The Arab-Israeli Conflict 1948 – 1996

Origins of Tension

  • Review preliminary topic 'Origins of the Arab Israeli Conflict' for historical context.
  • Civil war erupted in Palestine following the UN vote on partitioning the region into two states.
    • Jewish people accepted the solution.
    • The Arab League did not.
  • The civil war escalated into a full-scale war when the British Mandate ended.
  • May 14, 1948: Britain withdrew troops from Palestine.
  • May 14, 1948: Jews declared the State of Israel.
  • May 15, 1948: Arab nations (Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq) declared war on Israel and invaded.
  • Conflict centers on:
    • Rival claims to territory.
    • Involvement of Cold War rivals (USA and Soviet Union) post-WWII.
    • Middle East as a major oil-producing region.
    • Britain's desire to protect access through the Suez Canal and extend influence in the Middle East after WWI.
  • 1915-16: Agreement between Britain and Arab leader Sharif Hussein to support Arabs if they revolted against the Turks.
    • Illustrated in the film Lawrence of Arabia.
    • T. E. Lawrence assisted Hussein’s son Faisal to capture Aqaba in July 1917.
  • 1916: Britain and France agreed to divide the Middle East into spheres of influence.
    • Palestine to be jointly ruled.
  • 1917: The Balfour Declaration supported a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
  • British Mandate: Post-WWI settlement.
    • France controlled Syria and Lebanon.
    • Britain controlled Iraq, Palestine, and Transjordan.
    • Palestine governed by the League of Nations as a mandate.
  • Britain encouraged Jewish migration.
  • Hitler’s anti-Semitism increased Jewish resettlement.
  • By 1940, Jews formed around 30% of Palestine’s population.
  • Arab peoples reacted with violence against Jewish settlement due to land loss to wealthy Jewish purchasers.
  • 1930s: Limitation of Jewish immigration and land purchases.
  • 1937: Recommendation to partition Palestine into Arab and Jewish areas, met with protests from both sides.
  • 1939: Limited Jewish immigration due to war in Europe.
  • Britain reneged on its agreement to assist in establishing a Jewish state, offering Arabs self-government to consolidate support before WWII.
  • Jewish support was considered a certainty due to Hitler’s animosity toward Jews.
  • Post-WWII: Increased sympathy for a Jewish homeland.
  • British withdrawal left the problem to the United Nations due to violence in Palestine.
  • Two-state solution suggested:
    • Partition of Arab and Jewish areas with Jerusalem as an international zone.
    • Accepted by Jews, rejected by Arabs.
  • Leads to the 'War of Independence' for the Jewish people and 'the Catastrophe' for the Palestinians. Representing the destruction of their community.

The Course of the 1948 War

  • Arab armies attacked along all borders of the Jewish state.
    • Egyptian forces attacked from the south, reaching the outskirts of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
    • Syrian, Lebanese, and Iraqi forces attacked from the north and north-east.
    • The Jordanian Arab Legion occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank by May 28.
  • The situation was perilous for the new state.
  • Israelis drove Arab armies out of the north, regained the Negev (except Gaza), and secured a corridor between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
  • Israelis unable to gain control of East Jerusalem.
  • Israeli Victory despite Arab numerical and military superiority.
  • War lasted from May 1948 to February 1949.
  • UN secured a truce; Israel and neighboring Arab states signed separate armistice agreements by July 1949.
  • Armistice agreements left many issues unresolved.
  • Israel occupied 20% more of Palestine than the UN had agreed on.
  • Israel refused to return to UN partition borders and would not permit Palestinian refugees to return home.
  • Arab states and Palestinians refused diplomatic recognition of Israel.
  • 150,000+ Palestinian Arabs remained resident in Israel.
  • Around 725,000 became refugees.
  • The war changed dynamics at a local and regional level.
  • Palestinians became stateless and destitute refugees.
  • The war marked the start of a regional conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
  • Major factors contributing to Israeli victory:
    • Strength of Israeli Forces.
    • Weakness of Palestinian Forces.
    • Lack of unity of Arab Forces.

Israeli Strengths

  • Acquisition of supplies when most needed.
  • Determination and ingenuity of Israeli fighters.
  • Strength of Jewish leadership.

Weakness of Palestinian Forces

  • Lack of training and experience.
  • Troop numbers.

Lack of Unity of Arab Forces

  • Poor cooperation between armies.
  • Arab leaders did not fully support Palestinians; Egypt and Transjordan pursued their own territorial ambitions.
  • Lebanon’s minimal participation.

Israeli and Palestinian Perspectives on the 1948 War

  • Zionist perspective: spirit and determination of the Yishuv (Jewish community in Palestine before Israel).

Consequences of the War for Israel and the Palestinians to 1967

  • Arab states remained in an official state of war with Israel despite armistice agreements.
  • Israel’s existence remained a source of anger across the region.
  • King Abdullah of Jordan annexed the West Bank, fueling antagonism among pan-Arab and Palestinian nationalists.
  • Initial appearance of Arab unity with the invasion of Palestine by five Arab armies.
  • Arab League's rhetoric of unity did not match the reality of disarray and disunity of its interstate politics.
  • Divisions among Arab leaders:
    • King ‘Abdullah coveted incorporating Palestine into his domain.
    • Syrians feared Jordan more than Israel.
    • Iraqis wanted to be senior partners in a Hashemite takeover.
    • Egyptians opposed Hashemite claims.
    • Ibn Sa’ud opposed the Hashemites.
  • The Arab armies’ failure to liberate Palestine dealt a blow to the pan-Arab nationalist movement.
  • Resentment towards Arab monarchs.
  • Israel's Arab population was 150,000 and the Jewish population was 600,000
  • Jewish population almost doubled by 1950
  • Influx of Holocaust survivors from Europe and Jews from some Arab countries.
  • Arab countries expelled over 700,000 Jews who were stripped of their homes, businesses, jobs and belongings.
  • Most settled in Israel.
  • Holocaust survivors gave the new state a strong unity of purpose and determination to survive.
  • Some Israelis saw parallels between Nazi genocidal policies and Arab governments’ rhetoric concerning Israel due to Arab collaboration with Nazi Germany during WWII.
  • Israel’s leaders believed that if they were not perceived to be strong, Israel would fall to Arab aggression, resulting in a ‘second Holocaust’.
  • Much of Israel’s foreign policy is explained by this attitude.

Jerusalem as a Divided City

  • Agreement between Jordan and Israel on July 22, 1948, created a “no man’s land” on the Jerusalem front.
  • July 26, 1948: Israel announced West Jerusalem as Israeli territory.
  • December 11, 1949: Knesset declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel.
  • The majority of the Old City was under Jordanian control.
  • Thousands of Jews forcibly removed from East Jerusalem by Jordanians.
  • Jews were not permitted to visit holy sites, including the Western Wall.
  • Jewish holy sites and cemeteries were desecrated by Jordanian soldiers.
  • Slums were erected in front of the Western Wall until the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

Absence of a State of Palestine

  • Over 700,000 Palestinians became refugees (60% of the population) in 1949.
  • Ten major towns and 418 villages fell into Israel’s hands.
  • Egypt held Gaza Strip under military occupation.
  • Jordanians occupied and annexed the West Bank.
  • King Abdullah held elections for Jordanian parliament in 1950.
  • Jordan was considered the ‘trustee of Palestine’ until the 1967 War.
  • Only 150,000 of the 850,000 Palestinians remained in Israel.
  • Most became refugees in:
    • Jordan and the West Bank - 38%38\%
    • Egypt and Gaza Strip - 26%26\%
    • Lebanon - 14%14\%
    • Syria - 10%10\%
  • This made up the core of the Palestinian ghurba (diaspora).
  • Israel refused to allow their return or offer reparations.
  • Some continue to live in refugee camps today.

Political and Social Issues in Arab-Israeli Relations in 1967

  • In Israel, the focus was on nation-building.
  • The kibbutz movement encouraged immigration to create a strong homeland.
  • Desire to take over the West Bank caused tension within Israel.
  • Strong desire for Jerusalem to be part of Israel.
  • Palestinians lost the opportunity to form their own state and were denied the right to return to their land and homes.
  • Palestinian frustration led to being supported by the Fedayeen (Arab guerilla fighters from refugee camps).
  • Arab neighbors refused to recognize the new state.
  • Arabs claimed Israel was responsible for a policy of ‘ethnic cleansing’.
  • Arab States and Palestinian leadership demanded unlimited, unconditional ‘right to return’ for refugees.
  • Arab States prohibited assimilation of Palestinian refugees (except Jordan).
  • This added to their sense of alienation and humiliation at being a stateless people.
  • Many Palestinian refugees did not want to be resettled in neighboring countries.
  • Fedayeen attacks across the border were a constant source of tension for the Israelis.
  • In February 1955, Israelis attacked an Egyptian army base in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of thirty-nine Egyptian soldiers.
  • During 1955, the fedayeen claimed 238 Israeli lives.
  • In 1956, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal and blocked it and the Straits of Tiran to Israel-bound shipping.
  • Attacks on Israel from Gaza intensified.
  • Israel joined France and England in a military campaign against Egypt, and Israeli forces reached the Canal.
  • In 1957 Israel withdrew from Sinai on the basis of international guarantees of freedom of navigation and the presence of a UN peacekeeping force.
  • During the 1950s, the Soviet Union turned away from the pro-Western Israel and began to court the Arab nations of the region.
  • Arms deals were concluded, such as that with the Egyptian President Nasser in 1955, designed to encourage the anti-Western face of Arab nationalism.
  • The USA deliberately maintained a low profile in the region and did not want to display the heavily pro-Israel stance of later years.
  • For Israel, the 1956 Suez War was very successful which reopened the Gulf of Aqaba was reopened to Israeli shipping and its border with Egypt was secured with the UNEF stationed in the Sinai.
  • Further, Israel’s prospects for long-term survival were enhanced by its acquisition of nuclear technology.
  • The 1956 Suez War was also a success for Egypt’s President Nasser, enhancing his reputation as a defender of pan-Arab nationalism.
  • His conflict with other Arab leaders grew.
  • In 1964 the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) was formed by the Arab League