Arab Crisis - Collapse of the Soviet Union

Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)

• Founded in 1964 to represent Palestinians and seek an independent Palestinian state.

• Led by Yasser Arafat for many years

Six-Day War

• A war in 1967 between Israel and neighbouring Arab states including Egyypt, Jordan, and Syria.
  Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, and Golan Heights;

Resolution 242

• A United Nations resolution passed after the Six-Day War in 1967.

• It called for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories and peaceful relations between states

Yom Kippur War

• A war in 1973 when Egypt and Syria attacked Israel during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.

• The conflict led to oil price rises and greater US-Soviet tensions

Camp David Accords

• Peace agreement signed in 1978 between Egypt and Israel with US support.

• Egypt and Israel agreed to peace talks with help from the United States

Balfour Declaration

• A 1917 British statement supporting a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

• It increased Jewish migration to Palestine during British control

Prague Spring

• A period of political reform in Czechoslovakia in 1968.

• Soviet troops invaded to stop reforms and keep communist control

Reagan

• Ronald Reagan was US President from 1981–1989 and strongly opposed communism.

• He increased military spending and called the USSR the “evil empire”

Glasnost

• A policy introduced by Gorbachev meaning “openness”.

• It allowed more freedom of speech and less government censorship

Perestroika

• An economic and political reform programme introduced by Gorbachev in the USSR

• It allowed limited private business and tried to improve the Soviet economy

Gorbachev

• Last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985–1991.

• His reforms helped end the Cold War but also led to the collapse of the Soviet Union