Yom Kippur WarBegan 6 October 1973, ended 27 October 1973

Map of the Conflict

Arab/Palestinian Points of Contention

• Arabs frustrated with Israel populating territories. (Stoessinger, 212)

• Determined to prevent Israeli annexation. (212)• Wanted to destroy the Bar Lev Line fortification.

(Schultze, 42)• The USSR encouraged Arabs to believe that some

of the territories lost in the 1967 War could be recaptured using force. (Stoessinger, 212)

Israeli Points of Contention

• Israel was unwilling to make concessions after its victory in the 1967 war

• They gained control of Palestinian land and 665,000 people from the 1967 war.

• Israel did not want Palestinians to rise up in the West Bank (Palestine was getting powerful)

• Israel thought Sadat was weak because they went to the USSR for arms

• They still thought they were superior and did not take any hints of war seriously

Israel points of Contention (cont.)

• Sadat offered to open the Suez Canal if Israel would draw back from it, but Israel was not down.

• Israel also did not to give up any of their 1967 land, they were very serious about this.

Key Players

• Anwar Sadat (Egypt’s president)• Hafiz al-Asad (Syrian Leader)• Henry Kissinger (U.S. Secretary of

State)• Moshe Dayan (Israeli Defense

Minister)• Golda Meir (Israeli Prime Minister)• Nixon (United States President)

Key Events/Battles of the Yom Kippur War

• Started on Yom Kippur• In the Sinai, Egypt sent large forces across

the Suez Canal, capturing Israeli positions on the Eastern bank.

• Syrians seized Mount Hermon, forcing Israeli forces back.

• By the 1st week, Soviet and U.S. forces were involved.

• Israeli troops entered the West Bank on Egyptian territory.

Outcome of the Conflict

• 2,838 Israelis killed, 8,800 wounded• 8,528 Arabs killed, 19,549 wounded• Israel became more dependent on the United States,

both for military and economic aid (because the war had cost Israel about one third of its yearly budget)

• The war weakened the Labor government (which had lead Israel since 1948), and also virtually ended the political careers of Golda Meir and Moshe Dayan

• The war brought the world’s attention back to the Arab-Israeli conflict

Outcome of the Conflict (cont.)

• The war provided the basis for Kissinger and for American diplomacy to mediate the dispute

• The Arabs now had the “oil weapon,” which could be used to pressure the West for Israeli concessions

• The war restored Arab dignity• Sadat and Asad had achieved their war aim of forcing Israel

to negotiate the return or Arab territory• “The Arabs lost the war militarily, but they won the war

diplomatically, and won a psychological battle.”

(The 1973 War and Its Aftermath, 174-175) (Fraser, 103)

Credits

Sources used:-The Arab-Israeli Conflict by T. G. Fraser-The Arab-Israeli Conflict by Kirsten E. Schultze-The 1973 War and Its Aftermath-Why Nations Go to War by John Stoessinger

By Sofia Loprinzi Hardin, Hana Gustafson, Ruby O’Connor, Emma Long, Lily Fritsch