Arab-Israeli Conflict
1948: Israel is created out of what used to be Palestine; Jews are given a
homeland, Muslim Palestinians are pushed out. Arab countries refuse to
recognize Israel as a legitimate state.
1948: Arab-Israeli War - Israel is immediately attacked by troops from
Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Israel wins. Israelis refer to it as
the "War of Independence" or "War of Liberation."
1967: Six-Day War - Fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors Egypt,
Jordan, and Syria. It began when Israel launched what it considered a preemptive attack against Egypt, following the Egypt's closure of the Straits of
Tiran to Israeli shipping and the deployment of troops in the Sinai near the
Israeli border, and after months of increasingly tense border incidents and
diplomatic crises. By its end Israel controlled the Gaza Strip, the Sinai
Peninsula, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights.
1968-1970: War of Attrition - A limited war fought between Egypt and
Israel from 1968 to 1970. It was initiated by Egypt as a way to recapture the
Sinai from Israel that had controlled it since the Six-Day War. The war
ended with a cease-fire signed between the countries in 1970 with frontiers
at the same place as when the war started.
1973: Yom Kippur War - Fought between Israel and a coalition of Egypt
and Syria. The War began with a surprise joint attack by Egypt and Syria
into the Sinai and Golan Heights, respectively, which had been captured by
Israel six years earlier during the Six-Day War. The United Nations
declared a cease-fire just as Israeli forces began to push into Egypt. Israel
had won. After the war, the Camp David Accords were signed, which led to
improved relations between Egypt and Israel—the first time any Arab
country had recognized the Israeli state.
Israel before the First Conflict - 1948
Israel After the Arab-Israeli War - 1949
Israel Today
Israel After the Six-Day War - 1967