MIDDLE EAST CRISESMIDDLE EAST CRISES

PARTITIONING OF PARTITIONING OF PALESTINEPALESTINE1947- UN VOTED TO PARTITION PALESTINE TO MAKE WAY FOR THE JEWS WHO WANTED TO SETTLE IN THE AREA AS PART OF THEIR ZIONIST MOVEMENTMONTHS OF VIOLENCE ERUPTEDMAY 1948- JEWS ANNOUNCED THE CREATION OF ISRAELDavid Ben-Gurion became the 1st Prime Minister of IsraelGolda Meir-Israel’s Foreign Minister

GAMAL ABDEL GAMAL ABDEL NASSERNASSERRULER OF EGYPT FROM 1954-1970SUCCEEDED IN GETTING RID OF BRITISH INFLUENCE AND NATIONALIZED THE SUEZ CANALCREATED THE ASWAN HIGH DAM (MAJOR IRRIGATION PROJECT FOR THE UPPER NILE)CREATED THE PLO IN 1964SPENT MOST OF HIS YEARS TRYING TO ANNIHALATE THE JEWS AND THE NATION OF ISRAELINSTIGATED THE 6-DAY WAR

SIX DAY WARSIX DAY WAR MAY 1967- EGYPT AND SYRIA LAUNCHED A CAMPAIGN

AGAINST ISRAEL NASSER WAS QUOTED “OUR BASIC OBJECTIVE WILL BE THE

DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL. THE ARAB PEOPLE WANT TO FIGHT. WE WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY COEXISTENCE WITH ISRAEL… TODAY THE ISSUE IS NOT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PEACE BETWEEN THE ARAB STATES AND ISRAEL… THE WAR WITH ISRAEL IS IN EFFECT SINCE 1948.”

JORDAN AND IRAQ ALSO JOINED IN THE WAR RHETORIC ISRAEL COULD NOT AFFORD TO WAIT FOR AN ARAB

ATTACK, THEY HAD TO STRIKE FIRST

JUNE 5, 1967- ISRAELI AIR FORCE USED ALL BUT 12 FIGHTERS TO LAUNCH A SURPRISE ATTACK ON THE EGYPTIAN AIR FORCE WHILE THEY WERE EATING BREAKFAST

IN LESS THAN 2 HOURS, 300 EGYPTIAN AIRCRAFT WERE DESTROYED

THEN THEY ATTACKED SYRIA, JORDAN AND IRAQ

BY THE END OF THE 1ST DAY, NEARLY THE ENTIRE EGYPTIAN AND JORDANIAN AIR FORCES AND HALF OF SYRIA’S HAD BEEN DESTROYED

AFTER JUST SIX DAYS OF FIGHTING, ISREALI FORCES BROKE THROUGH ENEMY LINES AND WAS IN POSITION TO TAKE THE CAPITALS OF ITS ENEMIES

ISREAL HAD TAKEN THE GOLAN HEIGHTS AND THE SINAI PENINSULA

CASUALTIES-◦ -ISRAEL- 776 DEAD, 2,586 WOUNDED◦ ARABS- 15,000 EGYPTIANS, 2,500

SYRIANS, 800 JORDANIANS

◦ ISRAEL HAD CAPTURED ENOUGH TERRITORY TO TRIPLE ITS SIZE (8,000 TO 26,000 SQ. MILES)

◦ ISRAEL CAPTURED THE SINAI PENINSULA, GOLAN HEIGHTS, GAZA STRIP AND WEST BANK

Land Taken During Six-Day WarLand Taken During Six-Day War

Yom Kippur War (1973)Yom Kippur War (1973)

Oct. 6, 1973- Egypt and Syria launched another surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur (holiest day in Jewish calendar)

A force equal to the size of NATO in Europe approached Israel’s borders

At Golan Heights- 180 Israeli tanks vs. 1,400 Syrian tanks

At the Suez Canal- 500 defenders and 3 tanks met 600,000 Egyptian soldiers with 2,000 tanks and 550 aircraft

During this war, Arab oil-producing states placed an oil embargo against the U.S.

END OF THE 1973 WAREND OF THE 1973 WAR

Israelis held their ground; backed by U.S. relief supplies (Soviets backed the Arabs)

Worst fighting occurred between Oct. 12th and Oct. 14th

Israeli forces destroyed 250 Egyptian tanks in the 1st two hours of fighting- another humiliating loss for Egypt

By the end of fighting 2, 688 Israeli soldiers had been killed, but the combat deaths for Egypt totaled 7, 700 and Syria had 3, 500

MOVING ON TO MOVING ON TO ANOTHER CRISISANOTHER CRISIS1974 AND 1975- DISENGAGEMENT AGREEMENTS BETWEEN ISRAEL AND EGYPT1977- ISRAEL UNDER LEADERSHIP OF MENACHEM BEGIN EXTENDED AN INVITATION TO ANWAR SADAT OF EGYPT TO TRADE LAND FOR PEACENOV. 19, 1977- SADAT BECAME THE 1ST ARAB LEADER TO VISIT ISRAELBEGIN WAS PREPARED TO GIVE UP THE SINAI IN EXCHANGE FOR PEACE, BUT NO FIRM AGREEMENT RESULTED

CAMP DAVID ACCORDSCAMP DAVID ACCORDS

SEPTEMBER 5, 1978SADAT, BEGIN, CARTERAGREED ISRAEL

WOULD WITHDRAW FROM SINAI WITHIN 3 YEARS

5 YEAR AGREEMENT TO GIVE THE PALESTINIANS IN THE WEST BANK AND GAZA STRIP AUTONOMY

OCT. 6, 1981- SADAT WILL BE ASSASSINATED

IRANIAN IRANIAN HOSTAGE CRISISHOSTAGE CRISIS1979- MILITANT REVOLUTIONARIES SUPPORTIVE OF THE AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI STORMED THE AMERICAN EMBASSY AND CAPTURED 66 HOSTAGESTHEY WERE PROTESTING U.S. SUPPORT OF THE SHAH PAHLAVI- U.S. HAD ALLOWED HIM IN TO THE U.S. FOR MEDICAL TREATMENTHOSTAGES COULD HAVE BEEN RELEASED WHEN WE TURNED THE SHAH BACK OVER BUT HE DIED WHILE WAITING IN EGYPT

HOSTAGES WERE HELD FOR 444 DAYS DESPITE MANY FAILED ATTEMPTS FOR THEIR RELEASE BY CARTERTHEY WERE SET FREE WHILE REAGAN WAS TAKING THE OATH OF OFFICE

PERSIAN GULF PERSIAN GULF WARWARSADDAM HUSSEIN INVADED THE COUNTRY OF KUWAIT TO TRIGGER THIS CONFLICTONLY 100 HOURS OF GROUND FIGHTINGWE ARE NOW IN OUR 3RD WAR WITH IRAQSADDAM HUSSEIN WAS REMOVED FROM POWER