The Arab-Israeli Wars

I. Israel becomes a state When WWII ends the population of Palestine is ~70% Arab Want to become an independent state The Holocaust creates a global outpouring of sympathy for Jews Desire to help create a homeland Arabs are fine with that, but don’t want to be displaced for it

GB can’t negotiate a deal between the groups Turns it over to the UN The UN divides Palestine into 4 parts in 1947 2 Arab areas, 1 Jewish area, and Jerusalem would be under UN control Israel declares itself an independent state in 1948

II. War of Independence Arabs felt that they’d been cheated Israel had been given the land with best resources/water Given control of important cities Arab nations declared war on Israel Fighting lasted several months Israel won and greatly expanded its territory

III. Palestine doesn’t become a state (Al-Nakba/The Catastrophe) The UN plan included the creation of an independent Palestine After the war Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip and Jordan took control of the West Bank Thousands of Palestinians fled the areas of fighting Ended up in refugee camps near borders

Israel: 1947 & Israel: 1949

Palestinian Refugees Palestinian Diaspora

IV. Suez Crisis Egypt had a corrupt king who allowed foreign investors a lot of power Was overthrown in a military coup in 1952 Gamal Abdel Nasser emerges as a new leader In 1956 he nationalized the Suez Canal The British and French were angry; arranged an attack with Israel

Gamal Abdul Nasser President of Egypt Suez Crisis (1956) Gamal Abdul Nasser President of Egypt

After just 10 days of fighting the Israeli army defeated the Egyptians France and Britain reclaimed control of the canal The UN condemned this action as bullyish France, Britain and Israel were pressured to step down

V. The Six Day War The Cold War established alliances The US with Israel; USSR with Arab states In 1967 Egypt was preparing to confront Israel with Soviet support Surprised when Israel attacks first Attacked Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Syria with lightening speed and success Israel took control of several areas to protect itself from future attack Included West Bank and Jerusalem

Six-Day War (1967)

VI. Palestinian Resistance To secure control over these new territories, Israel began building settlements Palestinians resented this physical presence The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) began a guerrilla/terrorist campaign against Israel

Palestine Liberation Organization Yasir Arafat

VII. Yom Kippur War Nasser died in 1973 and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat Led a joint attack with Syria on Israel on Yom Kippur Plan was to take as much land as possible to force them to negotiate Caught Israel by surprise and regained some lost territory Israelis launched a more successful counter attack and took a little back Yom Kippur – A day of Atonement, Jews fast, do not work, etc

Yom-Kippur War (Oct., 1973)

VIII. Attempts at Peace 1979 Camp David Peace Summit US invited representatives from Egypt and Israel to discuss peace Hammered out the problems that had plagued the two countries for 30 years Took 13 days of tough negotiations Israel will return the Sinai Peninsula in exchange Egypt will formally recognize the state of Israel Many Arabs resented Sadat’s move toward Israel He was assassinated 2 years later

Camp David Accords (1979) President President Prime Minister Anwar Sadat Jimmy Carter Menachem Begin of Egypt of the U. S. of Israel

Camp David Accords (1979)

IX. Intifada “Shaking off” or “Uprising” Mass Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule in the Palestinian territories Largely West Bank and Gaza Strip Israeli response was to send in the military

Palestinian Intifada-Part I (1987-1993)

By: Ms. Susan M. Pojer Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY