2.3 Israel and Egypt 1967-73 Flashcards
(13 cards)
Who was Anwar Sadat and what were the reactions of the Egyptian public towards him ?
-Nasser’s successor as the Egyptian president
[] lacked the same charisma as Nasser and was unknown outside of Egypt
[] often the butt of racist jokes due to being part Sudanese
What were Sadat’s main aims as Egyptian president and how did he plan to achieve them ?
-restore Egyptian economy and rebuild after the War of Attrition.
[] cut down on military expenditure (sent home the million soldiers on standby in case of Israeli attack)
[] reopening Suez Canal (first had to regain Sinai from Israel)
Describe Sadat’s efforts to negotiate the return of Sinai from Israel
-offered peace in return for Sinai to Golda Meir (rejected)
-expelled 15 000 Soviet advisors in hopes to please the USA and thus force Israel to negotiate (failed)
by late 1972, began preparations for war with Syria in secret
[] wanted to make Israel feel as if it was not invincible, and thus encourage them to negotiate for the return of Sinai - no mention of destroying Israel or anything further than threatening it
Describe Israel’s actions in the occupied territories (the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights and Jerusalem) from 1970-72 (include details about military control)
military control:
[] built Bar Lev Line (high sand wall along Suez Canal, forts, bunkers, mines and barbed wire put in place) in Sinai to prevent Egyptian attacks
[] defences and ban of Syrian refugees implemented in the Golan Heights to defend against Syrian attack.
Jerusalem:
[] Arab neighbourhoods, buildings etc. destroyed (inhabitants compensated monetarily and then evicted)
West Bank + Gaza:
[] Palestinians given the right to govern themselves, run local affairs and work in Israel if they had the right documents
[] IDF roadblocks, checkpoints and military bases used to control the movement of Palestinians
[] Palestinians considered “threats” to security were jailed without trial and had their homes/land demolished/confiscated and given to Jews
Golan Heights:
[] Israeli farms set up due to fertile land and water supplies
[] 1971, ski resort opened on Mount Hebron (encouraged tourism to boost the economy)
Why did Israel feel secure after 1972 ?
-occupied territories provided economic boosts as well as added security from Arab attacks
since the Munich Massacre, public sympathy was on their side.
-US aid for Israel pouring in
-Egypt expelled the Soviets and Israel believed it would take years for Arabs to rebuild their armed forces so attack seemed unlikely
Describe the key warning signs of the Yom Kippur War that Israel ignored and the significance of this ignorance
Give a timeline detailing the events of the Yom Kippur War, 6 October 1973 - 25 October 1973
Describe the use and impacts of the “OPEC oil weapon” from late October 1973 to 1974
-placed an embargo on oil for the US and cut production for worldwide sale by 25% to force government leaders to take the Middle Eastern issue more seriously and to find a solution.
-caused mass economic crisis, especially for the US as had to buy oil from other countries who bought it from the Middle East first
-Western countries began searching for more oil sources as a result of realising the power that the Middle East had over the entire world’s economy simply by refusing oil sale (as much)
Describe the key reasons why Israel survived the Yom Kippur War, October 1973
IDF:
[] tanks + equipment were superior to Soviet equipment (massive propaganda point for US over Soviets in Cold War)
[] soldiers extremely motivated as needed to protect the survival of their homeland
[] soldiers extremely well trained
US aid:
[] even though arrived on the 15th of October, a couple weeks into the war, still helped greatly
[] $2.2 billion of aid in military equipment sent
Luck/poor Arab decisions:
[] lucky that the Syrians didn’t immediately push to the River Jordan and gave Israel time to get organised and mobilise
[] lucky that Sadat ignored his generals and so lost the 15 mile Sinai strip and was vulnerable to air-strikes
Describe the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War for Israel
-massive victory
-gained Syrian and Egyptian land
-gained control over both the east (Sinai side) and west (Egypt side) banks of the Suez Canal and prevented Egypt from taking its toll money
showed off military strength
-HOWEVER lost 9500 men
-only survived due to Arab tactical errors and US aid
-Golda Meir and Moshe Dayan heavily criticised due to their lack of preparation and ignorance of warning signs; forced to step down the next year due to the social pressure
Describe the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War for the USA
-almost went into nuclear war
-economic crisis due to the oil weapon
-realised it NEEDED Middle Eastern peace for its own security both in terms of the Cold War and its economy
-got to show off military superiority in terms of weapons and military vehicles in contrast to Soviets’ - propaganda against USSR in the Cold War
Describe the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War for Egypt
-30 000 casualties
-lost a lot of equipment and land to the Israelis
[] Soviets were annoyed with Sadat for wasting so much equipment and ignoring advice of his generals that would have prevented that
Suez Canal still blocked and under greater Israeli control; unable to collect toll money to improve economy.
[] Sadat failed his ambition in his presidency to improve Egypt economically, to cut back on military expenditure AND to regain Sinai - not great reception in Egypt.
-HOWEVER overunning the Bar Lev Line and using Soviet missiles to do mass damage was a huge win for the Egyptian military, encouraged Arab pride.
[] successfully threatened Israel and made it remember it wasn’t invincible
[] Sadat in a better place to negotiate the return of Sinai (peace for land offer)
Describe the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War for Syria
-lost land
-big military victory for the Syrians initially, especially as the Syrian military was generally regarded as poor by the Israelis.
-Palestinians who fought with the Syrians however now overlooked in favour of focus on Israeli-Egyptian relations;
- Palestinian cause buried in the media again BUT OPEC oil weapon encouraged more focus again later
