Chapter 17: The Arab–Israeli Conflict, 1948–2024
This chapter looks at the Arab–Israeli conflict. It starts with an examination of the root causes of this conflict which lie in the competition between two national projects, one Zionist and one Palestinian, laying claim to the same territory. The chapter then shows how British mandate policies between 1922 and 1948 exacerbated Arab–Jewish tensions in Palestine. The establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948 turned the communal conflict into an inter-state one as Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq declared war on Israel. The inter-state dynamics characterized the next five decades with further wars fought in 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1982. In these wars the Palestinians were largely side-lined. This chapter explains how the outbreak of the 1987 intifada refocused the conflict on Israel and the Palestinians. It also examines the various attempts at bringing about peace. Here it looks at the 1979 Camp David Accords, the failed 1993–2000 Oslo process, the 1994 negotiations between Israel and Jordan, the 1994–2000 negotiations between Israel and Syria, and the post-Oslo American initiatives from Annapolis to the 2020 Abraham Accords. The 2006 Lebanon war and 2006–23 Gaza wars are also discussed.
Multiple Choice Questions
Exam Questions
Discussion Questions
How did the 1948 Arab-Israeli War influence regional politics in the 1950s?
What were the different reasons for Britain, France, and Israel attacking Egypt in 1956?
To what extent was the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 an accident?
How did Sadat’s political fortunes change with the 1973 War?
What did Ariel Sharon hope to accomplish by intervening in Lebanon in 1982?
What effects did the intifada have on regional politics after 1987?
Why did the peace process of the 1990s break down?
How did the Cold War influence conflict in the Middle East?
How have global attitudes towards Israel shift, 1948-2006?
What effect has Hamas had on the peace process in the 2000s?
Exam Questions
To what extent have the Arab-Israeli conflicts been driven by great power politics rather than local interests?
How have Palestinians sought independence since 1948?
How successful have superpower-mediated peace plans been in shaping the Middle East since 1948?
Weblinks
http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB78/propaganda%20024.pdf – text of US assessment of Soviet threat in the Near East 1951
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/un242.asp – text of 1967 UN resolution on peace in the Middle East
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1957eisenhowerdoctrine.asp – text of Eisenhower doctrine on the Middle East 1957
http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB98/octwar-01.pdf – text of US intelligence on Arab intentions to initiate hostilities in 1973
http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB98/octwar-05.pdf – text of discussion between US and Israel in 1973
http://www.mideastweb.org/ga997.htm – UN General Assembly Resolution 997 regarding war in the Sinai 1956
http://www.mideastweb.org/arabsummit1964.htm – 1964 Arab summit resolution calling for the destruction of Israel
http://www.mideastweb.org/242.htm – 1967 UN Security Council Resolution calling for Israeli evacuation of occupied territory
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/res181.asp – text of 1947 UN Resolution 181 on Palestine
https://peacemaker.un.org/middleeast-resolution338 – text of UN Security Council Resolution 338 relating to war of 1973
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