History of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

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Arab–Israeli conflict

Jerusalem riots (1920) – Jaffa riots (1921) – Palestine riots (1929) – Arab revolt (1936–1939) – Civil
War (1947–1948) – Arab-Israeli War (1948–1949) – Retribution operations (1951-1966) – Suez Crisis
(1956) – War over Water (1964–1967) – Six-Day War (1967) – War of Attrition (1967–1970) – Wrath
of God (1972–1979) – Yom Kippur War (1973) – South Lebanon conflict (1978) – Lebanon War
(1982) – South Lebanon conflict (1982–2000) – First Intifada (1987–1993) – Second Intifada (2000–
2005) – Shebaa Farms conflict (2000-2006) – Lebanon War (2006) – Gaza War (2008–2009)

The history of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict the end of the 19th century to the present day.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict centers on conflicting, often mutually exclusive claims to the area
called Palestine by the Palestinians and the Land of Israel by Israelis.

Contents
[hide]
• 1 Historical overview
◦ 1.1 Late 19th century-1920: Origins
◦ 1.2 1920-48: British Mandate of Palestine
◦ 1.3 1948-67
◦ 1.4 1967-93
◦ 1.5 1993-2000: Oslo peace process
◦ 1.6 2000 until today: Second Intifada
• 2 Demographic history
◦ 2.1 Jewish and Arab populations
■ 2.1.1 19th century - 1948
■ 2.1.2 1949-67
■ 2.1.3 1967-until today
◦ 2.2 Jewish and Arab populations in Jerusalem
• 3 See also
• 4 Notes
• 5 References
• 6 External links
[edit] Historical overview
The historical overview below is divided into the main six time periods of the conflict which
fundamentally differ from each other (see The periods of the conflict).

[edit] Late 19th century-1920: Origins

See also: Zionism, Palestinian nationalism, Balfour Declaration of 1917, and McMahon-Hussein

Correspondence
The roots of the conflict can be traced to the late 19th century, with a rise in national movements,
including Zionism and Arab nationalism. Though the Jewish aspiration to return to Zion had
been part of Jewish religious thought for several millennia, the Jewish population in Europe
began to more actively discuss immigration back to the Land of Israel, and the re-establishment
of the Jewish Nation in its national homeland, only during the 1870s and 1880s, largely as a
solution to the widespread persecution of Jews due to anti-Semitism in Russia and Europe. As a
result, the Zionist movement, the modern movement for the creation of a homeland for the
Jewish people, was established as a political movement in 1897. The Zionist movement called
for the establishment of a nation-state for the Jewish people in Palestine which would serve as a
haven for the Jews of the world and in which they would have the right for self-determination.[1]
Zionists increasingly came to hold that this state should be in their historic homeland, which they
referred to as the Land of Israel.[2] The World Zionist Organization and the Jewish National Fund
encouraged immigration and funded purchase of land, both under Ottoman rule and under British
rule, in the region of Palestine.[3] While Arab nationalism, at least in an early form, and Syrian
nationalism were the dominant tendencies along with continued loyalty to the Ottoman state,
Palestinian nationalism was marked by a reaction to the growth of Zionist Jewish immigration to
the region of Palestine and by a desire for self-determination by the Arab population in the
region.[4]

French and British influence and control (Sykes-Picot Agreement, 1916)

Before World War I, the Middle East region, including Palestine, was under the control[5] of the
Ottoman Empire for nearly 400 years. Towards the end of the 19th century, Palestine and the
area beyond was inhabited predominantly by Arab Muslims, Bedouin (principally in the Negev
and Jordan valley) with smaller numbers of Christians (predominantly Arab), Druze, Circassians
and Jews (predominantly Sephardic).[6] At that time most of the Jews worldwide lived outside of
Palestine, predominantly in eastern and central Europe[7] as a result of the expulsion or
emigration from Palestine during the Jewish Diaspora.

Zionist ambitions were increasingly identified as a threat by the Arab leaders in the Palestine
region.[8] Certain developments, such as the acquisition of lands from Arab owners for Jewish
settlements, leading to the eviction of the fellaheen from the lands which they cultivated as
tenant farmers, aggravated the tension between the parties and caused the Arab population in the
region of Palestine to feel dispossessed of their lands.[9] Ottoman land purchase regulations were
brought in after local complaints in opposition to increasing immigration. Ottoman policy
makers in the late 19th century were apprehensive of the increased Russian and European
influence in the region, partly as a result of a large immigration wave from the Russian Empire.
The Ottoman authorities feared that the loyalty of immigrants was primary to their country of
origin, Russia, with whom the Ottoman Empire had a long history of conflicts, and therefore it
might undermine Turkish control in the region of Palestine. The main reason for this concern was
the dismantling of Ottoman authority in the Balkan region. The main reason for the initial
hostility, in the 1880s, towards the Jewish immigration was on the grounds of their being Russian
and European, rather than Jewish. European immigration was considered by local residents as a
threat to the cultural make-up of the region.[10] The significance, to the region, of the anti-Jewish
riots (pogroms) in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and anti-immigration
legislation being enacted in Europe was that Jewish immigration waves began arriving in
Palestine (see First Aliyah and Second Aliyah).[11] As a result of the extent of the various Zionist
enterprises which started becoming apparent,[10] the Arab population in the Palestine region
began protesting against the acquisition of lands by the Jewish population. As a result, in 1892
the Ottoman authorities banned land sales to foreigners. By 1914 the Jewish population in
Palestine had risen to over 60,000, with around 33,000 of these being recent settlers.[12]

As a result of a mutual defense treaty that the Ottoman Empire made with Germany, during
World War I the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers and therefore the Ottoman Empire
was now embroiled in a conflict with Great Britain and France. The possibility of releasing
Palestine from the control of the Ottoman Empire led the Jewish population and the Arab
population in Palestine to support the alignment of the United Kingdom, France, and Russia
during World War I. In the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence there was an undertaking to form
an Arab state in exchange for the Great Arab Revolt and in the Balfour Declaration in 1917 to
"favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, but that nothing
should be done to prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities
in Palestine." In 1916, the Anglo-French Sykes-Picot Agreement allocated to the British Empire
the area of present day Jordan, the area of present day Israel and the West Bank, and the area of
present day Iraq. The Balfour Declaration was seen by Jewish nationalists as the cornerstone of a
future Jewish homeland on both sides of the Jordan River. The Balfour Declaration increased the
concerns of the Arab population in the Palestine region.

Eventually, in 1917, the British forces managed to defeat the Ottoman Turkish forces and
occupied the Palestine region. The land remained under British military administration for the
remainder of the war.

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 which supported the establishment of a Jewish homeland in
Palestine and protected the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities.
On January 3, 1919, future president of the World Zionist Organization Chaim Weizmann and the
future King Faisal I of Iraq signed the Faisal-Weizmann Agreement for Arab-Jewish cooperation
in the Middle East in which Faisal conditionally accepted the Balfour Declaration based on the
fulfillment of British wartime promises of development of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
Faisal's agreement with Weizmann led the Palestinian Arab population to reject the Syrian-Arab-
Nationalist movement led by Faisal (in which many previously placed their hopes) and instead to
agitate for Palestine to become a separate state with an Arab majority.
At the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and Treaty of Versailles, Turkey's loss of its Middle East
Empire was formalized.

[edit] 1920-48: British Mandate of Palestine

See also: British Mandate of Palestine, 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, and Declaration of
Independence (Israel)
After World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, in April 1920 the Allied Supreme
Council meeting at San Remo granted the mandates for Palestine and Transjordan to Britain (the
territories that include the area of present day Israel, Jordan, West Bank and the Gaza Strip),
endorsing the terms of the Balfour Declaration and additionally requiring the creation of an
independent Jewish Agency that would administer Jewish affairs in Palestine.[13] In August
1920, this was officially acknowledged in the Treaty of Sèvres. Both Zionist and Arab
representatives attended the conference, where they met and signed an agreement[14] to
cooperate. The agreement was never implemented. The borders and terms under which the
mandate was to be held were not finalised until September 1922. Article 25 of the mandate
specified that the eastern area (then known as Transjordan or Transjordania) did not have to be
subject to all parts of the Mandate, notably the provisions regarding a Jewish national home. This
was used by the British as one rationale to establish an autonomous Arab state under the
mandate, which it saw as at least partially fulfilling the undertakings in the Hussein-McMahon
Correspondence. On 11 April 1921 the British passed administration of the eastern region of the
British Mandate to the Hashemite Arab dynasty from the Hejaz region (a region located in
present day Saudi Arabia) and on 15 May 1923 recognized it as a state, thereby eliminating
Jewish national aspirations on that part of the British Mandate of Palestine. The mandate over
Transjordan ended on 22 May 1946 when the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan (later Jordan)
gained independence.

Jewish immigration to Palestine continued to grow significantly during the period of the British
Mandate in Palestine, mainly due to the growth of anti-Semitisam in Europe. Between 1919 and
1926, 90,000 immigrants arrived in Palestine because of the anti-Semitic manifestations, such as
the pogroms in Ukraine in which 100,000 Jews were killed.[15] Some of these immigrants were
absorbed in Jewish communities established on lands purchased legally by Zionist agencies from
absentee landlords. In some cases, a large acquisition of lands, from absentee landlords, led to
the replacement of the fellahin tenant farmers with European Jewish settlers, causing Palestinian
Arabs to feel dispossessed. Jewish immigration to Palestine was especially significant after the
rise of the Nazis to power in Germany, following which the Jewish population in Palestine
doubled.

1936-39 Arab revolt in Palestine

The Arab population in Palestine opposed the increase of the Jewish population because they
perceived the massive influx of Jewish immigrants as a real threat to their national identity and to
their attribution to the surrounding Arabic countries.[citation needed] Following this, during the
1920s relations between the Jewish and Arab populations deteriorated and the hostility between
the two groups intensified. The Arab population of the Palestine region who opposed the Yishuv
and the British Pro-Zionist policies began to use violence and terror against the Jewish
population. Arab gangs committed terrorism and murder against Jewish convoys and Jewish
residents.

From 1921 to 1948 the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammad Amin al-Husayni became the
leader of the Palestinian Arab movement and played a key role in inciting religious riots against
the Jewish population in Palestine. The Mufti stirred religious passions against Jews by alleging
that Jews were seeking to rebuild the Jewish Temple on the site of the Dome of the Rock and Al-
Aqsa Mosque. He tried to gain control of the Western Wall (the Kotel), saying that it was sacred
to the Muslims.

The first major riots against the Jewish population in Palestine were the Jaffa riots in 1921. As a
result of the Jaffa riots, the Haganah was founded as a defense force for the Jewish population of
the British Mandate for Palestine. Religious tension over the Kotel and the escalation of the
tensions between the Arab and Jewish populations led to the 1929 Palestine riots. In these
religious-nationalist riots, Jews were massacred in Hebron, and the survivors expelled from the
town. Devastation also took place in Safed and Jerusalem. In 1936, as Europe was preparing for
war, the Supreme Muslim Council in Palestine, led by Amin al-Husayni, instigated the 1936–
1939 Arab revolt in Palestine in which Palestinian Arabs rioted and murdered Jews in various
cities. In 1937 Amin al-Husayni, who was wanted by the British, fled Palestine and took refuge
successively in Lebanon, Iraq, Italy and finally Nazi Germany.

The British responded to the outbreaks of violence with the Haycraft Commission of Inquiry
(1921), the Shaw Report (1930), the Peel Commission of 1936-1937, the Woodhead Commission
(1938) and the White Paper of 1939.

The Peel Commission of 1937 was the first to propose a two-state solution to the conflict,
whereby Palestine would be divided into two states according to its population. The Jewish state
would include the coastal plain, Jezreel Valley, Beit She'an and the Lower Galilee, while the and
Arab state would include Transjordan, Judea and Samaria, the Jordan Valley and most of the
Galilee and the Negev. The Jewish leadership in Palestine had differences of opinion regarding
the proposal of the Peel Commission. The Arab leadership in Palestine rejected the conclusions
and refused to share any land in Palestine with the Jewish population. The rejection of the Peel
Commission's proposal by both parties led to the establishment of the Woodhead Commission,
which rejected the non-applicable proposal of the Peel Commission.

In May 1939 the British government released a new policy paper which sought to implement a
one-state solution in Palestine, significantly reduced the number of Jewish immigrants allowed to
enter Palestine by establishing a quota for Jewish immigration which was set by the British
government in the short-term and which would be set by the Arab leadership in the long-term.
The quota also placed restrictions on the rights of Jews to buy land from Arabs, in an attempt to
limit the socio-political damage. These restrictions remained until the end of the mandate period,
a period which occurred in parallel with World War II and the Holocaust, during which many
Jewish refugees tried to escape from Europe. As a result, during the 1930s and 1940s the
leadership of the Yishuv arranged a couple of illegal immigration waves of Jews to the British
Mandate of Palestine (see also Aliyah Bet), which caused even more tensions in the region.
Ben-Gurion said he wanted to "concentrate the masses of our people in this country [Palestine]
and its environs."[16] When he proposed accepting the Peel proposals in 1937, which included a
Jewish state in part of Palestine, Ben-Gurion told the twentieth Zionist Congress, "The Jewish
state now being offered to us is not the Zionist objective. [...] But it can serve as a decisive stage
along the path to greater Zionist implementation. It will consolidate in Palestine, within the
shortest possible time, the real Jewish force, which will lead us to our historic goal.[17] In a
discussion in the Jewish Agency he said that he wanted a Jewish-Arab agreement "on the
assumption that after we become a strong force, as a result of the creation of the state, we shall
abolish partition and expand to the whole of Palestine."[18]

During the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine ties were made between the Arab leadership in
Palestine and the Nazi movement in Germany. These connections led to cooperation between the
Palestinian national movement and the Axis powers later on during World War II. In May 1941
Amin al-Husayni issued a fatwa for a holy war against Britain. In 1941 during a meeting with
Adolf Hitler Amin al-Husayni asked Germany to oppose, as part of the Arab struggle for
independence, the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine.[19] He received a
promise from Hitler that Germany would eliminate the existing Jewish foundations in Palestine
after the Germans had gained victory in the war.[20] During the war Amin al-Husayni joined the
Nazis, serving with the Waffen SS in Bosnia.

After World War II, as a result of the British policies, the Jewish resistance organizations united
and established the Jewish Resistance Movement which coordinated armed attacks against the
British military which took place between 1945 and 1946. Following the King David Hotel
bombing (in which the Irgun blew up the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, the headquarters of the
British administration), which shocked the public because of the deaths of many innocent
civilians, the Jewish Resistance Movement was disassembled in 1946. The leadership of the
Yishuv decided instead to concentrate their efforts on the illegal immigration and began to
organize a massive immigration of European Jewish refugees to Palestine using small boats
operating in secrecy, many of which were captured at sea by the British and imprisoned in camps
on Cyprus. About 70,000 Jews were brought to Palestine in this way in 1946 and 1947. Details of
the Holocaust had a major effect on the situation in Palestine and propelled large support for the
Zionist cause. In addition, the British government which tried to resolve the issues through the
years in the means of diplomacy eventually decided to return the written mandate of Palestine to
the Council of the United Nations.

UN 1947 partition plan for Palestine

Haganah Fighters, 1947

The newly formed United Nations recommended that Mandatory Palestine be split into three
parts—a Jewish State with a majority Jewish population, an Arab State with a majority Arab
population, and an International Zone comprising Jerusalem and the surrounding area where the
Jewish and Arab populations would be roughly equal. Resolution 181 decided the size of land
allotted to each party. The Jewish State was supposed to be roughly 5,700 square miles
(15,000 km2) in size and was supposed to contain a sizable Arab minority population. The Arab
state was supposed to comprise roughly 4,300 square miles (11,000 km2) and would contain a
tiny Jewish population. Neither state would be contiguous. Jerusalem and Bethlehem were to be
put under the control of the United Nations.[15] Neither side was satisfied with the Partition Plan.
The Jews disliked losing Jerusalem—which had a majority Jewish population at that time—and
worried about the tenability of a noncontiguous state. However, most of the Jews in Palestine
accepted the plan, and the Jewish Agency (the de facto government of the Yishuv) campaigned
fervently for its approval. The more extreme Jewish groups, such as the Irgun, rejected the plan.
The Arab leadership argued that it violated the rights of the majority of the people in Palestine,
which at the time was 67% non-Jewish (1,237,000) and 33% Jewish (608,000).[21] Arab leaders
also argued a large number of Arabs would be trapped in the Jewish State. Every major Arab
leader objected in principle to the right of the Jews to an independent state in Palestine, reflecting
the policies of the Arab League.

The UN General Assembly voted on the Partition Plan on November 29, 1947. Thirty-three
states voted in favor of the Plan, while 13 countries opposed it. Ten countries abstained from the
vote. The Yishuv accepted the plan, but the Arabs in Palestine and the surrounding Arab states
rejected the plan. The Arab countries (all of which had opposed the plan) proposed to query the
International Court of Justice on the competence of the General Assembly to partition a country
against the wishes of the majority of its inhabitants, but were again defeated. The division was to
take effect on the date of British withdrawal from the territory (May 15, 1948).

The approval of the plan sparked attacks carried out by Arab irregulars against the Jewish
population in Palestine. Fighting began almost as soon as the plan was approved. Shooting,
stoning, and rioting continued apace in the following days. The consulates of Poland and
Sweden, both of whose governments had voted for partition, were attacked. Bombs were thrown
into cafes, Molotov cocktails were hurled at shops, and a synagogue was set on fire. As the
British evacuation from the region progressed, the violence became more prevalent. Murders,
reprisals, and counter-reprisals came fast on each others' heels, resulting in dozens of victims
killed on both sides in the process. The sanguinary impasse persisted as no force intervened to
put a stop to the escalating cycles of violence. During the first two months of the war, about
1,000 people were killed and 2,000 injured.[22] By the end of March, the figure had risen to
2,000 dead and 4,000 wounded.[23]

David Ben-Gurion publicly pronouncing the Declaration of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948
On May 14, one day before the British Mandate expired, David Ben-Gurion declared the
establishment of the State of Israel. The declaration of the state referred to the decision of the UN
General Assembly as a legal justification for the establishment of the state. In accordance with
the UN Resolution, the Declaration promised that the State of Israel would ensure complete
equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex, and
guaranteed freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture.

[edit] 1948-67
See also: 1948 Arab–Israeli War, 1948 Palestinian exodus, Occupation of the Gaza Strip by
Egypt, Rule of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Jordan, 1949–1956 Palestinian exodus,
Jewish exodus from Arab lands, Palestinian fedayeen, and Six-Day War
The termination of the British mandate over Palestine and the Declaration of the Establishment
of the State of Israel sparked a full-scale war (1948 Arab–Israeli War) which erupted after May
14, 1948. On 15–16 May, the four armies of Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Iraq[24] invaded the newly
self-declared state[13] followed not long after by units from[24] Lebanon.[13] While in some
areas, Arab commanders ordered villagers to evacuate for military purposes,[25] there is no
evidence that the Arab leadership made a blanket call for evacuation.[26] Many rumors of awful
acts which were committed by Jewish fighters as well as a number of serious actions taken by
Jewish forces led to a growing number of fleeing Arab population.

The 1949 Green Line borders

The war resulted in an Israeli victory, with Israel annexing territory beyond the partition borders
for a proposed Jewish state and into the borders for a proposed Palestinian Arab state.[27] Jordan,
Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt signed the 1949 Armistice Agreements with Israel. The remaining
territories, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, were occupied by Egypt and Transjordan,
respectively. Jordan also annexed[28] East Jerusalem while Israel administered west Jerusalem.
In 1950, The West Bank was unilaterally incorporated into Jordan.[29]

Due to the 1948 Arab–Israeli war, about 856,000 Jews fled or were expelled from their homes in
Arab countries and most were forced to abandon their property.[30] Jews from Libya, Iraq,
Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and North Africa left due to physical and political insecurity, with the
majority being forced to abandon their properties.[30] 260,000 reached Israel in 1948-1951,
600,000 by 1972.[31][32][33] Additionally, due to the war, between 700,000 and 750,000
Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from the area that became Israel and became what is
known today as the Palestinian refugees. The Palestinian refugees were not allowed to return to
Israel and most of the neighboring Arab states, with the exception of Transjordan, denied
granting them - or their descendants - citizenship. In 1949, Israel offered to allow some members
of families that had been separated during the war to return, to release refugee accounts frozen in
Israeli banks, and to repatriate 100,000 refugees.[13] The Arab states[13] rejected this
compromise, at least in part because they were unwilling to take any action that might be
construed as recognition of Israel. As of today, most of them still live in refugee camps and the
question of how their situation should be resolved remains one of the main issues of the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict.

While most of the Palestinian Arab population that remained in Israel after the war was granted
an Israeli citizenship, Arab Israelis were subject to a martial law up to 1966. A variety of legal
measures facilitated the transfer of land abandoned by Arabs to state ownership. In 1966, security
restrictions placed on Arab citizens of Israel were lifted completely, and the government set
about dismantling most of the discriminatory laws and Arab citizens of Israel were granted the
same rights as Jewish citizens.
After the 1948 war, some of the Palestinian refugees whom lived in camps in the West Bank
within Jordanian, controlled territory, the Gaza Strip Egyptian controlled territory and Syria tried
to return by infiltration into the Israel’s territory, and some of those Palestinians who had
remained in Israel were declared infiltrators by Israel and were deported. Ben-Gurion
emphatically rejected the return of refugees in the Israeli Cabinet decision of June 1948
reiterated in a letter to the UN of August 2, 1949 containing the Text of a statement made by
Moshe Sharett on August 1, 1948 where the basic attitude of the Israeli Government was that a
solution must be sought, not through the return of the refugees to Israel, but through the
resettlement of the Palestinian Arab refugee population in other states.[34]

The buildup of the conflict along the Jordanian border went through gradual stages. Building up
from small Israeli raids with Palestinian counter raids through to the major Israeli incursions,
Beit Jalla, Qibya massacre, Ma'ale Akrabim massacre, Nahalin reprisal raid, Rantis and Falameh
reprisal raid. The Lavon Affair led to a deeper distrust of Jews in Egypt, from whose community
key agents in the operation had been recruited, and as a result Egypt retaliated against its Jewish
community. It was only after Israel's raid on an Egyptian military outpost in Gaza in February
1955 that the Egyptian government began to actively sponsor, train, and arm the Palestinian
volunteers from Gaza as Fedayeen units which committed raids into Israel.[35]

Following years of attacks by the Palestinian Fedayeen, the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) was established in 1964. Its goal was the liberation of Palestine through armed struggle.
[36] The original PLO Charter stated the desire for a Palestinian state established within the
entirety of the borders of the British mandate prior to the 1948 war (i.e. the current boundaries of
the State of Israel) and said it is a "national duty ... to purge the Zionist presence from
Palestine."[37] It also called for a right of return and self-determination for Palestinians.

An Israeli raid on an Egyptian military outpost in Gaza in February 1955, resulted in 37 Egyptian
soldiers killed. Soon after, the Egyptian government began to actively sponsored, trained and
armed the Palestinian volunteers from Gaza as Fedayeen units, which committed raids into
Israel.[38] In 1967, after years of Egyptian-aided Palestinian Fedayeen attacks stemming from the
Gaza Strip, the Egyptian expulsion of UNEF, Egypt's amassing of an increased number of troops
in the Sinai Peninsula, and several other threatening gestures from other neighboring Arab
nations, Israel launched a preemptive strike against Egypt. The strike and the operations that
followed became known as the Six-Day War. At the end of the Six-Day War, Israel had captured,
among other territories, the Gaza Strip from Egypt and the West Bank from Jordan (including
East Jerusalem). Shortly after Israel seized control over Jerusalem, Israel asserted sovereignty
over the entire city of Jerusalem and the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem were given a
permanent resident status in Israel. The status of the city as Israel's capital and the disputed status
of the West Bank and Gaza Strip created a new set of contentious issues in the conflict. This
meant that Israel controlled the entire former British mandate of Palestine that under the Balfour
Declaration was supposed to allow a Jewish state within its borders. The fact that Palestine was
never a sovereign state gave the Israelis subsequent support for their argument that they did not
occupy these territories, and therefore did not break the Fourth Accord of the Geneva
Conventions and international law. Following the Six-Day War, the United Nations Security
Council issued a resolution with a clause affirming "the necessity ... for achieving a just
settlement of the refugee problem," referring to the Palestinian refugee problem.[39]
[edit] 1967-93

See also: 1978 South Lebanon conflict, 1982 Lebanon War, and First Intifada
The defeat of the Arab countries in the Six-Day War prompted fractured Palestinian political and
militant groups to give up any remaining hope they had placed in pan-Arabism. In July 1968
armed, non-state actors such as Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
achieved the majority of the Palestinian National Council votes, and on February 3, 1969, at the
Palestinian National Council in Cairo, the leader of the Fatah, Yasser Arafat was elected as the
chairman of the PLO. From the start, the organization used armed violence against civilian and
military targets in the conflict with Israel. The PLO tried to take over the population of the West
Bank, but the IDF forces deported them into Jordan where they began to act against the
Jordanian rule (the rate of Palestinians in Jordan was about 70 percentage of the total population,
which was mostly consisted of refugees) and from there attacked Israel numerous times, using
the infiltration of terrorists and shooting Katyusha rockets. This led retaliation from Israel.

In the late 1960s, tensions between Palestinians and the Jordanian government increased greatly.
In September 1970 a military struggle was held between Jordan and the Palestinian armed
organizations. King Hussein of Jordan was able to quell the Palestinian revolt. During the armed
conflict, tens of thousands of people were killed, the vast majority of whom were Palestinians.
The fighting continued until July 1971 with the expulsion of the PLO to Lebanon. A large
number of Palestinians immigrated to Lebanon after Black September and joined the hundreds of
thousands of Palestinian refugees already there. The center of PLO activity then shifted to
Lebanon, where the 1969 Cairo agreement gave the Palestinians autonomy within the south of
the country. The area controlled by the PLO became known by the international press and locals
as "Fatahland" and contributed to the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War.

The PLO took advantage of its control southern Lebanon in order to launch Katyusha rocket
attacks at Galilee villages and execute terror attacks on the northern border. At the beginning of
the 1970s the Palestinian terror organizations, headed by the PLO and the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine waged an international campaign against Israelis, primarily in Europe. In
an attempt to publicize the Palestinian cause, frustrated Palestinian guerrilla groups in Lebanon
attacked Israeli civilian 'targets' like schools, buses and apartment blocks, with occasional attacks
abroad—for example, at embassies or airports—and with the hijacking of airliners. The peak of
the Palestinian terrorism wave against Israelis occurred in 1972 and took form in several acts of
terrorism, most prominently the Sabena Flight 572 hijacking, the Lod Airport massacre and the
Munich massacre.

Image of one of the masked terrorists looking over the balcony of the Israeli team quarters. This
is the most widely recognizable and iconic photo of the Munich Massacre.[40][41]
The Munich massacre was perpetrated during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. 11
members of the Israeli team were taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists. A botched German
rescue attempt led to the death of all 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. Five of the terrorists were
shot and three survived unharmed. The three surviving Palestinians were released without charge
by the German authorities a month later. The Israeli government responded with an assassination
campaign against the organizers and a raid on the PLO headquarters in Lebanon. Other notable
events include the hijacking of several civilian airliners, the Savoy Hotel attack, the Zion Square
explosive refrigerator and the Coastal Road massacre. During the 1970s and the early 1980s,
Israel suffered attacks from PLO bases in Lebanon, such as the Avivim school bus massacre in
1970 and the Ma'alot massacre in 1974 in which Palestinians attacked a school in Ma'alot killing
twenty-two children.

In 1973 The Syrian and Egyptian armies launched the Yom Kippur War, a well-planned surprise
attack against Israel. The Egyptians and Syrians advanced during the first 24–48 hours, after
which momentum began to swing in Israel's favor. Eventually a Disengagement of Forces
agreement was signed between the parties and a ceasefire took effect that ended the war. The
Yom Kippur War paved the way for the Camp David Accords in 1978, which set a precedent for
future peace negotiations.

In the mid-1970s many attempts were made by Gush Emunim movement to establish outposts or
resettle former Jewish areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Initially the Israeli government
forcibly disbanded these settlements. However, in the absence of peace talks to determine the
future of these and other occupied territories, Israel ceased enforcement of the original ban on
settlement, which led to the founding of the first settlements in these regions.

In July 1976, an Air France plane carrying 260 people was hijacked by Palestinian and German
terrorists and flown to Uganda. There, the Germans separated the Jewish passengers from the
Non-Jewish passengers, releasing the non-Jews. The hijackers threatened to kill the remaining
100-odd Jewish passengers (and the French crew who had refused to leave). Israel responded
with a rescue operation in which the kidnapped Jews were freed.

The rise of the Likud party to the government in 1977 led to the establishment of a large number
of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

On March 11, 1978, a force of nearly a dozen armed Palestinian terrorists landed their boats near
a major coastal road in Israel. There they hijacked a bus and sprayed gunfire inside and at
passing vehicles, killing thirty-seven civilians. In response, the IDF launched Operation Litani
three days later, with the goal of taking control of Southern Lebanon up to the Litani River. The
IDF achieved this goal, and the PLO withdrew to the north into Beirut. After Israel withdrew
from Lebanon, Fatah forces resumed firing rockets into the Galilee region of Israel. During the
years following operation Litani, many diplomatic efforts were made which tried to end the war
on the Israeli-Lebanese border, including the effort of Philip Habib, the emissary of Ronald
Reagan who in the summer of 1981 managed to arrange a lasting cease-fire between Israel and
the PLO which lasted about a year.

Israel ended the ceasefire after an assassination attempt on the Israeli Ambassador in the Britain,
Shlomo Argov, in mid-1982 (which was made by Abu Nidal's organization that was ostracized
from the PLO). This led Israel to invade Lebanon in the 1982 Lebanon War on June 6, 1982 with
the aim to protect the North of Israel from terrorist attacks. IDF invaded Lebanon and even
occupied Beirut. To end the siege, the US and European governments brokered an agreement
guaranteeing safe passage for Arafat and Fatah – guarded by a multinational force – to exile in
Tunis. During the war, Israeli allied Phalangist Christian Arab militias carried out the bloody
Sabra and Shatila Massacre in which 700-3,500 unarmed Palestinians were killed by the
Phalangist militias while the Israeli troops surrounded the camps with tanks and checkpoints,
monitoring entrances and exits. For its involvement in the Lebanese war and its indirect
responsibility for the Sabra and Shatila Massacre, Israel was heavily criticized, including from
within. An Israeli Commission of Inquiry found that Israeli military personnel, among them
defense minister and future prime minister Ariel Sharon, had several times become aware that a
massacre was in progress without taking serious steps to stop it, leading to his resignation as
Israel's Defense Minister. In June 1985, Israel withdrew most of its troops from Lebanon, leaving
a residual Israeli force and an Israeli-supported militia in southern Lebanon as a "security zone"
and buffer against attacks on its northern territory.

Meanwhile, the PLO led an international diplomatic front against Israel in Tunis. Following the
wave of terror attacks including the murder on MS Achille Lauro in October 1985, Israel bombed
the PLO commandership in Tunis during Operation Wooden Leg.

Media coverage of the first Intifada (1987-1992) often focused on young Palestinians throwing
stones at tanks and Israeli soldiers.
The continuing establishment of the Israeli settlements[citation needed] and continuing Israeli
occupation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip led to the first Palestinian Intifada (uprising) in
December 1987 which lasted until the Madrid Conference of 1991, despite Israeli attempts to
suppress it. It was a partially spontaneous uprising, but by January 1988, it was already under the
direction from the PLO headquarters in Tunis, which carried out ongoing terrorist attacks
targeting Israeli civilians. The riots escalated daily throughout the territories and were especially
severe in the Gaza Strip. The Intifada was renowned by its stone-throwing demonstrations by
youth against the heavily-armed Israeli Defense Forces.[42] Over the course of the First Intifada,
a total 1,551 Palestinians and 422 Israelis were killed.[citation needed] In 1987, Ahmed Yassin co-
founded Hamas with Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi. Since then, Hamas has been involved in what it
calls "armed resistance" against Israel, which includes mainly terrorist acts against Israeli civilian
population.

On November 15, 1988, a year after the outbreak of the first intifada, the PLO declared the
establishment of the Palestinian state in Algiers. The proclaimed "State of Palestine" is not and
has never actually been an independent state, as it has never had sovereignty over any territory in
history. The declaration is generally interpreted to have recognized Israel within its pre-1967
boundaries, and its right to exist. Following this declaration, the United States and many other
countries recognized the PLO.[43]

Prior to the Gulf War in 1990-91, Arafat supported Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and
opposed the US-led coalition attack on Iraq. Arafat's decision also severed relations with Egypt
and many of the oil-producing Arab states that supported the US-led coalition. Many in the US
also used Arafat's position as a reason to disregard his claims to being a partner for peace. After
the end of hostilities, many Arab states that backed the coalition cut off funds to the PLO and
bringing the PLO to the brink of crisis.[44]
In the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, the coalition's victory in the Gulf War opened a new
opportunity to advance the peace process. The U.S launched a diplomatic initiative in
cooperation with Russia which resulted in the October 1991 Madrid peace conference. The
conference was hosted by the government of Spain and co-sponsored by the USA and the USSR.
The Madrid peace conference was an early attempt by the international community to start a
peace process through negotiations involving Israel and the Palestinians, as well as Arab
countries including Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. The Palestinian team, due to Israeli objections,
was initially formally a part of a joint Palestinian-Jordanian delegation and consisted of
Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza without open PLO associations.[45]

[edit] 1993-2000: Oslo peace process

Main article: Oslo Accords

Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton, and Yasser Arafat during the Oslo Accords on September 13, 1993.
In January 1993, Israeli and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) negotiators began secret
negotiations in Oslo, Norway. On September 9, 1993, Yasser Arafat sent a letter to Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin, stating that the PLO officially recognized Israel's right to exist and
officially renouncing terrorism.[46] On September 13, Arafat and Rabin signed a Declaration of
Principles in Washington, D.C., on the basis of the negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian
teams in Oslo, Norway. The declaration was a major conceptual breakthrough achieved outside
of the Madrid framework which specifically barred foreign-residing PLO leaders from the
negotiation process. After this, a long process of negotiation known as the "Oslo peace process"
began.

During the Oslo peace process throughout the 1990s, as both sides obligated to work towards a
two-state solution, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization negotiated, unsuccessfully,
and tried to reach to a mutual agreement.

One of the main features of the Oslo Peace Process was the establishment of the autonomous
governmental authority, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its associated governing institutions
to administer Palestinian communities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. During the Oslo
peace process throughout the 1990s, the Palestinian Authority was ceded authority from Israel
over various regions of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This process gave it governmental and
economic authority over many Palestinian communities. It also gave the PA many of the
components of a modern government and society, including a Palestinian police force,
legislature, and other institutions. In return for these concessions, the Palestinian Authority was
asked to promote tolerance for Israel within Palestinian society, and acceptance of Israel's right
to exist.

One of the most contentious issues surrounding this peace process is whether the PA in fact met
its obligations to promote tolerance. There is specific evidence that the PA actively funded and
supported many terrorist activities and groups.[47] Palestinians stated that any terrorist acts
stemmed from Israel not having conceded enough land and political power to win support among
ordinary Palestinians. Israelis stated that these acts of terrorism were because the PA openly
encouraged and supported incitement against Israel, and terrorism. There was increasing
disagreement and debate among Israelis about the amount of positive results and benefits
produced by the Oslo process. Supporters said it was producing advances leading to a viable
Palestinian society which would promote genuine acceptance of Israel. Opponents said that
concessions were merely emboldening extremist elements to commit more violence in order to
win further concessions, without providing any real acceptance, benefits, goodwill, or
reconciliation for Israel in return.

In February 1994 during the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre a follower of the Kach movement
killed 25 Palestinian-Arabs at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. As an act of revenge to the
Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, in April 1994, Hamas launched suicide bomber attacks targeting
Israeli civilian population in many locations throughout Israel, however, once the Hamas started
to the use these means it became a regular pattern of action against Israel.

In September 28, 1995, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat signed
the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in Washington.
the agreement marked the conclusion of the first stage of negotiations between Israel and the
PLO. The agreement allowed the PLO leadership to relocate to the occupied territories and
granted autonomy to the Palestinians with talks to follow regarding final status. In return the
Palestinians recognized Israel's right to exist and promised to abstain from use of terror. However
the agreement was opposed by the Hamas and other Palestinian factions whom at this point were
already committing suicide bomber attacks throughout Israel.

Tensions in Israel, arising from the continuation of terrorism and anger at loss of territory, led to
the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin by a right-wing Jewish radical on November 4, 1995.
Upon Rabin's assassination, the Israeli prime minister's post was filled by Shimon Peres. Peres
continued Rabin's policies in supporting the peace process.

In 1996, increasing Israeli doubts about the peace process, led to Benjamin Netanyahu of the
Likud Party winning the election, mainly due to his promise to use a more rigid line in the
negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu raised many questions about many central
premises of the Oslo process. One of his main points was disagreement with the Oslo premise
that the negotiations should proceed in stages, meaning that concessions should be made to
Palestinians before any resolution was reached on major issues, such as the status of Jerusalem,
and the amending of the Palestinian National Charter. Oslo supporters had claimed that the
multi-stage approach would build goodwill among Palestinians and would propel them to seek
reconciliation when these major issues were raised in later stages. Netanyahu said that these
concessions only gave encouragement to extremist elements, without receiving any tangible
gestures in return. He called for tangible gestures of Palestinian goodwill in return for Israeli
concessions.

In January 1996 Israel assassinated the chief bombmaker of Hamas, Yahya Ayyash. In reaction to
this, Hamas carried out a wave of suicide attacks in Israel. Following these attacks the
Palestinian Authority began to act against the Hamas and oppress their activity.
In January 1997 Netanyahu signed the Hebron Protocol with the Palestinian Authority, resulting
in the redeployment of Israeli forces in Hebron and the turnover of civilian authority in much of
the area to the Palestinian Authority.

In 1997, after two deadly suicide attacks in Jerusalem by the Hamas, Israeli secret agents were
sent to Jordan to eliminate the political head of the Department of Hamas, Khaled Mashal, using
a special poison (See the assassination attempt on Khaled Mashal). Nevertheless, the operation
entangled and the secret agents were captured. In return of their release Israel sent over the
medicine which saved his life and freed a dozen of Palestinian prisoners including Sheikh
Ahmad Yassin. This release and the increase of the security forces of the Palestinian Authority,
led to a cease-fire in the suicide attacks until the outbreak of the Second Intifada.

Eventually, the lack of progress of the peace process led to new negotiations which produced the
Wye River Memorandum which detailed the steps to be taken by the Israeli government and
Palestinian Authority to implement the earlier Interim Agreement of 1995. It was signed by
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, and on November
17, 1998, Israel's 120 member parliament, the Knesset, approved the Wye River Memorandum
by a vote of 75-19.

Ehud Barak, Bill Clinton, and Yasser Arafat during the 2000 Camp David Summit
In 1999, Ehud Barak was elected prime minister. Barak continued Rabin's policies in supporting
the peace process. In 2000, 18 years after Israel occupied Southern Lebanon in the 1982 Lebanon
War, the occupation ended as Israel unilaterally withdrew its remaining forces from the "security
zone" in southern Lebanon.

As the violence increased with little hope for diplomacy, in July 2000 the Camp David 2000
Summit was held which was aimed at reaching a "final status" agreement. The summit collapsed
after Yasser Arafat would not accept a proposal drafted by American and Israeli negotiators.
Barak was prepared to offer the entire Gaza Strip, a Palestinian capital in a part of East
Jerusalem, 73% of the West Bank (excluding eastern Jerusalem) raising to 90-94% after 10–25
years, and financial reparations for Palestinian refugees for peace. Arafat turned down the offer
without making a counter-offer.[48]

[edit] 2000 until today: Second Intifada

See also: Second Intifada, Israel's unilateral disengagement plan, Israeli West Bank barrier,
Gaza–Israel conflict, and 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict

The approved West Bank barrier route as of May 2005

After the signing of the Oslo Accords failed to bring about a Palestinian state, in September 2000
the Second Intifada (uprising) broke out, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence,
which has been taking place until the present day. The Second Intifada has caused thousands of
victims on both sides, both among combatants and among civilians and has been more deadly
than the first Intifada. Many Palestinians consider the Second Intifada to be a legitimate war of
national liberation against foreign occupation, whereas many Israelis consider it to be a terrorist
campaign.[49]

The failure of the peace process and the eruption of the Second Intifada, which included
increased Palestinian terror attacks being made against Israeli civilians, led much of the Israeli
public and political leadership to lose confidence in the Palestinian Authority as a peace partner.
Due to an increase in terror attacks during the Second Intifada, mainly carried out by Hamas
against Israeli civilians, Israeli troops began conducting regular raids and arrests inside the West
Bank. In addition, Israel increased the selective assassinations, initially aimed at active terrorist
fighters and later on aimed at the terrorist leadership as well, including Sheikh Ahmad Yassin.
This policy spurred controversy within Israel and worldwide.

After the collapse of Barak's government, Ariel Sharon was elected Prime Minister On February
6, 2001. Sharon invited the Israeli Labor Party into the coalition to shore up support for the
disengagement plan. Due to the deterioration of the political situation refused to continue
negotiations with the Palestinian Authority at the Taba Summit, or under any aspect of the Oslo
Accords.

At the Beirut Summit in 2002, the Arab League proposed an alternative political plan aimed at
ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it was rejected by Israel (mostly because it demanded
a Palestinian right of return).

After a period of relative restraint on the part of Israel, after a lethal suicide attack in the Park
Hotel in Netanya which happen on March 27, 2002 in which 30 Jews were murdered, Sharon
ordered Operation Defensive Shield, a large-scale military operation carried out by the Israel
Defense Forces between March 29 until May 10, 2002 in Palestinian cities in the West Bank. The
operation contributed significantly to the reduction of Palestinian terror attacks in Israel.

As part of the efforts to fight Palestinian Terrorism, in June 2002, Israel began construction of the
West Bank Fence along the Green Line border. After the barrier went up, Palestinian suicide
bombings and other attacks across Israel dropped by 90%.[50] However, this barrier became a
major issue of contention between the two sides.

Following the severe economic and security situation in Israel, the Likud Party headed by Ariel
Sharon won the Israeli elections in January 2003 in a overwhelming victory. The elections lead
to a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinians and to the Aquba summit in the May
2003 in which Sharon endorsed the Road Map for Peace put forth by the United States, European
Union, and Russia, which opened a dialogue with Mahmud Abbas, and announced his
commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state in the future. Following the endourising of the
Road Map, the Quartet on the Middle East was established, consisting of representitives from the
United States, Russia, EU and UN as an intermediary body of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

On March 19, 2003 Arafat appointed Mahmoud Abbas as the Prime Minister. The rest of Abbas's
term as prime minister continued to be characterized by numerous conflicts between him and
Arafat over the distribution of power between the two. The United States and Israel accused
Arafat of constantly undermining Abbas and his government. Continuing violence and Israeli
"target killings" of known terrorists forced Abbas to pledge a crackdown in order to uphold the
Palestinian Authority's side of the Road Map for Peace. This led to a power struggle with Arafat
over control of the Palestinian security services; Arafat refused to release control to Abbas, thus
preventing him from using them in a crackdown on militants. Abbas resigned from the post of
Prime Minister in October 2003, citing lack of support from Israel and the United States as well
as "internal incitement" against his government.[51]

In the end of 2003, Sharon embarked on a course of unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip,
while maintaining control of its coastline and airspace. Sharon's plan has been welcomed by both
the Palestinian Authority and Israel's left wing as a step towards a final peace settlement.
However, it has been greeted with opposition from within his own Likud party and from other
right wing Israelis, on national security, military, and religious grounds. In January 2005 Sharon
formed a national unity government that included representatives of Likud, Labor, and Meimad
and Degel HaTorah as "out-of-government" supporters without any seats in the government
(United Torah Judaism parties usually reject having ministerial offices as a policy). Between 16
and August 30, 2005, Sharon controversially expelled 9,480 Jewish settlers from 21 settlements
in Gaza and four settlements in the northern West Bank. The disengagement plan was
implemented in September 2005. Following the withdrawal, the Israeli town of Sderot and other
Israeli communities near the Gaza strip became subject to constant shelling and mortar bomb
attacks from Gaza with only minimal Israeli response.

Following the November 2004 death of long-time Fatah party PLO leader and PA chairman
Yasser Arafat, Fatah member Mahmoud Abbas was elected President of the Palestinian National
Authority in January 2005.

One key allegation which emerged against the PA was that Arafat and Fatah had received billions
of dollars in aid from foreign nations and organizations and had never used this money to
develop Palestinian society. It was alleged that the money was used for Arafat's personal
expenses. These allegations gradually grew in prominence, which increased Palestinian popular
support for the group Hamas, which was often seen as being more efficient and honest and had
built various institutions and social services. Hamas also stated clearly that it did not recognize
Israel's right to exist and did not accept the Oslo process nor any other peace process with Israel.
It openly stated that it had encouraged and organized acts of terrorism and many attacks.

The strengthening of the Hamas organization amongst the Palestinians, the gradual disintegration
of the Palestinian Authority and the Fatah organization, and the Israeli disengagement plan and
especially the death of Yasser Arafat led to the policy change of the Hamas movement in early
2005 which started putting greater emphasis to its political characteristics.

In 2006 Palestinian legislative elections Hamas won a majority in the Palestinian Legislative
Council, prompting the United States and many European countries to cut off all funds to the
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority[52], insisting that the Hamas must recognize Israel,
renounce violence and accept previous peace pacts.[53] Israel refused to negotiate with Hamas,
since Hamas never renounced its beliefs that Israel has no right to exist and that the entire State
of Israel is an illegal occupation which must be wiped out.
Footage of a rocket attack in Southern Israel, March 2009
In June 2006 during a well-planned operation, Hamas managed to cross the border from Gaza,
attack an Israeli tank, kill two IDF soldiers and kidnap wounded Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit back
into the Gaza Strip. Following the incident and in response to numerous rocket firings by Hamas
from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, fighting broke out between Hamas and Israel in the
Gaza Strip (see 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict).

In the summer of 2007 a Fatah–Hamas conflict broke out which eventually led Hamas taking
control of the Gaza strip which in practice divided the Palestinian Authority into two. Various
forces affiliated with Fatah engaged in combat with Hamas, in numerous gun battles. Most Fatah
leaders escaped to Egypt and the West Bank, while some were captured and killed. Fatah
remained in control of the West Bank, and President Abbas formed a new governing coalition,
which some critics of Fatah said subverts the Palestinian Constitution and excludes the majority
government of Hamas.

In November 2007 the Annapolis Conference was held. The conference marked the first time a
two-state solution was articulated as the mutually agreed-upon outline for addressing the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict. The conference ended with the issuing of a joint statement from all parties.

A Qassam rocket fired from a civilian area in Gaza towards southern Israel, January 2009
A fragile six-month truce between Hamas and Israel expired on December 19, 2008.[54] Hamas
and Israel could not agree on conditions to extend the truce.[55] Hamas blamed Israel for not
lifting the Gaza Strip blockade, and for an Israeli raid on a purported tunnel, crossing the border
into the Gaza Strip from Israel on November 4,[56] which it held constituted a serious breach of
the truce.[57] Israel accuses Hamas of violating the truce citing the frequent rocket and mortar
attacks on Israeli cities.[58]

An explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict.
The Israeli operation began with an intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip,[59] targeting Hamas
bases, police training camps,[60] police headquarters and offices.[61] Civilian infrastructure,
including mosques, houses, medical facilities and schools, were also attacked. Israel has said
many of these buildings were used by combatants, and as storage spaces for weapons and
rockets.[62] Hamas intensified its rocket and mortar attacks against targets in Israel throughout
the conflict, hitting previously untargeted cities such as Beersheba and Ashdod.[63] On January 3,
2009, the Israeli ground invasion began.[64][65]

The operation resulted in the deaths of more than 1,300 Palestinians. [citation needed] The IDF
released a report stating that the vast majority of the dead were Hamas militants.[66] The
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reported that 926 of the 1,417 dead had been civilians and
non-combatants.[67]
Since 2009, the Obama administration has repeatedly pressured the Israeli government led by
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze the growth of Israeli settlements in the West Bank
and reignite the peace process between Israel and the Palestinian people.[68] During President
Obama's Cairo speech on June 4, 2009 in which Obama addressed the Muslim world Obama
stated, among other things, that "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued
Israeli settlements". "This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to
achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop." Following Obama's Cairo speech
Netanyahu immediately called a special government meeting. On June 14, ten days after
Obama's Cairo speech, Netanyahu gave a speech at Bar-Ilan University in which he endorsed, for
the first time, a "Demilitarized Palestinian State", after two months of refusing to commit to
anything other than a self-ruling autonomy when coming into office. The speech was widely seen
as a response to Obama's speech.[69] Netanyahu stated that he would accept a Palestinian state if
Jerusalem were to remain the united capital of Israel, the Palestinians would have no army, and
the Palestinians would give up their demand for a right of return. He also claimed the right for a
"natural growth" in the existing Jewish settlements in the West Bank while their permanent status
is up to further negotiation. In general, the address represented a complete turnaround for his
previously hawkish positions against the peace process.[70] The overture was quickly rejected by
Palestinian leaders such as Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, who called the speech "racist".
[69]

Graphic showing the number of Qassam rockets fired by Palestinians from Gaza Strip by month,
from 2002 to 2007 according to Israeli Intelligence.

Israeli and Palestinian Casualties during 2008 according to the Israeli non-governmental
organization B'Tselem

[edit] Demographic history

[edit] Jewish and Arab populations

The following section presents the demographic history of the Jewish and Arab populations in
Palestine, Israel and the Palestinian territories spaning through the last two centuries which has
been taken from census results and official documents which mention demographic composition.
See Demographics of Israel and Demographics of the Palestinian territories for a more detailed
overview of the current demographics.

[edit] 19th century - 1948

Demographics in Palestine[13][71]
Year
Jews
Arabs
Total
 1800
6,700
268,000
274,700
1880
24,000
525,000
549,000
1915
87,500
590,000
677,500
1931
174,000
837,000
1,011,000
1936
> 400,000
< 800,000
1,200,000
1947
630,000
1,310,000
1,940,000
UN Partition Plan (1947)[72]
Area allotted for the Jewish state
Area allotted for the Arab state
Jews
Arabs
Jews
Arabs
498,000
407,000
10,000
725,000
[edit] 1949-67

Demographics in Israel[73]
Year
Israel
Total
Jews
Arabs
1949
1,013,900
159,1001
 1,173,000
1961
 ?
 ?
 ?
1The decrease in the Arab population between 1947 and 1949 is due to the rejection of the United

Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, the subsequent 1948 war and the 1948 Palestinian exodus.

Demographics in the Egyptian occupied Gaza Strip and in the Jordanian occupied West Bank[74]
Year
Egyptian occupied Gaza Strip
Jordanian occupied West Bank
Total
Jews
Arabs
Jews
Arabs
1950
 ?
240,000
 ?
765,000
 ?
1960
 ?
302,000
 ?
799,000
 ?
[edit] 1967-until today

Demographics in Israel[73]
Year
Israel
Total
Jews
Arabs
1967
2,383,6002
392,700
2,776,300
1973
2,845,0002
493,200
3,338,200
1983
 3,412,5002
706,100
4,118,600
1990
3,946,7002
875,000
4,821,700
1995
4,522,3002
1,004,900
5,527,200
2000
4,955,4002
1,188,700
6,144,100
2006
5,137,800
1,439,700
6,652,896
2 - data which currently includes the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well.

Demographics in the Israeli occupied Gaza Strip and in the Israeli occupied West Bank[75]
Year
Israeli occupied Gaza Strip
Israeli occupied West Bank
Total
Jews
Arabs
Jews
Arabs
1970
 ?
368,000
 ?
677,000
 ?
1980
 ?
497,000
 ?
964,000
 ?
1985
 ?
532,288
 ?
 1,044,000
 ?
1990
 ?
642,814
 ?
1,254,506
 ?
1995
 ?
875,231
 ?
1,626,689
 ?
2000
 ?
1,132,063
 ?
2,020,298
 ?
2006
0
1,428,757
255,600
2,460,492
4,144,849
[edit] Jewish and Arab populations in Jerusalem

See also: Demographics of Jerusalem

Demographics of Jerusalem[28]
Year
Jews
Arabs
Total
1860
6,000
6,000
12,000
1892
26,000
16,000
42,000
1922
34,000
29,000
 63,000
1942
86,000
54,000
140,000
1948
99,830
65,170
165,000
1967 (July)
200,032
65,968
266,000
1995
417,000
174,400
591,400
2000
437,240
220,260
657,500
[edit] See also
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict timeline
• Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Israeli views of the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• History of the Arab-Israeli conflict
• History of the Jews in the Land of Israel
• Palestinian political violence
• Fedayeen (Palestinian)
• Israeli Settlements
• Israel and the United Nations
• Zionist and Palestinian Arab attitudes before 1948
[edit] Notes
1. ^ Hattis Rolef, Susan (Sheila) and Avraham Sela. "Zionism." The Continuum Political
Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Ed. Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002. pp. 928-932.
2. ^ Smith, Charles D. "Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict." Google Book Search. April
1, 2009.
3. ^ Mark Tessler. A History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Indianapolis: Indiana University
Press, 1994), p. 53.
4. ^ Gelvin, James L. " Google Books" (accessed March 24, 2009). The Israel-Palestine
Conflict:100 Years of War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN
0-521-61804-5. p 93
5. ^ "Palestine: Ottoman rule." Britannica Online Encyclopedia. April 1, 2009.
6. ^ Sephardi & Mizrahi
◦ Peter Y. Medding, Makhon le-Yahadut zemanenu ʻa. sh. Avraham Harman (2008)
Sephardic Jewry and Mizrahi Jews Oxford University Press US, ISBN
0195340973 pp 3-7
◦ Alfassa.com Sephardic Contributions to the Development of the State of Israel By
Shelomo Alfassá
7. ^ The Jewish Diaspora
◦ Viktor Karády (2004) The Jews of Europe in the Modern Era: A Socio-historical
Outline Central European University Press, ISBN 9639241520 Ch 1 (Diaspora in
Europe and the World in Numbers) pp 1-3
◦ William Brustein (2003) Roots of hate: anti-Semitism in Europe before the
Holocaust Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521774780 p 3
8. ^ Virginia Page Fortna (2004) Peace time: cease-fire agreements and the durability of
peace Princeton University Press, ISBN 0691115125 p 97
9. ^ Quigley John B. (2006) The case for Palestine: an international law perspective Duke
University Press, ISBN 0822335395 p 6
10. ^ a b Gudrun Krämer, Graham Harman (2008) A history of Palestine: from the Ottoman
conquest to the founding of the state of Israel Princeton University Press, ISBN
0691118973 p 121
11. ^ Russian Pogroms, Demonstrations, anti-immigration legislation and emigration
◦ "The Zionists had no following of any consequence at that time in the Jewish
working class movement. The Zionist press had besides accused the revolutionary
movement in Russia of being in a way to blame for the pogromist activity of the
Russian Government."
12. Rudolf Rocker, Colin Ward (2005) The London Years, AK Press, ISBN 1904859224 p 86

◦ Arthur Hertzberg (1959) The Zionist Idea: A Historical Analysis and Reader,
Doubleday, p 42
◦ "Between 1905 and 1914, the years in which more than a million Jews emigrated
to the United States, 24,000 made the journey from Russia to Palestine."
13. Martin Gilbert (1984) The Jews of hope, Macmillan, ISBN 0333366255 p 79

◦ "Only a minority of Jewish leader favoured emigration [from the Russian Pale]
the issue was debated in the Jewish press for several years. An estimated 80
percent of those who emigrated went to the United States; between 1881 and 1890
the number of Russian Jews to enter the United States totalled 135,000 (S.
Jospeph. Jewish immigration to the United States from 1881-1910 [New York,
1914], p 93) for the Jewish intellectuals who favoured emigration the main issue
was: America or Palestine."
14. Paul R. Mendes-Flohr, Jehuda Reinharz (1995) The Jew in the modern world: a
documentary history Oxford University Press US, ISBN 019507453X p 414
15. ^ Palestine, Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Primer
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East. Ed. Avraham Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002. pp. 58-121.
17. ^ http://www.mideastweb.org/feisweiz.htm
18. ^ a b Berry, M. and Philo, G., Israel and Palestine: Conflicting Histories, London: Pluto
Press (2006)
19. ^ Y. Gorny, (1987), 'Zionism and the Arabs, 1882-1948', p. 216
20. ^ Y. Gorny, 1987, 'Zionism and the Arabs, 1882-1948', p. 259
21. ^ Simha Flapan, 'Zionism and the Palestinians', 1979, ISBN 0-85664-499-4, p.265
22. ^ Lewis, Bernard. The Jews of Islam, Princeton University Press, Princeton 1984, ISBN
0691008078
23. ^ Christopher Browning, with Jürgen Matthäus, The Origins of the Final Solution: The
Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939-March 1942. University of Nebraska
Press, 2004 p.406, drawing on David Yisraeli, The Palestine Problem in German Politics,
1889-1945 p. 310. In his note to the text p.539 n.107, Browning records that Fritz
Grobba's recollection is slightly different and less specific: 'At the moment of Arab
liberation, Germany had no interest there other than the destruction of the power
protecting the Jews’(die Vernichtung der das Judentum protegierenden Macht).ISBN
0803213271
24. ^ Mid east web Report of UNSCOP — 1947
25. ^ Special UN commission (April 16, 1948), § II.5
26. ^ Yoav Gelber (2006), p.85
27. ^ a b Nafez Nazzal (1978) The Palestinian exodus from Galilee, 1948 Institute for
Palestine Studies, pp 18 & 36
28. ^ Benny Morris, Righteous Victims (New York: Vintage Books, 2001), 256
29. ^ Benny Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited (Cambridge
University Press, 2004), 269f
30. ^ Baylis Thomas (1999) How Israel was won: a concise history of the Arab-Israeli
conflict Lexington Books, ISBN 0739100645 p xiv
31. ^ a b Sela, Avraham. "Jerusalem." The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle
East. Ed. Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002. pp. 491-498.
32. ^ Peter Bouckaert, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch (Organization), Clarisa
Bencomo (2001) Center of the storm: a case study of human rights abuses in Hebron
district Published by Human Rights Watch, ISBN 1564322602 p 15
33. ^ a b Malka Hillel Shulewitz, The Forgotten Millions: The Modern Jewish Exodus from
Arab Lands, Continuum 2001, pp. 139 and 155.
34. ^ Malka Hillel Shulewitz, The Forgotten Millions: The Modern Jewish Exodus from
Arab Lands, Continuum 2001, pp. 139 and 155.
35. ^ Schwartz, Adi. "All I wanted was justice" Haaretz, January 10, 2008.
36. ^ ^ Ada Aharoni "The Forced Migration of Jews from Arab Countries, Historical Society
of Jews from Egypt website. Accessed February 1, 2009.
37. ^ UN Doc. IS/33 2 August 1948 Text of a statement made by Moshe Sharett on August 1,
1948
38. ^ "Records show that until the Gaza raid, the Egyptian military authorities had a
consistent and firm policy of curbing infiltration...into Israel...and that it was only
following the raid that a new policy was put in place, that of organizing the fedayeen
 units and turning them into an official instrument of warfare against Israel." - Shlaim, p.
128-129.
39. ^ Sela, Avraham. "Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)." The Continuum Political
Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Ed. Avraham Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002. pp.
58-121.
40. ^ Qtd. in Sela, "Palestine Liberation Organization ...," p.
41. ^ "Records show that until the Gaza raid, the Egyptian military authorities had a
consistent and firm policy of curbing infiltration...into Israel...and that it was only
following the raid that a new policy was put in place, that of organizing the fedayeen
units and turning them into an official instrument of warfare against Israel." - Shlaim, p.
128-129.
42. ^ Eran, Oded. "Arab-Israel Peacemaking." The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the
Middle East. Ed. Avraham Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002, page 127.
43. ^ Breznican, Anthony (December 21, 2005). "Messages from 'Munich'". USA Today.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2005-12-21-munich_x.htm. Retrieved May 4,
2010.
44. ^ Karon, Tony (September 12, 2000). "Revisiting the Olympics' Darkest Day". Time.
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,54669,00.html. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
45. ^ BBC: A History of Conflict
46. ^ "Mr. Shultz Understands the Politics of Arafat; Grasp at Algiers". The New York Times.
December 8, 1988. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/08/opinion/l-mr-shultz-
understands-the-politics-of-arafat-grasp-at-algiers-206688.html?n=Top/Reference/Times
%20Topics/Organizations/P/Palestine%20Liberation%20Organization. Retrieved April 2,
2010.
47. ^ Aburish, Said K. (1998). From Defender to Dictator. New York: Bloomsbury
Publishing. pp. 201–228. ISBN 1-58234-049-8.
48. ^ Haberman, Clyde (October 22, 1991). "Palestinian Says His Delegation Will Assert
P.L.O. Ties at Talks". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/22/world/
palestinian-says-his-delegation-will-assert-plo-ties-at-talks.html?
sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
49. ^ Israel-PLO Recognition Embassy of the United States in Tel Aviv
50. ^ "Palestinian Authority funds go to militants." BBC News. November 7, 2003. June 4,
2008.
51. ^ Camp David Proposals for Final Palestine-Israel Peace Settlement
52. ^ "Israel, the Conflict and Peace: Answers to FAQ." Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
November 3, 2003. April 20, 2009.
53. ^ Townhall.com:Israel's fence, with all its implications, is an absolute necessity
54. ^ Palestinian prime minister Abbas resigns (CNN)
55. ^ "Online NewsHour: Palestinian Authority Strapped for Cash." PBS. February 28, 2006.
January 5, 2009.
56. ^ Internal Palestinian violence in Gaza threatens to torpedo Israeli peace efforts The
Associated Press. December 11, 2006
57. ^ "TIMELINE - Israeli-Hamas violence since truce ended". Reuters. http://
uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKTRE50423320090105.
58. ^ "Hamas 'might renew' truce in Gaza". BBC. December 23, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/
2/hi/middle_east/7797144.stm. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
59. ^ Anthony H. Cordesman, ‘THE “GAZA WAR”: A Strategic Analysis,’ Center for
Strategic & International Studies, February 2009 p.9
60. ^ ‘Israeli Airstrike on Gaza Threatens Truce with Hamas,’ Fox News, November 4, 2008
61. ^ Ibrahim Barzak; Amy Teibel (2009-01-0s). "World leaders converge on Israel in push
for truce". Maine Sunday Telegram. http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?
id=231334&ac=PHnws.
62. ^ Byers, David; Hider, James (December 28, 2008). "Israel Gaza blitz kills 290 as ground
troops mobilise". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/
middle_east/article5407382.ece. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
63. ^ Israeli Gaza strike kills more than 200, International Herald Tribune, 2008-12-27.
64. ^ Yaakov Katz. "A year's intel gathering yields 'alpha hits'". Jerusalem Post. http://
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230111714969&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle
%2FShowFull. Retrieved December 28, 2008.
65. ^ McCarthy, Rory; David Batty and agencies (January 2, 2009). "Israeli warplanes
destroy Gaza houses and mosque as air strikes continue". London: Guardian. http://
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/02/israel-gaza-attacks. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
66. ^ "Rockets reach Beersheba, cause damage". YNET. 2008-12-30. http://
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3647569,00.html.
67. ^ "Israel Confirms Ground Invasion Has Started". MSNBC. 2009-01-03. http://
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28483756/. Retrieved 2009-01-04.[dead link]
68. ^ BARZAK, IBRAHIM; JASON KEYSER (2009-01-04). "Israeli ground troops invade
Gaza to halt rockets". Associated Press. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?
id=6568961. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
69. ^ Lappin, Yaakov (2009-03-26). "IDF releases Cast Lead casualty numbers". JPost.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1237727552054&pagename=JPost
%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
70. ^ Associated Press (March 19, 2009). "Rights group names 1,417 Gaza war dead".
Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/19/rights-group-
names-1417-gaza-war-dead-1/. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
71. ^ "Obama Settlement Demands Stir Rising Tensions in Israel". FOX News. June 3, 2009.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/03/obama-settlement-demands-stir-rising-
tensions-israel/.
72. ^ a b Federman, Josef (June 14, 2009). "Netanyahu endorses Palestinian independence".
Associated Press. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090614/D98QNI400.html.
Retrieved June 18, 2009.
73. ^ Federman, Josef (2009-06-14). "Netanyahu Peace Speech: Israeli Prime Minister
Appeals To Arab Leaders For Peace". The Huffington Post. http://
www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/14/netanyahu-peace-speech-is_n_215337.html.
Retrieved 2009-06-14.
74. ^ Y. Gorny, 1987, 'Zionism and the Arabs, 1882-1948', p. 5 (italics from original)
75. ^ [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/UN/UNSCOP.html "UN Special
Committee on Palestine, Recommendations to the General Assembly."] Jewish Virtual
Library. 3 September 1947. 3 April 2010.
76. ^ a b Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics "Statistical Abstract of Israel, No. 55, 2004", and
"Statistical Abstract of Israel 2007: Population by district, sub-district and religion" ICBS
website
 77. ^ Justin McCarthy "Palestine's Population During the Ottoman and the British Mandate
Periods"
78. ^ U.S. Census Bureau "International Data Base (IDB), Country Summary: West Bank
and Gaza Strip"
[edit] References
• Palestine Conciliation Commission, Fourth Progress Report, A/922, September 22, 1949
• "Arab-Israel Conflict." The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Ed.
Avraham Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002.
• Terence Prittie, "Middle East Refugees," in Michael Curtis, et al., The Palestinians:
people, history, politics, (NJ: Transaction Books, 1975, ISBN 0-87855-597-8), pp. 66–67,
as referenced at [1]
• "A Brief History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict" by Jeremy Pressman
[edit] External links
• Yahoo News Full Coverage: Mideast Conflict
• BBC News, Mideast conflict
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History of the Arab–Israeli conflict
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Arab-Israeli conflict series.
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The Arab-Israeli conflict is a modern phenomenon, which has its roots in the end of the 19th
century. The conflict became a major international issue with the birth of Israel in 1948. The
Arab-Israeli conflict has resulted in at least five major wars and a number of minor conflicts. It
has also been the source of two major Palestinian intifadas (uprisings).

Contents
[hide]
• 1 Background
◦ 1.1 Beginning of the Zionist enterprise
◦ 1.2 British Mandate (1917-1947)
• 2 War of 1948
◦ 2.1 Aftermath of the 1948 war
• 3 War of 1956
• 4 Between 1956 and 1967
• 5 War of 1967
• 6 UN Resolution 242 and peace proposals
• 7 War of 1967-1970
• 8 War of 1973
• 9 Operation Litani of 1978
 • 10 War of 1982 and subsequent occupation
• 11 Intifada of 1987-1993
• 12 Gulf War of 1990-1991
• 13 Oslo peace process (1993-2000)
• 14 Intifada of 2000
◦ 14.1 Arab Peace Initiative of 2002
• 15 Israel's Disengagement of 2005
• 16 Israel-Lebanon conflict of 2006
• 17 2008-2009 Gaza War
• 18 Recent Developments
◦ 18.1 Iran
◦ 18.2 Syria
◦ 18.3 Lebanon
◦ 18.4 Egypt, and major Arab powers
◦ 18.5 Iraq
◦ 18.6 Hamas's control of Palestinian parliament
• 19 Abbreviated timeline
• 20 See also
• 21 References
• 22 External links
[edit] Background
[edit] Beginning of the Zionist enterprise

Tensions between the Jews and Arabs started to emerge after the 1880s, when immigration of
European Jews increased with the development of the Zionist ideology. This immigration
increased the Jewish communities in Palestine by the acquisition of land from Ottoman and
individual Arab landholders, known as effendis, and establishment of agricultural settlements in
the historic lands of Judea and Israel, which were then part of the Ottoman Empire.[1] At the
time, Arab Palestinians lived an almost feudal existence on the effendis' land.[2] The population
in 1880 of Palestine west of the Jordan River was estimated at "under 590,000, of whom 96
percent were Arabs (Muslim or Christian); roughly 4 percent of the population was Jewish".[3]

[edit] British Mandate (1917-1947)

1918. Emir Feisal I and Chaim Weizmann (left, also wearing Arab outfit)
During the time of the British Mandate, the Balfour Declaration, signed in 1917, stated that the
government of Great Britain supported the establishment of a "Jewish national home" in
Palestine. This exacerbated tensions between the Arabs living in Mandate Palestine and the Jews
who emigrated there during the Ottoman period. Signed in January 1919, the Faisal-Weizmann
Agreement promoted Arab-Jewish cooperation on the development of a Jewish National
Homeland in Palestine and an Arab nation in a large part of the Middle East, though this event
had little to no effect on the conflict.[4]
In 1920, the San Remo conference largely endorsed the 1916 Anglo-French Sykes-Picot
Agreement, allocating to Britain the area of present day Jordan, the area between the Jordan
River and the Mediterranean Sea, and Iraq, while France received Syria and Lebanon. In 1922,
the League of Nations formally established the British Mandate for Palestine and Transjordan, at
least partially fulfilling Britain's commitments from the 1915-1916 Hussein-McMahon
Correspondence by assigning all of the land east of the Jordan River to the Emirate of Jordan,
ruled by Hashemite King Abdullah but closely dependent on Britain, leaving the remainder west
of the Jordan as the League of Nations British mandate of Palestine. While the British had made
promises to give both Arabs and Jews land, the British claimed they had never promised to give
either side all of the land. Rising tensions had given way to violence, such as the Riots in
Palestine of 1920, and Jaffa riots of 1921. To assuage the Arabs, and due to British inability to
control Arab violence in the British Mandate any other way, the semi-autonomous Arab Emirate
of Transjordan was created in all Palestinian territory east of the Jordan river (roughly 77% of the
mandate).

The conflicting forces of Arab nationalism and the Zionist movement created a situation which
the British could neither resolve nor extricate themselves from. Adolf Hitler's rise to power in
Germany created a new urgency in the Zionist movement to create a Jewish state, and the evident
intentions of the Zionists provoked increasingly fierce Arab resistance and attacks against the
Jewish population (most notably in the preceding 1929 Hebron massacre, the activities of the
Black Hand, and during the 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine). The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem,
Amin al-Husayni, led opposition to the idea of turning part of Palestine into a Jewish state. He
objected to any form of Jewish homeland on what he regarded as Arab land. In search for help in
expelling British forces from Palestine, thus removing the enforcer of the Zionist enterprise, the
Grand Mufti sought alliance with the Axis Powers.

The response of the British government was to banish the Mufti (where he spent much of World
War II in Germany and helped form a Muslim SS division in the Balkans), curb Jewish
immigration, and reinforce its police force. However, many of the British reinforcements were
Arabs who supported and collaborated in the Great Arab Uprising. The Jewish leadership
(Yishuv) "adopted a policy of restraint (havlaga) and static defense in response to Arab
attacks."[5] It was at this time that critics of this policy broke away from the Hagana (the self-
defense organization of the Yishuv) and created the more right-wing militant Irgun, which would
later be led by Menachem Begin in 1943. For a list of Irgun attacks on Palestinian civilians and
policemen during this period, see List of Irgun attacks during the 1930s.

A British Royal Commission of Inquiry that came to be known as the Peel Commission was
established in 1936. In its 1937 report, it proposed a two-state solution that gave the Arabs
control over all of the Negev, much of the present-day West Bank, and Gaza and gave the Jews
control over Tel Aviv, Haifa, present-day northern Israel, and surrounding areas. The British were
to maintain control over Jaffa, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and surrounding areas. The Jews were
bitterly divided over the Peel Commission,[6] but they ultimately accepted the principle of
partition.[7] The Arabs, however, rejected it while demanding "an end to Jewish immigration and
land sales to Jews, calling for independence of Palestine as an independent Arab state."[4]
Jewish violence against the British Mandate continued to mount throughout the 1940s, with
attacks by the Irgun, assassination of British Mandate officials by the Lehi, and the 1946 King
David Hotel bombing.

As of 1947 the population was reported as 1,845,000, consisting of 608,000 Jews and 1,237,000
Arabs and others.[8]

[edit] War of 1948

Main article: 1948 Arab-Israeli War

The 1947 UN Partition Plan offered to both sides of the conflict before the 1948 war. The Jews
accepted the plan while the Arabs rejected it.
The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, known as the "Israeli War of Independence" by Israelis or "al-
Nakba" (The Disaster) by Arabs, 1948-1949, began after the November 1947 UN Partition Plan,
which proposed the establishment of Arab and Jewish states in Palestine. The Arabs had rejected
the plan while the Jews had accepted it. By March 1948 however, the United States was actively
seeking a temporary UN approved trusteeship rather than immediate partition.[9] The Jewish
leadership rejected this.[10] By now, both Jewish [11] and Arab[12] militias had begun campaigns
to control territory inside and outside the designated borders, and an open war between the two
populations emerged.

Jordanian, Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese, Iraqi and Saudi troops invaded Palestine subsequent to
the British withdrawal and the declaration of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. Israel, the US
[citation needed], the Soviet Union[citation needed] , and UN Secretary-General Trygve Lie[citation

needed] called this illegal aggression, while China broadly backed the Arab claims. The Arab
states proclaimed their aim of a "United State of Palestine"[13] in place of Israel and an Arab
state. They considered the UN Plan to be invalid because it was opposed by Palestine's Arab
majority, and claimed that the British withdrawal led to an absence of legal authority, making it
necessary for them to protect Arab lives and property.[14] About two thirds of Palestinian Arabs
fled or were expelled from the territories which came under Jewish control; the rest became Arab
citizens of Israel. Practically all of the much smaller number of Jews in the territories captured
by the Arabs, for example the Old City of Jerusalem, also fled or were expelled. The official
United Nations estimate was that 711,000[15] Arabs became refugees during the fighting.

May 15 - June 10
See also: Palestinian exodus
The fighting ended with signing of the several Armistice Agreements in 1949 between Israel and
its warring neighbors (Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria), which formalized Israeli control of
the area allotted to the Jewish state plus just over half of the area allotted to the Arab state. The
Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt and the West Bank by Jordan until June 1967 when they were
seized by Israel during the Six-Day War.
[edit] Aftermath of the 1948 war

Comparison between partition plan and armistice lines

The 630,000-700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from the areas that became Israel
were not allowed to return to their homes, and took up residence in refugee camps in surrounding
countries, including Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and the area that was later to be known as the Gaza
Strip; they were usually not allowed to leave refugee camps and mix with the local Arab society
either, leaving the Palestinian refugee problem unsolved even today. The United Nations Relief
and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East was established to alleviate their
condition.[4]

After the war, "[t]he Arab states insisted on two main demands", neither of which were accepted
by Israel: 1. Israel should withdraw to the borders of the UN Partition Plan — Israel argued "that
the new borders—which could be changed, under consent only—had been established as a result
of war, and because the UN blueprint took no account of defense needs and was militarily
untenable, there was no going back to that blueprint."[4] 2. The Palestinian refugees deserved a
full right of return back into Israel — Israel argued that this was "out of the question, not only
because they were hostile to the Jewish state, but they would also fundamentally alter the Jewish
character of the state."[4]

Over the next two decades after the 1948 war ended, between 700,000 and 900,000 Jews fled the
Arab countries they were living in, in many cases owing to anti-Jewish sentiment, expulsion (in
the case of Egypt), or, in the case of Iraq, legal oppression but also quite often to promises of a
better life from Israel; of this number, two-thirds ended up in refugee camps in Israel, while the
remainder migrated to France, the United States and other Western or Latin American countries.
The Jewish refugee camps in Israel were evacuated with time and the refugees were eventually
integrated in the Jewish Israeli society (which in fact consisted almost entirely of refugees from
Arab and European states). Israel argued that this and the Palestinian exodus represented a
population exchange between Arab nations and the Jewish nation.[4]

Further information: Jewish exodus from Arab lands

For the nineteen years from the end of the Mandate until the Six-Day War, Jordan controlled the
West Bank and Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip In 1950, Jordan annexed the West Bank, but this
annexation was recognized only by the United Kingdom. Both territories were conquered (but
not annexed) from Jordan and Egypt by Israel in the Six-Day War. Neither Jordan nor Egypt
allowed the creation of a Palestinian state in these territories. The effect this had on Israel during
this period "were frequent border clashes ... terror and sabotage acts by individuals and small
groups of Palestinian Arabs."[4]

[edit] War of 1956

Main article: Suez Crisis
The 1956 Suez War was a joint Israeli-British-French operation, in which Israel invaded the
Sinai Peninsula and British and French forces landed at the port of Suez, ostensibly to separate
the warring parties, though the real motivation of Great Britain and France was to protect the
interests of investors in those countries who were affected by Egyptian President Nasser's
decision to nationalize the Suez Canal. Israel justified its invasion of Egypt as an attempt to stop
attacks (see the Fedayeen) upon Israeli civilians, and to restore Israeli shipping rights through the
Straits of Tiran, which Egypt claimed was within its territorial waters. The invading forces
agreed to withdraw under U.S. and international pressure, and Israel withdrew from the Sinai as
well, in return for the installation of U.N. separation forces and guarantees of Israeli freedom of
shipment. The canal was left in Egyptian (rather than British and French) hands.

[edit] Between 1956 and 1967

This period saw the rise of Nasserism; the founding of the United Arab Republic in 1958 and its
collapse in 1961; Syrian plans for the diversion of water from the Jordan River; continued
fedayeen raids, mostly from Syria and Jordan, and Israeli reprisals; and the increasing alignment
of the Arab states with the Soviet Union, who became their largest arms supplier.

In 1964, the PLO was established by mostly Palestinian refugees mostly from Jordan.[4] The
Article 24 of the Palestinian National Charter of 1964 [3] stated: "This Organization does not
exercise any territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on
the Gaza Strip or in the Himmah Area."

Pre-1967 war cartoon showing President Nasser of Egypt, backed by Arab states, kicking Israel
into the Gulf of Aqaba. Al-Jarida newspaper, Lebanon (Oren, 2002)
[edit] War of 1967
Main article: Six-Day War
The background from which erupted the Six-Day War was caused by an erroneous information
given to Nasser from the Soviet intelligence services that Israel was amassing troops near the
Israeli-Syrian border. The state of conflict was also very tense after increased conflicts between
Israel and Syria and Israel and Jordan - i.e. the Samu incident.

The fighting in the Six-Day War of 1967 began with a strike by Israel, which many consider
preemptive, against Egypt and Syria following the breakdown of international diplomatic efforts
to solve the crisis begun by the Egyptian closure of the Straits of Tiran on May 21-22, 1967 (thus
"blocking all shipping to and from Eilat ... a casus belli" according to a possible interpretation of
international law),[4] expulsion of U.N. peacekeepers from the Sinai, and stationing of some
100,000 Egyptian troops at the peninsula. The Israeli army had a potential strength, including the
not fully mobilized reserves, of 264,000 troops. Surprise Israeli air strikes destroyed the entire
Egyptian air force while it was still on the ground. A subsequent ground invasion into Egyptian
territory led to Israel's conquest of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. In spite of Israel's
request to Jordan to desist from attacking it, Jordan along with Syria began to shell Israeli
targets. In addition, Hussein, reluctant at first, sent ineffective bomber strikes because of Nasser's
requests and affirmation of a sound Egyptian victory. With the rapid and rather unexpected
success on the Egyptian front, Israel decided to attack and successfully captured the West Bank
from Jordan on June 7, and the Golan Heights from Syria on June 9.

[edit] UN Resolution 242 and peace proposals

Following the Six-Day War, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 242 which
proposed a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The resolution was accepted by Israel,
Jordan, and Egypt, but rejected by Syria until 1972-1973 and the Yom Kippur War. To this day,
Resolution 242 remains controversial due to conflicting interpretations over how much territory
Israel would be required to withdraw from in order conform with the resolution. Also, after the
Israeli occupation of the West Bank following the war, Palestinian nationalism substantially
increased. Armed resistance was encouraged from within the newly occupied territories and from
the Arab nations that lost in the war.[4]

US Secretary of State William P. Rogers proposed the Rogers Plan, which called for a 90-day
cease-fire, a military standstill zone on each side of the Suez Canal, and an effort to reach
agreement in the framework of UN Resolution 242.[16] The Egyptian government accepted the
Rogers Plan even before Anwar Sadat became president. The Rogers peace plan finally failed
due to the initiation of the war of attrition from Egypt followed by a heavy response by Israel.
No breakthrough occurred even after President Sadat in 1972 surprised everyone by suddenly
expelling Soviet advisers from Egypt and again signaled to the United States government his
willingness to negotiate.[17]

[edit] War of 1967-1970

Main article: War of Attrition
The War of Attrition was a limited war fought between Egypt and Israel from 1967 to 1970. It
was initiated by Egypt to damage Israel's morale and economy after its victory in the Six-Day
War.[18] The war ended with a cease-fire signed between the countries in 1970 with frontiers at
the same place as when the war started

[edit] War of 1973

Main article: Yom Kippur War

When the cease-fire came into effect, Israel had lost ground on the east side of the Suez Canal to
Egypt (shown in red) but gained ground west of the canal and in the Golan Heights (shown in
gray/brown)
The 1973 Yom Kippur War began when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise joint attack, on the
Jewish day of fasting, in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights. The Egyptians and Syrians
advanced during the first 24–48 hours, after which momentum began to swing in Israel's favor.
By the second week of the war, the Syrians had been pushed entirely out of the Golan Heights. In
the Sinai to the south, the Israelis had struck at the "hinge" between two invading Egyptian
armies, crossed the Suez Canal (where the old cease-fire line had been), and cut off an entire
Egyptian army just as a United Nations cease-fire came into effect. During this time, the United
States airlifted military supplies to Israel while the Soviet Union airlifted military supplies to
Egypt.[4]

Israeli troops eventually withdrew from the west of the Canal and the Egyptians kept their
positions on a narrow strip on the east allowing them to re-open the Suez Canal and claim
victory.[19] According to The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East (ed. Sela,
2002), Israel clearly had the military victory over both Syria and Egypt, but it suffered a large
blow to morale as well as substantial human casualties. The outcome of the Yom Kippur War set
the stage for "a new phase in Israeli-Egyptian relations" ending ultimately in the signing of the
Camp David Accords.[4]

[edit] Operation Litani of 1978

Main article: Operation Litani
Operation Litani was the official name of Israel's 1978 invasion of Lebanon up to the Litani river.
The invasion was a military success, as PLO forces were pushed north of the river. However,
international outcry led to the creation of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force and a partial Israeli
retreat.

[edit] War of 1982 and subsequent occupation

Main articles: 1982 Lebanon War and 1982-2000 South Lebanon conflict
The 1982 Lebanon War began when Israel attacked Lebanon, justified by Israel as an attempt to
remove the Fatah militants led by Yasser Arafat from Southern Lebanon (where they had
established, during the country's civil war, a semi-independent enclave used to launch attacks on
Israel). The invasion was widely criticized both in and outside Israel, especially after the Israeli-
backed Phalangist Christian militia's Sabra and Shatila massacre, and ultimately led to the death
of roughly 1,000 Palestinians. Although through the war, Israel succeeded in exiling the PLO
military personnel, including Arafat to Tunisia, it became entangled with various local Muslim
militias (particularly Hezbollah), which fought to end the Israeli occupation.

By 1985, Israel retreated from all but a narrow stretch of Lebanese territory designated by Israel
as the Israeli Security Zone. UN Security Council Resolution 425 (calling on Israel to completely
withdraw from Lebanon) was not completely fulfilled until 16 June 2000.[4] Despite UN
Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1583, Hezbollah continues to have a military wing.

[edit] Intifada of 1987-1993

Main article: First Intifada
The First Intifada, 1987-1993, began as an uprising of Palestinians, particularly the young,
against the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip after the failure of the
PLO to achieve any kind of meaningful diplomatic solution to the Palestinian issue. The exiled
PLO leadership in Tunisia quickly assumed a role in the intifada, but the uprising also brought a
rise in the importance of Palestinian national and Islamic movements, and helped lead to the
Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988. The intifada was started by a group of young
Palestinians who began throwing rocks at the Israeli occupying forces in Jabalia (Gaza Strip) in
December 1987. In May 1989, the government of Yitzhak Shamir, the prime minister of Israel at
the time, "suggested that violence cease, and that elections should be held in the West Bank and
Gaza for a political delegation with whom Israel would come to terms regarding the
implementation of Palestinian interim self-governing authority in these areas."[4] These elections
never materialized. The Intifada ended with the Madrid Conference of 1991 and the signing of
the Oslo Accords by Israel and the PLO in 1993.

[edit] Gulf War of 1990-1991

Main article: Gulf War
The Gulf War, 1990-1991, began with the Iraqi invasion and annexation of Kuwait and did not
initially involve direct military engagement with Israel. An international coalition led by the
United States which included Arab forces was assembled to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. To
draw Israel into the confrontation and thereby make it difficullt for Arab regimes to remain in the
coalition, Iraq launched 39 Scud missiles on Israeli cities and on Israel's nuclear facilities near
Dimona.[4] However, under strong pressure from the US, which feared direct Israeli involvement
would threaten the unity of the coalition, Israel did not retaliate against Iraq and the multinational
coalition ousted Iraqi forces from Kuwait. During the war, the PLO and King Hussein of Jordan
supported Iraq's invasion of Kuwait (Yasser Arafat had received $100 million from Saddam
Hussein[citation needed]).

The defeat of Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War "was a devastating blow to ... the
Palestinians."[20] Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and other Persian Gulf Arab monarchies then expelled
just under 400,000 Palestinian refugees ([5]) and withdrew their financial support from the
Palestinian cause due to the Palestinians' support of Saddam Hussein. It was this political
environment that allowed for the PLO to begin talks with the United States and Israel.

[edit] Oslo peace process (1993-2000)

Main article: Oslo Accords
In September 1993, then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat
signed the Declaration of Principles (DOP) which "shaped the principles for a prospective
process of the establishment of a five-year interim self-governing authority" in the Palestinian
territories.[4] In May 1994, the first stage of the DOP was implemented, Arafat arrived in the
Gaza Strip, and financial aid started pouring in from the parts of the Western world and Japan.
Unfortunately, "the new trend in Israeli-Palestinian relations also entailed a wave of violence by
religious fanatics."[4] In September 1996, after the opening of some ancient tunnels near the
Temple Mount, a small wave of violence occurred. This frightened many Israelis into believing
that "the new reality created by the Oslo Agreements, namely the presence of an armed police
force of approximately 30,000 Palestinians, ... could easily shift from cooperation to hostility."[4]
In October 1998, Arafat and then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed the Wye
Memorandum which "called for the implementation of Israel's first and second redeployments
according to the DOP in three phases."[4] Shortly after, Netanyahu's government fell and the
Labor Party (under Ehud Barak) won control of the Knesset. Barak's election campaign was
mostly geared toward a lasting peace in the Middle East by further implementation of the Wye
Memorandum and the Oslo Accord.

[edit] Intifada of 2000

Main article: al-Aqsa Intifada
The al-Aqsa Intifada, or Second Intifada, began in late September 2000, around the time Israeli
opposition leader Ariel Sharon and a large contingent of armed bodyguards visited the Temple
Mount/Al-Haram As-Sharif complex in Jerusalem and declared the area eternal Israeli territory.
Widespread riots and attacks broke out among Palestinians and Arab citizens of Israel in
Jerusalem and many major Israeli cities, and spread throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) involvement in the Intifada was handled by the Tanzim
("Organization), which was the secret armed branch of Arafat's Fatah party within the PLO. In
January 2002, the "PA's direct involvement in the Intifada was confirmed ... when the IDF
intercepted a cargo ship in the Red Sea carrying tons of rockets, mortars, and other weapons and
ammunition from Iran, earmarked for smuggling into PA [Palestinian Authority] areas."[4] In
March 2002, just prior to the Arab Peace Initiative, suicide bombings committed by Palestinians
against Israeli civilians "intensified ... in buses restaurants, coffee shops, and other public places
in Israel."[4] An Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem, estimated the death toll to be 3,396
Palestinians and 994 Israelis,[6] although this number is criticized for not showing the whole
picture, and not differentiating between combatants and civilians (suicide bombers, for example,
are counted in that death toll).[7][8] The Intifada also created "heavy economic losses to both
sides" of the conflict.[4]

[edit] Arab Peace Initiative of 2002

Main article: Arab Peace Initiative

In 2002, Saudi Arabia offered a peace plan in The New York Times and at a summit meeting of
the Arab League in Beirut. The plan is based on, but goes beyond UN Security Council
Resolution 242 and Resolution 338. It essentially calls for full withdrawal, solution of the
refugee problem through the Palestinian "right of return", a Palestinian state with its capital in
East Jerusalem in return for fully normalized relations with the whole Arab world. This proposal
was the first to receive the unanimous backing of the Arab League.

In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said: "... the details of every peace plan must
be discussed directly between Israel and the Palestinians, and to make this possible, the
Palestinian Authority must put an end to terror, the horrifying expression of which we witnessed
just last night in Netanya", referring to the Netanya suicide attack.[9]

In November 2005, the George W. Bush administration acknowledged that Saudi Arabia has
renewed funding to Hamas and other Palestinian insurgency groups.[10]
[edit] Israel's Disengagement of 2005
Main article: Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
In 2005 Israel unilaterally evacuated settlements, and military outposts from the Gaza Strip and
the northern West Bank.

The Disengagement Plan was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the
government and enacted in August 2005, to remove a permanent Israeli presence from the Gaza
Strip and from four Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank. The civilians were evacuated
(many forcibly) and the residential buildings demolished after August 15, and the disengagement
from the Gaza Strip was completed on 12 September 2005, when the last Israeli soldier left. The
military disengagement from the northern West Bank was completed ten days later.

[edit] Israel-Lebanon conflict of 2006

Main article: 2006 Lebanon War
The 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis began on 12 July 2006, with an attack by Hezbollah on Israel.
Three Israeli soldiers were killed, and two were kidnapped and taken prisoner into Lebanon. In a
search and rescue operation to return the captured soldiers, a further five Israeli Defense Forces
troops were killed. It marked the beginning of a new wave of clashes between Israel and
Hezbollah which saw the Lebanese capital, the sole Lebanese international airport, and much of
southern Lebanon attacked by the Israelis, while Lebanese militias, presumably Hezbollah,
bombarded northern Israeli cities, striking as far south as the city of Haifa. The conflict killed
more than a thousand people, most of whom were Lebanese civilians and Hezbollah fighters; and
displaced 974,184 Lebanese[21] and 300,000-500,000 Israelis.[22][23][24] Fears were growing that
the situation could deteriorate further, with the possibility of either Syria or Iran becoming
involved.[25] But a ceasefire was signed, and went into effect 14 August.

[edit] 2008-2009 Gaza War

Main article: Gaza War
[edit] Recent Developments
[edit] Iran

Note: Iran is an Islamic country but not an Arab country.

In January 2007, concerns increased among Israel's leaders that President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad of Iran might be planning some sort of nuclear arms buildup, which might be
considered for use in opposition to Israel.[26] The Security Council voted to put sanctions on Iran
for its pursuit of nuclear technology.[27] There was evidence that international sanctions were
creating discontent among Iranians with Ahmadinejad's policies.[28]
[edit] Syria

Some Israeli officials asserted in January 2007 that there had been some constructive progress in
unpublicized talks with Syria.[29] Syria has repeatedly requested that Israel re-commence peace
negotiations with the Syrian government. [30] . There is an on-going internal debate within the
Israeli government regarding the seriousness of this Syrian invitation for negotiations. The
United States demanded that Israel desist from even exploratory contacts with Syria to test
whether Damascus is serious in its declared intentions to hold peace talks with Israel. U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was forceful in expressing Washington's view on the matter
to Israeli officials that even exploratory negotiations with Syria are not to be attempted. Israel has
thus far obeyed Washington's demand to desist. [31]

In May 2008 Israel and Syria officially confirmed that negotiations are taking place with Turkey
serving as a mediator. These negotiations are preparing the grounds for direct Israeli-Syrian
negotiations that will start in the second half of 2008.

[edit] Lebanon

In Jan. 2007, thousands gathered in Lebanon in a rally to support Hezbollah, and to celebrate the
resignation of Israel's top military commander, Dan Halutz.[32]. However, in some Lebanese
communities, Hezbollah lost popularity, for opposing Lebanon's national government.[33]

[edit] Egypt, and major Arab powers

In a meeting between Ehud Olmert and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in January 2007, the
latter called on Israel to pursue peace more actively, but also stated that Egypt would seek to
block the flow of illegal arms being smuggled into the Gaza Strip.[34]

During the conflict between Hamas and Fatah, Egypt granted safe haven to several Fatah
officials who fled Gaza. Egypt also stated it would help in policing the border, and impeding the
flow of illegal arms.

[edit] Iraq

As the American situation in Iraq grew increasingly difficult in Jan. 2007, the conflict threatened
to turn into a wider sectarian conflict between Sunnis and Shiites. It was feared that if the US
suddenly withdrew, this might become a sectarian conflict which could divide the entire Mideast
along sectarian lines. There were also concerns that this might give more power to more
extremist elements, as opposed to existing pro-Western Arab governments. This issue carried
deep implications for security of the Mideast region, including Israel.

On the plus side, it was hoped that Iraq, by creating a rare example of democratic processes in
the Mideast, might help to spread democracy in the region.

In an effort to reassert law and order, and the strength of the national Iraqi government, President
Bush stated plans in his State of the Union address, for a new security effort, using 20,000 new
US troops in a "troop surge." In February 2007, a crackdown began, using US and Iraqi troops,
as part of the new US security plan.[35]

[edit] Hamas's control of Palestinian parliament

Main article: Fatah-Hamas conflict

Further information: History of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
In January 2006, elections were held for the Palestinian Legislative Council. Hamas won these
elections, and thus secured a majority of seats. Due to the nature of their Parliamentary system,
this meant they also controlled the exceutive posts of the Palestinian Authority, including the
Prime Minister's post, and the cabinet. Ismail Haniyeh became Prime Minister. Mahmoud Abbas
of Fatah remained as President.

Hamas gained popular support because it appeared much more efficient and much less corrupt
than Fatah. It built various institutions and social services. Hamas openly declared that it did not
intend to accept any recognition of Israel. It stated it would not accept the Oslo Accords, and
would not accept or recognize any negotiations with Israel.[citation needed] Throughout previous
years, it had openly stated that it encouraged and organized attacks against Israel. This created a
major change in previous Israeli-Palestinian interactions, which had previously been going
through various periods of negotiations.

Most Western nations and international organizations did not give the Hamas lead government
official recognition and responded by cutting off funds and imposing other sanctions. Mahmoud
Abbas, the Palestinian President and head of Fatah, met with Khaled Mashaal, the exiled head of
Hamas, in Syria, in an effort to resolve differences over the direction of the Palestinian Authority
and negotiations with Israel and to try to form a unity government with Hamas. The two parties
did not reach a resolution.[36]

In June 2007, Hamas took control of Gaza, violently routing the forces of Fatah. This effectively
severed control of the Palestinian territories. Those in the West Bank were under Fatah's control,
with those in Gaza under the control of Hamas. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President,
dissolved the government. The fighting had numerous casualties, and gave rise to refugees, who
fled to Egypt and other countries.

[edit] Abbreviated timeline

• Mandate for Palestine
• Balfour Declaration, 1917
• Faisal-Weizmann Agreement
• Riots in Palestine of 1920
• Jaffa riots, 1921
• 1922 Text: League of Nations Palestine Mandate
• Riots in Palestine of 1929
• Great Uprising, 1936-1939
• Peel Commission
• White Paper of 1939
 • 1947 UN Partition Plan
• 1948 Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel
• 1948 Arab-Israeli War
• 1949 Armistice Agreements
• Jewish exodus from Arab lands
• 1956 Suez War
• Kafr Qasim massacre, 1956
• 1967 Six-Day War
• Khartoum Resolution
• 1970 War of Attrition
• 1973 Yom Kippur War
• Geneva Conference (1973)
• 1978 Camp David Peace Accords between Egypt and Israel
• 1982 Lebanon War
• 1990/1 Gulf War
• 1993 Oslo Peace Accords between Palestinians and Israel
• Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty, 1994
• Camp David 2000 Summit between Palestinians and Israel
• Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
[edit] See also
• History of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Israel-Lebanon conflict
• Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Timeline of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
[edit] References
1. ^ Yishuv
2. ^ The Jewish National Fund: Land Purchase Methods and Priorities, 1924 - 1939 by
Kenneth W. Stein. Middle Eastern Studies. April 1984. Volume 20 Number 2, pp.
190-205
3. ^ Donner, Fred M. Princeton Alumni Weekly: Letter Box. Princeton University. 26 June
2003. 15 October 2004.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Sela, Avraham. "Arab-Israeli Conflict." The
Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Ed. Avraham Sela. New York:
Continuum, 2002. pp. 58-121.
5. ^ Sela, 63.
6. ^ Jewish Virtual Library [1]
7. ^ Eran, Oded. "Arab-Israel Peacemaking." The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the
Middle East. Ed. Avraham Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002.
8. ^ Report of UNSCOP, 1947
9. ^ The Avalon Project : United States Proposal for Temporary United Nations Trusteeship
for Palestine - Statement by President Truman, March 25, 1948
10. ^ Truman Library [2]
11. ^ A new history lesson in Israel - International Herald Tribune
12. ^ Bard, Mitchell "The 1948 War." Jewish Virtual Library. 16 February 2007.
13. ^ Cablegram from the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States to the Secretary-
General of the United Nations May 15, 1948, at Wikisource. Accessed 22 March 2006.
14. ^ [http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/d442111e70e417e3802564740045a309?
OpenDocument The Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: 1917-1988, PART
II, 1947-1977], United Nations Information System on the Question of
Palestine(UNISPAL), June 20, 1990, ST/SG/SER.F/1
15. ^ General Progress Report and Supplementary Report of the United Nations Conciliation
Commission for Palestine, Covering the Period from 11 December 1949 to 23 October
1950, published by the United Nations Concilation Commission, October 23, 1950. (U.N.
General Assembly Official Records, 5th Session, Supplement No. 18, Document A/1367/
Rev. 1). The Committee believed the estimate to be "as accurate as circumstances
permit", and attributed the higher number on relief to, among other things, "duplication of
ration cards, addition of persons who have been displaced from area other than Israel-
held areas and of persons who, although not displaced, are destitute."
16. ^ “The Ceasefire/Standstill Proposal” 19 June 1970, http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.nsf/
db942872b9eae454852560f6005a76fb/3e33d676ae43229b85256e60007086fd!
OpenDocument last visited 2007/6/11
17. ^ “The Camp David Accords: A Case of International Bargaining” Shibley Telhami,
Columbia International Affaris Online, http://www.ciaonet.org/casestudy/tes01/
index.html, last visited 2007/6/11
18. ^ "The War of Attrition." Jewish Virtual Library. 24 March 2008.
19. ^ Slantchev, Branislav L. "National Security Strategy: The Rise and Fall of Détente,
1971-1980." UCSD - Department of Political Science. 2 March 2005. 26 March 2008. p.
7.
20. ^ Lewis, Bernard. The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror. New York: The
Modern Library, 2003. p.62.
21. ^ Lebanon Higher Relief Council (2007). "Lebanon Under Siege". Retrieved March 5,
2007.
22. ^ "Hizbullah attacks northern Israel and Israel's response". Israel Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. August , 2006. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/
Terrorism+from+Lebanon-+Hizbullah/Hizbullah+attack+in+northern+Israel+and+Israels
+response+12-Jul-2006.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
23. ^ "Middle East crisis: Facts and Figures". BBC News Online. August 31, 2006. http://
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5257128.stm. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
24. ^ "Israel says it will relinquish positions to Lebanese army". August 15, 2006. http://
www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-08-14-mideast_x.htm.
25. ^ Iran threatens response if Syria attacked - Israel News, Ynetnews
26. ^ For Israelis, a new worry: Iran's nuclear intentions, John Murphy, Baltimore Sun,
1/19/07
27. ^ UN passes Iran nuclear sanctions, BBC, 12/23/06.
28. ^ Iran's Discontent With Ahmadinejad Grows, Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press,
1/17/07.
 29. ^ Syrians and Israelis 'held talks', BBC, 1/16/07; Syrian, Israeli backdoor talks now
emerging, Christian Science Monitor, 1/18/07; Why can't they just make peace?,
Economist, 1/18/07.
30. ^ (The Times (UK), December 20, 2006, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/
columnists/guest_contributors/article758520.ece last visited February 26, 2007)
31. ^ (Haaretz, February 24, 2007, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/829441.html last
visited February 26/07; The Times (UK), December 20, 2006, http://
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article758520.ece
last visited February 26, 2007).
32. ^ Thousands gather in Beirut to celebrate Halutz resignation, Yoav Stern, Haaretz,
1/17/07.
33. ^ Hezbollah image suffers in south Lebanon village, Reuters, 1/18/07.
34. ^ Mubarak: Israel must avoid steps that impede peace, Haaretz, 1/5/07.
35. ^ Security crackdown under way in Baghdad, by Hamza Hendawi, Associated Press,
2/7/07.
36. ^ Abbas, Hamas chief can't agree on gov't, Associated Press, 1/21/07; Abbas and Hamas
rival hold talks, differences remain, AFP, 1/21/07.
[edit] External links
• Source Documents and texts on the Arab-Israeli and Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and
history of Israel and Palestine
• Documents related to the Mideast Conflict from Mt. Holyoke College
• The Avalon Project at Yale Law School records from 1916-1999
• "A Brief History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict" by Jeremy Pressman
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