Can there be peace in the Middle East?
Zionism-1890s
Its general
definition means
the national
movement for the
return of the
Jewish people to
their homeland
and the
resumption of
Jewish
sovereignty in the
Land of Israel.
Great Britain
Promises to
create a Jewish
homeland in
Palestine: a
British Colony.
Balfour
Declaration1917
Holocaust/World
War 2 – 1934-1945
6 of 9 million
European Jews
are murdered by
Hitler’s Nazi
Germany
UN Partition
Plan - 1947
British Leaving
Palestine to UN
Control.
UN creates plan
for Jewish and
Arab States amidst
terrorism from
both sides.
Palestinians reject
partition.
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1948-War
Arabs reject UN
partition plan and
go to war with
Israel.
Egypt, Syria,
Transjordan, Iraq,
and Lebanon attack
Jewish State
Israel, with backing from U.S.
and European countries wins
the war.
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Israel conquered 78% of
Palestine
Created nearly 1
million Palestinian
refugees
Over 400 towns and
villages were destroyed
Every city, river, and
hill received a new
Hebrew name
Denied the existence of
Palestine
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Egypt Nationalizes
Suez Canal
Israel, backed by
English and French
forces take back the
canal.
Agreement is reached,
Israel gains Gaza
strip.
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Political/Terrorist
party with stated goal
of creating an
independent
Palestinian state.
Yassir Arafat Leader
(seen as terrorist and
hero, may have been
poisoned)
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Israel conquered more land by launching a highly
successful attack
Occupied additional 22% of Palestine – The West
Bank and the Gaza Strip
The Palestinian Side:
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Fear of Dispossession / 20th Century Jewish
Immigration
Refugees of 1948
The 57-year Occupation
Spiritual connection to the Holy Land
The Jewish Side:
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•
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History of Jewish Persecution
Holocaust
Israel as Jewish ‘Safe Haven’
Spiritual connection to the Holy Land
Source: 2003 CIA World Fact Book - Palestine data consists of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
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Egypt and
Syria attack
Israel on
Yom Kippur
Egypt and
Syria
initially
successful.
Israel wins,
keeps no
new
territory
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Egypt Becomes first
Arab nation to
recognize Israel.
Israel gives back the
Sinai peninsula
Anwar Sadat(Egypt)
and Menachem
Begin(Israel)
Anwar Sadat
assassinated by his
own soldiers.
Important Note: Sinai has vast oil
reserves
Palestine attacks Israeli citizens in the north, create this safety zone to
protect from attacks from Lebanon
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Palestinian uprising
against Israeli forces

1987 – 1993
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Rocks vs. Tanks
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1995 - Rabin
assassinated by
Jewish
fundamentalist: Yigal
Amir
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The Second Intifada,
also known as the AlAqsa Intifada was the
second
Palestinian uprising aga
inst the Israeli
occupation – a period of
intensified Palestinian–
Israeli violence.
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It started in September
2000, when Ariel
Sharon made a
provoking visit to
the Temple Mount and
Palestinian
demonstrations were
cracked down by the
Israeli army with brutal
force, using lethal
ammunition.

Israel
starts to
leave
the Gaza
strip;
costs
$2.5
billion
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Nomadic Peoples
living in British
Mandate of Palestine
prior to the
establishment of the
state of Israel.
Ethnically Arab: can
be Muslim, Christian,
or Jewish
Mostly Muslim
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Citizens of the State of
Israel: May be
Christian, Jewish, or
Muslim
May be European or
Arab
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Area around
Jerusalem/Ancient
land of Canaan
Sacred to Muslims,
Christians, and Jews.
Source: 2003 CIA World Fact Book - Palestine data consists of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
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Any area that an
ethnicity or
nationality lays claim
to.
Both Jews and Arabs
claim Israel/Palestine
as their natural
homeland.
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Portion of Palestine
occupied during the
Six-Day War - Today
Archbishop Pietro Sambi, of Jerusalem said the wall, “cuts in half monasteries, convents,
churches and cemeteries.” The pictures above are of the wall in Bethlehem
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Portion of Palestine
Taken over by Israel
during Six-Day war in
1967 and occupied
with periods of selfrule until today.
War fought between
Israel and Gaza last
November.
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Palestinian lands
occupied by Israel
after the Six-Day war.
West Bank, Gaza
Strip, and Golan
Heights are occupied
territories.
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A division of lands
between peoples.
To the left is UN
Partition Plan for
Israel and Palestine
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Any person forced from
homeland because of
natural, economic, or
war issues.
Refugees plan to return
home
700,000 Palestinian
refugees after 1948 war
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Tollbooth-like
structures where
Palestinians are
detained while
traveling through the
occupied territories.
Checkpoints make
travel hard on
Palestinians.
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Sometimes it takes
Palestinians 4 hours to
make a journey an
Israeli citizen can
make in 30 minutes.
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Israeli Communities
in the Occupied
territories.
One of the most
controversial aspects
of Arab-Israeli conflict
U.S. doesn’t want
Israel building more
settlement in the
occupied territories
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Israel is continuing to
build new
settlements.
Confiscating more
Palestinian land in the
Process
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Palestinian uprising
against Israeli rule.
1st Intifada 1987 – 1993
Organized by PLO
Ended by Oslo
Accords
Palestinian Rocks
Israeli Uzis/Tanks

9/11 – Many see the
attack on the World
Trade Center as
retaliation for U.S.
support of Israel.
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Arab Spring
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Iranian Embargo
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Terrorism
Continued unrest in
Lebanon
Strain on U.S. – Israeli
Relations
Israel forced to play as
part of Europe in
World Cup
qualifying.