1. The Middle East Conflict Palestine-Israel

4. Ancient Israel Around 1500 BC, Jewish tribes fled from persecution in Egypt and settled in their new homeland which they called Israel. (Moses, the Exodus in the Old Testament) Their kings included David and Solomon who ruled from Jerusalem In AD 135 the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and expelled the Jews in the DIASPORA

5. Jerusalem Jerusalem is a holy city for three religions The Jews worship at the wall of Solomon’’s Temple Muslims pray at the Dome of the Rock Christianity was centred around events in Jerusalem

6. The Diaspora After the Jews were exiled from Israel they drifted to many countries. They were expelled from Western Europe in the Middle Ages. The largest group settled in Russia and Poland They were often persecuted

7. The Arabs in Palestine After the Jews vacated Israel their place was taken by the Arabs and their homeland was called Palestine. In the 7 th century they were converted to Islam. For 400 years they were ruled by the Ottoman Turks, until the First World War The Turkish Empire

8. Zionism In the 19 th century a world wide movement of Jews called for a national homeland for the Jews, a return to the “Promised Land”. This was the Zionist movement (“Zion” means Jerusalem). Between 1880 and 1914 60,000 Zionists settled in Palestine and bought land.

9. British Mandate Palestine became a British mandate after World War I. The British promised Palestine to the Jews and to the Arabs. By 1939 there were 450,000 Jews in Palestine and the Arabs were in rebellion. After World War II the British tried to prevent thousands of Jews arriving. In 1947 the British handed over Palestine to the UN.

10. Israel’s Independence 1948 In 1947 the United Nations voted to partition Palestine and create two states: Israel and Palestine

11. Israel’s Prime Ministers

12. First Arab-Israeli War 1948 In May 1948 five Arab countries attacked Israel Israel captured Arab territory which it has held ever since Palestine disappeared and 700,000 Palestinian refugees fled from Israel and settled in neighboring countries

13. The Suez War 1956 Colonel Nasser seized power in Egypt in 1952. In 1956 Nasser seized the Suez Canal from the British Israel joined Britain and France in a war against Egypt. They advanced towards Suez. They were condemned by the US and UN. They withdrew. Nasser was a hero

14. Arafat and the PLO The Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) was created in 1964, aiming to destroy Israel and form an independent Palestinian state. Arafat became their leader in 1968. The PLO’s army of freedom fighters was called Fatah.

15. The Six Day War June 1967 Israel was under pressure from Nasser and the Syrians In 1967 Israel launched a surprise attack Israel seized more Arab land: Sinai, Gaza, West Bank and Golan Heights – known as “The Occupied Territories”

16. Palestinian Terrorism In the 1970s, to bring the world’s attention to their cause, a number of Palestinian groups resorted to terrorism: airplane hijackings and taking hostages at the Munich Olympics

17. The Yom Kippur War 1973 In 1973 Egypt and Syria launched another war on Israel, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur The Arabs did not succeed in driving Israel from the occupied territories, but they did discover a new weapon: OIL

18. Lebanon Explodes In the 1970s thousands of PLO Fatah fighters moved into southern Lebanon and launched attacks on Israel. In 1975 the Lebanese army attacked the PLO. A civil war erupted between Christians and Muslims. The Syrian army invaded. Israel entered the war and remained there for 10 years. Beirut was left in ruins

19. Camp David Peace Agreement In 1979 President Carter brought the Israeli and Egyptian leaders together to make peace. Israel handed back Sinai to Egypt and both countries exchanged ambassadors

20. The Peace Process Beginning in 1991 the peace process reached its climax in 1993 when President Clinton brought Arafat and Rabin together to sign a peace agreement. Israel accepted the Palestinian right to govern West Bank and Gaza and Arafat agreed to recognize Israel’s right to exist.

21. The Palestinian Authority The agreement of 1993 established the Palestinian Authority with Arafat as president The PA is centred on the West Bank and Gaza

22. Jewish Settlements Since the 6 Day War Jews have been moving into the occupied territories and building settlements. Palestinians have protested and attacked the settlers Israeli governments have supported the settlers. Today there are dozens of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza

23. Barak-Arafat Talks Fail 2001 In his final month as president, January 2001, Bill Clinton brought Israeli PM Barak and Palestinian Authority president, Arafat together for one last attempt to reach a settlement. Clinton blamed Arafat for the failure of these talks

24. 9/11/01 Al Queda’s attacks on Sept 11, 2001 were, in part, an attack on US support of Israel President Bush declared war on Terrorism. Arafat and the Palestinian fighters were classed as terrorists

25. Sharon Walks on the Temple Mount When Ariel Sharon walked on the Temple Mount on 28 September 2001 the Palestinians rioted. Soon after Sharon beat Barak in the general election Sharon claimed he would be tough on terrorism

26. The Second Intifada A full scale Palestinian uprising, the Intifada, has been underway since 2001 Sharon has labeled the Palestinian fighters “terrorists” He refused to talk to Arafat and came close to bombing his HQ Sharon built a fence along the Israel-West Bank border to keep the “terrorists out” WheWhe

27. Hamas Hamas has split from Arafat’s Palestinian Authority and wants to destroy Israel. Hamas fighters are the suicide bombers

28. Since the Death of Arafat Since Arafat died in December 2004 the Palestinian situation looks more hopeful: Since Arafat died in December 2004 the Palestinian situation looks more hopeful: 1. Both Sharon and Bush are talking to the new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas 2. Sharon has recently forced Jewish settlements out of Gaza

29. Summary 1948-1976: War and terrorism 1977-2001: Negotiation and peace 2001-now: War and terrorism Why did the peace process break down? Arafat’s failure to compromise Arafat’s failure to compromise Sharon’s reluctance to make peace Sharon’s reluctance to make peace Bush’s lack of involvement Bush’s lack of involvement Extremist Arabs fed up with everyone Extremist Arabs fed up with everyone