Israeli and Arab Conflict The Conflict Continues Attempts at Peace

The “Catastrophe” May 15, 1948 was the date when Israel became an independent nation. Arabs call this date “the Catastrophe.” Why? The next day, five Arab armies attacked Israel. Although the Israeli army was outnumbered, it defeated the Arabs. Today, many Muslim Arabs continue to fight against Israel and Judaism. A pre-1967 political cartoon: Egyptian president Nasser is kicking Israel out of the Middle East. Nasser is backed by other Arab nations depicted as soldiers. A map of the Middle East

The Conflict Continues The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), an Arab group, wants to take Palestine back from Israeli Jews. Yasser Arafat led the PLO for 35 years. The Six-Day War was in June, 1967. Israel gained land, but many Palestinian Arabs became refugees in surrounding nations. Many peace treaties have been made and broken. Yasser Arafat Israeli troops in 1967 An F-15 fighter jet in the Israeli military

Battle Plans of the Six-Day War Israel planned to take over the Sinai Peninsula, then controlled by Egypt Its military also attacked the land known as the “West Bank” The other area taken was the Golan Heights near Lebanon

Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Attempts at Peace Israel and Egypt’s leaders met secretly in the United States in 1978 at Camp David with President Jimmy Carter. After negotiating for 12 days, they signed the Camp David Accords. Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1978. Israel agreed to remove all of its troops from the Sinai Peninsula and return the land to Egypt. Other Arab nations were not pleased. Several years later, Sadat was murdered by Muslims in the Egyptian army.

More conflicts Defense Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel led an invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Hundreds of Palestinian refugees without weapons were killed by Lebanese soldiers sympathetic to Israel. Sharon left his job over the controversy about this event. This is the flag of Hamas, an important Arab Muslim group based in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Their soldiers continue to lead attacks against Israelis. This is the flag of Hezbollah, another important Arab Muslim group based in Lebanon. Both are supported by Syria and Iran.

Even more conflicts and cease-fires which have not lasted… Mahmoud Abbas is the current leader of the PLO. He and then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agreed to a ceasefire in 2005. Israeli forces and settlers were to withdraw from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Arabs now control this region. Last year fighting resumed in the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights have been settled mostly by Palestinian Arabs. Israeli Jews live mostly in the other areas of Israel. Mahmoud Abbas of the PLO