WHIB Israeli War of Independence, Suez Crisis, Six-Day War

Alternate Names for Israeli War of Independence

1948 Palestine War, Nakba

Cause of Israeli War of Independence

• Partition Plan

• Deir Yassin Massacre

• Neighboring Arab nations wanted to expand

• Israel declaring independence

Partition Plan

UN plan to split the Palestine Mandate into an Arab and a Jewish state.

Deir Yassin

1948 massacre of 100+ Palestinians by the Irgun and Lehi, led to retaliation on the Hadassah Medical Convoy

Effects of Israeli War of Independence

• Israeli becomes a nation

• 750k Arabs displaced

• Jordan annexed West Bank and East Jerusalem

• IDF formed from militias

• Jewish people expelled from some Arab nations

• Egypt took control of Gaza

How did the Israeli War of Independence end?

Separate armistice treaties were signed with each of the Arab powers

Green Line

Borders of Israel between 1949 and 1967

Israeli Challenges Post-Independence

• Influx of Jewish immigrations due to Law of Return

• Lack of infrastructure

• Had to establish a government

• Lack of resources

• Conflict with Arab neighbors

Original Owner of the Suez Canal

The Suez Canal Company and its British and French investors

Change in Britain’s Influence Pre-Suez Crisis

Declining

Suez Canal’s Importance

Connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean

Which superpower was Egypt aligned with?

Neither, Nasser was part of the Non-Aligned Movement

Eisenhower Doctrine

US doctrine of aiding Middle Eastern nations

David Ben-Gurion

1st Prime Minister of Israel

Chaim Weizmann

1st President of Israel

Anthony Eden

British Prime Minister during Suez Crisis

Which nations persuaded Israel to invade the Sinai Peninsula?

Britain, France

Simultaneous Closures when Suez Canal was Nationalized

Canal closed to Israeli ships and blockaded Straits of Tiran

What Egyptian movement was Nasser part of?

The Free Officers Movement

Free Officers

Egyptian nationalist revolution that brought Nasser to power. Led by veterans from the Israeli War of Independence

Protocol of Sevres

Secret agreement between Britain, France, and Israel. Planned for Israel to invade Egypt and GB and FR to intervene and seize the canal.

FR simultaneously agreed to supply Israel’s Negev Nuclear Research Center with uranium.

Negev Nuclear Research Center

Israeli nuclear reactor. FR agreed to supply it with uranium during the signing of the Protocol of Sevres. Most likely produced Israel’s first nuclear weapon before the Six Day War.

Year of the Suez Crisis

1956

UN Resolution 997

US-proposed resolution calling for Israel to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Crisis. Vetoed by GB and FR.

United Nations Emergency Force

UN peacekeeping force in Sinai Peninsula after Suez Crisis

End of the Suez Crisis

Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin threatened to launch missiles. Eisenhower demanded withdrawal.

The US denied GB’s request for aid from the IMF and prepared to sell its Sterling Bonds (GB government bonds).

Saudi Arabia placed an oil embargo on GB and FR.

Anthony Eden announced a ceasefire.

Effects of the Suez Crisis

• GB stops being a superpower

• USSR shuts down Hungarian Revolution of 1956 without intrnational outrage (world was distracted)

• Growth of Pan-Arabism

• Khrushchev learns that nuclear blackmail works, leading to the Berlin Crisis and Cuban Missile Crisis

• Almost half the Egyptian Jewish community was expelled

• UN Peacekeepers in Sinai Peninsula

• USSR becomes closer to Arab nations

United Arab Republic

Merger of Egypt and Syria under Nasser. Lasted until the 1961 Syrian coup

United Arab Command

Military alliance of Arab nations. Lasted through the Six Day War

Arab League

Organization of Arab nations. Founded 1945

Six Day War Year

1967

Start of the Six Day War

USSR gave Nasser false rumors that Israel would invade Syria.

Nasser expels UN Peacekeepers and amasses troops along Israel’s southern border. Also blockades the Straits of Tiran.

Israel launched Operation Focus

Operation Focus

Opening strike of the Six Day War by Israel. Airstrike that destroyed much of the Arab air forces

Israeli Land Gains in Six Day War

Golan Heights, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, East Jerusalem (including holy sites), West Bank

Effects of Six Day War

• 75k Arabs displaced

• Israel gains land (see other card)

• Nasser tries to resign

• Israel becomes strongest nation in ME

• Start of the Israel-Palestine Conflict

• Khartoum Resolution

• USSR (except Romania) ceased diplomatic relations with Israel

• UN Resolution 242

Khartoum Resolution

AKA 3 No’s Policy: No peace, no recognition, no negotiation with Israel

UN Resolution 242

Started land for peace: Israel would return occupied land in exchange for peace (didn’t happen)