Crisis and Conflict in the Middle East Introduction The European contest to control the Arab world The Arab-Israeli conflict originated in the contest among European powers to control the Arab territories of the Ottoman empire. Developing Arab nationalism in the late 19th century was contested by European ambitions and a growing Jewish nationalist movement in Europe. The Ottoman Empire Spread from Anatolia (now Turkey) – along the eastern Mediterranean coast to Morocco and down the Arabian Peninsula to Mecca and Medina. By 1529 it reached to Vienna. By the 19th century it had become weakened politically and economically. European powers seized territory in Europe and North Africa Britain takes territory Britain wanted to control the trade routes to India. By WW1 Britain controlled Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Egypt, Sudan, Aden & South Africa. Britain also established special relations with local Arab rulers along the Persian Gulf France & Italy counter France countered by seizing Algeria, Tunisia & Morocco Italy grabbed Libya. The Ottoman Empire shrank to Anatolia and the Arab provinces on the eastern Mediterranean (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine), the Red Sea coast (Hejaz, Yemen), and Mesopotamia (Iraq). Zionism Jewish nationalism growing in Europe in the 1880s because of deep-seated anti-Semitism Zionists felt that Jews needed their own independent state. Jewish immigration to Palestine increased from 1882 to 1914 until they were 10% of the population WZO (f.1897) assisted with purchase of land in Palestine with the aim of creating an independent state. WW1 Ottoman empire fought on the side of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire Russia, France and England competed for the potential spoils of war – carving up the territory of the Ottoman empire. To achieve this Britain made 3 contradictory agreements. 1. The Hussein-McMahon Correspondence 1915 –1916 Britain gained support of the ruler of the Hejaz (who was also the religious leader of Mecca and Medina) Britain persuaded Sharif Hussein of Mecca to launch an Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire and seek Arab independence Hussein and Arab nationalists thought that this would avoid European rule But Britain insisted in ruling Iraq, kept protectorates in the Persian Gulf and Aden. They hinted that France would have a role in Lebanon. Palestine was not mentioned as being excluded from the Arab zone. Sharif Hussein’s forces helped the British take Palestine, Transjordan and Syria during 1917-18 Britain seized Iraq and Hussein’s son, Faisal was made ruler of Syria. 2. The Sykes-Picot Agreement of May 16, 1916 A secret agreement between France and Britain. France to control Lebanon, Syria and Northern Iraq Britain to dominate Transjordan and southern Iraq. Palestine – to be under international control and not in Arab areas that would receive independence. The Arab area shrank to a small part of the Arabian peninsula This agreement was the basis for the post war settlement that the League of Nations ratified. 3. The Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917 Britain told the Zionist movement that it favoured the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine Britain hoped this would encourage American and Russian Jews to press their governments to fight harder in Europe. Forming a Jewish national home under British protection would circumvent the promises to the French to internationalize Palestine and the inclusion of Palestine in the Arab zone. By offering to help the Zionists establish a home in Palestine, Britain could place its own troops there and control the strategic territory near the Suez Canal and control the holy places in Jerusalem. The League of Nations These deals were sanctioned by the League of Nations. Britain and France were given mandates to rule areas on behalf of their residents Syria & Lebanon went to France. Iraq, Palestine, Transjordan to Britain. The Balfour Declaration was written into Britain’s mandate over Palestine. European colonial rule prevailed in the Middle East, at the expense of Arab independence. Jewish nationalism was given priority over the rights of the Palestinians Arabs felt betrayed and bitter at the carving up and colonisation of their territories. 1946-67 Israel and Palestine Why was the state of Israel created in 1948? The Holocaust created great sympathy for the Jews. Many western countries wanted to create a homeland where they could settle and feel safe. Jews had been arriving in the area since the 1890s. Jews believed that Palestine was the ‘Promised Land’ of the Old Testament. From 1921 Palestine was controlled by Britain. But in 1947 the British handed Palestine over to the United Nations. The United Nations recommended dividing Palestine between Arabs and Jews. The plan was published in November 1947. Why did the Arabs reject the UN Plan? They believed that Palestine was theirs by right. The Jews had been given 60 percent of the land. The Arabs seemed to have been allocated the worst land. As the British withdrew, the Palestinians fought to gain control of every town. Israeli terrorist gangs forced Arabs to leave their homes and flee for their lives. What was Israel like? It was a secular state. All people living within its borders would have the full rights of citizenship. Arabs would qualify as citizens and be able to vote and stand for the Knesset, This did not satisfy many Arabs. They did not want to live in Israel. They wanted a state of their own. Israel was created on 14 May 1948. On 15 May 1948 the armies of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt attacked Israel. Why did the Israelis win the war of 1948-9? The numbers of soldiers on both sides were about equal. But the Israeli army was well trained and used to fighting The Arab armies were inexperienced and divided. Israel’s forces were also much better armed and supplied than those of the Arabs. There was great financial support for the new state of Israel in the USA. What effects did the war have? The Israelis took over all of the areas that the United Nations had set aside for Arabs. About 800,000 Arabs left the new state of Israel. This created the Palestinian refugee problem. The refugee camps became the training grounds for the freedom fighters or 'Fedayeen'. Attacks began almost immediately upon targets in Israel. More Jewish immigrants began to arrive and new settlements were begun to house the new immigrants. Many of these were in areas that Israel had occupied during the war of 1948-9. There were no peace treaties afterwards – only ceasefires. Another attack could be expected at any time. The Israeli government tried to encourage more immigration in an effort to increase the Israeli population. The Law of Return gave every Jew the right to return to Israel. The population rose rapidly as a result. Arab states began to look towards the Soviet Union for support. The war led to increased support for Arab nationalists such as Nasser in Egypt and led to the downfall of King Farouq of Egypt who was overthrown in a coup. Why was there a Suez Crisis in 1956? In Egypt in July 1952, there was a revolution. The new leader of Egypt was Colonel Gamal Abdul Nasser. Nasser Nasser wanted to force the British to leave the bases that they still held in Egypt and unite the Arab nations in one single movement with Egypt at its head. In 1954 British agreed to evacuate all troops from Suez by April 1956, but retained the right to reoccupy the base in the event of an attack by any outside power on an Arab League state or Turkey. US Policy At this time the USA was attempting to build a barrier against Soviet expansion. Baghdad Pact – Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and Britain – signed interlocking agreements in 1954 -55 – and received generous US economic and military aid. Nasser refused to allow Egypt to join. Syria and Jordan declined too. - claiming imperialist aims of the west. Nasser appealed to the USA for arms, but was refused. Instead he agreed to buy $200m Soviet arms from Czechoslovakia. The US government offered $50,000,000 for the Aswan Dam project. But when Nasser also asked for help from the Soviet Union, the US government withdrew the offer. Nasser’s response Annoyed by the US refusal to help fund the $1 billion Aswan project, Nasser retaliated by nationalising the Suez Canal on 26 July 1956 He said he would use the revenues to fund development projects the West refused to help. Suez was operated by a French company How did the West and Israel react? The British government regarded Nasser's actions as a threat to the Commonwealth, which, it believed, depended upon the Canal for trade links. Anthony Eden called the nationalisation theft. The French sent Israel 75 of their latest fighter aircraft. The Israelis wanted to take advantage of the situation to launch an attack on Egypt. On 29 October the Israeli army attacked Egypt through Sinai without warning. On 30 October the British and French governments demanded that Egypt withdraw its forces from the Suez Canal, or they would intervene within twelve hours. On 1 November British and French planes began to bomb the Egyptian airforce, destroying most of Nasser’s planes on the ground. On 5 November, when the British and French dropped paratroops at Port Said. On 6 November 200 British and French warships bombarded Port Said and then landed a further 22,000 troops many by helicopter. Nasser ordered the Canal to be blocked. What effects did the Suez War have? There was overwhelming condemnation of the invasion. The General Assembly of the UN voted 64-5 for a cease-fire on the same day. The Soviet Union threatened to send troops to support Egypt President Eisenhower told the British government that it must withdraw. On 7 November Britain and France announced a cease-fire. The Israelis withdrew six months later and a UN peacekeeping force was put in place for ten years. Israel was guaranteed the use of the Gulf of Aqaba. The port of Eilat, which had been blockaded by the Egyptians before the war, was now reopened. This was a great victory for Nasser and the Arab countries. Damage to Britain The Sunday Times of London wrote “[Eden was] the last British Prime Minister to believe that Britain was a Great Power and the first to confront a crisis which proved beyond doubt that she was not.” January 16 1977 What effects did Suez have in the Middle East? Arab hostility to Israel increased still further. The pro-western regime in Iraq was overthrown in 1958 and Syria and Libya both began to look to the Soviet Union for military aid. In 1958 Syria and Egypt formed the United Arab Republic, which lasted for three years. In 1964 Nasser supported the setting up of the Palestine Liberation Organisation Why did Superpower involvement increase in the Middle East? To try to protect Israel and other countries from Soviet influence, the Eisenhower Doctrine was announced in 1957. US aid was offered to any country in the Middle East threatened by communism. The Soviet Union began to send military advisers to Egypt. By 1970 there were an estimated 20,000 and military aid worth more than $12,000,000,000 had been sent to the Arab countries. All the equipment and weapons lost by Syria and Egypt in the wars of 1967 and 1973 were apparently immediately replaced by the Soviet Union. From 1968 to 1973 the Soviet Union sent $2,600,000,000 worth of aid to the Arab states of Syria and Egypt. Increased Soviet aid to the Arabs meant increased American aid to Israel. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the USA sent $2,000,000,000 to Israel. What caused the Six Day War? In May 1967 the Egyptian government began to make claims that the Israelis were building up forces for an attack. President Nasser sent Egyptian forces into Sharm el Sheikh close to the Israeli border and ordered the UN forces (UNEF) to leave Egypt. Nasser was hoping that the tone of his speeches and the increased strength of the Arab states, which were now equipped with modern Soviet weapons, would force Israel to back down. The Israelis accused Nasser of threatening war. Nasser believed that his aggressive stance would gain him the approval and support of the other Arab nations. On 5 June 1967 the Israeli armed forces attacked the Arab countries without warning. The Egyptian air force was virtually wiped out on the ground. All of Sinai was occupied by the Israelis. The Jordanian army was pushed back across the Jordan River and the Israelis occupied all of the West Bank. In the north the Israelis seized the Golan Heights from Syria and began to advance on Damascus. The UN called for a cease-fire, which was accepted by Jordan on 7 June and then by Egypt and Syria. By 10 June the fighting had finished and the Arab states had been defeated. Why did the Israelis win so easily? It is almost certain that the Israelis planned and then executed an unprovoked attack to knock out their enemies before they could do anything about it. The Arab states were caught completely off guard. They had the best-equipped troops in the Middle East. Not only their weapons, but also their training, was vastly superior to their opponents. Israel could put 300,000 trained and experienced soldiers into the field against 180,000. What effects did the Six Day War have? Israel now had fixed boundaries that could be defended much more easily. Israel had a great deal more territory. The Israeli government believed that it could exchange territory for concessions, which would guarantee the security of Israel. Israel now had fixed boundaries that could be defended much more easily. Israel had a great deal more territory. The Israeli government believed that it could exchange territory for concessions, which would guarantee the security of Israel. Both governments forced the Palestinians out for fear of reprisals from Israel. The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) left to set up bases in Jordan. Civil war broke out in Jordan as the guerrillas fought the government Other Arab groups became convinced that the only way of defeating Israel was by international terrorism. 1967-96 International terrorism From the late 1960s terrorism was directed against any country that supported Israel. The aim was to force countries to withdraw support from Israel and so isolate it in the Middle East Most of the international terrorism was carried out by extremist groups. In 1968 the PFLP began to hijack aircraft and killed more than fifty hostages. In 1970 the PFLP hijacked four airliners with 600 passengers and then destroyed three on the ground at Dawson’s Field in Jordan. In 1972 Black September received a $5,000,000 ransom for a German airliner and then killed eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games. Arafat decided that the PLO proper would only carry out raids against Israel. In the same year an Israeli aeroplane was hi-jacked and flown to Entebbe in Uganda. The passengers were rescued, however, by an operation carried out by Israeli Special Forces. What caused the war of Yom Kippur? In 1970 Nasser died and was succeeded as President of Egypt by Anwar Sadat. Sadat wanted to force Israel to return the land that had been occupied in 1967 and then reach an agreement with the Israeli government. Sadat wanted to inflict a military defeat upon Israel to force it to the negotiating table. On 6 October 1973 Egypt and Syria suddenly attacked Israel. On this day most Jews spent their time fasting or in prayer The Egyptian forces crossed the Suex Canal and advanced across Sinai, but moved too quickly and allowed the Israelis an opportunity to counter-attack. On 15 October the Israelis once again crossed the Suez Canal and encircled the Egyptian Third Army. In the north Syrian forces took the Golan Heights, but were forced back by Israeli reinforcements. At this point the Soviet Union USA ordered the Israelis to agree to a truce. When the war ended on 24 October, little had changed, but massive casualties and damage had been caused. What were the effects of the war? Both sides were convinced that peace talks were necessary. The Arab forces had fought well and shown that Israel was not invincible. The Israeli armed forces had been shaken and their losses had been proportionally much greater than their opponents. The Arab states placed an oil embargo on the USA and reduced shipments to the West. Petrol rationing was put into effect in Britain. When the crisis was over, the Arab states raised the price of oil by 600 percent to try to force the West to stop backing Israel. They soon realised that controlling the price of oil gave them a powerful weapon that could be used to support the Palestinians. Why was the Palestinian Liberation Organisation important? The PLO (Palestine Liberation Organisation) was set up in 1964. It was an umbrella organisation. Some groups were violent, others, like AlFatah, were more moderate Nevertheless, Al Fatah carried out major terrorist raids. In 1967 it killed 97 Israeli soldiers. The PLO was based at first in Egypt, but was forced to leave in 1968 after the Six Day war and moved to Jordan. In September 1970 war broke out between the PLO and the Jordanian army. The USA, however, promised aid and the Jordanian army was able to defeat the PLO, and force it to move to Lebanon and Syria. The defeat of the PLO led to the creation of a new and much more violent organisation, Black September. In October 1974 the PLO was recognised by the Arab governments as the only organisation that could speak on behalf of the Palestinians. It was then recognised by the United Nations and Arafat addressed the UN General Assembly. How did Arafat try to change the PLO? In 1985 Arafat, along with King Hussein of Jordan, recognised the state of Israel and in 1988 persuaded the PLO to accept the right of the state of Israel to exist. The PLO subsequently renounced violence. This led to official contacts between the USA and the PLO for the first time and increased international support for the PLO. These changes made possible the agreement between Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister in 1993. This resulted in the creation of Palestinian self-rule in the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. Why did fighting break out in Lebanon? Lebanon had a mixed population of Christians and Muslims. In 1975 civil war broke out between Muslims and Christians. Israel was drawn into the conflict in Lebanon in 1978 to destroy PLO bases A UN peacekeeping force was installed, but failed to keep the two sides apart. The Israelis invaded for a second time in 1982 and drove the PLO out of the country. A UN peacekeeping force was installed, but failed to keep the two sides apart. The Israelis invaded for a second time in 1982 and drove the PLO out of the country. What effects did the Israeli actions have? The massacres had a dramatic impact upon international opinion, which had hitherto tended to back Israel. Inside Israel, an effective Peace Movement emerged for the first time. Some PLO guerrillas returned from Tunisia and set up Hizbollah, a new and more violent terrorist organisation. The massacres had a dramatic impact upon international opinion, which had hitherto tended to back Israel. Inside Israel, an effective Peace Movement emerged for the first time. Some PLO guerrillas returned from Tunisia and set up Hizbollah, a new and more violent terrorist organisation. What caused the Intifada? In the 1980s many Arab states paid less attention to Israel. The PLO was relatively inactive because of its break up in 1983. Palestinians in the Occupied Territories began to take matters into their own hands. The Intifada began with protests, strikes non-payment of taxes and refusal to use identity documents. The PLO moved in and the Intifada became more serious. The Israelis retaliated mostly with curfews and tear gas, but some soldiers used their firearms and by 1991 697 Palestinians had been killed. What were the results of the Intifada? Palestinians came to believe that their destiny was in their own hands. Some Israeli politicians saw the futility of attempting to retain control of areas, which were valueless and which were costing Israeli lives. International opinion also swung against Israeli tactics in Gaza and the West Bank. Yasser Arafat announced that the PLO was renouncing violence. How successful were attempts at peace? In 1977 Menachem Begin became Prime Minister of Israel. He showed that he was prepared to make agreements with the Arab states and this led to the Camp David Talks with Egypt in 1978. Begin was a realist. Since 1967 Israel had occupied Sinai, which was almost entirely desert and of no real value. He could see no point in holding on to it and so continuing to anger the Egyptians. Begin was also coming under increasing pressure from the USA to reach some sort of agreement with Israel’s neighbours. The Camp David Agreement was signed by President Sadat of Egypt and Menachem Begin the Israeli Prime Minister in 1978. Israel promised to evacuate all land taken from Egypt, except the Gaza Strip, within three years. This was completed on time in 1982. In return Israel would have free use of the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aqaba. What effects did the Camp David Agreement have? This was the first agreement between Israel and any of her Arab neighbours. But it did nothing for the Palestinians. Sadat was seen as having betrayed the Palestinian cause and in1981 he was assassinated by Muslim extremists in his own guards. In 1988 Yasser Arafat renounced the use of violence. The USA accepted Arafat’s statements and made its first official contacts with the PLO. In 1991 the USA sponsored a peace conference in Madrid. Many Palestinian delegates were members of the PLO and their attitude impressed the Americans. What effects did Yitzhak Rabin have? In June 1992 the Labour Party was elected to power in Israel. Yitzhak Rabin, the new Prime Minister, lifted the official ban on contact with the PLO in January 1993. Rabin announced that Palestinian rights would be restored in every respect. Rabin was convinced that the only way to end the violence was by negotiation. All building on the West Bank was stopped and the Israeli army was refused permission to search the Palestinian University campus. 800 of the 7,429 Palestinians being held by the Israelis were released. Secret talks took place in Oslo between the Israeli government and the PLO in January 1993. The PLO agreed to recognise Israel, renounce terrorism and accept responsibility for all groups within the PLO. Israel agreed to recognise the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people. Israeli troops would be withdrawn from Gaza and Jericho. The Palestinians would govern these areas and take over responsibility for law and order. On 1 July Yasser Arafat returned to head the new Palestinian Authority. A second agreement was signed in 1995. Palestinian attacks on Israelis continued and fighting broke out between extremist groups and Arafat’s Palestinian police force. The Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was shot while attending a peace rally by an Israeli extremist, who believed that Rabin had given away too much in his agreements with the Palestinians.