Arab-Israeli Conflict

Greater Israel---Late 1960s and Early 1970s

• Following the 1967 war the UNSC passed resolution 242 which reaffirmed “the inadmissibility of the acquistion of territory by war.”

• Israel ignored the resolution and began settling the occupied territories, and went on to annex the Syrian Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.

• Israel’s refusal to return captured territory led to the 1969-70 War of Attrition and the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

• Moshe Dayan, confident in Israel’s military prowess announced, “There is no more Palestine. Finished!”

International Terrorism in the late 1960s and into the 1970s

• Following the 1967 war Palestinian militant groups used international terrorism to bring attention to their cause.

• George Habash, leader of the PFLP justified such acts as “For decades world attention has neither been for or against the Palestinians. It simply ignored us. At least the world is talking about us now.”

• Many Palestinian actions however, like the 1978 Coast Road Massacre or the murder of 22 children in the 1974 Ma’alot School Massacre, were unjustified and unjustifiable.

Victory for the King.

• October 1968. Yasser Arafat signed a document returning power to King Hussein, ordering Palestinian bases dismantled, and banning concealed weaponry.

• Large groups within the PLO (notably the PFLP) refused to honour the document however.

• Fighting continued. Civilians were killed on both sides. The Jordanian army, with US support, made good progress, ultimately silencing all the rebels.

Fighting in Jordan.

Many civilian deaths but it is unclear how many.

The Jordanians would want the number to be low- so as not to seem too harsh.

The PLO would want the number to be as a high as possible so as to win sympathy from outsiders.

Hijackiing. August 30.1970

• The Palestinians (PFLP) in return demanded a say in the government of Jordan and hijacked passenger jets, belonging to Swissair, BOAC and TWA to give weight to their demands.

• The King refused to be threatened so the Palestinians blew up the jets- (but released the people first though)

• Several assassination attempts were also made against the King. They all failed.

Hijackiing. August 30.1970

• The Palestinians (PFLP) in return demanded a say in the government of Jordan and hijacked passenger jets, belonging to Swissair, BOAC and TWA to give weight to their demands.

• The King refused to be threatened so the Palestinians blew up the jets- (but released the people first though)

• Several assassination attempts were also made against the King. They all failed.

Planes burn, and the world is shocked.

August 1970. The Rogers Plan.• The UN resolution 242 was clearly not operative in such a situation,

and the USA sent Secretary of State Rogers to broker a new deal.

• The Rogers Plan: Aug 1970 Israel, Egypt and Jordan would have a ceasefire if missile deployment was restricted and certain lands exchanged. They all signed. The Plan (like 242) did not credit the Palestinians with any right to their land- now taken as Israel. Consequently Palestinians began criticism of Nasser and Hussein.

• The Rogers Plan was immediately broken, however, by the Egyptians who sited new missiles close to the Canal Zone.

• King Hussein of Jordan, by signing the plan, caused the PLO in Jordan to come out fiercely against him. He had broken the Khartoum Resolution. Arab was now set against Arab in Jordan.

Death of Gamal Nasser.September 1970.

• For many Arabs Nasser was a fighter for Arab dignity and freedom.

• His pan-Arab and anti-colonial ideas gave many Arab people a sense of identity.

• Many of his reforms enhanced Egypt eg the Aswan dam.

• His involvement in war caused many problems too, however, besides damage and casualties. Not least was the heavy involvement of the USSR in Egypt- which many independent minded Arabs just saw as a new form of imperialism.

Gamal Nasser’s funeral 1970, Cairo, Egypt.

Such was Nasser’s popularity- despite the lost wars- that huge crowds attended his burial. Estimated at 5 million people- it was one of the largest funerals in history. News casters cried openly on television, and women wept in the streets.

The crowds in fact hijacked his funeral and people insisted on carrying the coffin themselves.

This shows his true legacy- the restoration of Arab pride in themselves.

September 1970 impact of the death of Nasser.

• The Egyptian aggression faltered at this point.• Nasser’s successor, Anwar Sadat, considered

the war of attrition to be a waste of time. Israel was showing no sign of running out of resources.

• Sadat considered diplomacy to be a cheaper option in the short term. In the longer term, however, he was considering whether inflicting a sharp, limited defeat on Israel would be more effective in forcing concessions from her.

Anwar Sadat – successor to Nasser as leader of Egypt.

Casualties

• Israel 1,500 soldiers killed.• Egypt 10,000 soldiers killed.

• Israel 15 aircraft lost• Egypt 101 aircraft lost.

TerritoryNot a yard was lost, or gained. The border remained at the Suez Canal.

Jordan and the Civil War

Women Palestinian fighters in Jordan. September 1970.

The Middle East• Many terrorist groups have

roots in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Groups include:– Islamic Jihad– Hamas– Hizbullah

• They demand a Palestinian homeland on their own terms. Some want Israel to cease to exist.

• Cycle of violence: Israelis usually retaliate after each terrorist attack.

• Emblems of– Islamic

Jihad– Hamas– Hizbullah

The Palestinian Liberation

Organisation‘PLO’

In Jordan, and particularly the West bank, Palestinian Arabs had been preparing for war. They were organised into many different groups but they were all largely prepared to operate under the umbrella name ‘PLO’.

When King Hussein of Jordan signed the Rogers plan, the Palestinians felt betrayed. When Hussein’s army began receiving arms and equipment from the USA they felt even more threatened.

Different PLO groups began new campaigns of violence. They worked out of fortified refugee camps and cities. They raided Israeli targets , but also Jordanian police and army targets.

Crest of the PLO.Notice the map of Palestine all one colour.

• King Hussein, for his part, felt threatened by the Palestinians. As refugees in his country they insisted in behaving independently- and had grown in such numbers as to take over several cities. They now comprised 50% of his population. They were confident enough to fight off Jordanian army units who sought to impose Jordanian laws. He saw US help as a solution to this problem.

• The Jordanian army shelled several suspected bases- where Palestinian activists were thought to be hiding- and he ordered that all weapons be handed in.

Arab fighting Arab in Jordan.

PLO?The Palestinian Liberation Organisation was an ‘umbrella’ name for all many Palestinian political groups. It helped small groups have a greater say, and effect, on events and helped to keep secret the organisation of the more

militant groups.

• Fatah - Largest faction, social democratic/nationalist.

• The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) - Second largest, radically militant and Communist

• The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) - Third largest, Communist

• The Palestinian People's Party (PPP) - Ex-Communist, non-militant. • The Palestine Liberation Front (PLF, Abu Abbas faction) - Minor left-wing

faction. • The Arab Liberation Front (ALF) - Minor faction, aligned to the Iraqi Ba'ath

Party. • As-Sa'iqa - Syrian-controlled Ba'athist faction. • The Palestine Democratic Union (Fida) - Minor left-wing faction, non-militant • The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF, Samir Ghawsha faction) -

minor left-wing faction. • The Palestinian Arab Front (PAF) - minor faction.

July 1971

• Expulsion of Palestinian people from Jordan.

• 7-8,000 Palestinians had been killed. Maybe many more.

• The Palestinians fled North to Lebanon.

• New refugee camps were set up. Raids into Israel would continue.

The Munich Massacre 1972• The Black September Movement targeted the Israeli sportsmen who

attended the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, 1972.• They managed to kill 12 of the Israeli Olympic team and successfully put

Western attention back onto the Arab-Israeli conflict.

A Black September terrorist negotiating with police.

•The image of the International Terrorist became widely recognised for the first time.

Three terrorists survived and were later released when other terrorists hijacked a German plane and threatened to kill the passengers.

King Hussein was the only Arab leader to condemn the massacre.

Importance……

1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany•Members of Black September, a Palestinian terrorist group, initially kill two Israeli athletes and took nine more hostage.•By the end of the ordeal 11Israeli athletes and coaches were killed along with one West German police officer. •5 of the 8 terrorists were killed by the West Germans in a failed rescue attempt. The three captured terrorists were released by West Germany when Black September hijacked a Lufthansa airliner.•Israel responded with Operation Wrath of God which included assassinations of Palestinian terrorists who planned the Munich Massacre. This operation is depicted in Steven Spielberg’s 2005 film Munich.

Yom Kippur War 1973• The Yom Kippur War, or October War

also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to October 26, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria.

Egypt

• Anwar Sadat began building up to war in 1972. He still had ideas of a sharp blow against Israel, and was still harbouring ideas of an Egyptian led Arab world.

• New planes(Mig 21s), tanks (T55, T62 ) and anti-aircraft missiles(SA2 to 7 and RPG 7)were delivered, plus old defeated generals were replaced.

• Soviet objections to his plans resulted in Sadat throwing out all the 20,000 Soviet ‘advisors’ left over from the war of attrition. Egypt would never return to the Soviet side again. The Russians would now look for other friends in the Arab world.

Syria• Syria was building up militarily too.

With Soviet assistance she was rapidly becoming the strongest Arab nation in the Middle East.

• She had split with Egypt (the UAR) in 1963, and had successfully resisted both Palestinian influence and Turkish pressure.

• With her leader, President Assad, she was becoming a serious challenger to Egypt’s authority over the Arab world.

• Syria’s political ‘Baath’ party established full control over the nation and now established links with the Baath party in Iraq. The centre of the Arabic political world was moving East.

President Assad of Syria.

Israel

• Israel had heavily fortified its borders, especially the Suez area and the Golan Heights. In the Suez area the defences were called the ‘Bar Lev’ line after an Israeli general.

• She knew however, that her greatest assets were her air force and the motivation of her soldiers. These she carefully nurtured.

Israeli trenches on the Bar Lev line.

The War begins…

Egyptian soldiers cross the canal by boat

A tremendous feat of military engineering. The Egyptians bridged the canal and cut through the sand wall fortification, (with water cannons), in 5 hours. The Israelis were taken by surprise.

Egyptian troops crossing the Israeli Bar Lev line of defence.

Notice the RPG 7 held by the soldier in the middle.

But Israel did not panic.

As Egyptian troops (in red) poured into the Sinai desert, the Israeli armies grouped together and waited for the reserve army to appear.

The Israeli’s then counter attacked (in blue) by attempting to punch a hole in the Egyptian line and completely cutting off Egypt’s 3rd army.

The UAR flag (Egypt) raised in victory. But it was too soon to celebrate.

The battle was won, but the war wasn’t finished.

The Egyptian army victorious!

Israeli ’Phantoms’ patrol as Israeli Centurion tanks move past wounded soldiers.

There were massive tank battles- between as many as 1,000 tanks at one time.

Major fighting in the Sinai Desert.

The Golan Heights.

• With apparent Egyptian success, Syria now invades Israel from the North, over the Golan Heights.

The Golan Heights. Syria invaded Israel. She had Iraqi air force support in the sky. King Hussein of Jordan reluctantly (?) supplied artillery to protect the South flank.

Syrian advance.

Israeli artillery was waiting however.

The Israeli reserves moved fast, and the Israeli air force perfected quick refuelling and resupply techniques to keep them in the air longer.

Israeli artillery pound Syrian positions.

Once again Israeli air superority was crucial. Here Syrian tanks lie

destroyed by the IAF.

Israel counter attacks.

• Fighting hard the Israeli reserves managed to push through the centre of the Egyptian assault and push themselves across the Suez canal into Egypt.

• They advanced on Cairo- and stopped only 65 miles short. They were led by General Ariel Sharon.

• Equally hard was the fight back against the Syrians. Re-conquering the Golan Heights the Israelis pressed on into Syria, coming to within 35 miles of Damascus.

An Israeli tank back on the Bar Lev line. Next stop Cairo, Egypt?

Super Power complications

•Once again the Superpowers could not stand back and watch in neutrality. They had supplied intelligence and weaponry to both sides, and now it was being tested. Their status was therefore being challenged..

•The USA had already been flying in large amounts of guns, tanks and spare parts to Israel.

•The Soviets union had been supplying Egypt and Syria with just as much. However it was becoming obvious that Egypt was losing. The Soviet planes suddenly stopped arriving in Cairo.

•This cause panic in the US. Were the planes being reequipped to carry front-line Russian soldiers?

•Would the US need to send soldiers to Israel. Was this the start of World War 3?

October 24 1973. Ceasefire.• Neither superpower wanted war therefore they co-

operated in the United Nations.

• The United Nations organised a ceasefire. Resolution 338.

• No Russian soldiers ever arrived in Egypt.

• This was to the Arabs’ advantage because Israeli forces were close to both Egypt’s and Syria’s capital cities, they had one entire Egyptian army cut off in the Sinai desert, and had, by now, occupied large pieces of Arab territory.

• The UN sent in peace keepers to the Suez region, and the Golan heights. All forces began to withdraw.

Lebanon

Syria

Israel

Jordan

Egypt

Suez Canal

Golan Heights

The End of the War.-green marks Israeli

gains

Casualties

• Israel 2,688 dead.

• Egypt 7,700 dead.

• Syria 3,500 dead.

Results

• The Arab armies did much better than in the Six-Day War and managed to inflict some surprises on the Israelis. This filled some with confidence.

• The Israelis learned from the experience not to be complacent about Arab threats, or lax in defence.

• Both sides, consequently, continued updating their weapons, and planned for the next war.

• The war had solved nothing, and had proved little.

What is a ‘Victory’?

• The Israelis made most gains- and held new territory that had belonged to the enemy. They felt

disappointed however, and cheated by the ceasefire agreement.For them it was an almost victory, but a loss of good men and real victory added up to little.

• The Arabs conversely lost more men and equipment but regarded it as a victory. They had not done so well before against israel and had been saved from a crushing defeat by the UN.

Their military reputation was enhanced and the memory of their defeat in the Six day war had been erased.

Dr.Kissinger and the Sadat Initiative.

• The United states sent Dr.Kissinger to organise a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. An ‘interim’ agreement was signed September 1975

• November 1977 President Sadat proposed the ‘Sadat initiative’. He would visit Jerusalem and speak to the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) to resolve all difficulties.

• It at last broke the mould of hatred and distrust between Egypt and Israel.

Dr. Kissinger (USA). The peace broker.

Arab-Israeli ConflictConnection to Oil

• 1973: Arab members of OPEC decided to put an embargo on oil– No sales to U.S.– Meant to punish U.S.

for supporting Israel in the Yom-Kippur War

– Caused shortage of supply in the U.S.

– Gas Lines

Camp David, USA.

• Under the guidance of US President Jimmy Carter, President Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachim Begin of Israel met at Camp David to discuss the future of the Middle East.

• They both won the Nobel Peace Prize when a Camp David peace agreement was signed 1978. It promised peace at last!

ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT cont.

• Camp David Accords (1977)• In 1979 Egypt and Israel signed a treaty in

which Egypt recognized (acknowledged) Israel’s right to exist and Israel gave back the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt

• Why do you think the U.S. was involved?

Anwar el-Sadat, EgyptJimmy Carter, U.S.Menachem Begin, Israel

Presidents Sadat (UAE), Carter (USA), and Begin (Israel) sign

the Camp David Accords. 1978.

Israeli Palestinian and Arab Nations

• Shows that the country is willing to trade land it has conquered for peace

• Egypt recognizes that Israel is a country and exists.

• Sadat assassinated in 1981 by Muslim extremists

• Jordan signs peace agreement with Israel in 1994.

Perspectives on Camp David Accords

Peace in 1979

• Following Israel’s near defeat in the 1973 Yom Kippur War Israel became much more amenable to peace.

• In 1979 Egypt and Israel made peace. Israel agreed to withdraw from Egyptian territory and allow Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza self-rule leading to a free vote on the future status of these territories.

• Israel implemented the first part of this agreement and completely ignored the second part. Instead it chose to build illegal colonies – settlements – today 500,000 Israelis live illegally in Palestinian territory.

Reflection

• Write for three minutes about BOTH of the following questions.– If you were Israeli, how might you feel about the

Camp David Accords?– If you were Palestinian or a resident of an Arab

country, how might you feel about the Camp David Accords?

• The Palestinians, the PLO and most Arab states were furious! It looked like an Arab nation had broken with the Khartoum Resolution and recognised Israel as an independent state (and therefore dismissed Palestinian Arab claims to their own lands).

• 1981 President Sadat was assassinated. Not one of his bodyguards returned fire on the attackers.

• There were three US presidents at Sadat’s funeral, and only one Arab leader.

Assassination of President Sadat of Egypt 1981

Egyptian ‘jihadi’ extremists.

The president and foreign visitors hide under their chairs

The crowds run to safety.

Impact into the 1980s• Egypt and Israel, by a lot of fighting, had found a

way to work together.• The Palestinians, PLO, were not prepared to

tolerate this and would step up their campaign of attacks from their bases in Lebanon.

• Other Arab states looked to take over Egypt’s role as leader of the Arab league; Syria notably, but also Iraq. Attacking Israel was seen as a good way to get Arab unity.

Operation Peace For Galilee from 1982 to 2000

• In June 1982 after a year long ceasefire Israel, without provocation, invaded Lebanon in an attempt to destroy the PLO. It feared the diplomatic progress the PLO was making through maintaining the peace.

• During the war 20,000 Palestinians, Lebanese and Syrians died - around 17,000 civilians.

• Israel remained in occupation of part of Lebanon until 2000. To fight this occupation a new resistance group, the Hezbollah, came into existence.

Sabra and Shatilla in 1982

• The worst massacre of the Lebanon War came in September 1982.

• Approximately 1,700 Palestinian civilians were murdered in the Sabra and Shatilla Refugee Camps after Ariel Sharon, despite warnings, introduced the Lebanese Christian militia, the Phalangists, into the camps.

• Israeli soldiers watched the three day massacre; lit up the camp at night; bussed in Phalangist reinforcements; prevented civilians from fleeing and even provided bulldozers to cover up the dead.

• The UN condemned the massacre as “an act of genocide.” Israeli PM Menachem Begin denied any responsibility: “Goyim are killing goyim and the whole world is trying to hang Jews for the crime.”

Intifada.

• Intifada: انتفاضة Arabic word stands for shaking off or shivering because of fear or illness. It also means abrupt and sudden waking up from sleep or unconcerned status. Politically; The word came to symbolise the Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation. The word also stands for the weakness of the Palestinian people and their suffering under the Israeli occupation. 

Intifada---1987 to 1993

• First Intifada – 1987-1993 : Violence moves from organized to massive civil warfare– Triggered by Palestinian students : boycotting Israeli

goods, strikes, graffiti, barricades, planned terrorism, resistance of authorities

The Intifada

• Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, living conditions, and to demand independence that begins in 1987. – Includes Palestinian demonstrations, strikes,

boycotts, rock throwing and gasoline bombs.

• Israeli military response

• Over approx. 400 Israelis Killed

• Over approx. 1500 Palestinians Killed

The Intifada

• In December 1987 the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza rose in revolt.

• The uprising was unarmed and took the form of civil disobedience, tax strikes, boycotts and non co-operation with collaborators.

• Israel responded with a policy of “might, force and beatings.”

• Up to mid 1991 Israel had exiled 69 Palestinian leaders, shot and killed over 600 demonstrators and by 1990 imprisoned 40,000 Palestinians including many children.

Peace Efforts Continued

During the 1990’s several advances towards peace were made with several meetings taking place in places such as Egypt, Spain, the United States, and Norway. 1993 Oslo Accords: Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat

and Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin met to begin to work out a peace deal that included each side recognizing the right of the other to exist.

Rabin assassinated by Jewish extremist in November of 1995

Peace in 1993

• In 1993 Israel and the PLO agreed to embark on a peace process.

• The PLO renounced terrorism and agreed to recognise Israeli sovereignty over 78% of historic Palestine.

• In return the PLO believed that Israel would end its occupation and that the remaining 22% of historic Palestine would become the state of Palestine. However, Israel gave no guarantees and with the murder of Rabin the peace process effectively died.

1993

• Oslo Accords (Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements)– GOI and PLO meet, sign accords on September 13, 1993)– Sets up the Palestinian National Authority

• Mutual recognition between PNA/State of Israel• Government over the ‘Occupied Territories’ gradually phased over

in a period of 5 years to PNA

– IDF (Israeli Defense Force) to withdraw from the areas, eventual sovereignty given to PNA

– Failed• Only addressed borders – no status of Jerusalem, refugees• No provisions for a permanent Palestinian state• OCT still under Israeli military control• Cultural violence continues (Israeli anger at Palestinians/vice versa)

Yitzhak Rabin

Yasser Arafat

Reflection

• Write for three minutes about BOTH of the following questions.– If you were Israeli, how might you feel about the

Intifadas and peace efforts during the 1990’s?– If you were Palestinian, how might you feel

about the Intifadas and peace efforts during the 1990’s?