Midterm Flashcards
gaza geography/facts
- One of the most densely inhabited places in the world
- Entry points via Egypt and Israel
- Not much economic trade available or economic aid
-Israel controls maritime access points. so no palestinian controlled airport or port
-One of the highest birthrates in the world nearly 40% of the population is under 15
-Since the war food and water crisis and over ½ Million people malnourished
Hamas
-acronym for “Islamic Resistance Movement”
-Founded in late 1987 under Israeli Military occupation
-Historically opposed to any negotiations with Israel but willing to respect a hudna (cease-fire)
-1988 charter calls for muslims to kill Jews to hasten day of Judgeemnt revised in 2017 to specify fight is against Zionist occupation
7 oct
-“Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” 3k militants
-Killed approx 350 security forces and 840 civilians
-240 Hostages mainly civilians
-Evidence of mass rape and torture by hamas force
-Coordinated with PIJ and other smaller groups but kept operational security
Hamas actions prep 7 oct
- Hamas has practiced maneuvers since 2020 last practice was 25 days before 7 oct attack
- Hamas used sophisticated surveillance of Israeli defenses
- No electronic communication all WOM
Objectives of 7 oct
-Revenge: Key leaders Yehya al-Sinwar and Mohammed De’if had spent time
in Israeli prisons; De’if had lost family members to Israeli airstrike
-Shock: Crippling Israeli national morale
-Wider War: Hamas apparently hoped to trigger wider war, including
Palestinian uprising in West Bank and between Jewish and Arab citizens
-Other fronts: Hamas did not coordinate with allies Hezbollah or Iran, who have been unwilling to commit to all-out war
Israeli domestic divisions
-Late 2022: PM Netanyahu wins Israeli elections by forming coalition with extreme right-wing politicians
-Introduces legislation to weaken authority of Israeli Supreme court at a time when Netanyahu is under corruption investigation
-Anti-Overhaul protests consume and divide Israel; soldiers reuse to report to duty; analysts warn domestic divisions increase vulnerability to external enemies
Israel military response to OCT 7
- 8-9 oct Israel launches bombing campaign
-Dahiyeh Doctrine of bombing civilian targets population centers to shock and weaken Hamas
-Repeated bombing of zones Israel”s own military had designated for Palestinians as sanctuaries
-30 Oct Israel begins ground invasion of Gaza orders civilians to evacuate northern Gaza
-Over 40k Palestinians killed to date ost of them civilians
Israel has lost over 300 soldiers while Hamas supposedly 15k soldiers
-22 Nov. Israel and Hamas 4 day cease fire which is extended
-Hamas releases 105 hostages and Israel releases 3
Israel and ICJ
-South-Africa brought charges of genocide to ICJ
-ICJ found it plausible and ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts and preserving evidence of crimes
-ICJ reiterates all parties bound to int. Humanitarian law and called for release of hostage
Israel population vs Arab Leagu
8 Mill v 295 Mill
A Cease-Fire?
-Cease-Fire deal orchestrated by US since May
-Netenyahu has refused successive deals
-1 sept Hamas killed 6 hostages and triggers widespread anti-gov protests across Israel
-Netenyahu knows peace may cost him his premiership
-Biden has pressured Israel to accept cease-fire but has not withheld weapon shipments
Definition of Zionism
Zionists believe in and support the quest by Jews to ‘return to Zion’ (i.e., Jerusalem and the Holy Land); in the modern period, this implied also support for the creation of a Jewish state in that area
Article 20 of the palestine national charter of the PLO declares
Claims of historical ties of jews with Palestine are incompatible with the facts of history and judaism being a religion not a nationality
Theodor Herzl
- An Austrian journalist, Herzl covered the 1894 trial of French Army officer Alfred Dreyfus, wrongly convicted of spying for Germany
-French mobs demanding his for the “jew’s death”
-Anti-Semitism in a modern European democracy convinced Herzl that Jews would never live free of oppression in Europe
-In 1896 he wrote Der Judenstaat (“The Jews’ State”), envisioning the creation of a Jewish homeland
Early Zionists considered various options for a homeland such as
Jewish settlement in Argentina or Uganda, but Palestine resonated more
First Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland (8/1897) resolved
- Zionism seeks to establish a home for the Jewish people in Palestine secured under public law
1. The promotion by appropriate means of the settlement in Palestine of
Jewish farmers, artisans, and manufacturers
2. The organization and uniting of the whole of Jewry by means of appropriate institutions, both local and international, in accordance with the laws of each country
3. The strengthening and fostering of Jewish national sentiment and national consciousness
Branches of
Zionism
- Labour Zionism: emphasized a secular Jewish nationalism, tending to promote coexistence with Palestinian Arabs
- Revisionist Zionism: emphasized a militaristic approach to the conquest of Palestine; did not value or seek coexistence with Palestinians
- Religious Zionism: prioritized Jewish settlement in the Biblical Land of Israel as a fulfilment of the divine promise to the Jewish people
Young Turk Revolution
-1908
-Sought to Centralize Ottoman empire
-grew Arab resentment
Arab Revolt
-1916-17
-Against Ottoman rule
-Consolidated Arab Identity and idea of self-determination
Syrian Ba’athists have argued that
Palestinian and Lebanese identity should be under Greater Syrian one
When did Jordan control the West Bank
1948-67
McMahon-Husayn Correspondence
-Sharif Husayn wrote to Brit Commissioner McMahon about national aspirations of Arab peoples
-McMahon resisted territorial claims but committed to assisting Arab peoples
McMahon’s Pledge (4)
1.Britain prepared to recognize and support independence of the Arabs
2. Britain will guarantee Holy Places against all external aggression
3. Britain will give advice and assist them to establish suitable forms of govt
4.Arabs will only seek advice & guidance from Brits
Sykes Picot Agreement 1916 between what countries and which one got palestine
-UK, France, Russia and Italy
-Uk got control of Palestine but control was shared with France and Russia
Balfour Declaration
-2 November 1917
-The result of Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann negotiating with the British government
-Represented a turning point for Zionist aspirations as it turned cultural importance to a political one
Issue of Balfour Declaration and McMahon-Husayn agreement
Contradicting promises regarding Palestinian land
The Faisal-Weizmann Discussions, 1918
Versailles discussions
Hagana became what
IDF
