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The Arab-Israeli conflict is a long-running conflict in the Middle East regarding the existence of the State of Israel and its relations with Arab peoples and nations. Some uses of the term Middle East conflict apparently refer to this matter, but the region has been host to other disputes and wars not directly involving Israel (see List of conflicts in the Middle East)
Despite the relatively small land area, number of casualties, and total size of populations involved, the conflict has been the focus of worldwide media and diplomatic attention for decades. Some groups fear that the Arab-Israeli conflict is a part of (or precursor to) a wider clash of civilizations between the Western World and the Arab or Muslim world. Animosity emanating from this conflict has caused numerous attacks on supporters (or perceived supporters) of one side by supporters of the other side in many countries around the world.
1 History
In its current form, the Arab-Israeli conflict is a modern phenomenon, which dates back to the end of the 19th century. The conflict became a major international issue after the Ottoman Empire in 1917 lost power in the Middle East, and in various forms it continues to date. The Arab-Israeli conflict has resulted in at least five major wars and a large number of "minor conflicts". It has also been the source of two major Palestinian intifadas (uprisings). The wars and intifadas are:
- Israeli War of Independence, 1948- 1949. Began as a joint Jordanian, Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese and Iraqi attack, helped by some other Arab troops, on Jewish positions immediately after the British withdrawal and the declaration of the State of Israel on May 15, 1948. Arabs had rejected the United Nations Partition Plan of November 1947, which proposed establishment of an Arab and a Jewish state in PalestineFor varying definitions, see definitions of Palestine. Palestine ( Latin: Syria Palaestina Hebrew: Palestina Eretz Yisrael Arabic: Filasin , is a region in the Middle East extending inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Its political sta, and fought to "drive the Jews into the sea". About 2/3 of Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled by Israeli forces, from the territories which came under Jewish control (see Palestinian Exodus); the Arabs expelled all Jews from the territories which came under their control. (Also, some on both sides were killed.) In addition, many Arab countries' Jewish populations were compelled to flee due to anti-Jewish sentiment and, in some cases (e.g. Iraq) legal oppression. About 700,000 Palestinians (estimates vary from 520,000 to 957,000[1]) and 600,000 Jews became refugees. In a few cases, (e.g. in Morocco) local Arab governments strongly encouraged Jews to stay, and some Jewish leaders (e.g. in Haifa) encouraged Arabs to stay. Jewish refugees were absorbed by Israel; Palestinians were neglected by most Arab nations which by some were blamed for the poverty and hatred prevailing in some Palestinian camps. The fighting ended with signing of the Rhodes Armistice, but only two states eventually signed a peace agreement with Israel: Egypt ( 1978The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The two agreements were signed at the White House, and were w) and Jordan ( 1994The Israel- Jordan peace treaty was signed at the southern border crossing of Wadi Araba on October 26, 1994, and made Jordan only the second Arab country (after Egypt) to normalize relations with Israel. See also: Arab-Israeli conflict, Elyakim Rubinstei).
- 1956 Suez War. Began as a joint Israeli-British-French operation, which they justified as an attempt to stop attacks (see the FedayeenFedayeen (from the Arabic fida'i "one who is ready to sacrifice his life for the cause") describes several distinct Muslim groups at different times in history. The first fedayeen were active from the 8th to the 14th? century and described by their enemie) upon Israeli civilians, to abolish the Egyptian blockade of the Straits of TiranThe Straits of Tiran are the narrow passages formed by the Sinai and Arabian peninsulas which separates the Gulf of Aqaba from the Red Sea. Access to the Israeli port city of Eilat is contingent upon passage through the Gulf of Aqaba, giving the straits o, and to recapture the Suez CanalThe Suez Canal ( Arabic, Qan al-Suways , west of the Sinai Peninsula, forms a 163 km (101 mile) ship canal in Egypt between Port Said Bur Sa'id on the Mediterranean and Suez al-Suways on the Red Sea. The canal allows water transport from Europe to Asia wi. Ended in a truce in which Israel reached its objective, but the Suez Canal was left in Egyptian (rather than British) hands. Israel agreed to withdraw from Sinai under U.S. pressure, in return for the installation of U.N. separation forces and guarantees of Israeli freedom of shipment.
- Six-Day War, 1967. Began as a strike by Israel, often considered preemptive, against Egypt following the Egyptian closure of the Straits of Tiran (a casus belli, according to the international law), expulsion of U.N. peacekeepers from the Sinai, stationing some 100,000 Egyptian troops at the peninsula, and public announcement by Nasser that he intended to destroy Israel[2]. Israeli strikes were followed by a ground invasion into Egyptian territory, leading to the capture of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. In spite of Israel's request to Jordan to desist from attacking it, both Jordan and Syria began to shell Israeli civilian targets. As a response, Israel captured the West Bank on June 7th, and on June 9th - the Golan Heights.
- Yom Kippur War, 1973. Began as a simultaneous coordinated attack by Egypt and Syria in Sinai and the Golan Heights, respectively. Arabs justified it as an attempt to regain the territory lost in 1967. Despite early successes by the Arabs, Israel was able to counterattack and destroy the Syrian army and encircle the Egyptian army with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in position to move on Damascus and Cairo. A threat of Soviet military intervention resulted in a ceasefire.
- 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 terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians). The invasion was widely criticized both in and outside Israel, especially after the Sabra and Shatila massacre and ultimately led to the death of 20,000 Lebanese. Although initially the attack succeeded and Arafat was exiled to Tunisia, Israel became entangled with various local Muslim militias (particularly the Hizballah), which fought to end the Israeli occupation. By 1985 Israel retreated from all Lebanese territory but a narrow stretch of land called the Israeli Security Zone . In 2000 Israeli forces left that as well; however, the Hizballah still periodically launched attacks and kept Israeli prisoners as hostages, some of whom were civilians. The two retreats were influenced by political campaigns by groups such as Peace Now.
- The first Intifada, 1987- 1993. Began as an uprising of Palestinians, many of them youths, against Israeli control in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The uprising was instigated by rumors that a traffic accident in Jabalya, in which four Palestinians died, was staged by the Israelis. The exiled PLO leadership in Tunisia quickly took control, but the uprising also brought a rise in the importance of Islamist Palestinian extremist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The Intifada ended with signing of the Oslo Accords.
- The Gulf War, 1990- 1991. Began with the Iraqi invasion and annexation of Kuwait but did not initially involve direct military engagement with Israel. An international coalition led by the United States and including Arab forces, was assembled to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. To draw Israel into the confrontation and fracture the multinational coalition, Iraq launched Scud missiles on Israeli cities and on Israel's nuclear military facilities at Dimona. However, Israel did not retaliate against Iraq and the multinational coalition ousted Iraqi forces from Kuwait. During the war, many Palestinians allied themselves with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and, consequently, forfeited significant support from Kuwait and other Arab monarchies in the post-war period. The loss of support from Gulf Arab monarchies weakened the PLO's position against Israel and forced the Palestinian leadership to compromise and eventually negotiate the Oslo Accords in 1993.
- The al-Aqsa Intifada. Began just before September 2000 when 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 broke out in Old Jerusalem a number of hours later, and Israeli authorities killed several Palestinians suppressing them. The killing of Muhammed al-Dura, a 12-year-old boy by Israeli forces, was videotaped and broadcast around the world, triggering further rioting. This conflict is on-going.
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