PLO, Lebanon and First Intifada Flashcards
How many Palestinian refugees does the UN estimate there are today?
5 million
Where did most Palestinian refugees go?
Gaza, West Bank, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon
After the war ended in 1949, what did UN do?
Formed United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
What did the UNWRA do?
Set up camps for the refugees and provided clothing, food, education and shelter
What did Jordan allow Palestinian refugees to do?
Settle and become citizens of Jordan
When did Fatah emerge and who were they?
1959 - group of Palestinian fighters whose goal was to create a Palestinian state - leader was Yasser Arafat
What happened to Palestinians in the west back after 1967?
Most stayed there but over 300,000 fled when it was captured by the Israelis
From 1967 what was the population in Jordan like?
1/2 of the population of 2 million was Palestinian. Fatah and other groups within the PLO began to concentrate forces in Jordan
What happened to Yasser Arafat in 1969?
Became chairman of the PLO and new charter proclaimed ‘Armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine’
What did Yasser Arafat try to do in the PLO?
Wanted to limit the raids and the bombings to Israel territory and Israeli targets because he believed Palestinians military aim was strictly war on Israel
What did the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) do?
Began to carry out attacks in other parts of the world as they believed raids into Israel achieved very little
From 1968 onwards what happened in the rest of the world
In Europe and rest of world there were many hijackings, kidnappings and bombings
What happened in February 1970?
Swiss plane was blown up on its way to Israel
How did Israel respond to worldwide attacks?
Bombed Palestinian bases in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria
What did Jordanian king, Hussein do in September 1970?
Ordered Palestinians to obey him and his army as he feared Israeli reprisals and PLO were acting as if they owned the country
What did the PFLP do in September 1970?
Hijacked 4 aircraft and 3 planes were taken to Palestinian base in Jordan where they demanded release of Palestinian fighters held in German, British and Swiss as well as Israeli prisons
How did Hussein respond to PFLP actions?
Ordered army to take control of PLO bases and in the next 10 days more than 3000 Palestinians were killed. Palestinian military bases in Jordan were eliminated and officers were shut down
What happened to Jordanian PM Wasfi al-Tel?
Murdered whilst he was in Egypt by a group called Black September - Palestinian extremists
What happened on 5th September 1972?
Attacked Israeli athletes that were competing in Munich Olympics. Killed 2 athletes and demanded release of 200 Palestinians in prison in Israel. when German police attempted rescue, the Palestinians killed 9 more athletes
How did Israel respond to Olympic disaster?
Carried out reprisal raids on Syria and Lebanon in which over 200 refugees were killed
How did public opinion of Palestinians change after Olympics?
Branded PLO terrorists but their actions made many think about Palestinian struggles.
In November 1974 Arafat was invited to address a full meeting of the UN
What happened in Lebanon on 10th April 1985?
16 year old Lebanese Muslim girl drove car filled with explosives and detonated it near some Israeli soldiers - killed herself and 2 Israelis
After they were expelled from Jordan in 1970 what did the PLO do in Lebanon?
Came to dominate southern Lebanon and frequently bombed Jewish settlements and villages in Galilee region of northern Israel. When Israel retaliated Lebanese were also killed
In 1975 what did the Lebanese government order army to do?
Reagin control of the south. Palestinians resisted and were helped by Lebanese Muslims. Most of the army was Christian and soon there was a civil war between the 2 groups
In 1978 what did the PLO attack in Israel?
Attacked a bus near Tel Aviv, killing 37
How did Irsael respond the PLO attacks from Lebanon?
3 days after bus killings, Israeli troops invaded Lebanon and seized south of country but PLO forces ran. Israelis withdrew under pressure from USA and UN troops were sent to keep the peace on the Lebanese-Israeli border
What happened in the next 4 years after Israeli invasion?
Palestinian forces grew in strength and Lebanon became the focus of their military operations against Israel and they received a constant stream of recruits from the 400,000 Palestinians in the refugee camps in Lebanon
In the early months of 1982 what did the Israelis plan?
Another invasion of Lebanon to be called ‘Operations Peace for Galilee’
What did Israeli use as justification for their attack against Lebanon in 1982?
In June 1982 a group of Palestinians attempted to murder the Israeli ambassador in London
What did Israel do in June 1982?
Invaded with 170,000 troops, 3500 tanks and 600 fighter planes - UN powerless to stop them. Thousands of civilians were killed and hundreds of thousands made homeless
What did the Israeli minister of defence (Sharon) state the aim of the war was?
Drive out Palestinian forces
Destroy their bases
Establish a 40km security zone in southern Lebanon
Was Sharon telling the truth about his aims?
No because Israelis advanced north and surrounded the capital, Beirut. Cut off supplies of food and water and started shelling positions in the city that were held by the PLO
How long was Beirut bombed for?
2 months - in one day in August 1982, 127 air raids were launched on the city. Over 20,000 were killed
When did fighting stop and who intervened?
Mid-August. USA persuaded Israelis to stop shelling city in return for an agreement that the PLO fighters would be evacuated
How many Palestinian fighters left Beirut?
14,000 to travel to other Arab states
Where did Israel believe Palestinian fighters still were?
2000 fighters in refugee camps or Sabra and Shatila in Beirut
What happened on 14th September 1982?
Newly elected Christian president of Lebanon was killed
After 14th September 1982 what did armed supporters of president do?
Invaded the refugee camps and over next 2 days carried out a massacre of men, women and children - around 1000 and 2000 were killed
When did Israeli troops withdraw from Lebanon?
1985, leaving only a small military presence in the ‘security zone’ along the southern border. Originally had left Beirut after PLO but had remained in south but were attacked
In 1990’s what did Israeli forces in southern Lebanon face?
Faced increasing guerrilla attacks from Hezbollah and in 2000 withdrew their last troops
What happened in July 2006?
Hezbollah fighters crossed border into Israel, killed 3 Israeli soldiers and captured 2 others. Demanded release of prisoners in Israeli jails
What did the war in Lebanon 2006 entail?
Israel launched attacks on Hezbollah strongholds in both south Lebanon and Beirut
Hezbollah launched hundreds of missiles against towns in north of Israel
Within a month of the war, what was the death toll?
1000
What happened in August 2006?
Ceasefire was arranged by UN and fighting stopped
What happened on 8th December 1987?
Israeli army vehicle in Gaza crashed into a lorry, killing 4 of the Palestinians on board. Rumours spread that it had been a deliberate act of revenge for the killing of an Israeli 2 days before
What happened at the funerals of the 4 Palestinians in December 1987?
became huge demonstrations. At one of them a youth was shot by an Israeli soldier
How did the first Intifada begin?
Mainly consisted of people setting up barricades and throwing stones at Israeli troops but soon it took the form of huge demonstrations and strikes
What was the Israeli response to the first Intifada?
Insisted on ‘iron fist’ policy: troops used tear gas, water cannon until they got bad press so government announced it would no longer use bullets. Instead they adopted a policy of ‘might, force and beatings’
How did Israel troops deal with those they thought to be causing the intifada?
Mass arrests and special detention camps were set up. Those thought to be leaders were deported or killed
By September 1988 how many deaths had there been?
346 Palestinians, many under the age of 16
How did peace from first Intifada come about?
Both sides realised that it was a war that couldn’t be won
When was there a breakthrough in the peace process for the first Intifada?
Late 1988 when US government the PLO as a necessary participant to any peace negotiations