1948 War
What do the Arab States and Palestinians call the 1948 War?
The Al Nakba
5th June - 10th June 1967
What does the PLO stand for?
Palestinian Liberation Organisation
Why is this war called Yom Kippur?
Egypt and Syria launched a suprise attack on Israel on the sacred Jewish holiday 'Day of Atonement'.
Which two superpowers are mainly involved in the conflict?
USSR
USA
Name all those that were involved in this war.
Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Palestinians, United Nations.
Golan Heights
East Jerusalem
Gaza Strip
West Bank
Sinai Peninsula
When did the change of leadership occur and by who?
1969, Yasser Arafat.
Name the
1. Israeli Prime Minister
2. Egyptian President
3. Syrian President
4. American Secretary of State
1. Golda Meir
2. Anwar Sadat
3. Hafez Al Assad
4. Henry Kissenger
Define “détente”
The process of reduction in Cold War tensions between the U.S and the USSR. They agreed upon using diplomacy and communication rather than conflict.
What is the Green Line? How much more territory did Israel occupy as a percentage after the war?
The armistice agreement of 1949. It divides the territory of Palestine and Israel (the West Bank and Gaza).
Israel occupied 20% more territory than outlined in the UN Partition Plan 181.
Outline the four principles of Khartoum Resolution by the Arab States.
No recognition of Israel
No peace with Israel
No negotiation with Israel
Insistence on the rights of the Palestinian people in their own country.
Outline the three key aims of the PLO and the PNA when they were originally established in 1964
To liberate Palestine from its Zionist colonial oppressors through conventional warfare
To create an independent state from Arab regimes that cannot be relied upon
The return of the approximately 700,000-750,000 Palestinian who had been made refugees in 1948.
Describe the policy of 'Creeping Annexation'
Creating facts on the ground. Securing the occupied territories gained after 67 by building infrastructure and settlements in militarily strategic areas and strengthening the borders.
What role did the US and USSR have in the Six Day War?
- USSR informed Syria and Egypt that Israel was planning an attack, this is mostly attributed to false intelligence. USSR sent a message to US president Johnson threatening military action if Israel did not refrain from entering Syria. Johnson signalled that the US was prepared to meet the USSRs challenge. The US secretly supplied Israel with arms and aerial reconnaissance assistance which was key to Israel's victory.
Outline FOUR consequences of the 1948 War
1. 750,000 Palestinian refugees. Israel refused their right to return.
2. Fedayeen raids from Egypt into southern Israel. Security threat.
3. Israel occupation of 20% more territory than UN Partition Plan outline.
4. Suez Crisis 1956.
5. Civil Conflict within the Arab States (coups, assassinations).
5. Creation of the PLO
6. Six Day War
7. Israeli myth of the underdog and David vs Goliath. Nationalism grew.
Explain the Zionist perspective and the Palestinian and Arab perspective on who was responsible for the war.
Israel: faced with the threat of attack and destruction by mass Arab armies on its borders. They were under pressure to prevent Nasser's aggressive actions and support of Palestinian terrorist attacks, so they attacked in self defence.
Arab and Palestinian perspective: Israel wanted a war and knew they were not under threat of an Egypt/Syrian attack. They wanted to expand their territory and revitalise their economy by attracting more Jewish immigrants.
Aims: Did not want to rely on Arab States anymore to achieve self-determination and sovereignty. To achieve this through armed struggle and not conventional warfare
Methods: Armed Struggle and international terrorism.
Outline the consequences of the Yamani Oil Plan
- Put pressure on the western world (European countries and America) to become involved in the conflict as the embargo impacted their economy and oil supplies. Allowed the Arab States negotiation power in territory exchange.
- Recognition of the PLO as the sole legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people by the Arab League and the UN.
- Israel now had to face negotiating directly with the PLO, rather than King Hussein of Jordan.
Why was there a shift in Israeli-U.S relations after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982?
The brutal massacres in the Palestinian refugee camps Sabra and Shaila overseen by the IDF generated an upsurge of sympathy and support for the Palestinian cause, while Israel was the focus of heated international criticism. The war triggered a shift in American policy from acceptance of autonomy for the Palestinians.
Why is there conflicting narratives of the attack on Deir Yassin? What are they?
Palestinian and Arab States perspectives: Haganah enforced Plan Delat which involved forcibly expelling Palestinians from villages and homes. They call this an act of ethnic cleansing as women and children were targeted despite surrender.
Israeli perspective: It was a legitimate act of war and self defence against heavy Arab resistance.
Give an overview of the components of UN Resolution 242. What were the issues with this resolution?
242: Calls for a just and lasting peace and peace in exchange of territory 'land for peace'.
It asks for Israel to return occupied territories, but not "the" or "all". This allowed Israel to have the capacity to only return certain territory and keep others (e.g. The Sinai Peninsula, East Jerusalem).
Palestinians were not addressed or their right to self determination, and would give them permanent refugee status.
Key event: 5th-6th September 1972
Outline:
1. Where
2. Who
3. What
4. Why
5. So what?
1. Munich Olympics, Germany
2. Black September group under the PLO umbrella organisation, 11 Israeli Olympians
3. Black September killed the Israeli Olympians after holding them hostage. Two members of Black September were killed.
4. Return of Palestinian prisoners from Israel, return of Palestinian refugees to their homes after the 1948 War.
5. PLO now labelled a terrorist group by the western world and Israel, no negotiation. Brought attention to the conflict in the Middle East but negatively impacted Palestinian self-determination and sympathy to their cause.
Describe the two components of the Camp David Accords.
1. ‘A Framework for Peace in the Middle East:’ called upon Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the PLO to negotiate the question of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. A self-governing Arab authority was to replace the Israeli military forces for five years while talks took place on the ‘final status’ of the two areas.
2. ‘A Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel:’ a draft proposal for a peace agreement to be negotiated and signed within three months. Israeli ships were to be allowed free passage through the Suez Canal and the UN would oversee these provisions. The accords however, did not address the issue of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
“The USA was more responsible than the USSR for the development of the Arab– Israeli conflict.”
To what extent is this statement accurate?
Provide an outline of your argument.
To a moderate extent, the statement is accurate because the United States’ political, military, and diplomatic support for Israel intensified tensions in the Middle East and contributed to the continuation of the Arab–Israeli conflict. However, the Soviet Union also played a major role by backing Arab nationalist states such as Egypt and Syria, supplying arms, and deepening Cold War rivalries in the region. Ultimately, the development of the conflict was shaped by the competing interventions of both superpowers, although the USA’s stronger and more consistent alignment with Israel made it more influential overall.