Conflict in the Middle East

1. Conflict in the Middle East

2. 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.

5. Background • Ground Zero for Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. • Judaism: Israel = Biblical “Promised Land” • Occupied by Moses and Hebrews around 1000 B.C. • Invaded and occupied by Philistines • 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 • built Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem in 691 • Spot where Mohammed stopped on his way to heaven. • Holiest site in Islam outside Saudi Arabia. • Ottoman Turks control from 1500’s-1900’s.

6. Balfour Declaration • European Jews face persecution in late 1800’s. • Founded movement called Zionism to establish Jewish homeland in Palestine. • Begin establishing communities in Palestine prior to World War One. • British Foreign Secretary Balfour supported the idea of a “national home” for the Jews. • Hoped to gain Jewish support for World War One. • Balfour Declaration endorses this homeland as well as an independent state for Arabs. • Arabs interpret the independent state clause to specify Palestine; Brits say that isn’t what they had in mind.

7. The British Mandate • Ottoman Turks on losing side of WW I; British gain control of Palestine in 1920. • 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.

8. 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.

10. 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. • Attack and seize the Sinai and Gaza Strip. • 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.

11. Arafat and the PLO • Arafat forms Al-Fatah (Palestinian National Liberation Front) in 1959. • Goal was to liberate Palestine from Israel through guerilla warfare. • Variety of Palestinian factions form the Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1964. • Arafat becomes chairman in 1969. • Charter calls for elimination of state of Israel. • Hussein feels threatened and expels PLO from Jordan in 1970. • Arafat moves HQ to Lebanon. • PLO driven out of Lebanon by Israel in 1982.

12. Six Day War • 5-10 June 1967 • Egypt, Jordan, and Syria begin military mobilization. • Israel launches surprise pre-emptive strike. • Destroys most of Egyptian Air Force on the ground. • 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. • 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.

15. 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. • Soviets threaten to intervene when Egyptians are surrounded. • Kissinger/US convince Israel to accept truce. • Israeli invincibility brought into question; Arabs emboldened. • OPEC doubles oil prices and embargoes Israeli supporters.

16. Lebanon • Israel launches air strikes against PLO positions in Lebanon in retaliation for terrorist attacks. • Subsequently invades Lebanon and surrounds Beirut in 1982. • US-led UN coalition establishes presence ashore to keep the peace. • Departs after bombing of barracks. • PLO agrees to leave Beirut. • Israel completes withdrawal of its troops from Lebanon in May 2000. • Nearly 1k IDF soldiers killed during 22 year occupation.

17. Peace Accords • Camp David 1979 • Egypt recognizes Israel’s right to exist. • Israel returns Sinai to Egypt. • Leads to Sadat’s assassination in 1981. • Oslo Accords 1993 • 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.

18. 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.

20. Where Do We Stand? • Israel has begun implementing its provisions from Wye. • Many blamed Arafat for terrorism; he argued it was 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. • Israel responds to riots with force. • 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. • Both sides claim as their capital. • Boundaries of Palestinian state also still at issue.