Notes on the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Israeli and Palestinian Perspectives on the 1948 Arab-Israeli War

  • Israeli Perspective:
    • Belief that they were surrounded by enemies who would attack and drive them into the sea.
  • Palestinian Perspective:
    • Secretary of the Arab League: No peace without recognizing Israel's existence, which would be admitting defeat.

Background to the 1948 War

  • Early 1949: The First Arab-Israeli War ended with a series of armistices between Israel and neighboring Arab states.
  • Ceasefire lines became known as the Green Line.
    • Israel asserted sovereignty over these lines.
    • Egypt and Jordan occupied Gaza and the West Bank.
  • Armistices lessened intensity/tension.
  • Defeat Shocked Arab States:
    • Demonstrated weakness and division.
    • Increased anti-Western sentiment.
  • No permanent peace was achieved, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach an agreement.

Consequences of the War for Israel and the Palestinians to 1967

  • December 1948: Israel controlled most of Mandate Palestine west of the River Jordan.
  • February 24, 1949: Egypt first to sign an armistice with Israel, followed by others.
  • Israel admitted to the UN in 1949, with Jerusalem declared as the capital.
    • Israel gained its own territory and 60% of the land proposed to Arab states, including Jaffa, Lydda, Ramie, Galilee, parts of the Negev Desert, West Jerusalem, and lands on the West Bank.
    • Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip.
    • The Jericho Conference of December 1948 demanded the unification of Palestine and Transjordan, but no separate state was provided for Palestinian Arabs.
    • 750,000 people became refugees (UN aided).
    • Estimated 700,000 Jews immigrated.

The Suez War/Sinai War (1956)

  • Sinai occupied by Israeli forces, who eventually withdrew under US and Soviet pressure.
  • Demonstrates Israel’s establishment as a state and its engagement in territorial expansion.
  • Nasser unexpectedly nationalized the Suez Canal in July 1956.
  • Britain and France (major shareholders in the Suez Canal Company) were outraged.
    • In 1955, ⅓ of all ships using the canal were British.
    • The Middle East supplied nearly 80% of Europe’s oil, and 45% of this reached Europe through the Suez Canal.
    • British determined to regain control, supported by the French government.
  • Israelis secretly agreed to join the war against Nasser.
    • Signed secret agreement ‘Sevres Protocol’:
      • Israel would use Fedayeen raids as a reason to invade Sinai and move in on the Canal Zone.
      • France and Britain would issue an ultimatum requesting both Israel and Egypt to withdraw 16km from the canal.
      • Egypt rejected the Anglo-French ultimatum, and the UN called for Israel’s withdrawal.
      • Britain and France refused, revealing themselves as the aggressors.
  • More than 100,000 Israeli soldiers were mobilized.
  • On October 29, 1956, Israeli troops, supported by France and Britain, advanced towards the Canal.
  • The Soviet Union threatened to use ‘every kind of modern destructive weapon’ to stop the violence, leading the British government to agree to a cease-fire.
  • The United States was disgruntled with Britain, France & Israel.
    • Threatened to discontinue American assistance and push for Israeli expulsion from the UN if they did not return captured land.

Impact & Outcomes of the Suez War

  • The international image of Britain, France, and Israel was tarnished
  • US & Israeli relations strained
  • The UN & US joined forces and stopped conflict
  • Israel returned Gaza and Sinai
  • UN forces set up in Gaza, Sinai, and Gulf of Aqaba, allowing Israeli ships.
  • Use of the Suez Canal would be decided by Egypt.

Results of the Suez Crisis 1956

  • Very little changed between Arab Israelis.
  • Egypt maintained desire for revenge and no peace within the region.
  • The US and UN guaranteed freedom of passage through the Gulf of Aqaba, allowing Israel to receive oil shipped secretly from Iran.
  • Gamal Abdul Nasser emerged as a hero and as the symbol of pan-Arabism and its stand against imperialism, colonialism, and Zionism.
  • Arab nationalism became an important factor in the domestic politics of most Arab countries.
  • An inflated sense of Arab solidarity led to further problems with Israel.

The Israeli Consequences

  • Territorial Gains:
    • Expanded 20% more than UN resolution (56%).
    • Israelis gained about 77% total.
    • Israel refused to return to UN resolution borders.
    • Arab states refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist.
  • Increase of Jewish Migration:
    • Laws provided that every Jew was entitled to immigrate to Israel as of right.
    • By 1975, ½ a million Jews who lived in Arab states settled in Israel.
    • Jews had been expelled from their homes by disgruntled Arab governments, giving Israelis a morale high ground to refuse Palestinian refugees.
    • Many Jews left on their own accord, finding Israel attractive.
    • Zionist agents in Iraq planted bombs to make Jews believe they were under threat.

The Palestinian Consequences

  • Loss of Palestine State:
    • Palestinian Arabs no longer had any of the original territory.
    • Transjordan didn't want a Palestinian state
    • King Abdullah saw 1948 war as an opportunity to gain control of the West bank
    • Egypt didn't want a Palestinian state → wanted to gain control of Gaza strip.
  • Palestinian Refugees:
    • Around 726,000 Palestinians became refugees.
    • Arab defeat meant that weeks/months in camps turned into years.
    • Settled in refugee camps in the surrounding Arab countries, including West Bank and Gaza Strip.
    • Arab nations now had the material consequence of the 1948 war, whereby they had the unwanted responsibility for Palestinian refugees (economically).
    • Lived in appalling condition: little sanitation, no sewerage, little healthcare.
    • Opportunities for refugees differed depending social class.
      • Skilled Palestinian’s: Businessman/Professionals resulted in large Arab cities
      • Unskilled Palestinians: peasants, ended up in refugee camps.
    • Gaza strip/West Bank: lived in squalid cramped conditions.
    • Arab historians say that Palestinians were pushed out.
    • Israeli historians say they fled
    • Refused the right to return home, as they left on their own accord.
    • Argued Jews had been “expelled” from other Arab nations → “Refugee Swap” which was manufactured by Zionists
    • Argued that the returnees would constitute a subversive fifth column (enemies within your borders).
    • Post-Zionists say Haganah had a policy of ‘ethnic cleansing’ → to expel Arab communities and expand the borders of Israel.
      • Haganah organised Plan Dalet (D) to expel Arab population from Jewish lands (did this through attacking Arab villages e.g. Deir Yassin massacre
      • 254 Palestinians killed reported by Irgun in the hope of creating panic amongst Arabs
      • Whereas, Arabs adopted this figure hoping to fuel anger and resistance → result = Arab fled in fear.
      • Hence Haganah and Irgun (Jewish Gangs) were responsible for refugee crisis
  • Palestinians remaining in Israel:
    • More than 160,000 Palestinians stayed in Israel.
    • Israel has always maintained that Palestinians were treated well
      • The Nationality Law 1951 allowed Palestinian men and women to vote
      • Could run for public office & enjoyed some basic rights as Jews
    • Palestinians had a different view
      • They did not enjoy the basic rights afforded to Jews.
      • From 1949-1966 under Defence Regulations → all Palestinian areas were placed underthe control of a military commander who had power to exile, arrest and detain individuals without reason
      • Palestinians forbidden to move outside area without permission
      • Palestinians also claimed they were being discriminated → few educational and employment opportunities and Israeli infrastructure and development programs ignored in Arab areas

Political and Social Issues in Arab-Israeli Relations in 1967

  • Conflict and Hostility Between Arab and Israel:
    • Refusal of Arabs to recognize the existence of the state of Israel and refused to sign a peace treaty.
    • Refusal of Israelis to recognize Palestine
  • Rise of Pan-Arab Nationalism:
    • Despite armies being defeated, Egyptian president Nasser was viewed as a symbol of Arab resistance to imperialism, colonialism and zionism and became a champion of the pan-Arab nationalism movement
    • All Arab states united and identify as Arabs
  • The Creation of the PLO:
    • Palestinians formed themselves into guerilla groups → irregular forces who made attacks on Israeli border settlements
    • The recruits from the refugee camps became known as fedayeen (sacrificed themselves)
    • President Nasser of Egypt helped create the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) in 1964 → to take control of fedayeen groups that had formed after the 1948 war → feared they would drag Egypt into another war with Israel
      • PLO would attempt to control and coordinate the ‘armed struggle’
    • King Hussein of Jordan was not keen on the creation of the PLO to represent the Palestinians → he had a lot to lose and felt that it would place him under pressure in his own country (feared PLO could threaten his rule over the Palestinians)
  • Formation of Fatah and Fedayeen Attacks:
    • Most guerrilla operations against Israel were conducted by Fatah
      • Fatah (Movement for the Liberation of Palestine) was founded by Yasser Arafat
      • Fatah members believed that force was the only way to liberate Palestine
    • Fatah launched fedayeen raids
  • Palestinian Fedayeen believed that they had a right to return to their homeland and had been operating from the Gaza Strip since the end of the 1948 War → encouraged and armed by Nasser.
  • Fedayeen attacks across the border (e.g. from Gaza) were a constant source of tension for Israelis → concerns Nasser so creates PLO.
    • Clashes over the course of 1955 intensified and claimed 238 Israeli lives
  • Israel retaliated → Guerilla raids (Arab states of head encourage Palestinians to enter Israel and reclaim their possessions)
  • Israel hoped that their policy of reprisal attacks would force the neighbouring Arab governments to prevent Palestinian raids into Israel to protect their own citizens.
  • As time went on the Fatah were soon influencing the PLO → role had changed
  • Palestinian Refugess
    • No solution to the refugee problem → Palestinians became stateless people (Israel refused to acknowledge the rights of Arabs)
    • Israel would not accept the refugees, emphasising the small size of Israel arguing that:
      • As Arabs, the displaced Palestinians could easily find homes in neighbouring states
      • Israel pointed that large number of Jews had been expelled from Arab countries
      • The returnees, due to their hostility towards the Jewish state, would constitute a subversive fifth column (dedicated to the destruction of the state)

Causes, Course and Consequences of the 1967 (Six Day) War

  • Background:
    • Egypt's President Nasser continued to dominate Middle Eastern affairs and carry out his reform programme in Egypt, giving land to peasants, building new factories and working on the Aswan Dam.
    • Palestinian Arabs were still living in refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt and had formed their own resistance groups
    • Israel was becoming stronger and could rely upon the support of France, Britain and the USA.
    • While the US supplied Israel with weapons, the USSR gave missiles, tanks and planes to the Egyptians, Syrians and Iraqis.
  • Growth of Arab-Nationalism:
    • The 1950s saw the establishment of new regimes in many of the Arab states. Many of the new leaders rose from the ranks of the military and championed the cause of the Palestinians. Many of them believed that the Palestinian cause could be pursued if the Arab states coordinated their efforts to defeat Israel. In 1967 this opportunity came.
    • The 1967 war was an example of this unity. Egypt, Syria and Jordan attempted to co-ordinate their force to block Israel, but were disastrously defeated.
  • Causes of the War:
    • In 1966, tension between Syria and Israel grew, with Syrian troops firing on an Israeli farmer at the border. The Israeli airforce bombed Syria and shot down Syrian fighter planes.
    • In May 1967, the Soviet Union informed Syria and Egypt that Israel was planning to invade Syria. Therefore, Egypt sent troops and arms to Syria.
    • Nasser ordered the withdrawal of the UN security force from Egypt's Sinai territory, closed the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli ships again and announced that what he wanted was the destruction of Israel.
    • The Israeli government was now faced with eight Arab states ready to attack, so it formed a Government of National Unity and Moshe Dayan became the Minister for Defence. He decided the best form of defence was attack.
  • Course of the War:
    • May 1967, President Nasser received reports from the USSR that Israel was massing troops on its border with Syria.
      • The reports were untrue, but Nasser began to gather his own troops on the Israeli border in the Sinai. The Syrians were also preparing for war, and King Hussein of Jordan put his army under Egyptian control. Towards the end of May, Nasser closed the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli ships.
    • Describing this as an act of war, the Israelis formed a National Unity Government and at 7.45 am on 5 June, Israeli planes launched a massive surprise airstrike that destroyed the Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian Air Forces before they could leave the ground. Around 450 aircraft were wrecked and 18 Egyptian airfields were put out of use, and the Israelis also quickly occupied the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt was beaten in three days, allowing the Israelis to attack Syria and Jordan. Within three days they had defeated them, too. They captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Jordan. They began to build settlements on the land they had captured, which has been a point of contention between the Arabs and Israelis ever since.
    • The UN imposed a cease-fire on 10 June.
  • Consequences of the War:
    • Israel had achieved a dramatic victory. The major consequence was that it now occupied the Sinai, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
    • Palestinians found themselves under Israeli rule in these territories. Some fled to Jordan, adding to the refugee numbers already there.
    • On 22 November 1967, the UN passed Resolution 242: Israel was to withdraw from territories it had taken, the Arab states should recognise Israel's right to exist and the Palestinian refugees should receive fair treatment.
    • While Egypt and Jordan accepted the UN resolution, Syria rejected it and Israel remained in the Occupied Territories, arguing that they were now vital to its security.
  • Israeli perspective:
    • The speed and extent of Israel's victory in the Six Day War generated confidence and pride within Israel. This had a number of consequences:
      • The Israeli defence forces gained respect and enormous influence within Israeli society.
      • Israel was established as the strongest military power in the Middle East.
      • This, in time, would contribute to a change in perception, with Israel losing its vulnerable status and coming to be seen in some quarters as an aggressor.
  • Arab perspective:
    • Following the second major defeat of Arab armies, Palestinians were now more inclined than ever to turn to terrorism to advance their cause.

Creation, Aims, Methods and Role of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) 1964-1974

  • The Creation of the PLO:

    • In 1964, in a meeting held in Cairo initiated by the Egyptian President, Nasser, 13 Arab leaders agreed on the formation of an organization representing the Palestinian people. This organization adopted the name the Palestinian Liberation Organization (the PLO). The organization’s first chairman was Ahmad Shuqayrī.
    • The organization's national Charter stated that Palestine, as it existed under the British mandate, is the homeland of the Palestinian Arab people and Palestinian Arabs possess a legal right to its homeland.
    • The PLO is made up of a number of different organisations. The Fatah, the group founded by Yasser Arafat, is the largest group within the PLO. Yasser Arafat became the chairman of the PLO in 1969 and remained in that office until his death in 2004.
    • Up to the 1967 War, the Palestinian cause had been championed by the Arab states and the Palestinians were regarded as too insignificant and weak to defend their case themselves. The defeat in the 1967 War was a turning point. It underlined the incapacity of the Arab states and demonstrated to Palestinians that they needed to take the matters into their own hands.

  • The Structure of the PLO:

    • The Palestine National Council (PNC):
      • This branch of the PLO is considered the highest authority. Among its many responsibilities, the PNC sets policies, elects the Executive Committee and Board of Council and makes membership decisions.
    • The Executive Committee:
      • This committee oversees daily affairs, maintains a budget and represents the PLO internationally. Members carry out policies set forth by the PNC and Central Council.
    • Central Council:
      • The Central Council has 124 members that serve as an intermediary between the PNC and the Executive Committee.
    • Palestine Liberation Army (PLA):
      • This official military branch of the PLO was first created in 1964.

  • PLO Aims and Role:

    • Initially the PLO had two major aims:
      1. The elimination of the state of Israel.
      2. The creation, in the territory between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea, of a Palestine national state.
    • These aims were gradually adapted, and the PLO eventually accepted Israel’s right to exist but still continued to fight for Palestinian autonomy.
    • Though isolated incicdents of terrorism still continued to occur, for example:
      • The hijacking of 8 Jewish passengers on an Air France in 1976, who were rescued by Israeli commandos.
    • From 1973 onwards more moderate views began to emerge among the Palestinian leadership and instead of insisting on the complete elimination of Israel, talk of a mini-Palestinian state emerged.

  • Similarly, the PLO’s methods changed over time:

    • In the 1960s it was committed to terrorism to achieve its aims.
    • By the end of the 1970s, the PLO was moving towards a position where it would be prepared to compromise and use more traditional diplomacy. As the goal was moderated, so to were the methods and the Palestinians turned more to politics rather than terrorism.

  • PLO and Terrorism proved to be more successful in attracting attention for their cause/arms struggle of Palestinian people

    • Yasser Arafat/Rise of the Fatah:
      • 1969 Arafat became chairman of the PLO
      • Fatah leader Yasser Arafat had always held the view that Israel would be defeated only by means of a long guerilla war carried out by Palestinians themselves
      • The horrific living conditions in the refugee camps and the confiscation of Arab land in the occupied territories led many to join Arafat’s Fatah
      • Fatah launched wave upon wave of guerilla attacks into Israeli territory One of the Fatah’s aims was to get maximum publicity for their struggle to win back Palestine e.g. The Battle of Karameh
      • Battle of Karameh:
        • Had become the Fatah headquarters
        • As fedayeen raids and sabotage across the river increased, the Israelis began to bombard Karamech with shells and air attacks
        • 18 March 1968 a Fedayeen bomb blew up an Israeli School bus → 2 children killed, 28 injured
        • Despite Israel’s military superiority the Palestinians fought bravely and heroically
        • Their losses were heavy but when news spread of their courageous stand Fatah centres throughout the Arab world saw an increase in recruits
        • For the Palestinian fighters, Karamech was their finest hour
        • After the battle Fedayeen activity increased → hundreds of new recruits
        • The wave of publicity made it possible for Fatah and Fedayeen to take full control of the PLO

  • PFLP/Dawson’s Field Hijackings/Jordanian Civil War

    • 60% of the Jordanian population were Palestinians
      • The Palestinians were no happier with King Hussein than they were with the Israelis → many gravitated toward the PLO
      • Attacks against Israel were launched from Jordan and so Jordan became the target for Israeli counter-attacks
      • King Hussein and the government feared that the PLO was overrunning the country and becoming ‘a state within a state’
      • Arafat understood the risks → Hussein could turn his well trained army against the PLO, and so Arafat was able to prevent his organisation from expressing all out defiance of Hussein’s government
    • Dawson’s Field Hijacking
      • Unable to control his freedom fighters → there were some fedayeen splinter groups organised outside his authority
        • The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
        • Believed in more extreme methods
      • They believed the route to liberating Palestine was through terrorism in Europe and America not just Israel
      • Four international airlines were taken (USA, Britain, Swiss) and forced down in Dawson’s field (East Jordan)
        • Passengers held hostage for three days
        • Habbish: ’It brought palestinian problem to the notice of the world’
        • The PLO was driven out of Jordan

  • Jordanian Civil War

    • PFLP terror attacks, influenced Hussein to drive the PLO out of Jordan.
    • Jordanian army attacked PLO strongholds → emerging victorious
    • PLO retreated to Syria and then moved to Lebanon (Headquarters = Beirut)

  • Munich Olympics - Black September

    • Hussein’s actions did not crush Palestinian terrorism, rather it radicalised it
      • What emerged from the Jordanian Civil War was the new Fatah terrorist splinter group, ‘Black September’
        • Aim was to take revenge on Jordan
      • November 1971, killed Jordanian Prime Minister Wafsi Tal
      • Munich Olympics
        • Took hostage Israeli athletes (11 killed)
        • Benefited as it was broadcasted globally = maximum coverage for PLO
        • Anti-Palestinian cause increased in the west
        • Arafat’s hopes of winning international sympathy declined, he declared acts of terrorism must be suppressed, besides attacks against Israel Effectiveness of the PLO:
        • In assessing the PLO's effectiveness it could be noted that it had brought together a number of Palestinian groups under a single leadership and Yasser Arafat gained status as a leader of the Palestinian people.
        • While some would argue that the PLO's terrorist acts helped to draw attention to the plight of the Palestinian people, terrorism also alienated influential opinion in the west, helped to destabilise Israel's Arab neighbours and ultimately failed to advance the Palestinian cause.
        • In the decades after 1974, nevertheless, Arafat and the PLO were able to move away from terrorism and engage in a peace process that had the potential to benefit the Palestinian people.
        • Unfortunately, while the PLO became more moderate, other extremist groups emerged to challenge the PLO's leadership i.e. Hamas (they are often in the news!)
        • Yasser Arafat/Rise of the Fatah:
          • Ineffective with small guerilla attacks, however Arafat’s clear aims of maximum publicity attracted many Palestinian refugees, providing hope and an escape from the horrific living conditions

  • Battle of Karameh

    • Extremely effective as Fatah were besieged with new recruits
    • Karamech considered Fatah’s finest hour, despite the heavy loss
    • The wave of publicity made it possible for Fatah and Fedayeen to take full control of the PLO

  • PFLP/Dawson’s Field Hijack

    • Extremely effective for maximum publicity, as the world took notice
    • Ineffective as Palestinian sympathy was lost
    • Ineffective as it led to the PLO being driven out of Jordan by King Hussein

  • Jordanian Civil War

    • Ineffective as the PLO driven out of Jordan / Arafat’s lacked control of splinter groups
    • Ineffective due to Bloody battles which resulted in heavy loss of life

  • Munich Olympics / Black September

    • Extremely effective for maximum publicity, as the world took notice
    • Ineffective as Anti-Palestinian cause increased in the west
    • Ineffective as International sympathy declining Arafat on the World Stage:
      • In 1974 the PLO gained greater status during a meeting of Arab nations at Rabat in Morocco where it was agreed that only the PLO could officially speak for the Palestinians.
      • In October 1974 the UN voted to recognise the PLO officially as the representative of the Palestinians and, in the following month, Yasser Arafat was invited to address the UN in Geneva.
      • He ended his speech: Today I have come bearing an olive branch (a symbol of peace) and a freedom lighter's gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.
      • By the 1980s the PLO was legitimised internationally by recognition from many states, including the Soviet Union and Vatican City. Israel and the USA, however, continued to refuse recognition of or negotiations with the PLO, which they regarded as a 'terrorist' group. Israel remained unresponsive to any moderation
      • in the PLO's policies, regarding this as merely a gesture to gain more support in Western eyes. (missing results for both and UN resolution)

Causes, Courses and Consequences of the 1973 (Yom Kippur) War, including the Camp David Treaty

  • Background:
    • Egypt, supported by the USSR, essentially resumed conflict with Israel in 1968.
    • Egyptian President Nasser declared a war of attrition and the Suez Canal remained closed to ships.
    • Both Israeli and Egyptian troops continued to attack one another across the border, but by 1970 both sides were forced to agree to a cease-fire.
    • Anwar Sadat, who had succeeded Nasser in 1970, saw the reopening of the Suez Canal as very important to Egypt's economic situation. He also saw that the way to reverse Egypt's defeat was to push the Israelis out of Sinai, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
    • He signed a defence treaty with the USSR and received Soviet weapons. Syria and Egypt now planned an attack on Israel.
    • In 1973 the region was hit by another war, the Yom Kippur war or the