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Britain decides to allow only 1500 Jews a month into Palestine. This leads to Jewish uproar and general global disapproval as well Arab dissent.
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Angered by British ignorance, Zionist organisations abandoned thee truce adopted during the Second World War, while both moderate and extremist groups took to similar beliefs. Railway systems were frequently disrupted, office buildings were blown up, police stations were attacked, oil pipes sabotaged, bridges and airfields bombed, roads mined and radio stations telephone lines destroyed.
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The Birth of the State of Israel
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Jewish uprising and the Creation of the State of Israel
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The Jewish Agency were smuggling Jews into Palestine against British policy. When the Royal Navy turned them away, it defiled the British name and promoted the Zionist cause.
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The King David Hotel was where the British Army Headquarter was based. A lorry filled with explosives disguised as milk churns was driven into the basement, where the building was left most vulnerable. British ignored several warnings throughout the day. Much of the Southern Wing of the building was destroyed (which was where the bulk of the military was based).
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91 were left dead, 41 Arabs, 17 Jews and 21 British. It led to public outrage as Haganah condemned Irgun and the British announced a state of alert. Jews were frequently subject to random searches in response but the laws and policies surrounding Jewish immigration remained unchanged.
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Britain asks the UN to find a solution to the problem in Palestine. British troops then begin to leave.
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The ship SS Exodus, carrying 4500 immigrants was turned away from Palestine by the British Navy. The passengers were taken back to France where they refused to disembark and went on a hunger strike. The British then moved them to Hamburg where they were forced into DP camps. This led to major worldwide outrage against Britain and, ultimately, played a major role in the foundation of the state of Israel.
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Delegates from 11 countries representing all continents toured Palestine and interviewed local residents from across the area. Arab views proved more difficult to procure as many Arabs believed it to be considered pro-Zionist to even consider the possibility of a State of Israel. Most Arab views were from neighboring Arab nations. Most Arabs completely rejected Resolution 181 as they argued it wasn't within the UN's rights to give away their land; Britain too thought it harsh on the Arabs. -
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In the aftermath of the UN vote, the British announced their complete withdrawal from Palestine by May 1948. In the interregnum 5 months, Palestine descended into chaos. After 12 days of the signing of the Resolution, Arabs began attacking Jews leading to 79 fatalities. Jewish reprisals encouraged the fleeing of 100,000 Arabs.
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Plan D, or Plan Dalet was Jewish military initiative to secure the 100,000 or so Jews living in Jerusalem from the surrounding 'encircling' Arabs. It involved Israel creating a corridor from their territory to Jerusalem.
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Deir Yassin was an Arab village that had agreed not to fight. It was attacked by Irgun and Lehi fighters on the 9th April where over 100 were massacred. The Jewish fighters claimed Arab fighters were using the village as a base.
Arab fighters then responded by ambushing Jewish nurses and doctors killing 70. This caused further panic as 250,000 Palestinians then fled to neighbouring Arab nations. -
The State of Israel became formal recognised and David Ben-Guion became the first leader. -
The day after the declaration of the State of Israel, 5 Allied Arab armies jointly attacked Israel. Israeli forces immediately began to suffer heavy defeats with many casualties and were pushed back to near Tel-Aviv, their capital. Jordan occupied the West Bank and Eastern Jerusalem, while Iraqi, Syrian and Lebanese forces pushed from the North and Egypt from the South.
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The foundation of the Israeli Defense Force -
On the 11th June, after heavy Israeli losses, the UN intervened and called for a month-long truce. Israel took this opportunity to break their weapons embargo and restock their munitions from Czechoslovakia using Zionist funding. Israel then broke the truce 2 days early so as to have the element of surprise.
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Israel began to see astounding success after the truce and had soon pushed back to their original borders. They even begin pushing beyond their original borders by the end of the Second Phase.
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UN call another truce after less than a month of fighting due to resounding Israeli successes. It is supposed to last 3 months but Israel breaks the truce early again.
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Again, Israel broke the 3 month truce early, this time in the hope that getting the Arabs on the back foot would help strong arm them into peace negotiations. After another 3 months of fighting, with steady Israeli advances, the combatant Arab nations begin to sue for peace and all but Iraq eventually sign armistices. -
Israel gained 50% more territory (now 75% of the Palestinian area).
Israel created a corridor from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem.
All the separate Arab nations (bar Iraq) signed their own truces.
The population of Israel doubled from 1949 to 1954 to 1.7 million.
Israel maintained the serviceability of the IDF post-war for future attacks.
By 1949, there were more than 100,000 active service personnel.
Conscription brought in for all over 18s. -
Led to 750,000 Palestinians fleeing the country, many to Lebanon and Jordan.
Became know to Arabs as 'al-Nakba', 'the Catastrophe'.
400 Arab villages lost their populations.
Displaced Arabs weren't allowed to return home, but those who did were rebellious: 3-5000 were shot dead from 1949-'56.
In December 1949, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was established, aiming to provide relief and jobs to Palestinians.
The Arab League (bar Jordan) refused to grant refugees citizenship. -
All ex-service personnel remained as a reserve until 55.
Defense spending in 1952 made up 23% of the Israeli budget.
Egypt, under their truce, weren't allowed to maintain a military presence in Gaza though they trained the Fedayeen.
Frequent attacks on Israeli civilians were carried out by the Fedayeen. Israeli retaliations were often condemned by the UN. -
The bill gave Jews the right to gain residence and citizenship in Israel. In 1970, it was expanded to include those of immediate Jewish ancestry or nuptials. It was intended to help increase the total and, more specifically, the Jewish population in Israel. From '48 (before the bill was passed) to '51, 700,000 Jews moved to Israel, but mainly in border regions. It was, however accused of being racially/ethnically bias: it didn't allow displaced Palestinians to return.
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King Farouk was forced to abdicate. He was seen as somewhat of a playboy, living a luxurious highlife, whilst the rest of Egypt was suffering from underdevelopment. He was disliked amongst his people for leading an incompetent and corrupt government that was passive towards the British rule.
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Nasser was a military Colonel, who had been involved in the coup d'état to remove King Farouk's regime. In February '54, he was chosen to be the Prime Minister, head of the Government until he was later formally elected as President on 23rd June 1956. He had three aims, upon becoming President: to improve Egypt's economic prosperity; to free Egypt from foreign influence and gain complete independence, including the nationalisation of the Suez Canal; and Arab unity.
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38 Egyptian soldiers killed.
IDF said it was a reprisal for the murder of a cyclist in Israel by a Palestinian bearing Egyptian intelligence documents.
Nasser in order to maintain his dominating presence over the Arab world, needed to respond in an appropriate manner of political strength to the attack and so began a program of rearmament. -
Nasser arranged a secret arms deal with the Czechoslovaks, a Soviet ally, in return for $300mn in Egyptian cotton. This took their arms total to around 100 SPGs, 200 APCs, 300 tanks, 200 MiGs and 50 bombers.
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A Fedayeen raid on Israel left 11 Israelis dead. The IDF reprisal on Gaza resulted in the deaths of 72 Egyptian soldiers. Nasser was trying to keep some degree of peace in the area, but Ben-Gurion was frightened of a United Arab front under Nasser, potentially with US support and he wanted Nasser exposed as a weak leader before such escalations.
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As a show of strength, Nasser decided to make public the Czechoslovak Arms Deal as a direct response to the reprisals. Furthermore, he imposed a blockade on all trade going through the Straits of Tiran, a key trade route for Israel: all trade would have to come through the Med. For the Israelis, war was now inevitable and thought it better sooner rather than later. As far as the West were concerned, they were less interested in Israel as protecting Egypt from the spread of Communism.
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The UK and USA hoped that, by offering, the Egyptians and Nasser would stop getting closer to the Soviets and potentially side with the West. They might even cancel their arms deal.
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Israel saw war as inevitable and they thought it would be better for them to go to war before the Czech arms shipment arrived. Attacks on Gaza left many Egyptian soldiers dead. An IDF attack took 50 Egyptian lives and a mortar strike on the city claimed 58 more civilian lives, in a failed attempt to provoke Egypt to war.
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When Egypt didn't withdraw Egyptian-Soviet diplomats after being offered funding, the West withdrew their offer, a last ditch attempt to make Nasser swing allegiance.
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10 days after the West withdraw the offer of funding, Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal, such as to fight fire with fire. The Suez Canal being a key international waterway for trade collected lots of money from access/docking rights and so its nationalisation meant that the money collected would go to Egypt, not Britain and France. This could be seen as Nasser's statement to the West, that Egypt was an independent country, freed from colonialism. He now had that diplomatic chip for his economy.
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In an act of diplomatic revenge, Britain and France, clinging to their dignity became desperate for a response to being thrown from the Suez. Israel, recognising the common enemy, took the opportunity to get another victory against the Egyptians and called a meeting at Sevres with British and French ministerial representatives in secret. Over the course of 3 days, they negotiated a strategy to attack Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula so as to secure the Suez for British/French forces.
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Britain and France order Israel and Egypt to withdraw their forces 16km on each side of the Canal. Israel accepts, but Egypt refuses.
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Israeli soldiers capture Sharm el Sheikh and lift the blockade on the Straits of Tiran.
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British and French forces invade Port Said and move inland to take control of the Suez Canal.
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Showed their military capabilities.
Reopened the Straits of Tiran.
Showed that they were on an American leash. -
Britain and France are strongly criticised by the US and agree to a UN ceasefire.
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Both nations become somewhat weakened on the global diplomatic stage, demoted at old powers, ceding to the USA and the Soviet Union.
Britain is shown to have an outdated ideology: Anthony Eden shortly after resigns as PM.
However, shows that both nations are still militarily competent.
France thinks it can no longer rely on Britain for support in the future so turns to continental Europe, whilst Britain turns to the USA. -
Showed that they are militarily incompetent.
Heightened resentment of Israel.
25000 Jews fled Egypt.
They were pushed further, ideologically, towards the Soviet Union.
Nasser then took the moral and diplomatic high ground over Israel.
The Soviet Union then later agreed to fund the Aswan High Dam. -
Nasser, keen to maintain his position as 'leader of the Arab world', and so on the 22st February 1958, the United Arab Republic was formed with Syria and Egypt, with Nasser as the leader. The new united body posed a large threat to Israel who had previously relied on disunity and disorganisation amongst the Arab nations.
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Fatah was an organisation of Palestinian 'freedom fighters' that believed that the PLO and bureaucracy was pointless. It was led by a Palestinian, Yasser Arafat, who later became leader of the PLO and later still, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In trying to establish Fatah as a credible organisation, they attempted to blow up the canal to the Negev Desert. The plot failed as the bomb was found, but large Israeli publicity of the plot pushed Fatah to the forefront of the Palestinian cause.
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The Escalating Conflict
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Key decisions:
Headwater diversion plan: Syria and Lebanon would use Egyptian and Saudi money to divert tributary waters from the River Jordan.
Set up the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) to support displaced Palestinians in their struggle to return home. They also set up the Palestinian Liberation Army (PLA).
Nasser established his credibility in Arab leadership and proved his anti-Israeli stance. -
Their plans to irrigate arid regions in the Negev Desert would have to be postponed/abolished.
Showed that the Arab world was readying for war with them.
Produced a direct existential threat to Israel: the PLA. -
An Israeli patrol near the Israeli-Jordanian border was blown up by a landmine, killing 3 policemen and leaving another 6 wounded. It was officially unknown who laid the mine but Fatah was suspected. Hoping to prevent any retaliation, King Hussein of Jordan wrote a letter of condolence to the Israeli Prime Minister, Levi Eshkol, but it arrived too late...
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In retaliation to the landmine incident, Israel sent 600 troops, 11 tanks and 60 military vehicles into the Jordan-controlled West Bank. Their target was the small Arab settlement of Samu, where there were thought to be the Fatah terrorists who laid the bomb. There, they ordered everyone to gather in the central square and then started to blow up their homes with dynamite.
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The operation was meant to be a quick raid, but, rather by coincidence, a 100 strong Jordanian patrol encountered the raid. In the following battle, 15 Jordanians, 1 Israeli and 3 villagers were killed; a Jordanian jet was shot down and Samu was reduced to rubble.
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The Israeli PM, Eshkol was criticised, even at home, but especially by the US for sending such a large force and the raid was condemned by the UN. Jordan was the only nation in the region attempting to establish good relations with Israel, being the US's only ally. Eshkol argued that punishment was needed in response to the deaths of the 3 policemen (but why Samu was unclear), Israel needed to send a clear message to the West Bank not to help Fatah and to make King Hussein stop Fatah activity.
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King Hussein face large amounts of protest following the Samu Raid as many thought he was failing to protect the Palestinians. Riots throughout the West Bank called for his removal. To defend his position, he abandoned his attempts at good relations with Israel and publicly called for revenge. However, Hussein didn't want a war as he couldn't afford it and so to avoid further retaliations, he did his best to stop Fatah activity out of the West Bank.
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Saying one thing but doing another meant that no one believed Hussein, so to defend his position, he targeted Nasser, accusing him of cowardice for not acting against Israel and hiding behind the UN peacekeepers in Sinai. This was clever as it took the spotlight off of Hussein and put Nasser under pressure to do something dramatic.
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Syrian gunners based in the DMZ in the Golan Heights fired upon an Israeli armored tractor. In response, Israel sent jets to attack the gun positions. When these jets then fired upon Syrian villages, the Syrians sent their own jets and a dogfight ensued. The Israelis shot down 6 Syrian jets and chased the others back to Damascus. This damaged Syrian pride. Years later, General Mosche Dyan disclosed that the Israelis had intentionally sent armored tractors to the DMZ to provoke a response.
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The Commander of the IDF publicly threatens to invade Syria and 'occupy Damascus' if they didn't stop supporting Fatah. Eshkol told him off as it was that sort of irresponsible threat that just increased tension.
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Brezhnev warns Nasser that Israel is massing troops on the Syrian border ready to invade. This was untrue. Nasser, as leader of the Arab World had to act.
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An Israeli delegation approached Johnson, asking for US support, should war break out. An Egyptian delegation approached Brezhnev, asking for support for a pre-emptive strike on Egypt. Both requests were refused.
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Nasser demands that Israel let Palestinians return to their homes, and that Israel return all the land it had taken in the 48-49 War.
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Nasser signed a defence treaty with Jordan and Jordanian forces were put under the command of an Egyptian general.
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Nasser likely hoped that, after the Samu raid, Eshkol would submit to his demands, wanting to save face and, if it were to come to war, the Arab Armies vastly outnumbered the IDF. This in fact did the opposite and Eshkol again appealed to the US for help. He put Israel on military alert, called up the reserves and prepared Israel for war. Worldwide emergency appeals called for funds and some even flew to Israel to help.
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Eshkol didn't want to make the first move, but they needed to relieve the Straits of Tiran. On the 31st May, Johnson suggested that Israel take action for itself to relieve the Straits. This wasn't the ideal action for Eshkol, but at least they had US support to act. The following day, Eshkol appointed Moshe Dyan as Defence Minister. Dyan believed Israel needed to launch an immediate pre-emptive strike to quickly defeat the Arab Armies and relieve the Straits.
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Dyan didn't want to alert the enemy, so he announced that the reserve troops could go home for the weekend. On the 4th June, in secrecy, the Israeli government decided on war.
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At the Khartoum Conference, Egypt, Jordan and Syria agreed that they would pursue a policy of '3 Nos': No Peace; No Recognition; and No Negotiation.
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Palestinians rejected the solution as they thought it ignored their 'right to return'. They also thought that it made them seem as displace and a 'problem'. Israel agreed to negotiate with separate nations individually, but didn't commit fully. Nasser said he would agree, but only if Israel pulled out of all occupied territories first.
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Resolution 242 was supposedly a 'Land for Peace' solution to the upsets in the region. It stated that Israel must withdraw from 'territories occupied in the recent conflict', Arab states must recognise Israel's right to exist and that there should be a 'just settlement to the refugee problem'. The specific wording of the resolution was incredibly ambiguous so as to try and appease all. It was accepted by the USA and the USSR.
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The Suez now became a border, but was blocked with sunken ships, which Israel refused to move.
Nasser, in an effort to salvage his dignity, using Soviet aid began an attritional campaign against the Israelis in the Sinai.
As part of this campaign, an Israeli warship was sunk: in response, Israelis retaliated with heavy bomber and ground raids on Egyptian towns, cities and oil refineries, greatly damaging the Egyptian economy. -
They had won the territory in fair battle.
Resolution 242 was overly vague.
Arabs refused to recognise them, why should the return any land.
Smaller and simpler borders to defend.
Gave them complete access to the Suez and the River Jordan.
Morale was at an all time high, why loose it.
Needed the extra land and resources.
Would give them control over Jerusalem.
Peace can never be promised.
Would secure trade through the Straits of Tiran. -
As the refugees weren't allowed to become citizens, most jobs were restricted from them, leading to high rates of unemployment and poverty. For example, refugees in Lebanon weren't allowed to work as Lawyers, Doctors or Engineers.
This led to increases in Guerrilla groups and Fatah moved the Head Quarters to Jordan. -
1 million Palestinians in the West Bank found themselves under Israeli control.
Some were relocated to other area of the West Bank while others found themselves evicted completely to make room for Israelis.
About 300000 chose not to stay in the West Bank, most of whom fled to Jordan where there were a further 6 Emergency Refugee Camps set up by the UN. The largest of these was Baq'q'a, containing 26000 refugees living in 5000 tents in an area of 1.4 km^2. -
As the war of attrition grew, over 1.5 million Egyptians had evacuated and more than 1000 Israeli soldiers died. Furthermore, the US and USSR became steadily and increasingly involved.
The USSR equipped Egypt with 100 fighter planes and issued 20000 Soviet troops to build 80 SAM bases.
The US supported Israel with arms and financial aid.
In August 1970, a truce was agreed -
Though they weren't the aggressors per se, they pre-emptively invaded.
So as to obey Resolution 242.
Their ally, the US supported Resolution 242.
The world was moving toward peace and so returning the land may be seen as more peaceful.
It was more land to govern and keep from uprising.
Would stop the Arab states from returning straight back to aggression.
'Taking' land is against international law.
Public opinion may swing against them.
Very expensive to maintain. -
Fatah's intentions were to continue with border raids and force Israel's hand in that they were overstretched.
Other new terrorist groups believed in a more international agenda to attract global attention to the Palestinian plight.
In retaliation to the mining of a school bus, Israel conducted a rain on Karameh, where the Fatah HQ was based, comprising 15000 personnel. However, they were unexpectedly faced with strong Fatah resistance, which was then supported by Jordanian troops. -
Though Israel won, they lost 27 men, 28 tanks and 2 aircraft and in just two ensuing days, Fatah had recruited 5000 new volunteers. Israel was condemned by the global community while Yasser Arafat became so popular that, on the 3rd Feb 1969, he was made the leader of the PLO.
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In September 1970, four passenger planes were hijacked by the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine). They demanded that Israel free four PFLP prisoners in exchange for the 56 Jewish lives being held hostage. Israel accepted the demands but the planes were blown up anyway. The hostages were, however, freed.
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Palestinians made up around half the population in Jordan at this time, leading to effectively a state within a state, significantly weakening King Hussein's position. Furthermore, Israeli retaliations to Fatah raids caused significant damage to Jordanian infrastructure etc. The relationship between the PLO and King Hussein had reached a breaking point.
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King Hussein ordered his army to seize PLO bases regardless of resistance as foreign intervention was becoming increasingly likely given that the hijacked planes were British, Swiss and American. Over 10 days, Jordanian troops killed around 2000 Palestinian fighters. This became known as Black September. Nasser eventually negotiated a truce, but this eventually fell through after he died of a heart attack on the 28th September.
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After nearly a year of conflict, King Hussein regained complete control of his country, forcing the PLO to relocate to Beirut.
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A a result of the Palestinian expulsion from Jordan, a terrorist group called 'Black September' was set up. Their first action was to assassinate the Jordanian Prime Minister.
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At the 1972 Munich Games, on the morning of the 5th September, almost 2 years to the day after Black September began, at 4:30, 8 armed gunmen from the Black September terrorist group entered the Olympic Village and broke into the Israeli team's apartments. Two Israelis were shot dead and the other 9 were held hostage. They demanded the release of 234 Palestinian prisoners.
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German negotiators agreed to helicopter the terrorists to a military airbase - Fürstenfeldbruck - from where they would be flown to an Arab country. However, an attempt was made by the West German Police to free the hostages. In the gun battle that ensued, all 9 athletes and five of the terrorists were killed. Three terrorists were taken prisoner.
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'Black September' succeeded in raising awareness of the Middle Eastern issue, however international support was incredibly pro-Israeli.
The Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir ordered attacks on PLO bases and air strikes in Syria and Lebanon, killing between 200 and 500 people.
She also authorised Operation Wrath of God, in which Mossad were to assassinate those involved with the planning of the Munich Massacre as revenge and to deter future terrorist activity. Bystanders were killed. -
A 25-30 meter high wall of sand was constructed along the length of the Suez Canal and 22 bunker posts along with it. These were surrounded by landmines and barbed wire. This was known as the Bar-Lev Line, which cost around $300mn.
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135 houses in front of the Wailing Wall were demolished to make room for prayer areas. The 650 inhabitants were paid compensation and then evicted. Israel restored the Jewish Quarter, most of which had been severely damaged during the Arab rule. Israel promised access to religious sites for Muslims and Christians.
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As part of the Israeli residential expansions, around 100000 Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley were evicted to make way for 27 new Jewish settlements.
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Sadat became President of Egypt after the death of Nasser, whereupon there were several large issues facing him.
Political opposition
Egypt was bankrupt
Military in ruins
Cities destroyed
Refugee crisis from the War of Attrition
Collapsing economy
Sinai occupied by Israel: no oil
Suez Canal closed
Personally unpopular
Expenses of keeping 1 million troops on standby in case of Israeli attack
Presence of 15000 Soviet advisers: alienated Israel/USA -
Restore the Egyptian economy
Rebuild cities destroyed by the War of Attrition
Cut military expenses and send home standby troops
Re-open the Suez Canal
Make peace with Egypt
Try for the return of Sinai:
He approached Golda Meir for its return, citing Resolution 242
When this failed he offered to remove the 15000 Soviet advisors
When this too failed, he began preparing for war -
The West Bank and Gaza were given the right to govern themselves and run their own public sectors. Some were even allowed to work in Israel. The IDF created various checkpoints and military bases to control the movement of Palestinians. Here, those considered terrorists or a security threat were often arrested and jailed without trial or had their houses demolished. Furthermore, land was confiscated, claiming it was for security purposes. However, it was often used for residential expansion.
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Over the course of 72 hours, Israel began a process of Mass Mobilisation.
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At 2 PM, Egypt launched their surprise invasion across the Suez with a force of 23000. At the same time, Syria invaded Israel in the North. This was controversial and questioned as it was Yom Kippur - a Jewish festival, when many were of work and off guard.
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From the 8th October, Israeli Tank Regiments in the 2nd Armoured Division began pressing back on Syrian lines in the Golan Heights. This was trickier than in the Six Day War, as the Syrians now possessed advanced Soviet anti-tank weaponry and infrared night vision.
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In response to Syrian requests for a relief of Israeli pressure, Sadat launches an increased offensive in the Sinai, despite his generals' objections. In the ensuing battle, Egypt lost 260 tanks, whilst Israel lost a mere 20. The Egyptians were pushed back to the Suez.
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By the 15th, US supplies had arrived and the Israelis began a counter-offensive against the Egyptians. They crossed the Suez and began encircling the Egyptian Southern Army. Once across, they destroyed SAM sites so as the Israeli Airforce could safely participate.
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On the 23rd October, Kissinger, US Secretary of State, flew to Israel and informed Golda Meir that the US would not object if Israeli forces were to continue advancing. On the 24th, Brezhnev told President Nixon that if Israel weren't stopped, the USSR would send their troops to Egypt. In response, the US moved to DEFCON 3 - Nuclear Alert. On the 25th, OPEC decided to start an oil embargo against the US in order to stop Israel. Under immense pressure, Nixon got Israel to agree to a UN Ceasefire.
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Victory for Israel, although the PM and the Defence Minister both resigned within a year
Casualties: around 20000 Arab and 2600 Israeli
Large amounts of vehicles and weapons lost
Energy Crisis of 1973-74 due to the oil embargo. In 1980, the price of oil was 10 times greater than in 1973
Egypt, Israel and the superpowers realised peace talks were necessary
Israel had been unnerved by the fighting capability of Egypt
World attention was focused on Sinai, not the Palestinian Plight. -
The price of oil quadrupled from $3 to $12 a barrel. By early 1974 the world was in the grip of a major economic crisis, with large inflation and high unemployment. The USA was badly hit by the oil crisis and its economy was grinding to a halt, which gave an incentive to encourage peace between Israel and their Arab neighbors. The USA's western allies bought 80% of their oil from the Middle East so they were also putting pressure on the US to find a solution.
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Showed the Arabs that they could use oil as a powerful weapon.
Created and pushed for the necessity of oil resilience.
Caused worldwide spikes in petrol prices and frequent outages into the 80s.
High unemployment rates.
High rates of inflation.
High market prices. -
Attempts at a Solution
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Kissinger started a process of 'shuttle diplomacy' peace exchanges between Israel and Egypt, starting in January 1974. For 2 months, he flew back and forth between the two countries (and Syria). He was in a strong position to put pressure on Israel as Israel was dependent on US aid. Sadat was willing to talk peace as they needed the toll money from the Suez and wanted it to reopen.
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Got Sadat and Rabin to agree to UN intervention in Sinai while the Suez was reopened.
In March 1974 OPEC agreed to lift the Oil Embargo.
The Golan Heights also saw UN intervention.
Egypt and Syria wouldn't recognise Israel.
Israel wouldn't move their troops from Sinai or the Golan Heights. -
The Suez Canal reopened in 1975, 8 years after it was closed by the Six Day War. It was estimated that the closure of the Canal had cost $8bn in increased shipping costs. The preparations took many months with British, French, Egyptian and US navies took part in the clearing of the canal. This was beneficial for the Egyptian economy and for world trade. 164km of banks were riddled with live ammunition and other explosives. 96 died.
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Sadat wanted Sinai back and also wanted to solve the Palestinian issue. Above all, he needed peace with Israel to allow Egypt's economy to recover. The US offered aid to Egypt is Sadat pursued peace. In 1977, Sadat dramatically told the Egyptian National Assembly that he was prepared to go to the ends of the Earth to find peace. He offered to go to the Knesset, which was accepted by Begin. He also needed a peace deal to allow the IDF to focus on the PLO threat from Lebanon.
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His was the first Arab leader to visit Israel, although he risked being seen as a traitor by other Arab leaders. He believed that he needed to negotiate a deal for the Palestinians. His aims were:
Ending the occupation of the territories
Achieving the fundamental rights of Palestinians and the right to self determination and their own state
Commitment to operate within the UN charter
Ending the state of belligerence in the region
Begin made a return visit to Egypt, but the talks failed. -
Major stepping stone on the path to peace in the region
All the points of reference were disagreed on and fell through
Some of the Egyptian public, other Arab nations and the USSR showed distaste and even contempt towards these diplomatic negotiations -
Lebanon was an ideal base for the PLO for several reasons:
There were 400000 Palestinian refugees living there that would support the PLO.
The PLO could corrupt the government
Lebanon was in ruins off the back of a Christian-Muslim Civil War in '75
No strong authority to order them otherwise
Ideal position from which to conduct border raids -
The PLO were corrupt and 'bullying'
They had just come out of a Civil War
PLO raids invited Israeli reprisals
Led to the formation of anti-PLO Christian paramilitary groups
Led to the Israeli invasion
Much civil unrest caused -
In March 1978 Israel invaded Lebanon with a force of 25000 under Operation Litani and announced it would keep its forces there until the PLO ceased its activities from Lebanon. The Israeli action was prompted by a Palestinian attack on a bus in Tel Aviv, killing 38 Israelis. Israeli troops were withdrawn after President Carter put pressure on Israel and UN peace-keeping troops were dispatched. They later withdrew in June after pressure from President Carter
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Carter managed to persuade Begin and Sadat to meet again at Camp David in the USA from the 6th to the 17th September. 2 agreements were reached on relations between Egypt and Israel and on concerns for the Palestinians. This was known as the Camp David Accords.
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It was the perfect isolated neutral ground
Many issues could be resolved with informal US pressure
Israel accepted rights of Palestinians
Begin and Sadat won the '78 Peace Prize
Palestinian groups weren't consulted
Much Arab League tension at such betrayal -
A full treaty based on the Camp David Accords was concluded on the 26th March 1979. It formally ended the state of war between Israel and Egypt. The treaty solved some issues but led to a dramatic fall in the popularity of Sadat, who was assassinated in 1981. Egypt was also expelled from the Arab League and the PLO was highly critical of him. It offered and gained complete Israeli-Egyptian peace as well as reestablished the Egyptian economy.
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The US arranged a ceasefire in 1981 but this was broken in June 1982 when an attempt was made to assassinate the Israeli ambassador to the UK. Israel launched a combined arms Operation Peace for Galilee invasion into Lebanon to irradicate PLO targets. After 2 months of intense fighting, Arafat withdrew to Tunis. Israel promised to venture no further than 40km from the border and hold land for no more than 48 hours, but advances soon neared Beirut. They then besieged the city. They withdrew in 85
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In September, Israel allowed a Christian group into refugee camps Sabra and Shatila to hunt down PLO members. 2000 were killed, mostly women and children. Israel was globally condemned even by Regan for not preventing this and hence being indirectly responsible.
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The PLO relocated
Israel was internationally condemned: the war was broadcast across the world
Helped the Palestinian cause
Israel divided over the matter: public demonstrations led to the resignation of Begin
Israel withdrew in May 85
Israeli losses totaled 600 wit h 4000 wounded, while Lebanese casualties ranged between 5 and 19 000
Led to the rise of Hezbollah
Plan projects on a visual timeline
Map milestones, phases, deadlines, and key events in one place so the sequence is easier to see and share. Timetoast is a timeline maker for work, school, research, and stories.