Conflict in the Middle East: 2.2 Flashcards
Aftermath of the 1967 war
1
Q
What was UN Resolution 242 and when was it proposed ?
A
- “Land for Peace” solution to Arab-Israeli conflict
[] Israel to withdraw from territories gained in 1967
[] Arab nations to recognise Israel
[] settlement of the “refugee problem” (no specifics negotiated) - December 1967
[] USA and USSR voted in favour of it
2
Q
Describe Arab (not Palestinian) reactions to Resolution 242
A
- Egypt + Jordan initially agreed with the Resolution
- Khartoum Conference August 1967 produced “3 Nos” and meant that all Arab states thus rejected the Resolution
- 3 Nos:
[] No peace with Israel
[] No recognition of Israel
[] No negotiations with Israel - these 3 Nos would stay in place UNLESS Israel pulled out of ALL occupied territories gained from 1948 onwards
[] slowly put pressure on the US (and USSR) to resolve Israel’s military occupation, as peace in the Middle East and thus economic security for the US would not entirely be achieved until Israel made peace with at least one Arab country - gave USSR propaganda against the US for supporting Israel’s military occupation and violence
3
Q
Describe Israeli reactions to Resolution 242
A
- willing to negotiate separately with each country over the occupied territories
[] prevented Israel from being pressured or bullied into submission and withdrawal by the Arab nations all at once - didn’t commit to withdrawing fully from any territories it had gained
- partial acceptance
4
Q
Describe Palestinian reactions to Resolution 242
A
- offense at being labelled a “problem” despite being forced into refugee status
- Res. 242 IGNORED THE PALESTINIAN RIGHT TO RETURN
[] also didn’t make Israel give back the Palestinian lands gained in the 1948-49 war, so there would STILL be no Palestinian state - the lack of specificity in negotiating a “settlement to the refugee problem” meant that Israel would likely drag its feet or find some way around it if they accepted the Resolution, and it would take years longer for a solution to be found and even longer for it to be implemented
- Palestinians completely rejected Land for Peace because of this
5
Q
Describe the key features and events of the War of Attrition (1967-August 1970)
A
- Suez Canal blocked by ships sunken in the Six Day War
[] because Egypt didn’t permit Israel’s use of the Canal for trade, Israel repeatedly stopped Egypt from clearing the Canal for its own use
[] meant MASSIVE LOSS IN TOLL MONEY for Egypt - took toll on Egyptian economy
[] also took a toll on world economy as trade and prices of goods manufactured in Asia rose massively; couldn’t use Suez Canal so extra mileage added to ships’ journeys and thus shipping = more expensive - Nasser rearmed Egyptian military with Soviet aid
[] wanted to force the Israelis to back down to regain at least some semblance of Arab power against the Israelis and reinstate himself as powerful in Arab eyes - Egyptian forces began regularly bombing and bombarding Israeli positions on the Sinai side of the Canal
[] Israeli retaliation (raiding + bombing Egyptian towns, cities + oil refineries) damaged Egyptian economy badly, as well as oil sale from Egypt to the world - by 1970, 1000 Israeli deaths
- USSR and USA both deeply involved in the conflict via providing monetary and military equipment aid; 15 000 Soviet military advisors were in Egypt also and Soviet pilots fought Israeli pilots in dogfights
[] lots of money from either superpower being spent on Middle Eastern warfare and politics
[] demonstrates the importance of the Middle Eastern conflict for either side in the Cold War due to propaganda, oil assets, proxy war showing off either side’s strength and influence - by August 1970, both Egypt and Israel realised that the war could drag on for years
[] both sides were economically weak, suffered additionally due to damage inflicted by the War of Attrition and couldn’t maintain a long-term conflict with one another without sacrificing their people’s health and prosperity
[] agreed to a ceasefire arranged by USA in fear of further Soviet involvement in the destruction of Israel etc.
6
Q
Describe Israel’s reasons to keep/annex the occupied territories
A
- Israel needed natural resources and space to grow, given by the territories
- Israel needed safety to trade in order to grow and establish any sort of economy long-term
- the occupied territories gave security to Israel
[] Sinai acted again as a buffer zone between Israel and Egypt, the West Bank acted as a buffer zone between Jordan and Israel and the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria (couldn’t fire on Israeli farms in Galilee) - the occupied territories were religiously significant
[] all part of the Promised Land given to Jews by God
[] East Jerusalem had the Wailing Wall and Temple Mount (two holiest Jewish sites)
[] could clamp down on Fatah activity and Feyadeen raids in Gaza and the West Bank
7
Q
Describe Israel’s reasons to give the occupied territories (“Land for peace”)
A
- annexation was illegal and would bring massive amounts of negative publicity for Israel, shifting sympathy to Arabs and Palestinians
[] this would mean less sympathy and listening to Israeli desires and motives, and more support for the Palestinian cause and re-establishment of a Palestinian state (Israel would lose land) - annexing would mean giving citizenship to 1 million Arabs as well as allowing them to vote
[] would massively outnumber Jews and would essentially be as if the one solid state of Palestine was re-established as Arabs would easily win in politics, office etc. - military occupation was expensive due to resistance and constant military expenditure
[] Israel’s economy was also relatively weak due to lack of ability to trade at this point, and so these expenditures took a toll on the economy overall
8
Q
Did Israel give back the occupied territories ?
A
- no
- annexed East Jerusalem and placed the rest under military control
[] clamped down on Gazan Feyadeen raids and Fatah activity in the West Bank
9
Q
Describe the significance of the occupied territories for Arabs (military, economic, religious, legal/land/population-based)
A
- religious significance:
[] East Jerusalem had the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque - legal/land/population-based significance:
[] Egypt legally owned Sinai and had occupied Gaza since 1948
[] Jordan legally owned the West Bank since it had annexed it in the 1948-49 war
[] the occupied territories were home to hundreds of thousands of Arabs and the Palestinian refugees also - economic significance:
[] Sinai contained Egypt’s only oil supplies (main industry)
[] Israeli occupation meant that Egypt lost out on toll money from the Suez
[] Golan Heights had fertile land and water that were crucial to Syria - military significance:
[] Israel could fire on Syrian towns and the capital from the Golan Heights
10
Q
Describe the aftermath of the Six Day War for Palestinian refugees living in the occupied territories
A
- 300 000 fled the West Bank
- Jordanian refugee camps were FULL
[] placed enormous pressure on the Jordanian economy as well as King Hussein’s rule - camp conditions grim
- Israel and the Arab nations argued over responsibility for resolving the mass displacement of Palestinian refugeed
[] Israel argued it was Arab responsibility because it had to support many Arab Jews that had instead moved to Israel
[] Arabs argued that it was Israeli responsibility because of the war that they officially started and then took occupied territories WHERE PALESTINIAN CAMPS ALREADY WERE - many Palestinians in these camps joined guerrilla groups (mainly Fatah and the PFLP)
11
Q
Who were the PFLP and what were their aims ?
A
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
- founded in 1967
- wanted destruction of Israel and focused on targets outside of Israel to bring global attention to the Palestinian issue, forcing government leaders to take greater action in defence of Palestine
[] unlike Fatah, who hoped to achieve destruction of Israel through direct attacks and raids
12
Q
Describe the key events of the Fatah bus bombing as well as the Israeli reprisal in March 1968
A
- Fatah mine blew up Israeli schoolbus
[] killed teachers and wounded 10 children
[] 38th Fatah operation that year - Israel decided to destroy Karameh, Jordan (Arafat’s new base after the 1967 war)
[] sent 15 000 troops and took 150 prisoners
[] faced strong resistance from Fatah guerrillas and Jordanian troops (Israel unexpected support)
13
Q
Discuss the successes and failures of the Israeli reprisal on Karameh, March 1968
A
- success:
[] destroyed Fatah base in Karameh
[] took 150 prisoners - failure:
[] lost 28 soldiers, 27 tanks and 2 aircraft due to the massive resistance to the attack
[] condemned internationally for its use of excessive force - sympathy given to Palestinians and Jordan
[] Fatah grew in strength after the attack instead of being weakened: gained 5000 and Arafat’s popularity/good reputation as a leader resulted in him becoming chairman of the PLO in 1969 - MORE PALESTINIAN POWER UNIFIED UNDER ARAFAT = EASIER TO ORGANISE ATTACKS + RESISTANCE, AND ARAFAT BECAME THE FIGUREHEAD OF THE PALESTINIAN MOVEMENT
14
Q
In what year did Arafat become the chairman of the PLO ?
A
1969
15
Q
When were the PFLP plane hijacks in Dawson’s Field, Jordan ?
A
September 1970
16
Q
Describe the key events and significance of the PFLP plane hijacks in Dawson’s Field, Jordan, September 1970
A
- PFLP hijacked 4 planes on their way to Israel
[] British
[] Swiss
[] American
[] Israeli - flew 3 of these planes to Dawson’s Field in Jordan
[] linked Jordan to the attacks in world opinion, especially Israel and was likely to lead to more harsh Israeli reprisals at a time where Hussein couldn’t afford them - also made Jordan less appealing in Western eyes MEANING POSSIBLE FOREIGN INTERVENTION AND MORE CONFLICT IN JORDAN - alerted press
[] PFLP WORKED ON GAINING PUBLICITY FOR PALESTINE; THE PRESS BEING THERE WAS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO THE PALESTINIAN ISSUE BEING KEPT RELEVANT IN THE MEDIA - allowed all 310 passengers to disembark from the planes (though kept 56 Jewish as hostages) then blew them up whilst the press filmed
- the PFLP received negative press and were hailed as terrorists by Zionists, Israelis and neutral people alike internationally
[] led to increasing sympathy for Israel; backfired in this way, HOWEVER still gained publicity for Palestine and put pressure on international governments and superpowers to resolve the conflict in the Middle East (especially as affected foreign planes) - made Hussein angry with the Palestinians; put pressure on Hussein to act in support of the West and against Palestinian terrorism if he wanted to re-establish US-Jordanian relations (crucial as Jordan was suffering economically, and US aid would help)
17
Q
Describe the events and significance of Black September 1970 (the expulsion of the PLO from Jordan)
A
- by 1970, Palestinian refugees and guerrillas made up 50% of the Jordanian population
[] had massive political control in areas of Jordan with his Palestinian population (in total made up 50% Jordanian population)
[] used Jordan as a base, meaning that Israel always retaliated towards Jordanian lands - MASSIVE economic cost, Hussein came under fire for failure to protect his people and Hussein was torn between protecting Palestinians or his own people - after Dawson’s Field hijacks, Hussein ordered the Jordanian military to seize all PLO bases in Jordan
[] over 10 days, 2000 Palestinians, even unaffiliated refugees, were killed
[] Nasser organised a truce for a while but this ended on the 28th of September when he died of a heart attack - by July 1971, all PLO expelled from Jordan
- led to mass Palestinian anger and the creation of an extremist group called Black September (first act was the assassination of the Jordanian PM
[] also made Hussein seem like a traitor to Arabs and the Palestinians
[] provided propaganda to be used by Israel and Zionists against the Palestinians - even their supporters rejected them and their terrorism
[] was a huge blow to Nasser, who championed Arab nationalism, Arab pride and Arab unity
18
Q
Describe the events of the Massacre at the Munich Olympics, 1972
A
- 5 September 1972
[] 8 Black September terrorists entered the Olympic Village and took control of 2 Israeli team apartments
[] 2 athletes shot dead, 9 taken hostage
[] Black September ordered the release of 234 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages
[] German negotiators agreed to arrange a helicopter lift for the terrorists and the hostages where they could be flown to a military base in Germany, then to an Arab nation
[] West German police (under Western control) engaged the terrorists in a gunfight, killing all 9 athletes and 5 Black September members; the other 3 were taken prisoner
19
Q
After expulsion from Jordan, where did the PLO/Fatah go to establish a new base ?
A
Beirut, Lebanon
20
Q
Describe the key impacts of Palestinian terrorism from 1967-72
A
- raised awareness of the Palestinian issue
[] however backfired in part as sympathy went to Israel instead of Palestinians - failed to change any Israeli policy regarding Palestine
- Palestinians regarded the terrorists as heroes
[] 20 000 attended the funeral for the Black September agents who were killed in Munich
[] made press view ALL Palestinians as terrorists due to their support of terrorism (in Palestinian and Arab view, it was simply self-preservation in the face of oppressive Israeli occupation) - international pressure to find a solution grew
[] people were more willing to invite “moderate” Palestinians like Arafat to the UN to explain the Palestinian desires and point of view
[] COMPLETELY OPPOSED BY ISRAEL AND THE US - resulted in more Israeli reprisals and initiatives like Operation Wrath of God
21
Q
What was “Operation Wrath of God and what were its consequences ?”
A
- followed the Massacre at the Munich Olympics in 1972 and was authorised by the Israeli PM Golda Meir
- authorisation for Mossad to track down and assassinate those responsible for the Munich Massacre
[] wanted to deter future Palestinian terrorist attacks by making Palestinian leaders feel frightened - consequences:
[] failed miserably as a deterrent and actually grew Palestinian terrorist organisations
[] massive negative publicity for Israel and sympathy for Palestinians as a result of bystanders being killed, ESPECIALLY WHEN BEFORE OWG LAUNCHED GOLDA MEIR AUTHORISED AIRSTRIKES ON SYRIA + LEBANON, KILLING APPROX. 500
