Israel

A. Balfour DeclarationB. Creation of IsraelC. Wars over IsraelD. The PalestiniansE. Peace in the Middle East?

A. Balfour Declaration• Zionists (Jews who wanted a homeland in

Palestine) began to settle in Palestine during the 19th century

• Angered the Palestinians (Arabs & Christians) who had lived there since 7th Century

• Violence between the 2 groups began

• Britain gained control over the area after WWI

• Balfour Declaration was a letter written in 1917 stating Britain’s support for a Jewish homeland

• Following WWII, massive migration of Jews to the area

• The Palestinians and Jews could not live together, Britain recommended partitioning (dividing) the area

• Just made the problems worse• Britain could not handle the

situation, turned it over to UN in 1947

B. Creation of Israel

• UN recommended partition giving 55% of land to the Jews (b/c of sympathy from the Holocaust) even though they were only 34% of the population

• May 14, 1948 Israel becomes an independent nation

• Arabs rejected the U.N. partition and did not accept this new country – swore they would not allow it to exist

C. Wars over Israel• May 15, 1948: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon,

Saudi Arabia, & Syria attack Israel.

• Israel was able to win and gains territory.

• Palestinians lose all of their territory to the Israelis and neighboring nations

• 1956 Suez Crisis – Egypt seized the canal.

• Britain & France made a deal with Israel to take the canal back and gain Egyptian land.

• Israel forced to give the land & canal back to Egypt by world pressures

• 1967 Six-Day War: Israel attacks Egypt, Iran, Jordan, and Syria b/c of continuing threats against them.

• Israel wins and is able to gain more territory.

• The 1973 War: Arabs attacked on Yom Kippur catching Israel by surprise, but Israel able to gain back lost territory. Cease-fire declared.

D. The Palestinians• Palestinian state was never created b/c land

that was promised to them was seized during the 1948-49 war

• Many stayed in Israel and created the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) led by Yasir Arafat violently attacking the Israelis

• Intifada – 1987 civil disobedience campaign (non-violent) against Israeli rule which won worldwide support

E. Peace• Egypt was the 1st Arab country to recognize

Israel in 1977

• Camp David Accords: signed agreement in 1979 ending hostilities between Egypt & Israel

• Declaration of Principals: 1993 Israel agreed to give the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians

• Israel continues to negotiate for peace with the Palestinians using land as a bargaining piece

• Warfare over the land is still common today

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/West_Bank_%26_Gaza_Map_2007_%28Settlements%29.gif