dr. terry m. mors, ed.d. © 2010. mors copyright 2010 israel was formed as a modern state in 1948....
TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Terry M. Mors, Ed.D.
© 2010
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Israel was formed as a modern state in 1948.
founded as the result of the Zionist movement
an effort to establish an independent Jewish homeland, which began in the 1890s
Zionists sought a solution for diaspora (dispersion of Jews around the world) and anti-Semitism (the hatred of Jews)
After World War II (1939–45), the United Nations (an organization that promotes international peace and democracy) created a special committee to address British control of Palestine
In November 1947, the United Nations carved Israel out of the Palestine region
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The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is as much secular as it is religious
Also a geographical dispute Palestinians felt that their land had been take away
Over the years that followed, there were many territorial debates and changes of borders
Israel had to continuously protect itself against an attack
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Palestinians view the creation of an Israeli State as an invasion
Hamas claims as long as there is Israeli occupation, there will be resistance
They view violence against Israeli as not only acceptable, they see it as a divine obligation of all Muslims
Israel continues to define its own borders by building walls
Hamas and most Palestinians want a minimum of a return to the border
agreement of 1967
There are 1.6 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and 2 million Palestinians in the West Bank
Gaza was formerly under Israeli control
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Religious differences
Of the approximately 7.23 million Israelis in 2009, about 76% were counted as Jewish
Of the non-Jewish population, about 68% are Muslims, about 9% are Christian
Again, there is a religious and secular dynamic to the problem in the area
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In the years following World War I, Palestine became a British Mandate and Jewish immigration steadily increased, as did violence between Palestine's Jewish and Arab communities
the 1947 UN partition plan, which would have divided Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem under UN administration.
On May 14, 1948, soon after the British quit Palestine, the State of Israel was proclaimed and was immediately invaded by armies from neighboring Arab states, which rejected the UN partition plan.
This conflict, Israel's War of Independence, was concluded by armistice agreements between Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria in 1949 and resulted in a 50% increase in Israeli territory.
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In 1956, French, British, and Israeli forces engaged Egypt in response to its nationalization of the Suez Canal and blockade of the Straits of Tiran. Israeli forces withdrew in March 1957, after the United Nations established the UN Emergency Force (UNEF) in the Gaza Strip and Sinai. This war resulted in no territorial shifts and was followed by several years of terrorist incidents and retaliatory acts across Israel's borders.
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The Six Days War
In June 1967, Israeli forces struck targets in Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in response to Egyptian President Nasser's ordered withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from the Sinai Peninsula and the buildup of Arab armies along Israel's borders.
After 6 days, all parties agreed to a cease-fire, under which Israel retained control of the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights.
Let’s stop the historical time-line here to interject the PLO.
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Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)
The PLO was attempting to establish a government for the Palestinians who lost their land and homes.
In1957 Arafat gathered groups of disgruntled Palestinians in Jordan, forming the PLO in 1964.
His purpose was to create a political organization tohelp form a multinational alliance against Israel.
He hoped Arab governments would jointly launch a war against the European-created state.
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In 1959 Arafat formed Fatah, a guerrilla organization, to wage a campaign against the Israelis.
They used of small-unit tactics and terrorist actions.
Fatah’s attacks were annoyances to Israel, but they did not represent a serious threat.
Israel was more concerned about the large armies of its Arab neighbors.
Frustrated, Arafat merged Fatah into the PLO in 1964.
As Robin Wright said "they were not concerned about building a reputation but more concerned about killing their enemies."
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Arafat’s thought The Arab Armies would crush Israel in the Six days War.
But Israel emerged victorious.
Arafat became frustrated.
He used the militant wing of Fatah (fedayeen) to launch terrorist attacks against unfortified Israeli civilian targets
Arab armies were in disarray, and only Arafat and the PLO had the fortitude to attack Israel.
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Arafat set up shop in neighboring Jordan.
They launched a series of hit and run strikes.
Fatah had only a few hundred fedayeen, but their numbers slowly increased, allowing Arafat to launch more raids against Israel.
But King Hussein of Jordan protested, as it drew negative attention to Jordan.
Hussein was between a rock and a hard place, as many of his citizens were displaced Palestinians who supported the PLO.
Israel and the West demanded that Hussein do something to put and end to the PLO strikes against Israel.
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Hussein feared rebellion from his own people if he put down the PLO.
Angered by a lack of action, Israel attacked the PLO in Jordan.
On March 21, 1968, they sent a combined tankand mechanized infantry unit into Jordan to raid the Palestinians. They backed the attack with helicopters and artillery.
Their plan was to conduct a fairly heavy hit-and-run operation of their own.
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King Hussein ordered Jordanian tanks to counterattack.
A tank battle ensued.
The Fedayeen took up arms and fought along side the Jordanian Army.
Not wanting a war with Jordan, Israel pulled back.
Arafat and the PLO spun that as a victor y for the PLO
Arafat claimed the PLO soundly defeated the mighty Israeli Army
Arafat became a hero
That drew more support for the PLO from Palestinians and Arabs.
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King Hussein ordered the PLO to stopattacking Israel.
He was trying not to protect Israel He was worried about Jordan’s reputation
among Western Nations upon whom Jordan relied heavily.
He was also worried about a coup of rebellion from his own people as the PLO was becoming very powerful.
Radical elements in Iraq and Syria encouraged Arafat to defy Hussein’s order.
Arafat defied Hussein’s order and stepped up operations against Israel.
Arafat continued training in Jordanian PLO camps and invited revolutionaries throughout the Middle East to participate.
Arafat’s exiled Palestinian government took no orders from its Jordanian host.
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PLO raids against Israel were conducted by a variety of PLO and foreign terrorist groups.
Arafat’s reputation as a revolutionary hero spread beyond the Middle East.
After Palestinian terrorists hijacked three airplanes and destroyed them in Jordan, King Husseindecided to act.
In September 1970, Hussein attacked the PLO.Arafat and the PLO were taken completely by surprise.
King Hussein’s Jordanian army struck; the PLO had nowhere to run.
Too weak to stand and fight, he fled to southern Lebanon.
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Arafat blamed the Israelis for King Hussein’s actions.
Arafat could no longer control terrorists in the many PLO splinter groups, so he created a new group after King Hussein’s September attack.
He called the group Black September.
Using German leftist allies, Black September began planning a strike against the Israelis. It came, with German terrorist help, in Munich at the 1972 Olympic Games.
Black September struck the Olympic Village and took most of the Israeli Olympic team hostage, killing those who tried to escape.
German police moved in, and the world watched a drawn-out siege.
It was a terrorist victory, and European leftists andnationalists saw it as partially their triumph
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By 1982 the Israelis had had enough.
On June 6, the Israelis launched an attack into southern Lebanon (Operation Peace for Galilee).
The PLO and other militias moved forward to take a stand, but they were no match for the coordinated efforts of Israeli tanks, aircraft, and infantry.
Some thought this may also end Lebanon’s civil war.
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Operation Peace for Galilee had a devastating impact on some.
Jarrah (9/11 hijacker) stated that Israeli invasion (when he was 7) is partially responsible for his radicalization.
Unable to tolerate Israel’s presence in thearea, the Syrians rallied all local militias, except the Christians, to their side and turned their own aircraft and tanks on the Israeli invaders.
Israel found itself in a new war
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Arafat found himself out of options.
The PLO was surrounded and bombarded by the Israelis in Beirut, even as the Syrian-backed forces fought the IDF.
Arafat knew the Syrians had no love for him. If the Israelis won, Arafat would be
doomed. If the Syrians won, they intended to install their own surrogates in place of the PLO.
In August 1982 he left Beirut for Tripoli with 14,000 fedayeen.
More than 10,000 guerrillas stayed, but they joined the Syrians.
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With the PLO’s retreat from Lebanon, Israel’s fight with the group shifted to occupied Palestinian areas in Israel.
Once again, Israel’s military action resulted in more terrorism.
As the fedayeen retreated, new terrorists came to take their place.
The fighting in Lebanon continued with a new group, Hezbollah, which used an umbrella-style network.
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Despite numerous peace agreement attempts, the fighting and the violence in the area still exists.
The underlying causes and foundational issues remain the same.
Israel refuses to acknowledged Palestine as a legitimate government, and the Palestinians continue to rebel against what they view as oppression by Israelis.
Arafat is gone, but the PLO has been replaced, largely through splinter groups and new terror organizations.
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