Origins of the Arab-Israeli ConflictOrigins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

October 2011

Genesis 15:18-21Genesis 15:18-21

• “The Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates…’”

Abraham’s DescendantsAbraham’s Descendants

AbrahamHagar Sarah

Isaac(Jews)

Ishmael(Arabs)

According to Islamic beliefs, it was Ishmael and not Isaac whom Abraham nearly sacrificed in the name of Allah {al-Saaffaat 37:99-113}

Zion (Sion)Zion (Sion)

• Origin: A Jebesite fortress on a mountain in Jerusalem conquered by David, from which both he and Solomon ruled, and upon which Solomon built his temple.

The Jewish DiasporaThe Jewish Diaspora

• In 71AD the Romans sacked Jerusalem as part of the First Roman-Jewish War, enslaving many Jews and scattering them throughout the empire.

Dome of the RockDome of the Rock

• In 632, the Prophet Muhammad was believed to have ascended to heaven from Jerusalem.

• Between 687 and 691, Caliph Abd al-Malik built a temple over the rock from which this took place.

The CrusadesThe Crusades

• 1095 – Pope Urban: “An accursed race…has violently invaded the lands (of Jerusalem) and depopulated them by pillage and fire”

• Europeans recapture Jerusalem in the First Crusade (1096-1099)

• Salah al-Din, Kurdish Sultan in Egypt, recaptures Jerusalem in 1187

• Agreement with King Richard I in the 3rd Crusade (1192) to permit Christians to pilgrimage to Jerusalem

The OttomansThe Ottomans

• Turks, not Arabs• Conquer Byzantine

Empire in 1453• Overrun Holy Lands

by 1520• Tolerate Jews /

Christians (special tax)

• Arab lands fall into the “sleep of centuries”

Anti-Semitism / ZionismAnti-Semitism / Zionism

• Black Death (Medieval Europe)

• Migrations to Eastern Europe

• Spanish Inquisition• Pogroms in Russia• Dreyfus Affair• Theodor Herzl - der Judenstaat

World War I DiplomacyWorld War I Diplomacy

• McMahon-Hussein Letters

• Balfour Declaration

• Sykes-Picot Agreement

Promises, Promises

McMahon-Hussein LettersMcMahon-Hussein Letters

• Sir Henry McMahon exchanged ten letters with Sharif Hussein in 1915 to encourage the Arabs to revolt against the Turks

• Hussein wanted all the Arabian peninsula, the entire Fertile Crescent, and parts of southeastern Turkey

• McMahon agreed with Hussein that there should be an Arab land, but he left the borders vague

• Despite McMahon’s hedging, the Arabs thought they had a deal

The Balfour Declaration (1917)The Balfour Declaration (1917)

• “His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.”

Sykes-PicotSykes-Picot

• Secret agreement to carve up the Ottoman Empire

• Arabs to have the Arabian Peninsula

• The British would be given Palestine and the Fertile Crescent

• France would be given Syria and Lebanon

• Mandates created after World War I

British Mandate of PalestineBritish Mandate of Palestine

• 1922 – League of Nations creates Mandates

• 1919-1931 – average of 10,000 Jews enter annually

• 1920-21 – Palestinian Arabs riot against Jews, leaving over 100 dead

• 1936 – Civil war between Jews and Arabs (Arab Revolt)

• 1939 – White Paper issued limiting Jewish migration

U.N. Partition (1947)U.N. Partition (1947)

• World-wide sympathy following Holocaust

• UN commission recommended partition

• Vote: - 33 yea (green) - 13 nay (burgundy) - 10 abstain (yellow)• May 14, 1948 – Israel proclaimed

Arab-Israeli 1948 WarArab-Israeli 1948 War

• Deir-Yassin Massacre - April 9-11, 1948

- 254 Arabs killed by Jews- Including 145 women

- Arabs warned to flee• Arabs attack May 15, one day

following Israeli independence• No Arab country wanted a

separate Arab state of Palestine• 700,000 Palestinians fled; their

property was declared “abandoned” and seized

Israel after 1948-1949 WarIsrael after 1948-1949 War

• 1949 – Under UN auspices, Arabs agree to truce but no peace

• New UN mandate gave Israel 80 percent of Palestine

• Israel held West Jerusalem

• Jordan given possession of East Jerusalem and West Bank

• Egypt given control of Gaza strip

1956 Suez Crisis1956 Suez Crisis

• 1952 – Colonel Nasser carries out a coup against King Farouk; begins using conflict with Israel as way to mobilize Arabs

• Arabs in Palestine become fedayeen, “self-sacrificers”, and launch attacks on Israel

• Egypt seeks arms from West, but is denied• July 1956 – In retaliation, Egypt announces

nationalization of Suez Canal• Britain and France collude with Israel to “protect”

canal; war begins• US supports UN resolution to return Suez to

Egypt• March 1957 – US pledges to keep open Tiran

Straits and UN Emergency Force (UNEF) agrees to patrol Sinai; Israel withdraws

Six-Day War (1967)Six-Day War (1967)

• 1963 – Israel begins project to divert water from the Jordan

• 1967 – Nasser, defending Syria, declares he will “drive Israel into the sea”

• Syria begins shelling Galilee with Soviet support

• Nasser orders UN troops out of Sinai and closes Tiran Straits

• June 5 – Israel launches preemptive attack

• Israel seizes Sinai and Gaza, West Bank, Jerusalem and Golan Heights

UN Resolution 242UN Resolution 242

• Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;

• Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force;

• Freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area;

• A just settlement of the refugee problem

Yom Kippur / Ramadan / October WarYom Kippur / Ramadan / October War

• October 6, 1973 – Egypt and Syria launch surprise attack

• Israeli-Syrian fight largest tank battle in history

• Ariel Sharon crosses Suez and cuts off Egyptians

• Nixon orders world-wide alert• Arabs demonstrate Israel not

invincible• Arab oil embargo against US /

Netherlands

Camp David Accords (1978)Camp David Accords (1978)

• First Arab-Israeli peace treaty

• Egypt recognized Israel (1979 – expelled from the Arab bloc)

• Egypt becomes major recipient of US aid

• Sinai peninsula returned to Egypt

• Israel pledged to accept “Palestinian autonomy”

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

• 1964 – Founded in Egypt; rooted in terrorism and guerrilla warfare

• 1969 – Yasser Arafat gained control (founded Fatah in 1957)

• 1970 – Palestinians expelled from Jordan

• 1975 – Lebanon slides into Civil War; PLO sets up “Fatahland” in south

• 1982 – Israel invades / PLO flees to Tunisia

The The IntifadaIntifada and HAMAS and HAMAS

• 1987 – Intifada = “Uprising”• Harakat al-Muqawama al-

Islamiyya or "Islamic Resistance Movement“ = “zeal”

• 1988 – HAMAS Covenant Preface: "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it”

• Refuses to renounce violence; will not recognize agreements reached with Israel

Is there Hope?Is there Hope?

• 1988 – King Hussein dropped Jordanian claims to West Bank

• 1991 – PLO isolated in first Gulf War

• 1993 – Oslo Accord; Palestinian authority created and PLO agrees to 1967 framework (borders / return)

• 1994 – Jordan and Israel sign peace treaty

• 2000 Intifada begins anew after Sharon visits Temple Mount

• 2002 – “The Quartet” develops a road map

West BankWest Bank

• 2003 – Israel begins construction of a wall in the West Bank

• 2003 – former Israeli / Palestinian officials meet in Geneva to formulate plausible settlement

• US support for Israel continues to inflame Arab settlement

• 2006 – Hamas elected• 2006 Lebanon Crisis has

roots in Palestinian-Israeli conflict

GazaGaza

Gaza - 1.5 million Palestinians• 18 month Israeli blockade began after Hamas was elected; fighting ended in 6 month cease fire last summer• Hamas began launching rockets in December 2008; Israel responded with incursion• US $2 billion damage; 1,300 Palestinians killed and thousands homeless

Supporters of Hamas• Qatar offers Hamas US $250M• Iran, Hizbullah

Supporters of Fatah• Saudi Arabia pledges US $1 billion, but not through Hamas unless it renounces violence• King Abdullah calls Palestinian rifts “more dangerous than Israeli aggression”• Saudi 2002 peace proposal (land for peace) would not stay on the table forever• Egypt – will monitor tunnels on its borders, but earned opprobrium from Arab states

Israeli Election - 2009Israeli Election - 2009

Kadima

Labor-Meimad

Likud

Shas

Yisrael Beiteinu

National ReligiousPartyPensioners

United TorahJudaismMeretz-Yachad

United Arab Ta'al

K adima 28L abor-Meimad 13L ikud 27S has 11Y israel B eiteinu 15National R elig ious P arty 4P ens ioners 3United T orah J udaism 5Meretz-Y achad 3United Arab T a'al 4Hadash 3B alad 3

120 Member body (61 seats needed) Parties have 6 weeks to form govt 12 Parties (Likud appears set to form coalition)

•Likud 27•Yisrael Beitenu 15•Shas 11

53

"Today, the foundations of a right-wing extremist government under Netanyahu were set…The path of such a government is not our own and we have nothing to look for there.” Tzipi Livni, 19 Feb 09

West Bank / Gaza

Blockade continues• 40% unemployed• 750,000 receive UNRWA food aid• No petrol or diesel since Nov 2008 (except UN)• Half the required cooking gas allowed• Blocked items: light bulbs, candles, books,

musical instruments, crayons, clothing, shoes, mattresses, sheets, blankets, tea, coffee, chocolate, nuts, most building materials

Ramallah – West Bank• Jul 9, 2009 – Egyptian mediators held their first

West Bank talks with Hamas representatives in 3 years

• Talks aim at ending the two-year rift between Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas

• The rival Palestinian factions resumed reconciliation talks in February 2009

• Hamas and Fatah agreed to begin what they called a “final round” on July 25

Hamas representative Omar Abdel Razek

West Bank / Gaza

• 30 Dec 09 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Hosni Mubarak to discuss renewing Mideast Peace talks

• 3 Jan 10 – Saudi and Egyptian officials prompt Hamas toward reconciliation with Fatah; try to distance Hamas from Iran

• 7 Jan 10 – U.S. Envoy George Mitchell arrived in Israel; presented Palestinian representatives with two-year timetable for agreement based on 1967 borders

• 13 Dec 09 – London judge issues arrest warrant for Tzipi Livni for alleged war crimes during “Operation Cast Lead” (Gaza)

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya

Fatah President Mahmoud Abbas with U.S. Envoy George Mitchell

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu with Egyptian President Mubarak

IssuesIssues

• Hamas / Arab recognition of Israel’s right to exist

• Israeli settlements and fence in the West Bank

• Palestinian refugees / right to return (48 or 67?)

• Status of Jerusalem• Golan Heights (Syria)• Security

Palestinian Request for StatehoodPalestinian Request for Statehood

• Sep 2011 - Mahmoud Abbas submitted a request for full-statehood

• Security Council submits request to special committee

• UN, US, EU, Russia looking to re-start negotiations; give “time” for resolution before vote is held

• Could be many months

Questions?Questions?