ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT
Can there be peace in the Middle East?
Where is Israel?
Where is Palestine?
Arab-Israeli History
Zionism-1890s
Its general definition means the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.
Balfour Declaration-1917Great Britain
Promises to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine: a British Colony.
Holocaust/World War 2 – 1934-19456 of 9 million European Jews are murdered by Hitler’s Nazi Germany
UN Partition Plan - 1947British Leaving Palestine to UN Control.
UN creates plan for Jewish and Arab States amidst terrorism from both sides.
Palestinians reject partition.
1948-WarArabs reject UN partition plan and go to war with Israel.Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Iraq, and Lebanon attack Jewish State
Israel, with backing from U.S. and European countries wins the war.
Israel conquered 78% of Palestine
Created nearly 1 million Palestinian refugees
Over 400 towns and villages were destroyed
Every city, river, and hill received a new Hebrew name
Denied the existence of Palestine
Brief Historical Background
1956 – Israel invades Sinai/Suez Crisis
Egypt Nationalizes Suez Canal
Israel, backed by English and French forces take back the canal.
Agreement is reached, Israel gains Gaza strip.
1964-PLO Created Political/Terrorist
party with stated goal of creating an independent Palestinian state.
Yassir Arafat Leader (seen as terrorist and hero, may have been poisoned)
1967: Six Day War Israel conquered more land by launching a
highly successful attack Occupied additional 22% of Palestine – The
West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Recognizing the Two Sides
The Palestinian Side: Fear of Dispossession / 20th Century Jewish
Immigration Refugees of 1948 The 57-year Occupation Spiritual connection to the Holy Land
The Jewish Side:
• History of Jewish Persecution• Holocaust• Israel as Jewish ‘Safe Haven’• Spiritual connection to the Holy Land
Recognizing the Two Sides
The Composition of the Holy Land
Source: 2003 CIA World Fact Book - Palestine data consists of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
1973 – Yom Kippur War Egypt and
Syria attack Israel on Yom Kippur
Egypt and Syria initially successful.
Israel wins, keeps no new territory
1978-79-Camp David Accords and Peace Treaty
Egypt Becomes first Arab nation to recognize Israel.
Israel gives back the Sinai peninsula
Anwar Sadat(Egypt) and Menachem Begin(Israel)
Anwar Sadat assassinated by his own soldiers.
1979 - Map
Important Note: Sinai has vast oil reserves
Northern Security Zone - 1982
Palestine attacks Israeli citizens in the north, create this safety zone to protect from attacks from Lebanon
First Intifada Palestinian uprising
against Israeli forces
1987 – 1993
Rocks vs. Tanks
Oslo Peace Process - 1993
Bill Clinton, Yitzhak Rabin, and Yasser Arafat
Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin 1995 - Rabin
assassinated by Jewish fundamentalist: Yigal Amir
2nd Intifada The Second
Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada was the second Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation – a period of intensified Palestinian–Israeli violence.
It started in September 2000, when Ariel Sharon made a provoking visit to the Temple Mount and Palestinian demonstrations were cracked down by the Israeli army with brutal force, using lethal ammunition.
2nd Intifada 2000 - 2005
Gaza - 2005 Israel
starts to leave the Gaza strip; costs $2.5 billion
Important Concepts
Arabs/Palestinians Nomadic Peoples
living in British Mandate of Palestine prior to the establishment of the state of Israel.
Ethnically Arab: can be Muslim, Christian, or Jewish
Mostly Muslim
Israelis Citizens of the
State of Israel: May be Christian, Jewish, or Muslim
May be European or Arab
Holy Land Area around
Jerusalem/Ancient land of Canaan
Sacred to Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
The Composition of the Holy Land
Source: 2003 CIA World Fact Book - Palestine data consists of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Homeland Any area that an
ethnicity or nationality lays claim to.
Both Jews and Arabs claim Israel/Palestine as their natural homeland.
West Bank Portion of Palestine
occupied during the Six-Day War - Today
The Israeli Barrier on the Ground
Archbishop Pietro Sambi, of Jerusalem said the wall, “cuts in half monasteries, convents, churches and cemeteries.” The pictures above are of the wall in Bethlehem
Gaza Strip Portion of Palestine
Taken over by Israel during Six-Day war in 1967 and occupied with periods of self-rule until today.
War fought between Israel and Gaza last November.
Occupation Palestinian lands
occupied by Israel after the Six-Day war.
West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights are occupied territories.
Partition A division of lands
between peoples.
To the left is UN Partition Plan for Israel and Palestine
Refugee Any person forced
from homeland because of natural, economic, or war issues.
Refugees plan to return home
700,000 Palestinian refugees after 1948 war
Checkpoints Tollbooth-like
structures where Palestinians are detained while traveling through the occupied territories.
Checkpoints make travel hard on Palestinians.
Checkpoints in the West Bank
Sometimes it takes Palestinians 4 hours to make a journey an Israeli citizen can make in 30 minutes.
Settlements Israeli Communities
in the Occupied territories.
One of the most controversial aspects of Arab-Israeli conflict
U.S. doesn’t want Israel building more settlement in the occupied territories
Israel is continuing to build new settlements.
Confiscating more Palestinian land in the Process
Settlements
Intifada Palestinian uprising
against Israeli rule. 1st Intifada 1987 –
1993 Organized by PLO Ended by Oslo
Accords Palestinian Rocks Israeli Uzis/Tanks
Arab-Israeli Conflict Continued 9/11 – Many see
the attack on the World Trade Center as retaliation for U.S. support of Israel.
Arab Spring
Iranian Embargo
Terrorism Continued unrest in
Lebanon Strain on U.S. –
Israeli Relations Israel forced to play
as part of Europe in World Cup qualifying.
What should happen?