The Arab-Israeli Conflict Dr Benjamin Mac Queen Monash

The Arab-Israeli Conflict Dr Benjamin Mac. Queen, Monash University Lecturer, School of Political and Social Inquiry Deputy Director, Global Terrorism Research Centre Social Education Victoria 20 August, 2010

Lecture Overview • The Collapse of the Ottoman Empire • Partition of the Ottoman Empire: the State System and the Creation of Israel • Zionism and the Creation of the State of Israel • The 1967 ‘Six Day War’ • The 1973 ‘Yom Kippur War’ • The 1982 Israeli Invasion of Lebanon • The first (1987 -1993) and second (2000 ) Palestinian intifadas • Arab-Israeli Peace Processes

The Collapse of the Ottoman Empire • Ottoman decline since the 17 th-18 th centuries and European economic dominance • The shrinking of the Empire in the 19 th and early 20 th centuries – From a multi-national Empire to a ‘Turkish-Arab’ Empire by the late 19 th century • October 1914, Ottoman Empire joins WWI in an alliance with Germany; Ottoman defeat by Oct. 1918 – British involvement with the Arab uprising – British control of the Persian Gulf and Egypt

Partition of the Ottoman Empire: the State System and the Creation of Israel • False Promises? – The Husayn-Mc. Mahon Correspondence > British promises to Arab leaders for independent control over the “greater Syria” with the exception of a coastal strip close to modern-day Lebanon – The Sykes-Picot Agreement > Anglo-French negotiations over division of the Arab territories of the Ottoman Empire between them – The Balfour Declaration > British expression of support for Jewish settlement of and the creation of a Jewish state in the former Ottoman province of Palestine

Text of the Balfour Declaration Promises under the Husayn-Mc. Mahon Correspondence Anglo-French division of the region under the Sykes-Picot Agreement

Zionism and the Creation of the State of Israel • What is Zionism? – The reconstitution of Jewish life on a national basis; i. e. a Jewish nation-state focused on the Biblical Holy Land (to become Mandate Palestine) > Response to European anti-Semitism and pressures toward assimilation in ‘host’ countries prior to WWII; impact of the Holocaust and WWII on Zionism • Competing nationalisms in Palestine (Arab. Palestinian and Zionist) and British mismanagement • The UN Partition Plan (UNSCR 181) and Arab rejection • The 1947 -48 ‘War for Independence’/al-nakba • The birth of the Palestinian refugee crisis

The 1967 ‘Six Day War’ • • Tensions between Israel and the Arab world, particularly Egypt, building since 1956 Egyptian blockade of Israeli port Elat on the Straits of Tiran, Red Sea, May 1967; Israeli and Arab troop build-up on borders through May 1967 5 June, Israel launches an attack, what it terms as ‘anticipatory selfdefense’ against Egypt, Syria and Jordan The Israeli Army and Air Force, within six days, eliminated the bulk of the Egyptian and Syrian Air Forces (before they left the ground) and routed the three Arab armies By 11 June, it occupied the Gaza Strip and Golan Heights from Egypt, the West Bank of the Jordan River from Jordan and the Golan Heights from Syria; its territory was now six times bigger than pre 1967, with over 1 million new Arab Palestinian, Egyptian and Syrian inhabitants within its new borders Israel now asserted itself as the dominant military player in the Middle East with the possible exception of then pro-US Iran Impacts of UN Resolution 242, 22 Nov. 1967

Changes to regional borders in the wake of the 1967 war

The 1973 ‘Yom Kippur War’ • • The waning influence of radical Arab nationalism and the death of Nasser in 1970; the rise of Sadat to power in Egypt The continued strengthening of the US-Israeli alliance in the context of the Cold War Israel instigating a ‘settlement’ building program in the new ‘occupied territories’ that contravened the dictates of UN Resolution 242 and subsequent resolutions The increasing militancy of the PLO since its creation in 1964 and particularly after 1967 Sadat eager to break the status quo and regain control over the Sinai; the Syrians under Assad also eager to remove Israel from the strategically important Golan Heights region Surprise Syrian-Egyptian attack launched on 6 Oct. 1973; initial gains in both the Sinai and Golan before Israeli counter attack pushed both armies back However, the myth of Israeli military invincibility was broken; combined with an Arab oil embargo that shook the global economy, the 1973 war fed into the 1978 -79 Camp David Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel The conflict also saw Israel further entrench its alliance with the US and further radicalised segments of the PLO who were involved in the Lebanese civil war, a war Israel would become deeply engaged in

The 1982 Israeli Invasion of Lebanon • Lebanese civil war (1975 -1990), the PLO presence and the Syrian military occupation of Lebanon • Israeli invasion in 1982 and the role of Defence Minister Ariel Sharon (Sabra and Shatilla) • The siege of Beirut and the Lebanon quagmire • The war in Lebanon, Israel and the creation of Hizbullah

The first (1987 -1993) and second (2000 ) Palestinian intifadas • The first intifada – Heightening of Israeli-Palestinian tensions through the 1980 s; increased settler activity, Israeli operation “Iron Fist” and Palestinian youth disaffection – Outbreak of hostilities in Jabalia refugee camp spreading through Occupied Territories – Civil disobedience, strikes and violence leading to over 1, 100 Palestinian and 160 Israeli deaths • The second (Al Aqsa) intifada – Failure of the 2000 Camp David Summit and the return to power of Ariel Sharon (Sharon’s visit to Al Aqsa mosque) – Increased violence, splitting of Palestinian movement (PA vs. Hamas), settler and Israeli government militancy – Current violence (excluding Gaza conflict) has led to over 6, 300 Palestinian deaths, over 1, 000 Israeli deaths and close to 70 deaths of foreign nationals

Arab-Israeli Peace Processes • The 1991 Madrid Conference leading to the Oslo Peace Process and the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords (a Palestinian state based on UN Resolutions 242 and 338) • 1997 Hebron Agreement and the 1998 Wye River Accords • The 2000 Camp David Summit • The 2002 Beirut Summit (Saudi Peace Plan) • The 2003 Road Map for Peace • Other approaches: – 2003 Gaza Withdrawal – 2003 Geneva Accord – The Single State Solution and the Elon Peace Plan • The role of the US and the UN

Want to know more? • Bachelor of Arts at Monash University • Politics and International Relations at Monash University • The International Relations of the Middle East • or … email me for more information