ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT

THE FOUNDING OF ISRAEL After WWII (1945), thousands of Jewish refugees left Europe for Palestine (Most survivors of concentration camps) Need for a homeland, wanted to set up Jewish state with early settlers Palestine was a mandate of Britain 1947: Palestine divided into a Jewish state and an Arab state.  

1947-48: Arab-Israeli War: Arab nations declared war on Israel because afraid of western dominance. Britain withdrew and turned area over to UN. 1948: Israel formed. Fighting continued

Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon sent military forces against Israel   Israel divided Arab forces and drove more than 500,000 Arabs out of Palestine into refugee camps. 1949: Armistice (stop fighting) Agreements: Israel gained land, Jordan took the rest of Arab Palestine, Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip

CONFLICT CONTINUES 1967: (Six Day War) Israel seized Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, Golan Heights from Syria, West Bank from Jordan, and East Jerusalem from the Arabs. 1973: Syria and Egypt attacked Israel, UN negotiated a cease-fire. Israel backed by United States, and Arab nations backed by the Soviet Union.

1964: Palestinian leaders formed PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) hoping to bring about the destruction of Israel. Leader: Yasser Arafat. 1987: Palestinians began a mass uprising, intifada (“the shaking”): -Attacked Israeli soldiers and civilians - Israeli’s imprisoned or exported Palestinians

YASSER ARAFAT (1929-2004)

PEACE EFFORTS 1977: Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat, agreed to peace talks with Israel. 1979: Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty Persian Gulf War and collapse of Soviet Union led to new peace efforts

ANWAR SADAT (1918-1981)

1993 (Gaza-Jericho Agreement): PLO agreed to give up attacks on Israel Israel withdrew its forces from parts of the occupied territory and allowed limited self-rule in Gaza as well as Jericho, a town in the West Bank Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Fighting and hope for compromises continue today.