Arab-Israeli conflict

(from Wikipedia)

History of the conflict
Main article: History of the Arab-Israeli conflict

[edit] End of 19th century-1948
A declared Jewish immigration into the Land of Israel, Palestine under the Ottoman rule (and later under British mandate), combined with the economic changes in the land, which in turn contributed to a large Arab immigration, increased tensions between the Jewish population and the Arab population in the region.[5][6]

By the end of World War II, the conflict became a major international issue. The United Nations, the United States, and the Soviet Union were determined to initiate a two-state solution. The UN mandated partition was put into effect in 1948, but was rejected by the Palestinians and many Arab states.[7]

Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948. Almost immediately, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Transjordan, and Iraq declared war on the nascent nation. By the conclusion of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Israel had greatly expanded its borders, and signed ceasefire agreements with all its Arab neighbors.[8]


[edit] 1949-June 11, 1967
In 1949, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, and blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba, in contradiction to the terms of the Constantinople Convention of 1888. Many argued that this action also constituted a violation of the Rhodes armistice agreement.[9][10] On July 26, 1956, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal Company, and closed the canal to Israeli shipping.[11]

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,[11][12] which secured open shipping in the region, complete Israeli withdrawal from Egyptian territory, and the total demilitarization of the Sinai. The United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was deployed to oversee said demilitarization.[13]. The UNEF was only deployed on the Egyptian side of the border, as Israel refused to allow them on its territory.[14]

On May 19, 1967, Egypt expelled UNEF observers,[15] and deployed 100,000 soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula.[16] It then closed the straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping,[17][18] catapulting the region back to the pre-1956 status quo. On May 30, 1967, Jordan entered into the mutual defense pact between Egypt and Syria. President Nasser declared: "Our basic objective is the destruction of Israel. The Arab people want to fight."[19]

In response, on June 5 Israel sent almost all of its planes on a preemptive mission in Egypt. The Israeli Air Force (AIF) destroyed most of the surprised Egyptian Air Force, then turned east to pulverize the Jordanian, Syrian and Iraqi air forces.[20] This strike was the crucial element in Israel's victory in the Six-Day War.[16][18

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:
No recognition of the State of Israel.
No peace with Israel.
No negotiations with Israel.[21]
In 1969, Egypt initiated the War of Attrition, with the goal of exhausting Israel into surrendering the Sinai Peninsula.[22] The war ended following Nasser's death in 1970.
On October 6, 1973, Syria and Egypt attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, overwhelming the surprised Israeli military.[23][24] 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.[23][24]