ISRAEL AND ITS NEIGHBORSFoundations of Conflict

Maps of the borders

Before it all startedAfter World War I, Arab-majority Palestine came under the rule of the British, who expressed their desire to create a homeland for Jews being harassed in and expelled from Eastern Europe. This was, after all, the site of the ancient Jewish kingdom and the birthplace of Jesus.

Support for a Jewish state growsThroughout the late 1800s and first half of the 20th Century, many Jews fleeing Europe arrived in “The Holy Land” hoping to create a Jewish country. A good number of those began buying land.

After World War II and the Holocaust, global support for a Jewish homeland grew. No one seemed to care about the opinion of the Palestinians who had lived there all along.

The 1947 UN PlanIn 1947, the new United Nations approved a plan in which two independent countries, Jewish-ruled Israel and Muslim-ruled Palestine would be created, with the mixed city of Jerusalem under UN control.

Most major countries including the USA were quick to recognize Israel as a country.

Blue = IsraelOrange = Palestine

Bad AdviceThe Arab countries bordering Israel all advised the Palestinians not to accept the UN plan, as they vowed to “push the Jews into the sea” through war if the world recognized a partitioned Palestine.

To this day, Egypt is the only nearby state recognizing Israel’s right to exist—and that wasn’t until the late 1970s.

True to their word, in May 1948 Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Syria all invaded Israel. This is known as the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, or the Israeli War of Independence.

The Palestinians and the 1948 WarBelieving the war would end in a quick Arab victory, many Palestinians fled their homes to avoid the fighting and became refugees in Egypt or Jordan living in temporary shelters—which became quite permanent.

Few have ever been able to return to their homes, now in Jewish Israel.

An Unexpected ResultTo the utter shock of the Arabs, the Israelis withstood the attack and actually won.

This outcome created expanded Israeli borders, no Palestine, tremendous ill will and vows of revenge, and a tremendous amount of Palestinian refugees in northeast Egypt (Gaza/Gaza Strip) and Western Jordan (The West Bank).

The 1967 Six-Day WarIn 1967, the Israelis realized that Syria, Jordan and Egypt were plotting a joint attack to avenge their loss nineteen years earlier.

Israel decided to throw the first punch, and its air force destroyed the Arabs’ planes before they even got off the ground. Following that, the Israelis surprised even themselves with how quickly their army moved into Arab territory.

This was the 1967 Six-Day War—an utter humiliation for the Arab countries.

Maybe too good? …But winning the Six-Day War so decisively created new problems for victorious Israel. It now had control over lands populated by angry Palestinians and other Arabs.

These included the:• Golan Heights (Syria)• Gaza Strip (Egypt)• West Bank (Jordan)• Sinai Peninsula (Egypt)

SKY BLUE = Israel 1948-1967AQUA = Lands under Israeli

control after the Six-Day War

How is that a problem? The West Bank and Gaza Strip were populated mostly by Palestinians and Palestinian refugees, and now they found themselves under direct Israeli control instead of looked over by friendly Arabs sympathetic to their plight.

Egypt, Syria and Jordan were furious at losing land, and vowed once again to take revenge.

How Israelis saw it:

How Palestinians saw it:

A Cheap Shot: The 1973 Yom Kippur War

In 1973, Egypt and Syria once again tried to eliminate Israel…and failed.

The two Arab countries launched a well-coordinated surprise joint attack on Israel on Yom Kippur, the most important Jewish holiday, when almost all Israelis were praying in temple.

Attacking on a religious holiday did not make them more popular around the world, even if people had sympathy for the Palestinians.

Results of the 1973 Yom Kippur War

Short-Term• Within three weeks the

Israelis recaptured all the land taken during the initial surprise attack except for part of the Sinai Peninsula,

• Israel took even more of the Golan Heights from Syria as protection against another surprise invasion.

Long-Term• Arab countries realized that Israel’s

land could never be returned to the Palestinians by force,

• Egypt realized it could not afford such high military spending when it was not in danger of being attacked,

• Sympathy for the Arabs (and thus the Palestinians) lessened around the world—especially when this war was accompanied by an increase in global terrorism by Arabs.