Independence and
Conflict
Jerusalem
Jaffa, Port Town
European Mandates
 After World War I, Syria, Lebanon, and
modern Israel and Jordan were placed
under the control of powerful nations
 Independence would come later
 Does this situation lead to favorable
conditions for a country?
Zionism and Jewish settlement
 European Jews faced Anti-Semitism
 Anti-Semitism- Discrimination against
Jews
 In the 1800s, Jews formed a movement
called Zionism
 Zionism- aimed to create a Jewish state
Independence
 The events of the Holocaust led more
Jews to migrate to the Palestine mandate
 The mandates gained independence in
1943 (Lebanon) and 1946 (Syria)
 Tensions mounted between the Arab
majority and Jews over the state of
Palestine
 In 1947, the United Nations created a plan
to divide Palestine into a Jewish state and
an Arab state
 The Arabs rejected the UN plan while the
Jews accepted it
 Israel declared Independence as a Jewish
state in 1948
Arab-Israeli Conflicts
 Tensions arose and erupted into violence
 Many Arabs fled areas under Israeli
control during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948
 Israel gained more territory than the UN
plan gave
 Many Jews fled Arab countries and settled
in Israel
Munich Olympics
 1972
 Eleven Israeli Olympians were taken
hostage by Palestinian terrorists
 The Palestinians demanded the release of
234 Palestinians being jailed in Israel
 The rescue attempt failed and all the
hostages were killed
 Munich film tells a story of revenge
 In 1967, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt
threatened to attack
 Israel attacked these territories and took
control of the West Bank, the Sinai
Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan
Heights (from Syria)
 In 1979, the US helped Egypt and Israel
reach a peace agreement
 Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to
Egypt
War in Lebanon
 Christians were the largest group when
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Lebanon gained independence
Muslims then became the largest group
and demanded more power
In 1975, civil war broke out between
Muslims and Christians
Peace came during the 1990s, but
tensions still remain today
End…..
Israel and its Neighbors Today
 Religions: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism
 All call this region home
 There are also differences among the
political systems of this region
Different Political Systems
 Parliamentary Democracy- a democracy
in which parliament chooses the
government.
 Israel has the Knesset and no written
constitution
 The Palestinian Authority governs the
Gaza Strip and West Bank
Different Political Systems
 Monarchy- a nation where supreme power
is held by a single person
 Autocracy- a government controlled by
one person who has not won a free
election
King Abdullah II (Jordan)
Bashar al-Assad (Syria)
The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
 Both Arabs and Israelis see the same
region as their homeland
 Both people claim Jerusalem as their
capital
 Jews have settled in the West Bank and
Arabs want to take back land that once
belonged to their families
Obstacles to Peace
 Jewish settlements in Palestinian
territories have angered Arabs
 In the 1980s, Palestinians launched the
Intifada
 Intifada- campaign of violent resistance
against Israeli control
A Peace Plan Frustrated
 Peace plan was made with the Palestine
Liberation Organization (represents
Palestinians)
 PLO agreed to end attacks on Israel and
Israelis agreed to remove settlers from
the West Bank and Gaza Strip
 However, each side accused the other of
violating the plan
 The Palestinians launched a second
Intifada in 2000
 Israel built security walls around the Gaza
Strip and West Bank
 The barriers have reduced attacks, but
have separated Palestinians from their
farmland
Ongoing Conflict and Hopes for
Peace
 The Hamas, a political party want to
eliminate Israel
 Hamas fighters took control of the Gaza
Strip in 2007 and began shooting rockets
into Israel
 Israel bombed the Gaza Strip in response
 Many civilians were killed
Homework Assignment
 Is future conflict unavoidable?
 Take a position and in a paragraph (5-7
sentences) support your argument with
evidence
 Use your notes for evidence
 Due This Friday!!!
Examples
 Conflict between Israel and Palestine is
unavoidable because the conflict has been
going on for a long time.
 Future conflict between the Israelis and
the Arabs can be avoided because both
sides can learn from the past.