Conflict in the Middle East
Multiple conflicts in the Region
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Arab-Israeli, Palestinians-Israelis
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Wars in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982,
Intifadah (“Uprising”) 1987, 1999, 2000
PLO-Lebanese conflict (1975-76)
Iran-Iraq: war in 1980-88
Iraq-Kuwait-UN: Gulf War in 1991
Iraq: 2nd Gulf war 2003-Present
Understanding the Historical
Roots of Current Conflicts
ROOTS of Arab-Israeli conflict
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Began with post-WWI dissolution of
Ottoman Empire (1500-1918)
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Jordan, Palestine (Israel), Iraq to Britain;
Syria, Lebanon to France (League of
Nations mandates)
Both have legitimate claim to same land
1920
Middle East Then & Now
2007
1920
Roots of Nationalism in Palestine
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Ottoman Empire sided with
Germany in World War I
Britain encouraged Arab
Muslims in Ottoman territory
to revolt
Brits promised independent
Arab state
Brits also respected the
Jewish Zionist movement.
Who are “Palestinians”?
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An Arab speaking,
Muslim people
Trace their
heritage back to
the land of
Palestine.
Today, they are a
nation
without a state
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At the time of the formation
of Israel in 1948, there
were approximately
860,000 Palestinians
Today 7,450,00 Palestinians
3,275,000 live in Israel and the
occupied territories [1993]
Of the remaining:
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2,300,000 live in Jordan.
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450,000 live in Lebanon
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400,000 in Syria
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300,000 in Saudi Arabia.
Zionism
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European Jews face persecution in late 1800’s.
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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.
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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.
Balfour Declaration, 1917
“His Majesty’s Government views with favour
the establishment in Palestine of a national
home for the Jewish people, and will use
their best endeavours to facilitate the
achievement of this object, it being clearly
understood that nothing shall be done which
may prejudice the civil and religious rights of
existing, non-Jewish communities
in Palestine, or the rights and
political status enjoyed by Jews in
any other country.”
Arabs in Palestine interpret the British
“independent state” promise to mean ALL
of Palestine; Brits say that isn’t what they
had in mind.
Therein lies the problem . . .
Demographics
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1917: 90% of population of Palestine were Arabs
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Since the United States had tightened its immigration laws in
1923, Palestine became the default destination for many Jews.
Rise of Nazism brings a flood of new Jewish settlers to
Palestine from Europe in 1930’s.
Angry reactions from Palestinian Arabs to immigration of
European Jews surfaced immediately and worsened in the
1930s.
1932: 80% Arabs; 20% jewish
1936: 60% Arabs; 40% Jewish
Post WW II: Arabs 1 million; Jews 650,000 (60/40)
Today: Population of Israel is 6 million, 20% of which
are Arabs
Modern Middle East
Aftermath of WWII
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French & British are too weakened by war
with Germany to control their colonies.
Breakup of the French colonial Empire begins
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Syria & Lebanon (1946)
Vietnam (1956)
Algeria (1962)
Breakup of the British colonial Empire begins
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Palestine, Jordan, Iraq (1946)
India, Pakistan 1947
EFFECTS OF THE
HOLOCAUST
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European Jews who survived the war
wanted to leave Europe
The United States and Britain both refused
to accept Jewish immigrants.
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Because of U.S. and British refusals, Jews saw Palestine and Zionism as
their only hope.
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Some Zionists already in Palestine fought with the British army during
the Second World War.
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Zionist Radicals employed terrorism against the British after the war to
persuade them to relinquish control of Palestine to the Zionists. Acts
included an assassination of the chief U.N. official in Palestine.
The Radicals – called Revisionists - were expelled from the World Zionist
Organization because of their violence.
The Creation of Israel
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1937: Arab riots kill 3000 people
Britain is unable to control the situation
and recommends partition in to 3 states:
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Arab
Jewish
British-administered territory
Arab League created (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan,
Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen)
The Creation of Israel
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Britain was economically exhausted by the
war.
With no solution to the clash of Zionism
and Arab nationalism it had initiated,
Britain announced in 1947 that it would
turn the Palestine problem over to the UN.
Interestingly, Arabs and Jews both
remember Britain as favoring the other
side during British control of Palestine.
ORIGINAL
1947 U.N. PROPOSAL
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Purple = Arab
Orange = Jewish
UN recommends partition
into two states (Arab &
Jewish) with UN
administration of Jerusalem
55% to Jews, 45% to Arabs
Remember:
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Arabs were 60% of the
population
Arabs owned 90% of the land
The Creation of Israel
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Jews accept plan; Arab League rejects it
April 9, 1948; Radical Zionist underground forces led
by Menachem Begin massacred 254 Palestinians in
the village of Deir Yassin near Jerusalem.
14 May 1948: Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion
declares that “Israel” is an independent state.
U.S. President Harry Truman lends legitimacy to
“Israel” by formally recognizing its status as an
independent nation.
Jews establish state of Israel  WAR between Israel
and Arab League (1948-49)
Arab-Israeli War of 1948
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Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon,
and Iraq invade on May 15.
Israel prevails and gains
territory in the north and the
south.
Jerusalem is divided between
Israel & Jordan.
Fate of 700k Palestinian
refugees is left undecided.
United Nations recognized the
right of Palestinians who were
expelled by the Israeli army or
who fled during the 1948 war
to return to their homes.
Arabs accidentally help Israelis
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News of the unexpected Arab defeat kindled vicious
riots against Jewish sections of Arab cities.
Approximately 300,000 Middle Eastern Jews fled these
places for Israel.
Approximately 700,000–750,000 Palestinian Arabs fled
Israel.
According to Israeli sources, motives for their flight
ranged from casual choices to leave in prewar 1947,
forced expulsions by the Israeli Defense Force, and
Revisionist massacres in the Arab town of Dar Yassin.
Israel refused to let departed Arabs return to their
home.
Israel gained 300k+ Jews and lost 700k+ Arabs.
Migration legitimized Israel’s government from within.
Seeds of Hate take firm root
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The Palestinian Arab losers of the war created a new Arab
nationalism that blended resentment against their second-class
status in the Arab world with a torrid sense of injustice at being
displaced by European Jews of the victorious Israel.
From then on, Israelis would demand security from Arab states
while Palestinians would demand justice.
These conflicting claims kept the UN from creating "a secure
and just peace," intended to accommodate both sides.
For decades after 1949, Arab states technically remained at war
with Israel.
On the Arab side there was no viable Palestinian leadership, and
most Palestinians trusted Arab governments to destroy Israel
and let Palestinians return home.
For their part, Arab governments kept this issue at the center of
their rhetoric.
Arab-Israeli War of 1956
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USSR signs arms agreement with Egypt in ‘55.
Israelis feel threatened by arms build up and
the closure of the Suez Canal to their ships.
Israel launches pre-emptive strike vs. Egypt.
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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.
Arafat and the PLO
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Variety of Palestinian factions form the
Palestinian Liberation Organization in
1964.
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Goal was to liberate Palestine from Israel
through guerilla warfare.
Charter calls for elimination of state of
Israel.
Arafat becomes chairman in 1969.
The “Six-Day War” (1967)
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Egyptian President Nasser closed the straits of Tiran to Israeli
shipping and dismissed the UN peacekeeping force there.
Negotiations with U.S.A. to reopen the Straits of Tiran fail.
Israeli “preemptive strike”
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Destroys most of Egyptian Air Force on the ground.
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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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Knocked out 350 aircraft in first three hours.
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.
Overwhelming Israeli victory against Egypt, also Syria & Jordan.
Israelis capture West Bank from Jordan, Gaza Strip and Sinai
Peninsula from Egypt, and Golan Heights from Syria
Israel’s Situation changes
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New expanded borders gives it unprecedented security
The shocking rout of Arab states persuaded Palestinians
that they would have to rely on themselves.
Palestinians took control of the PLO and, for the first
time since World War II, had leadership of their own.
Terrorism became a key tool of the PLO
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Non-Jewish Population of Israel was growing from a low
of 30% (1967) to 48% by 2000.
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Religious zeal grew in both Jewish & Muslim
communities. Extremists gain a foothold on both sides.
International Relations change
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The 1967 war resulted in Israel losing two major
suppliers of weapons.
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France shifted to the Arab side.
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Britain announced an embargo on arms sales to
the region.
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Within a year, the United States stepped in as
Israel’s key source of armaments, a role it
maintains today.
U.N.S.C. Resolution 242
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Israel should withdraw from occupied
territories in exchange for peace and
recognition
Ambiguity: resolution does not say “all”
territories, just “territories”
Palestinians recognized as “refugees,”
not as a “nation”
Israel cautiously waits
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UN Resolution 242 called for a land-for-peace
exchange. For years a stalemate ensued.
Israel’s general stance was that it would
return captured territory for peace with Arab
neighbors.
Israel waited for a phone call . . . .
Arab states meeting in Khartoum proclaimed
they would not negotiate with Israel, leaving
Palestinians in Limbo.
1973 Yom Kippur War
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6 Oct 1973 Egypt and Syria launch surprise attack on
holiest day of Jewish year.
IDF not fully mobilized and is initially pushed back.
Israeli Counterattack pushes 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.
OPEC doubles oil prices and embargoes Israeli
supporters (including USA).
Hope Springs
Eternal
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Egyptian President Anwar
Sadat traveled to Jerusalem in
fall 1977. Sadat, a former
terrorist, met with Menachem
Begin, the Israeli prime
minister and former Zionist
Radical terrorist and.
The world was astonished as
the 2 leaders stood together in
Jerusalem.
CAMP DAVID
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Nearly a year later, long after EgyptianIsraeli diplomacy bogged down, President
Jimmy Carter invited Sadat and Begin to
Camp David.
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Egypt recognizes Israel’s right to exist.
In exchange, Israel returns Sinai Peninsula to
Egypt.
Leads to Sadat’s assassination in 1981.
Turning a corner?
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Those talks forged a peace between Israel
and Egypt.
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Substantial U.S. financial transfers to both
states facilitated the treaty.
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Much of the Arab world, many Israelis, and
most Palestinians criticized the agreement for
surrendering too much to the other side.
. . . . Such is the nature of peacemaking in
the Middle East . . . few end up happy.
Terrorism grows
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After the withdrawal of Egypt
from the conflict, a different situation emerged.
The Egyptian government held the most powerful
Arab military in the region.
With neither tanks nor an air force, the
Palestinians posed a very different challenge to
Israel than formal Arab states had.
They began to rely more heavily on terrorism
against Israel.
HAMAS AND
HEZBOLLAH
1987 - Palestine
1982 - Lebanon
Roadblocks on the path to peace
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Arab terrorists held Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972
Berlin Olympics and executed a number of athletes.
Extremist movements would cost the region two leaders
who sought peace:
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an Islamist group killed Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in
1981
A fanatically religious Israeli (Jew) assassinated Israeli prime
minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.
In both cases, the respective leader’s domestic position had
weakened in part because of a compromise for peace.
With each assassination, mainstream religious
leaderships condemned extremism.
Jihad
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The Council on American-Islamic Relations, defines it this way:
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“Jihad does not mean ‘holy war.’
Literally, jihad means to strive, struggle and exert effort.
It is a central and broad Islamic concept that includes struggle
against evil inclinations within oneself, struggle to improve the
quality of life in society, struggle in the battlefield for self-defense
(e.g. having a standing army for national defense), or fighting
against tyranny or oppression.”
The Koran urges Muslims to “fight in the cause of Allah those
who fight you, but do not transgress limits” (Surah 2:190). Most
Islamic scholars say that means warfare in self-defense is
permissible, but initiating warfare is not.
Militant Islamic groups have incorporated the term into their
rhetoric, frequently using it to inspire followers to violently
engage those they perceive as enemies.
Jihad perverted
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The PLO uses “Jihad” to inspire Palestinian
riots & attacks on Israelis.
1987 - December 9, The Palestinian Intifada
(uprising) began in Gaza and spread to the
West Bank.
The Intifada is intended to re-establish a
Palestinian Homeland in Israel
Other Palestinian terrorist organizations, such
as Hamas, adopt the term “Jihad” as well.
Independence for Palestine?
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1988 - November 24, the Palestinian National Council
proclaimed an independent Palestinian state in the
West Bank and Gaza;
55 countries including China and the Soviet Union
recognized the Palestinian state.
In a political leap, PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat
declared in Stockholm that the PLO accepted Israel's
right to exist and denounced terrorism.
The United States authorized its ambassador to open
a diplomatic dialogue with the PLO.
U.N. Recognition for Palestine
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1989 - January 12, the UN Security Council
granted the PLO the right to speak directly to
the Council as "Palestine" with the same
status as any UN member nation. The PLO
appointed Yasser Arafat the first President of
Palestine. April 20, the UN General Assembly
condemned Israeli practices in the Occupied
Territories and called on the UN Security
Council to protect Palestinian civilians.
Peace Accords
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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.
Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank at first
cheered the agreement as did many Israelis. Many
other Israelis criticized the agreement because it
might lead to a Palestinian state and Israel
compromising its control of the West Bank and East
Jerusalem.
PROBLEMS
CONTINUE
Problems continue
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Religious Palestinian groups opposed Arafat and opposed settling with
Israel.
Arafat’s leadership made the Palestinian Authority a corrupt and wasteful
organization, discouraging foreign aid to Gaza and the West Bank.
Residents of those areas watched living standards drop instead of rise,
despite previously unthinkable events such as Israeli prime minister
Rabin campaigning in Europe for European economic support for the
Palestinians.
After Rabin’s assassination by an Israeli, Israel’s 1996 election was won
by Benjamin Netanyahu of the Conservative Likud party, who were
opponents of the Oslo agreements
Arab sources spread the false rumor that a gate opened in an
underground tunnel by the Israeli government endangered the
foundations of the Al-Aqsa mosque. This caused several days of rioting
and numerous casualties.
The Likud party benefited from Palestinian terrorism -and the refusal of
many Israeli Arabs to vote in the election.
Peace Accords
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Wye River Accords 1998
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Arafat agrees to crack down on terrorists.
Israeli would 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 would be released from
Israeli prisons.
Still the 2 sides face problems
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Time kept slipping away. . . .
Arafat kept postponing the date for proclamation of a
Palestinian state. In September, 2000, the situation
exploded in another Intifada & riots.
Two extremist politicians were assassinated in the fall of
2001:
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Israel assassinated Abu Ali Mustafa, leader of the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which opposes a
peace with Israel.
Militants of the PFLP retaliated by assassinating Israeli
minister of tourism Rehavam Ze’evi, leader of Israel’s
Molodet Party, which has long favored ethnic cleansing of
Palestinians from Palestine.
Where Do We Stand?
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Both sides constrained by uncompromising hard-liners among their
backers.
Riots by Palestinians continue, and the Israeli Army continues to
respond with force. Gun beats rock . . .
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.
The boundaries of the Palestinian state are also still an issue.
Hamas, which won the 2006 Palestinian election in a landslide vows
never to accept the existence of the State on Israel in Palestine.
Periodic acts of terrorism and often harsh responses from the Israeli
government make any solution difficult at best.
Jew vs. Muslim, or . . .
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Rina Rasin, a Jew born in Ottoman
Palestine who married in British
Palestine and raised her family in Israel,
once commented that she favored a
two-state solution — one state for the
extremists no matter who they are and
one state for everyone else, Israeli and
Palestinian, so they could live in peace.
In the end . . .
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Israelis and Palestinians are stuck with one
another. They also hold the best solution to
each other’s problems.
With leadership that dares to recall the good
moments of the very long pre-modern history
of Jews residing in Arab lands, mutual
compromise may be possible, along with
mutual empathy for the task of containing
fanatics on each side who detest
compromise.
Past 10 years:
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1999 - May 17, Israel elected Labor party leader and Former General Ehud Barak as Prime Minister in a landslide. Barak
promised rapid progress toward peace. September 4, Israel and the PLO signed the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum, known as
Wye II.
2001 - Feb. 6, Right-wing Likud leader Ariel Sharon elected Prime Minister in Israel replacing Ehud Barak and promising "peace
and security." Sept. 11, Terror attacks on World Trade Center in NYC and the Pentagon carried out by fanatic Islamic Al-Qaida
group headed by Osama Bin Laden initiate US war on terror. U.S. fights the Taliban in Afghanistan. Israel and Palestinians
agree to a cease fire, but it is not implemented.
2002 - March-April, Israel conducted operation Defensive Wall in the West Bank, following a large number of Palestinian suicide
attacks on civilian targets. Saudi peace initiative adopted at Beirut summit.
2003 - Jan 28, Elections in Israel gave wide margin of 40 seats to right wing Likud party, returning PM Ariel Sharon for another
term. U.S. Invades Iraq.
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2004 - July 9, International court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the Israeli security barrier violated international law and must be
torn down. Nov 11, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat died.
2005 - Jan 9, Mahmoud Abbas elected President of the Palestinian National Authority. Jan 10, Ariel Sharon formed unity
government with Labor and United Torah Judaism parties in Israel. April, Ariel Sharon visited US President George Bush at his
Texas ranch. Syrian Army left Lebanon, officially ending Syrian occupation. May 26, Mahmud Abbas visited US President George
Bush at the White House, an important symbolic gesture signaling US backing for Abbas and Palestinian aspirations. Israel
released 400 Palestinian prisoners. Britain confirmed "low level" negotiations with Hamas. June, Violence flared in Gaza. US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Palestinian and Israeli leaders to ensure coordination of Israeli withdrawal from
Gaza. June 21, Israeli PM Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met in Jerusalem. Sharon announced that
Palestinians have promised to coordinate regarding Gaza withdrawal. PM Abbas postponed Palestinian legislative elections in
order to change the election law, amidst growing concern that Hamas would defeat Abbas's Fatah party in the elections.
Lebanese elections gave a decisive majority to the opposition to Syria, led by Saad Hariri, son of slain leader Rafiq Hariri. August
15, disengagement began with Israeli evacuation of Gaza settlements and four West Bank settlements, completed by August 24.
For Further Study
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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
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