Conflicts in the Middle East

What are the causes of conflict in the Middle East? The Middle East has vast oil resources, key waterways, and land that is holy to three major world religions. For decades it has been the focus of conflicts that have a global impact. Disputes over access to oil and waterways and the conflict between Israelis and Palestinian Arabs have added to tensions.

Israel has fought four major wars with its Arab neighbors. Arab states attacked in 1948, as soon as Israel declared itself a nation. Other wars occurred in 1956, 1967, and 1973. In the 1973 war, Arab nations attacked on Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish year. Between these major wars, Israel faced guerrilla and terrorist attacks.

After the 1967 war, Israel gained control of lands taken from hostile Arab nations. Jordan The West Bank and East Jerusalem Egypt The Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip Syria The Golan Heights After the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel helped Jewish settlers build homes in what Palestinians called the occupied territories.

For decades the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) fought against Israel. PLO leader Yasir Arafat called for the destruction of Israel and the creation of a Palestinian state. To gain attention, the PLO employed terrorist tactics such as airplane hijackings and the killing of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympic games.

They demanded an end to Israeli occupation. Palestinians stoned and fired on Israelis. Suicide bombers blew up buses, stores, and clubs in Israel, killing civilians. Israel responded by targeting terrorist leaders and bombing Palestinian towns. Palestinians in the occupied territories began launching intifadas against Israel in 1987.

Some peace efforts succeeded. Egypt and Israel signed a peace agreement in 1979, resulting in a return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. Yasir Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo Accords in 1993. The PLO recognized Israel’s right to exist and promised to stop using terrorism, while Israel granted limited self-rule to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. In 1994, Jordan made peace with Israel. Syria and Israel, however, failed to reach agreement on the Golan Heights.

Arafat’s successor, Mahmoud Abbas, pledged to stop attacks, but violence continued. After the 2006 PLO elections, the radical Islamist group Hamas seized control of Gaza. Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza, while Hamas fired rockets into Israel. In 2009 Israeli forces invaded Gaza, resulting in a short, destructive war.

Three key obstacles stand in the way of peace. Palestinians demand the “right of return” to land they left in the past. Israel fears large numbers of Palestinians might overwhelm the Jewish state. Israel has settlements in the West Bank. Palestinians wants Jewish settlers to leave. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital.

Jerusalem was capital of the ancient kingdom of Israel and contains sites that are holy to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. The Western Wall, a Jewish holy place, and the Dome of the Rock, an important Islamic shrine, in Jerusalem

A cycle of attacks and reprisals has continued for decades. Radical Islamist groups continued to reject Israel’s right to exist. Terrorist attacks against Israel, and Israeli counterattacks, have killed thousands, including many civilians. The cycle of violence has crippled the economy of the West Bank and Gaza.

The UN, the United States, the European Union, and Russia promoted a “road map” to peace in the early 2000s. It called for creation of a stable, democratic Palestinian state that would peacefully coexist with Israel. Some Israeli and Palestinian leaders accepted the two-state plan. Iran and radical Islamist groups rejected it.

Lebanon has also been racked by religious conflict. Lebanon is a small, multiethnic nation north of Israel. Arab Christian sects historically held the most power. It also includes Sunni and Shiite Muslims and Druze. Christian and Muslim militias fought for power. Israel invaded in 1982 to stop PLO raids launched from Lebanon. UN peacekeepers were killed in suicide bombings. Peace was restored after 16 years. Lebanon was plunged into civil war in 1975.

Hezbollah, a radical Islamist group based in Lebanon, has become another source of conflict. In 2006, Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel from southern Lebanon. Israel responded in a month-long war that killed civilians in both Israel and Lebanon. Lebanon reached a power-sharing agreement with Hezbollah in 2008. Hezbollah gained power, but all factions promised not to use weapons within Lebanon.

Iraq included Shiite Arabs, Sunni Arabs, and Kurds. Although Shiites were in the majority, Sunnis controlled the government. The Kurds sought self-rule. In 1980, dictator Saddam Hussein launched a bloody war against Iran. Millions died. He also used chemical weapons on the Kurds.

In 1991 Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait. Saddam Hussein seized Kuwait’s rich oil fields, claiming that Kuwait was Iraqi territory. The United States led a coalition against Iraq that included several Arab states. The Persian Gulf War crushed Iraq’s military and freed Kuwait.

After 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, President George W After 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, President George W. Bush accused Iraq of supporting terrorists and hiding weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein was permitted to stay in power, but economic sanctions were imposed. No-fly zones were set up to protect Shiites and Kurds in Iraq.

A coalition led by the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled Saddam Hussein. No weapons of mass destruction were found. Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish leaders wrote a new constitution. Elections were held in 2005. The new government later executed Saddam for war crimes.

U.S.-led forces fought the insurgency and trained Iraqi troops. In 2007, a U.S. troop surge caused a decline in violence and death tolls. Iraq moved toward civil war as insurgents fought for control. The Shiite-led government faced many obstacles, but grew more confident. The United States withdrew nearly all of its troops from Iraq 2011.