Conflict in the Middle East: 3.1

Question 1

Give a timeline of events from 1973-81 regarding the development of diplomatic negotiation between Israel and Egypt (no details necessary)

Answer 1

• October 1973
  [] OPEC oil weapon used to stop the Yom Kippur War
• November-December 1973
  [] Kissinger’s shuttle diplomacy
• January 1974
  [] Egypt + Israel agreed to pull back from the Suez Canal + allow UN peacekeepers to be installed in a DMZ between the two sides
  [] Egypt + Israel agreed to solve further conflict by peaceful negotiation
• March 1974
  [] OPEC embargo on oil to US lifted in recognition of Kissinger’s/US efforts to establish peace in the Middle East
  [] DMZ between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights created
• 5 June 1975
  [] Suez Canal reopened
• 1976
  [] Jimmy Carter becomes US president; first to openly say that Palestinians should have their own homeland
• November 1977
  [] Sadat told the Egyptian assembly he would do anything to find peace, even if it meant going to the Knesset in Israel
  [] Sadat visited Knesset and offered peace
• December 1977
  [] Menachem Begin visited Egyptian assembly to agree to open peace talks
• 1978
  [] Camp David Accords
  [] joint Nobel Peace Prize for Begin and Sadat
• March 1979
  [] Sadat + Begin sign Treaty of Washington
• October 1981
  [] Sadat assassinated by Egyptian militants who believed he was a traitor to the Arabs and Palestinians

Question 2

Describe the key features and significance of Henry Kissinger’s shuttle diplomacy from November of 1973 to December 1973 (technically continued until early 1974)

Answer 2

• did the heavy lifting of negotiation as neither side would talk directly to one another but were very willing to discuss with Kissinger
  [] Kissinger had a lot of pressure over Israel as relied heavily on US aid for success in Middle Eastern conflicts
  [] Sadat needed to open the Suez Canal again to rebuild Egyptian economy via the toll money, and so was willing to anything bringing peace
  [] Syria was less willing to talk peace, as Assad didn’t want to lose face in the Arab world or lose the Syrian claim to the Golan Heights
• shuttle diplomacy didn’t result in a permanent Middle Eastern peace settlement
  [] Egypt + Syria didn’t want to recognise Israel (3 Nos) and Israel didn’t want to remove the IDF from either Sinai or the Golan Heights
  [] despite these tensions, significant peace progress made, showing the change in attitudes towards Israel the longer that conflict dragged on; mainly due to economic and financial strain on Arab nations that came from supporting the Palestinian cause via conflict with Israel - demonstrated that further change in attitudes were possible, especially for Egypt
• Kissinger succeeded in a limited way, as got both Egypt and Israel to agree to draw back from the Suez Canal so that UN peacekeepers could be installed in a DMZ, and further Egyptian-Israeli conflict agreed to be resolved via talks
  [] PALESTINIANS NOT MENTIONED AT ALL DURING THESE AGREEMENTS; EGYPT FOCUSING MORE IN ITSELF AND LESS ON PALESTINIAN ISSUE (other Arab nations who were more outwardly pro-Palestinian could criticise Sadat for this just as Nasser had been criticised)
  [] work could thus be started to reopen the Suez Canal, helping Egypt’s financial and economic stability
  [] MASSIVE reason for Egypt’s increasing tolerance of Israel and diplomatic relations with the US, as was extremely important to the Egyptian economy - Cold War propaganda FOR US and USSR shown to start losing influence with Arab countries (war and conflict became decreasingly popular due to economic strain, though support for Palestinians still remained relatively strong) - WIN FOR US IN THE COLD WAR
  [] showed Sadat to be less anti-Israeli than Nasser, making him unpopular and viewed as a “traitor” by the Egyptian and Palestinian public in Egypt
• resulted in the lift of the OPEC embargo for America, meaning its economy could slowly recover and become strong again
  [] Cold War win; demonstrated Arab gratefulness to the US for working to instate peace whilst USSR instigated violence from a media point of view, thus losing influence with some Arab countries (some would say that the USSR was more protective of Palestinian rights than the US however, which frames the US as bad instead of the USSR)

Question 3

Describe the significance of the establishment of a DMZ between Syria and the Golan Heights in March of 1974 as a result of Henry Kissinger’s shuttle diplomacy

Answer 3

• whilst Syria was still strongly anti-Israeli, showed a smidgen of openness to talks in future that could be coaxed out with further negotiation
  [] good for the US, as allowed further propaganda against the USSR’s lack of influence in the Middle East (Cold War-wise)
  [] bad for Israel - meant that US didn’t need to fund it as much if peace was established or diplomatic US-Arab relations were established (less US attention on Israeli happiness too and more on Arab happiness, as the Arab nations outnumbered Israel significantly)
• meant further security against Palestinian guerrilla attacks from Syria as well as Syrian attacks on Israeli farms, settlements and tourist sites like the ski resort on Mount Hebron
  [] good for Israeli people, sort of bad for keeping Israel’s world sympathy as couldn’t play the victim or the defender as often in terms of Syria (and Egypt), but good for Israeli economic prosperity and stability; meant less military expenditure in part too (however conflicts with Lebanon negated this)

Question 4

Which countries helped to clear the Suez Canal in 1974-75 and why is it significant ?

Answer 4

• USA
• Britain
• France
• ALL PART OF THE WEST AND STRONG ALLIES TO THE US/ISRAEL
  [] shows Sadat’s acceptance of Western help as well as working to establish positive relations with Israeli allies as well
  [] made Sadat look like a traitor to Arabs and Palestinians who refused to recognise Israel or have peace with it according to the three Nos
  [] made US and West more likely to give Egypt further aid in future due to seeing that USSR losing influence (Cold War)
  [] made Sadat and Egypt look very peaceful and forgiving in media; helped to swing public good disposition towards Egypt

Question 5

Describe why Begin was open to the exchange visits and then peace talks with Sadat in 1977

Answer 5

• USA was more consistently pressuring Israel for peace now
  [] making a show of working on achieving peace via these visits, working off of the process begun by Kissinger, would please the USA (reliant on US aid for survival)
• peace with Egypt would mean that Israel could turn its attention to other threats without the IDF being stretched thin
  [] PLO threat from Lebanon supported largely by the Lebanese due to economic boost brought with them - had mass power in South Lebanon nicknamed Fatahland where Palestinians even had some self-government (huge threat to Israel)

Question 6

Describe the significance of the exchange visits in 1977

Answer 6

• exposed Sadat to risk of further criticism/accusations of being an Israeli ally/Arab traitor
  [] especially as still went along with the peace talks when Israel failed to mention any change in policy towards Palestinians and establishing a Palestinian state
  [] HOWEVER did cause minute tensions and slowed peace talks once Sadat advocated for the Palestinians - shows that Sadat still cared for the Palestinian issue but wasn’t his primary focus

Question 7

Describe the key events of the Camp David Accords

Answer 7

• both Begin and Sadat invited to Camp David (Carter’s secluded country retreat)
  [] both accepted invitation BECAUSE NEEDED US FINANCIAL AID
  [] shows influence of the US as well as drop-off in Soviet influence in Egypt - Cold War win for US
• Carter worked hard to create informal, friendly atmosphere by the two sides, even playing with his small children to break the ice initially
• after 13 days of negotiation, 2 agreements reached (Framework for peace in the Middle East and Framework for Egyptian-Israeli Peace)

Question 8

Describe the terms of the Framework for Peace in the Middle East

Answer 8

• Israel to accept rights of Palestinians
• Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza to elect their own council for 5 years - as soon as this done, Israelis to withdraw from West Bank and Gaza
• at the end of the 5 years, decision about rule in those areas in future to be made by Palestinians, Israel, Egypt and Jordan

Question 9

Describe the terms of the Framework for Egyptian-Israeli Peace

Answer 9

• Israel and Egypt to be at peace
• Egypt to allow Israel’s use of the Suez Canal and Tiran Straits
• Israel to withdraw from Sinai within 3 years
• Egypt to receive $1 billion per year for 10 years from the USA
• Israel to receive $3 billion from the US to dismantle military bases and defences in Sinai

Question 10

Describe the reactions to the Camp David Accords, March 1958

Answer 10

• Palestinians angry that they had not been consulted at all
  [] condoned and legitimised the exclusion of Palestinian voices from their own future
  [] Framework for Peace in the Middle East was vague and didn’t outline what would happen for Palestinians outside of the West Bank and Gaza, what the “legitimate rights of Palestinians” meant and didn’t mention Jerusalem or Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights
• UN rejected the Framework for Middle Eastern Peace as it had not been consulted
• Arab nations renounced Sadat and threw Egypt out of the Arab League
  [] regarded as traitor for non-consultance of Palestinians and acceptance of peace with Israel against the 3 Nos
• many thought Carter was naïve for believing that Begin of all people would be willing to help Palestinians and thus weaken Israel
• Sadat and Begin awarded joint Nobel Peace Prize 1978

Question 11

Describe the terms of the Treaty of Washington, March 1979

Answer 11

• both Egypt and Israel to be in peace
• Egypt to allow Israeli use of the Suez Canal and the Straits of Tiran
• Israel to withdraw from Sinai
• NO MENTION OF THE PALESTINIAN ISSUE AT ALL

Question 12

Describe the significance of the Treaty of Washington March 1979

Answer 12

• Begin had peace with Egypt and could focus on Lebanese border threats from the PLO
• Sadat had money and peace to rebuild Egypt
• Palestinians even more furious; at least had been mentioned in the Camp David Accords
• even Egyptians hated Sadat for agreeing to peace with Israel
  [] later assassinated in 1981
• met with international approval of the peace
  [] BECAUSE MEANT GREATER ECONOMIC STABILITY WORLDWIDE