Conflict in the Middle East: 1.3

Question 1

Give a timeline of events from 1955-58 describing rising tensions between Egypt and Israel (no details necessary)

Answer 1

• February 1955
  [] Israeli attack on Egyptian army HQ as a “reprisal” for the killing of an Israeli cyclist by Palestinian militants
• 1955
  [] Czechoslovakian arms deal (Soviet weapons)
• August 1955
  [] Feyadeen killed 11 Israelis
  [] Israeli reprisal killed 72 Egyptian soldiers
• September 1955
  [] Nasser makes Czech arms deal public and closes Straits of Tiran w/blockade
• October 1955
  [] USA + Britain offer $270 million loan for the Aswan Dam
• April 1956
  [] Israeli attack on Gaza, 58 Egyptians dead
• July 1956
  [] Britain + USA withdraw from funding the Aswan Dam once realising Nasser planned to remain neutral in the Cold War
  [] Nasser nationalises Suez Canal
• October 1956
  [] Sevres Agreement
• 29 October 1956
  [] Israel occupies Gaza + paratroopers land in Sinai, east of the Suez Canal
• 30 October 1956
  [] B+F order stop to fighting and for Egyptians and Israeli troops to withdraw 16km from the Canal; Nasser refuses (Israel not even within that range yet, unveils plan)
• 31 Octbober 1956
  [] B+F bomb Cairo and Cairo airport
• 5 November 1956
  [] B+F air assault; paratroopers land in Port Said and advance to the Suez
  [] Israel ends the Egyptian Tiran Straits blockade
  [] Israel takes Sharm-el-Sheikh (overlooks Straits of Tiran)
  [] Nasser sinks ships to block the Suez
• 6 November 1956
  [] UN ceasefire
  [] B+F condemned
• 1958
  [] UAR (United Arab Republic) formed between Egypt and Syria

Question 2

When was King Farouk forced to abdicate by Egyptian generals and why ?

Answer 2

• soon after 1948-49 war
• Farouk was blamed for the Egyptian troops’ lack of preparation and coordination n the war; one of the reasons they failed
• Farouk was generally unpopular in Egypt
  [] his government was corrupt
  [] spent lots of money that could have been used for national improvement on leisure and his car collection
• Egyptians wanted a more dynamic leader who actually cared about them

Question 3

Describe the beginning of Nasser’s career as the Egyptian political leader (3 desires for Egypt + how he worked to achieve these)

Answer 3

• was one of the disillusioned generals that forced Farouk’s abdication
• wanted three things for Egypt:
  [] independence (from the British)
  [] prosperity for common Egyptians
  [] pride in Arab heritage
• independence:
  [] told British to leave the Suez Canal and not to come back unless there was impending threat or conflict
  [] worked; the British agreed to leave
  [] possibly because they saw that Egypt could be an ally in the Cold War as was very important Arab nation and were neutral at present
• prosperity
  [] planned to redistribute fertile lands fairly
  [] built schools and hospitals
  [] planned to dam the Nile at Aswan to control the annual flooding as well as to provide hydroelectric energy and water for irrigation
• pride
  [] talked on radio etc. about Arab pride
  [] wanted all Arab nations to remain neutral in the Cold War to maintain their own nations and people rather than getting caught u in international tensions
  [] negative Western reactions, as worried that could easily be swayed to the USSR or just wanted allies in general
  [] Arab neutrality meant that the oil weapon couldn’t be used against the USSR to the benefit of the West in the Cold War

Question 4

Why did talks about loaning towards the Aswan Dam’s construction open between the USA + Britain and Egypt initially ?

Answer 4

hoped could win Egypt over to being a Western ally in the Cold War (this would also mean friendlier relations with Israel, meaning growth of Israel and less hostility overall, pleasing US Zionists in particular)

Question 5

What was the significance of the Israeli attack on Egyptian army HQ in February 1955 for the murder of one cyclist ?

Answer 5

• showed Egypt’s military weakness at this stage
  [] moved the issue of re-arming the Egyptian military a higher priority for Nasser
  [] would have caused slight concern in the West for Israeli-Arab relations and sides chosen in the Cold War
• demonstrated the dangers of being an ally to Palestinian fighters/terrorists (depending on view), as came with heavy reprisals
  [] however, the continuance of Egyptian support in spite of this showed the Palestinians and Arabs that Egypt was a true ally, and gave rise to even more committed Palestinian support
• prompted the Czechoslovakian arms deal
• made Israeli pre-emptive strikes/provocation/over-aggression (depending on viewpoint) even more abundantly clear, as killed 38 for 1 murder by people who weren’t even Egyptians but allegedly carried documents linking to Egyptian intelligence

Question 6

What was the significance of the Israeli attack on Egypt in August 1955 ?

Answer 6

• prompted Nasser to made the Czech arms deal public
  [] caused widespread concern in the West about possible Soviet alliance, since bought Soviet weapons
  [] Britain + USA offered to loan $270 million to try and win back from likely Soviet alliance (drew back in July 1956 when this became unlikely)
• Nasser’s standing up to Israel made him insanely popular in Egypt and Arab nations in general
  [] marked Nasser out as the voice of the Arabs politically-speaking
• prompted Nasser to impose a blockade on the Straits of Tiran
  [] blocked even MORE Israeli trade

Question 7

Describe the significance and effects of Nasser’s announcement of the Czech arms deal, August 1955

Answer 7

• HUGE CONCERN FOR THE WEST IN TERMS OF COLD WAR ALLIANCES; MADE DESPERATE TO WIN BACK
  [] USA + Britain offered $270 million for the Aswan High Dam in October 1955, but withdrew in 1956 July when unlikely to stop being neutral/friendly to the USSR
• made Israel decide that war was inevitable and it was better to pre-emptively strike before Nasser’s Soviet weapons arrived
  [] November 1955, IDF attack on Gaza, and April 1956, Israeli mortar attack on Gaza killed 108 Egyptians in total
  [] didn’t provoke Egypt into war; shows Nasser’s military tactics and strength as knew would be better to fight AFTER getting weapons, and ALSO, allowing Israel to be brutal without retaliation made Israel seem violent in the media and the press (despite this, many Zionists and pro-Israelis printed papers and articles defending Israeli “defensive attacks”)
• after July 1956 when the US and Britain withdrew their loan offer, Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal (took from British and French joint control) to use the toll money as funds for the dam instead
  [] made Britain economically weaker (brutal as still recovering from WW2 in part)
  [] took much toll money from Britain and France
  [] celebrated by Arabs as a show of strength, pride and independence
  [] made Egypt an example and leader of the Arab world for standing up to the British and French military control of the Suez
  [] Britain and France considered the move a threat to their positions and bargaining power in the Middle East; in terms of Cold War, had little power over stopping trade (of oil) with USSR because of the nationalisation and couldn’t use this to force the USSR into renouncing communism etc.
  [] formed alliance between the British, French and Israelis who all hated the Egyptians and thus led to the Sevres Agreement and Suez Crisis in 1956

Question 8

Why did Israeli attacks on Egypt escalate in 1955 ?

Answer 8

• if managed to provoke an Egyptian attack on Israel, could justify to Israelis high military expenditure instead of economic/social expenditure in a time of austerity
• Ben-Gurion may have wanted to expose Nasser as weak militarily to undermine Arab opinions of him and diminish his strong political powers
• an Egyptian attack on Israel would damage US-Egyptian ties and push Nasser into Soviet alliance, causing increased US-Egyptian tension and thus increased US-Israeli support
  [] Ben-Gurion and Israeli leaders feared US-Egyptian friendliness as it may have meant greater tolerance and listening to Arab desires and calls for reestablishment of a Palestinian state etc.

Question 9

Describe the key features and significance of the Sevres Agreement in October 1956

Answer 9

• between Britain, France and Israel
  [] David Ben-Gurion and Moshe Dayan (head of the IDF) flew to France on the 22 October
• by 25 October, plan devised to regain Suez
  [] Israel would attack Egypt
  [] Britain and France then order both sides to withdraw, pretending to ve the good guys and stop the violence
  [] then when Egypt refused, would attack jointly and re-take the Suez Canal
• the USA was left out of all of this
  [] the US controlled Britain and French finances after the world war through its aid to keep support during the Cold War, so leaving US out of it was huge insult
• all three nations disliked Nasser and hoped to overthrow him

Question 10

Describes the impacts of the Suez Crisis for Israel

Answer 10

• SUCCESS
• no land gained but now could trade through the Straits of Tiran
• had security due to new UN control of Sinai as a demilitarised zone
• succeeded in pushing Arab nations into Soviet alliance, or at least destroying friendly US-Arab relations
  [] because of this, the US would thus have to rely on Israel for influence in the region and would need to keep giving aid whilst the Cold War waged on
• temporarily wrecked Egyptian military
  [] “exposed” Nasser as weak to the Arab nations
  [] made Israelis proud of themselves and encouraged high morale
  [] Israeli military pride contributed to the formation and solidification of their national identity; useful in terms of continuing immigration to Israel

Question 11

Describe the impacts of the Suez Crisis for Britain and France

Answer 11

• DISASTER
• failed to regain the Suez Canal
• British Prime Minister eventually resigned under the pressure of the USA’s condemnation and outrage even in Britain
  [] shows the establishment of the US as the new Western superpower very clearly
• was the beginning of the dethroning of Britain and France as the major world powers
  [] press printed articles and political cartoons showing Egyptian power over British and French; one Soviet cartoon had a Sphinx clutching the tail/feathers of a defeated British lion and French cockerel
• condemned internationally and especially by the USA who criticised them for their use of underhand tactics and leaving the US out of these plans
• LOST EVEN MILDLY FRIENDLY OR NEUTRAL RELATIONS WITH THE MIDDLE EAST, AS WERE NOW SEEN AS AN ALLY OF ISRAEL - THE SAME WENT FOR US-ARAB RELATIONS
  [] because of this, West lost any hope of allies in the Cold War in the Middle East apart from Israel; meant more probably alliance for the USSR
  [] also bad because the Middle East were the world’s main supply of oil; if the USSR were to gain their support instead of neutrality, could influence the sale of oil to the West, crashing the Western economy

Question 12

Describe the impacts of the Suez Crisis for the USA + USSR

Answer 12

• USA + USSR became seen as the new world superpowers
• also the point at which both countries became firmly involved in Middle Eastern politics
• USSR now had a strong ally in the Middle East (Egypt)
  [] Egypt’s Nasser was seen as the leader of the Arab world; whatever his opinions were, most other nations would follow, thus by gaining Egypt, the USSR gained most Arab countries also
  [] Middle East had oil, so USSR having Arab allies who controlled oil could be useful in pressuring the West in the Cold War due to power over economy through sale of oil
• USA humiliated Britain and France globally, and established itself as the main superpower in the West

Question 13

Describe the impacts of the Suez Crisis for Egypt

Answer 13

• now had complete control of the Suez Canal (sunken ships only took 6 months to clear)
  [] gave Egypt a boost economically due to the collection of toll money; made Nasser popular amongst Egyptians
• had USSR as ally
  [] used support and funds to build the Aswan High Dam and execute his plans for Egyptian prosperity, as well as re-arm the military with Soviet weapons
  [] raised his profile in the Arab world
  [] Nasser’s friendliness with the Soviets encouraged other Arab nations to follow suit due to him being regarded as the leader of the Arab world
• Egyptian Jews were banned from “elite” jobs like being doctors, lawyers, teachers or business owners
  [] increasing anti-Semitism in Arab countries like Egypt gave the US and Israel propaganda against them in global media as could still play the victim and keep sympathy on the Israeli side, meaning more support for Israeli initiatives and less for Palestinians etc.

Question 14

Describe the impacts of the Suez Crisis for the (formation of) the UAR between Egypt and Syria

Answer 14

• Nasser made the first president of the UAR
  [] cheered by massive crowd when he visited Syria
• 1958 February started
• Syria withdrew from the UAR in 1961 as it disliked having to be in Nasser’s shadow all the time, but still maintained respect and friendship with Nasser and Egypt
  [] THE FACT THAT IT HAD BEEN PROPOSED AT ALL WAS A MEASURE OF NASSER’S POPULARITY AND IMPORTANCE AMONGST ARABS