Arab–Israeli conflict

Arab-Israeli conflict
Arab Israeli Conflict 6.png
Israel and members of the Arab League
     Arab League      Israel
     Have been at war with Israel      Gaza Strip and West Bank
Date Early 20th century-present
Location Middle East
Result Ongoing
Belligerents

Arab nations
Flag of Israel.svg
Israel
Arab-Israeli conflict series
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Participants

Israeli-Palestinian conflict · Israel-Lebanon conflict · Arab League · Soviet Union / Russia · Israel, Palestine and the United Nations · Iran-Israel relations · Israel-United States relations · Boycott of Israel

Peace treaties and proposals

Israel-Egypt · Israel-Jordan

The Arab–Israeli conflict (Arabic: الصراع العربي الإسرائيليAṣ-Ṣirāʿ al-ʿArabī al-'Isrā'īlī, Hebrew: הסכסוך הישראלי ערבי‎) spans roughly one century of political tensions and open hostilities. It involves the establishment of the Zionist movement and the creation of the modern State of Israel in territory regarded by the Pan-Arab and Pan-Islamic movements as Arab-Muslim territory and by the Jewish people as their historical homeland.

The conflict, which started as a political conflict over territorial ambitions following the decimation of the Ottoman Empire, has shifted over the years from the large scale Arab-Israeli conflict to a more regional Israeli-Palestinian conflict, though the Arab World and Isreal generally remain at odds with each other over territory.

Contents

Scope of the conflict

See also: History of the Middle East

Some uses of the term "Middle East conflict" refer to this matter; however, the region has been host to other conflicts not involving Israel (see List of conflicts in the Middle East).

Despite involving a relatively small land area and number of casualties,[1][2] the conflict has been the focus of worldwide media and diplomatic attention for decades. Many countries, individuals and non-governmental organizations elsewhere in the world feel involved in this conflict for reasons such as cultural and religious ties with Islam, Arab culture, Christianity, Judaism or Jewish culture; or for ideological, human rights, strategic, or financial reasons; or because they are consistently exposed to the conflict by the media.

Some consider the Arab-Israeli conflict a part of (or a precursor to) a wider clash of civilizations between the Western World and the Arab or Muslim world.[3][4] Others claim that the religious dimension is a relatively new matter in this conflict.[5] This conflict has engendered animosities igniting numerous attacks on and by supporters (or perceived supporters) of opposing sides in countries throughout the world.

Religious aspects of the conflict

The Land of Canaan or Eretz Israel (Land of Israel) was, according to the Torah, promised by God to the Israelites. In his 1896 manifesto The Jewish State, Theodor Herzl repeatedly refers to the Biblical Promised land concept.[6] In the same period, Jewish migration to Palestine (Aliyah) increased in number.

Several studies have argued that beyond the secular motivations, groups on both sides, including Hamas and Gush Emunim, also evoke religious arguments for their uncompromising positions.[7][8] The Likud party is currently the most prominent party which includes the Biblical claim to the Land of Israel in its platform.[9]

Many currently argue that the Jews' claim to the Promised Land has been invalidated by subsequent holy messages, including the Christian doctrine of Replacement Theology.[10] Anti-Zionist Jewish groups also evoke religious arguments.

History of the conflict

End of 19th century-1948

Before World War I, the Middle East, including Palestine, had been under the control of the Ottoman Empire for nearly 500 years. During the closing years of their empire the Ottomans began to espouse their Turkish ethnic identity, asserting the primacy of Turks within the empire, leading to discrimination against the Arabs.[11] The promise of liberation from the Ottomans led many Jews and Arabs to support the allied powers during World War I, leading to the emergence of widespread Arab nationalism.[12] During this time tensions between the native Arab population of Palestine and the small, but growing, Jewish population in the area had begun to increase. For details, see Aliyah, First Aliyah, Second Aliyah.

The British Government was favorable to the establishment in the Holy Land of a national home for the Jewish people as stated under the Balfour Declaration of 1917.[13]

After World War I the area came under British rule as the British mandate of Palestine. Jewish immigration to Palestine increased. This, together with the worsening world wide economic situation and other internal factors, led to a large Arab immigration to the region and further increased tensions in the region.[14][15] By 1931, 17 percent of the population of Palestine were Jews, an increase of six percent since 1922.[16] Jewish immigration increased soon after the Nazis came to power in Germany, causing the Jewish population in Palestine to double.[17] Palestinian Arabs saw this rapid influx of Jewish immigrants as a threat to their homeland and their identity as a people. Moreover, Jewish policies of purchasing land and prohibiting the employment of Arabs in Jewish owned industries and farms greatly angered the Palestinian Arab communities.[18] Demonstrations were held as early as 1920, protesting what the Arabs felt were unfair preferences for the Jewish immigrants set forth by the British mandate that governed Palestine at the time. This resentment led to the harassment and persecution of Jews. In August of 1929, Arabs murdered 67 Jews in the city of Hebron, in what became known as the Hebron Massacre. By 1936, escalating tensions led to the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine.[19]

In response to Arab pressure, the British Mandate authorities greatly reduced the number of Jewish immigrants to Palestine (see White Paper of 1939 and the Exodus ship). These restrictions remained in place until the end of the mandate, a period which coincided with the Nazi Holocaust and the flight of Jewish refugees from Europe. As a consequence, most Jewish entrants to Palestine were illegal (see Aliyah Bet), causing further tensions in the region. Following several failed attempts to solve the problem diplomatically, the British asked the newly formed United Nations for help. On 15 May 1947 the UN appointed a committee, the UNSCOP, composed of representatives from eleven states. To make the committee more neutral, none of the Great Powers were represented.[20] After five weeks of in-country study, the commission recommended creating a partitioned state with separate territories for the Jews and the Arabs in Palestine . This "two state solution" was accepted with resolution 181 by the UN General Assembly in November 1947 by 33 votes to 13 with 10 abstentions. The Arab states, which constituted the Arab League, voted against. On the ground, Arab and Jewish Palestinians were fighting openly to control strategic positions in the region. Several major atrocities were committed by both sides.[21]

The main differences between the 1947 partition proposal and 1949 armistice lines are highlighted in light red and magenta

On May 14, 1948, one day before the end of the British Mandate of Palestine, Israel declared its independence and sovereignty on the portion partitioned by UNSCOP for the Jewish state. The next day, the Arab League reiterated officially their opposition to the "two-state solution" in a letter to the UN.[22] That day, the armies of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq invaded the territory partitioned for the Arab state, thus starting the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The nascent Israeli Defense Force repulsed the Arab nations from part of the occupied territories, thus extending its borders beyond the original UNSCOP partition.[23] By December of 1948, Israel controlled most of the portion of Mandate Palestine west of the Jordan River. The remainder of the Mandate consisted of Jordan, the area that came to be called the West Bank (controlled by Jordan), and the Gaza Strip (controlled by Egypt). Prior to and during this conflict, 711,000[24] Palestinians Arabs fled their original lands to become Palestinian refugees, in part, due to several atrocities committed by the Israeli forces.[25] The War came to an end with the signing of the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and each of its Arab neighbours. This 1949 armistice line, the so-called green line, is to this day the internationally-recognized border of the state of Israel. It is often referred to as the "pre-1967" border.

1949-June 11, 1967

Following the adoption by the United Nations of Resolution 181 in November 1947 and the declaration of the State of Israel in May 1948, several Arab countries adopted discriminatory measures against their local Jewish populations.[26][27] There were riots in Yemen and Syria in particular. In Libya, Jews were deprived of citizenship, and in Iraq, their property was seized.[28] As a result, a large number of Jews were forced to emigrate from Arab lands, although many also emigrated for ideological reasons.[29] Over 700,000 Jews emigrated to Israel between 1948 and 1952, with approximately 285,000 of them from Arab countries.[30][29] Overall, about 850,000 Jews had left the Arab World by the early 1970s (according to official Arab documentation), with many of them leaving their property behind.[31] Today, these displaced Jews and their descendants represent 41% of the total population of Israel. For details, see Jewish exodus from Arab lands.

In 1956, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, and blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba, in contravention of the Constantinople Convention of 1888. Many argued that this was also a violation of the 1949 Armistice Agreements.[32][33] On July 26, 1956, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal Company, and closed the canal to Israeli shipping.[34]

Israel responded on October 29, 1956, by invading the Sinai Peninsula with British and French support. During the Suez Canal Crisis, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula. The United States and the United Nations soon pressured it into a ceasefire.[34][35] Israel agreed to withdraw from Egyptian territory. Egypt agreed to freedom of navigation in the region and the demilitarization of the Sinai. The United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was created and deployed to oversee the demilitarization.[36] The UNEF was only deployed on the Egyptian side of the border, as Israel refused to allow them on its territory.[37]

On May 19, 1967, Egypt expelled UNEF observers,[38] and deployed 100,000 soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula.[39] It again closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping,[40][41] returning the region to the way it was in 1956 when Israel was blockaded.

On May 30, 1967, Jordan entered into the mutual defense pact between Egypt and Syria. In response, on June 5 Israel sent almost all of its planes on a preemptive mission in Egypt. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) destroyed most of the Egyptian Air Force in a surprise attack, then turned east to destroy the Jordanian, Syrian and Iraqi air forces.[42] This strike was the crucial element in Israel's victory in the Six-Day War.[39][41] At the war's end, Israel had gained control of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. The results of the war affect the geopolitics of the region to this day.

June 12, 1967-1973

In the summer of 1967, Arab leaders met in Khartoum in response to the war, to discuss the Arab position toward Israel. They reached consensus that there should be:

In 1969, Egypt initiated the War of Attrition, with the goal of exhausting Israel into surrendering the Sinai Peninsula.[44] The war ended following Nasser's death in 1970.

On October 6, 1973, Syria and Egypt staged a surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur, overwhelming the Israeli military.[45][46] The Yom Kippur War accommodated indirect confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union. When Israel had turned the tide of war, the USSR threatened military intervention. The United States, wary of nuclear war, secured a ceasefire on October 25.[45][46]

1974-2000

Egypt

Following the Camp David Accords of the late 1970s, Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in March, 1979. Under its terms, the Sinai Peninsula returned to Egyptian hands, and the Gaza Strip remained under Israeli control, to be included in a future Palestinian state.

Jordan

In October 1994, Israel and Jordan signed a peace agreement, which stipulated mutual cooperation, an end of hostilities, and a resolution of other issues.

Iraq
See also: Iraq–Israel relations

In June 1981, Israel successfully attacked and destroyed newly built Iraqi nuclear facilities in Operation Opera.

During the Gulf War, Iraq fired 39 missiles into Israel, in the hopes of uniting the Arab world against the coalition which sought to liberate Kuwait. At the behest of the United States, Israel did not respond to this attack in order to prevent a greater outbreak of war.

Lebanon
See also: Lebanon-Israel relations

In 1970, following an extended civil war, King Hussein expelled the PLO from Jordan. The PLO resettled in Lebanon, whence it staged raids into Israel. In 1981, Syria, allied with the PLO, positioned missiles in Lebanon. In June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon. Within two months the PLO agreed to withdraw thence.

In March 1983, Israel and Lebanon signed a ceasefire agreement. However, Syria pressured President Amin Gemayel into nullifying the truce in March 1984. By 1985, Israeli forces withdrew to a 15 km wide southern strip of Lebanon, until its complete withdrawal in May 2000, seen largely as the result of painful blows suffered at the hands of Hezbollah.[47]

Palestinians

In December 1987, the First Intifada began. The PLO was excluded from peace negotiations until it recognized Israel and renounced terrorism the following year. In mid-1993, Israeli and Palestinian representatives engaged in secret peace talks in Oslo, Norway. As a result, in September 1993, Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Accords, known as the Declaration of Principles or Oslo I; in side letters, Israel recognized the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people while the PLO recognized the right of the state of Israel to exist and renounced terrorism, violence and its desire for the destruction of Israel.. The Oslo II agreement was signed in 1995 and detailed the division of the West Bank into Areas A, B, and C. Area A was land under full Palestinian civilian control. In Area A, Palestinians were also responsible for internal security. The Oslo agreements remain important documents in Israeli-Palestinian relations.

2000-present

As an attempt to halt the al-Aqsa Intifada, Israel raided facilities in major urban centers in the West Bank in 2002. This included re-taking many parts of land in Area A. Violence again swept through the region. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon began a policy of unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2003. This policy was fully implemented in August 2005.[48]

In July 2006, Hezbollah fighters crossed the border from Lebanon into Israel, attacked and killed eight Israeli soldiers, and abducted two others as hostages, setting off the 2006 Lebanon War which caused much destruction in Lebanon.[49] A UN-sponsored ceasefire went into effect on August 14, 2006, officially ending the conflict.[50]

On September 6, 2007, in Operation Orchard, Israel bombed an eastern Syrian complex which was allegedly a nuclear reactor being built with assistance from North Korea.[51] Israel had also bombed Syria in 2003.

In April 2008, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad told a Qatari newspaper that Syria and Israel had been discussing a peace treaty for a year, with Turkey as a go-between. This was confirmed in May 2008 by a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. As well as a peace treaty, the future of the Golan Heights is being discussed. President Assad was quoted in the The Guardian as telling the Qatari paper:

...there would be no direct negotiations with Israel until a new US president takes office. The US was the only party qualified to sponsor any direct talks, President Assad told the paper, but added that the Bush administration "does not have the vision or will for the peace process. It does not have anything." [52]

Speaking in Jerusalem on August 26, 2008, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized Israel's increased settlement construction in the West Bank as detrimental to the peace process. Rice's comments came amid reports that Israeli construction in the occupied territory had increased by a factor of 1.8 over 2007 levels.[53]

References

  1. Mid-Range Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century in Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century, compiled by Matthew White
  2. Casualties in Arab-Israeli Wars Jewish Virtual Library, based on OnWar - Armed Conflict Israel 1948-1999)
  3. Abdel Mahdi Abdallah (Dec. 2003), More specifically, author Edward Said affirms his belief that if a solution can be found in Israel, the global community may be able to follow this guideline, generating peace and understanding between the cultures of the East and West. "Causes of Anti-Americanism in the Arab World: A Socio-Political Perspective," Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) 7.4, accessed January 9, 2007.
  4. Section 2: "Clash of Civilizations," in Arab-Israeli Conflict: Role of religion, Israel Science and Technology ("the national database and directory of science and technology related sites in Israel"), (c) 1999-2007, accessed January 9, 2007.
  5. Ibrahim Al-Khouli and Wafa Sultan (February 21, 2006), "Arab-American Psychiatrist Wafa Sultan: There is No Clash of Civilizations but a Clash between the Mentality of the Middle Ages and That of the 21st Century", transcript of television interview with Sultan conducted by Al-Khouli, broadcast on Al Jazeera, Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) February 22, 2006.
  6. The State of the Jews, Theodor Hertzl, 1896, Translated from the German by Sylvie D'Avigdor, published in 1946 by the American Zionist Emergency Council. The original German title, "Der Judenstaat", literally means "The Jews'-State".
  7. Lingenfelder, Christian J. (2006-03). "The Elephant in the Room: Religious Extremism in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict". NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA. Retrieved on 2008-08-30.
  8. Weinberger, Peter E. (2004-05). "INCORPORATING RELIGION INTO ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACEMAKING: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICYMAKERS" (PDF). Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University. Retrieved on 2008-08-30.
  9. "Likud - Platform". www.knesset.gov.il. Retrieved on 2008-09-04.
  10. Whose Promised Land? by Colin Gilbert Chapman, Baker Books, 2002, ISBN 9780801064418
  11. Fraser, T.G. The Middle East: 1914-1979. St. Martin’s Press, New York. (1980) Pg. 2
  12. "Hell in the Holy Land: World War I in the Middle East.(Book review)". encyclopedia (2007-09-22).
  13. "In the Promised Land", Time Magazine (April 13, 1925). 
  14. Sela, Avraham. "Arab-Israeli Conflict." The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Ed. Avraham Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002. pp. 58-121.
  15. "Palestinians: The making of a people", by Baruch Kimmerling and Joel S. Migdal
  16. Lesch, Ann M. and Tschirgi, Dan. Origins and Development of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Greenwood Press: West Port, Connecticut. (1998). Pg. 47
  17. Smith, Charles D. Palestine and the Arab Israeli Conflict: A History With Documents. Bedford/St. Martin’s: Boston. (2004). Pg. 129
  18. Lesch, Ann M. and Tschirgi, Dan. Origins and Development of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Greenwood Press: West Port, Connecticut. (1998). Pg.47,51
  19. Lesch, Ann M. and Tschirgi, Dan. Origins and Development of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Greenwood Press: West Port, Connecticut. (1998). Pg.
  20. Smith, Charles D. Palestine and the Arab Israeli Conflict: A History With Documents. Bedford/St. Martin’s: Boston. (2004). Pg. 186
  21. Fraser, T.G. The Middle East: 1914-1979. St. Martin’s Press, New York. (1980). Pg. 41
  22. Statement by the Arab League States Following the Establishment of the State of Israel (May 15, 1948), www.ibiblio.org
  23. Smith, Charles D. Palestine and the Arab Israeli Conflict: A History With Documents. Bedford/St. Martin’s: Boston. (2004). Pg. 198
  24. GENERAL PROGRESS REPORT AND SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONCILIATION COMMISSION FOR PALESTINE, Covering the period from 11 December 1949 to 23 October 1950, GA A/1367/Rev.1 23 October 1950
  25. Lesch, Ann M. and Tschirgi, Dan. Origins and Development of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Greenwood Press: West Port, Connecticut. (1998). Pg. 12
  26. Why Jews Fled the Arab Countries by Ya'akov Meron. Middle East Quarterly, September 1995
  27. Jews in Grave Danger in All Moslem Lands, The New York Times, May 16, 1948, quoted in Was there any coordination between Arab governments in the expulsions of the Middle Eastern and North African Jews? (JIMENA)
  28. Aharoni, Ada (Volume 15, Number 1/March 2003). "The Forced Migration of Jews from Arab Countries", Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group. 
  29. 29.0 29.1 Aliyeh to Israel: Immigration under Conditions of Adversity - Shoshana Neumann, Bar-Ilan University, page 10.
    - Asia: Yemen - 45,127 (6.7), Turkey - 34,647 (5), Iraq - 124,225 (18), Iran - 25,971 (3.8), Syria and Lebanon - 3,162 (0.5), Eden - 3,320 (0.5); Africa: Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria - 52,565 (7.7), Libya - 32,130 (4.6) (Keren-Hayesod, 1953).
    Note: The numbers add up to 286,500 (without Turkey, see also: History of the Jews in Turkey).
  30. '1942 - 1951', Jewish Agency for Israel.
    - During the first four years of statehood, the country had to struggle for its existence, while simultaneously absorbing over 700,000 immigrants.
  31. "All I wanted was justice" - Adi Schwarz, Haaretz, Jan. 10 2008.
    - According to official Arab statistics, some 850,000 Jews left those countries from 1948 to the beginning of the 1970s, and about 600,000 of them were absorbed in Israel ... the property the Jews left behind in Arab countries ... Jewish-owned land alone is estimated at 100,000 square kilometers - four times the size of Israel.
  32. Howard M. Sachar. A History of Israel from the Rise of Zionism to Our TimePublished by Alfred A. Knopf (New York). 1976. p. 455. ISBN 0-394-28564-5.
  33. "Background Note: Israel". US State Department. Retrieved on 2007-03-04.
  34. 34.0 34.1 "1956: Egypt Seizes Suez Canal". British Broadcasting Service. Retrieved on 2007-03-04.
  35. "UN GA Resolution 997". Mideast Web. Retrieved on 2007-03-04.
  36. Israel - MSN Encarta
  37. First United Nations Emergency Force (Unef I) - Background (Full Text)
  38. "UN: Middle East - UNEF I, Background". United Nations. Retrieved on 2007-03-04.
  39. 39.0 39.1 Lorch, Netanel. "The Arab-Israeli Wars". Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved on 2007-03-04.
  40. 'Egypt Closes Gulf Of Aqaba To Israel Ships: Defiant move by Nasser raises Middle East tension', The Times, Tuesday, May 23, 1967; pg. 1; Issue 56948; col A.
  41. 41.0 41.1 "The Disaster of 1967". The Jordanian Government. Retrieved on 2007-03-04.
  42. "Course of the Six Day War". Palestine Facts. Retrieved on 2007-03-04.
  43. "President Mubarak Interview with Israeli TV". Egyptian State Information Service. Retrieved on 2007-03-04.
  44. "Israel: The War of Attrition". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
  45. 45.0 45.1 "Israel: The Yom Kippur War". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
  46. 46.0 46.1 "Arab-Israeli War of 1973". Encarta Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2007-03-04.
  47. Middle East Intelligence Bulletin
  48. "Special Update: Disengagement - August 2005", Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  49. Israel (country), Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia., 2007, p. 12.
  50. "Lebanon truce holds despite clashes", CNN
  51. "The White House Statement by the Press Secretary" (2008-04-24). 
  52. Walker, Peter; News Agencies (21 May 2008). "Olmert confirms peace talks with Syria" (in English), The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-05-21. "Israel and Syria are holding indirect peace talks, with Turkey acting as a mediator..." 
  53. "Rice calls for Israel to stop building in West Bank". 

Further reading

External links

Government and official sources

Regional media

Israeli
Arab

Think tanks and strategic analysis

Peace proposals

See main article: List of Middle East peace proposals

Maps

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See also