the ground. • All of Sinai was occupied by the Israelis. The Jordanian army was pushed back across the Jordan River and the Israelis occupied all of the West Bank.

45. In the north the Israelis seized the Golan Heights from Syria and began to advance on Damascus. • The UN called for a cease-fire, which was accepted by Jordan on 7 June and then by Egypt and Syria. By 10 June the fighting had finished and the Arab states had been defeated.

46. Why did the Israelis win so easily? • It is almost certain that the Israelis planned and then executed an unprovoked attack to knock out their enemies before they could do anything about it. • The Arab states were caught completely off guard.

47. They had the best-equipped troops in the Middle East. Not only their weapons, but also their training, was vastly superior to their opponents. • Israel could put 300,000 trained and experienced soldiers into the field against 180,000.

48. What effects did the Six Day War have? • Israel now had fixed boundaries that could be defended much more easily. • Israel had a great deal more territory. • The Israeli government believed that it could exchange territory for concessions, which would guarantee the security of Israel.

49. Israel now had fixed boundaries that could be defended much more easily. • Israel had a great deal more territory. • The Israeli government believed that it could exchange territory for concessions, which would guarantee the security of Israel.

50. Both governments forced the Palestinians out for fear of reprisals from Israel. The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) left to set up bases in Jordan. • Civil war broke out in Jordan as the guerrillas fought the government • Other Arab groups became convinced that the only way of defeating Israel was by international terrorism.