Middle East Conflicts

14 May 1948: Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion declares that Israel is an independent state.

Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, and Iraq invade on 15 May.

Fighting continues until Jan 1949.Israel prevails and gains territory in

Galilee to the north and the Negev Desert to the south.

Jerusalem is divided between Israel and Jordan.

Fate of 700k Palestinian refugees is left undecided.

Arab-Israeli War of 1948

USSR signs arms agreement with Egypt in 1955.

Israelis feel threatened by arms build up and launch pre-emptive strike against Egypt.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.

Arab-Israeli (Suez Canal) Conflict 1956

Arafat forms Al-Fatah (Palestinian National Liberation Front) in 1959.Goal was to liberate Palestine from Israel through

guerilla warfare.Variety of Palestinian factions form the

Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1964.Arafat becomes chairman in 1969.Charter calls for elimination of state of Israel.

Hussein feels threatened and expels PLO from Jordan in 1970.Arafat moves HQ to Lebanon.PLO driven out of Lebanon by Israel in 1982.

Yasser Arafat and the PLO

5-10 June 1967Egypt, Jordan, and Syria begin military

mobilization.Israel launches surprise pre-emptive strike.

Destroys most of Egyptian Air Force on the ground.Knocked out 350 aircraft in first three hours.

Armored forces supported by air and infantry quickly take Sinai, Golan Heights, West Bank (including Arab portion of Jerusalem, and Gaza.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.

Six Day War

6 Oct 1973 Egypt and Syria launch surprise attack on holiest day of Jewish year.

IDF not fully mobilized and is initially pushed back.Arab integrated air defenses and anti-tank missiles

take heavy toll on IDF.10-14 Oct IDF pushed Syrians out of Golan and

entered Syria.15-24 Oct IDF pushes Egyptians back across the Suez.

Soviets threaten to intervene when Egyptians are surrounded. Kissinger/US convince Israel to accept truce.

Israeli invincibility brought into question; Arabs emboldened. OPEC doubles oil prices and embargoes Israeli supporters.

Yom Kippur War

Middle East Conflicts

In September 1980, border skirmishes eruptedIraqi air forces invaded Iran without

officially declare war on Iran Triggered by Ethical/ Religious/ Economic/ AND

Territorial ConflictUse of Air force was also very significant

Iraqi MiG-23s/ MiG-21s, Iranian F-14s and Scud (Missiles)

Iraq used Chemical weapons High economic losses for both sides Over 500,000 casualtiesThe longest 20th century warThe war was ended with the help of UN

Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)

Allies

Sudan Civil War (1983-2005) Two million people died as a result

of war, famine and disease caused by the conflict.

Four million people in southern Sudan were displaced at least once during the war.

The civilian death toll is one of the highest of any war since World War II

marked by human rights violations including slavery and mass killings.

Officially ended with the signing of a peace agreement in January 2005.

Gulf War (1990-1991)≈ Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait≈ Unanimous UN Security Council support for

forcing Iraq out of Kuwait≈ global coalition gathered to evict Iraq from

Kuwait≈ Iraq capitulated suffered considerable

casualties, mostly while retreating≈ Allied forces stopped short of Baghdad,

having achieved their official objectives

9/11/2001 Four passenger airliners

were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists

Two of the planes, were crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center in suicide attacks.

2,996 people died

Afghanistan (1979-Present)Ω A pro-Soviet government, asked the USSR for military

assistance in December 1979Ω The USSR invaded AfghanistanΩ Taliban and Al Qaeda became major military force,

eventually controlling most of the countryΩ USSR withdraws from Afghanistan in 1989Ω Osama bin Laden & Al Qaeda plan and execute the

9/11 attacks against the U.S.Ω U.S. drove the Taliban from power Ω Most al-Qaeda and Taliban escaped to PakistanΩ U.S. maintains military bases in Afghanistan today

Iraq War (2003-2011) Pre-emptive War: The Bush Doctrine Justification for attacking Iraq

Implicated in The Attack on AmericaImminent threat to the region & worldNeed to free the people of IraqWMD – Weapons of Mass Destruction

Results of War Iraq quickly defeated Saddam Hussein removed from office and

executed for crimes against the Iraqi people NO WMDs ever found. Lengthy U.S. occupation of Iraq

Middle East Conflicts

December 17 2010 - Massive protests spread to the capital Tunis, with demands for the resignation of long-time dictator Ben Ali, who has ruled since 1987.

Ben Ali steps down in mid-January

TunisiaArab Spring (2010-

2011)

January 25th, tens of thousands of protestors marched to central Cairo in a “Day of Rage”. Over 250,000 protestors had gathered in Tahir square, calling for the resignation of Hosni Mubarak.

Used of Facebook and Twitter to organize.Mubarak was forced to step down, and

the Egyptian military took control.The Muslim Brotherhood won elections in Dec. Muslim Brotherhood overthrown by the military.

EgyptArab Spring (2010-

2011)

Algeria and Morocco: Cessions were made: a popular referendum to limit the power of the Moroccan monarchy passed in June 2011.

Qatar: concessions on cost of bread and wagesJordan: King sacked his parliamentSaudi Arabia: concessions of cost of

food/repressionBahrain: Drew international attention due to the

violent repression of protestors.

Spread of Arab Spring

Muammar Gaddafi had ruled since the 1980s.Protests against Gaddafi , did not remain

peaceful.Fighting spread across the country, Gaddafi

hired mercenariesA no-fly zone enacted by UN Security

Council, to restrict Gaddafi from using his air force

Gaddafi’s home city, Sirte, fell on October 20th, and Gaddafi was killed in an brutal fashion.

The NTC announced the liberation of Libya on October 23

Libya

Authoritarian governmentsLack of an effective constitution Government corruption Unemployment Inspiration from other uprisings-Egypt, Libya, etc

Causes of Arab Spring Uprisings

Massive repression & death as Bashir Al-Assad attempts to hold onto power.

Cities of Homs, Damascus, and Hama saw the most intense fighting and deaths in the early days.

The Syrian opposition received recognition by many in the world in 2013.

Over 100,000 killed so far.

Syrian Civil War (2011-Present)

The Arab World

Israel / Palestine: Arab / Jewish Population (1914-2000)

Palestinians 2,300,000

Israeli Jews 370,000*

*Includes 190,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank and 180,000 Jewish Settlers in East Jerusalem

West Bank (2004)86%

14%

Palestinians 1,350,000

Israeli Jews 7,500

Gaza Strip (2004)

99%

1%