TOPIC 2 Flashcards
Civil War: November 1947 - May 1948
November 1947: in response to the UN partition plan, the Arab Higher Committee proclaimed a three day strike
December 1947: British announced they would withdraw from Palestine on 14th May 1948
Fighting
Jewish force acted defensively to defend the land they had been allocated by the UN. They then went on the offensive, trying to gain control of Jewish settlements in the lands allocated to the Arabs and of the roads leading to them
The Palestinian Arabs had no organised military forces – their leader (Amin al-Husayni) was in exile in Lebanon
The Palestinian Jews were more organised and politically unified.
1948: soldiers from Iraq and Syria crossed into Palestine to help the Arabs
- Jewish population: Plan D
o The aim was to take over any installations evacuated by the British and expel as many Palestinians from the future Jewish state
- May 15th: plans for invasion from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt
April 1948: Jewish forces began the forceful expulsion of Arab inhabitants from villages inside the Jewish state – nearly all of the Arab population (100,000) fled
Massacre at Deir Yassin: April 1948
9th April 1948: Irgun fighters, led by Menachem Begin, attacked Deir Yassin and killed 245 inhabitants
14th May 1948: British withdrew from Palestine
- Victory for the Jews but a disaster for the Arabs
1st Arab Israeli War: 1948-9
14th May 1948: British left + the new state of Israel was born and proclaimed by David Ben Gurion
15th May 1948 – 7th January 1949: WAR
- 5 neighbouring states had a population of over 40 million: Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt
- They fought against the 1 million Jewish population in Israel
1st Phase: 15th May – 10th June 1948
- South: Egyptian army of 10,000 attacked Jewish settlements in the supposed Arab state
- North: Syrian, Iraq and Lebanese troops tried to attack but they were resisted by Jewish settlers
o They were forced to withdraw
- The major conflict was the battle for Jerusalem
o King Abdullah of Transjordan moved his Arab Legion to defend the Old City (east)
o The Israelis were keen to defeat this army, as they wanted to gain control of the whole of Jerusalem, including the Old City
o They were unable to overcome the Arab Legion – failed to seize control of the Old city but they gained control of West Jerusalem
Ceasefire: 10th June – 9th July 1948
10th June: UN persuaded warring countries to agree to a ceasefire, encouraging member countries not to sell armaments to any side
Lebanon + Jordan were interested in peace talks but Egypt, Syria and Iraq wanted to continue fighting
Israel and Arab States: it was an opportunity to rest + rethink strategies, and to rearm, regroup + recruit
Egypt broke the truce and attacked from the South
Israeli tactic was to gain more than the UN partition plan
2nd truce: 9th July 1948 – 18th July 1948
Israeli priority was to widen the corridor leading to Jerusalem – took Arab lands
- The Arab Legion still held the Old City of Jerusalem
- Seize land in the north – Syria and Iraq
- Around the sea of Galilee and Negev desert area – Against Egypt
2nd Ceasefire:
16th September 1948: UN Diplomat/Mediator, Count Bernadotte from Sweden issued his recommendations
- Added land to the Arabs in the south
- Added land to the Israelis in the north
- Jerusalem was still to be a free international city under UN control
- Arabs refugees were given the right to return home
This plan was rejected by Israel
- 17th September: Bernadotte was assassinated by 3 members of the Stern Gang
- Israel declared the Stern Gang + Irgun illegal – many joined the Israeli Defence Force
3rd phase of fighting: 15th October – 7th January 1949
Mid October: Israel broke the 2nd ceasefire and defeated the Egyptians in the South
Agreement (under American pressure) to withdraw from Egyptian territory – remained in complete control of the Negev when the final ceasefire was arranged in January 1949
Results of the 1st Arab Israeli War
Israel was exhausted but well organised, it had only lost 1% of its population
- Gained control of 79% of what had been the British mandate in Palestine
- Didn’t allow the Palestinians the right return to their homes – Nakba (disaster)
- The Arabs which stayed in Israel were a minority and were treated as second class citizens
- Jews (foreign) were given Israeli citizenship
o Not given to Arabs
Egypt showed its willingness to negotiate
- Over 700,000 Palestinian Arabs had become refugees
o Had fled or been driven from their homes – went to Gaza or West Bank of River Jordan
Armistices 1949
January 1949 - Egypt and Israel
- Reestablished former frontier between the 2 countries
- Gaza strip on the Med was held by Egypt
April 1949 - Jordan and Israel
King Abdullah of Jordan wanted his forces to keep control of the West Bank
- Jordan took much of Arab Palestine, including the Old City of Jerusalem
Israel took the Western part of Jerusalem
July 1949 - Syria and Israel
- Frontier Syria had occupied in Northern Israel: withdrawn – left Israel free of Syrian troops
- Demilitarized zone implemented
1950 Law of Return, US and Israel, Events in 1949-56
1950 Law of Return
Gave any Jew the right to Israeli citizenship and immigrate to the Zion
o Many moved from North Africa and Middle East
o Drafted into IDF as part of the obligatory military service, then became reserves
o Learnt Hebrew
- Constant fear of surrounding Arab states
o Suspicious towards Palestinian Arabs
Israel formed itself into a developed modern country
- Turned uncultivated areas into farm land – advanced irrigation methods
- Industry: chemical and manufacturing
- Money invested into all 3 branches of defence
The USA and Israel
- Increasingly saw Israel as an ally
- US tried to remain impartial as it didn’t want to make an enemy of the Arab states (oil producers - Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia)
- US invested in oil wells and refineries – USSR then began looking for allies in the Middle East
- Egypt and Syria: not communist but anti-imperialist – needed help and weapons
o For the USSR, it was a way to be passively active
Events 1949-56
Continued problems and tensions. There was no peace between Israel and its neighbours
Among Arab nations – growth of anti-Western sentiment - Rise of Arab nationalism and a desire to be free of Western influence
Israel and Syria
Israel started to divert water from the River Jordan, which meant the water didn’t get to Syria - Headwater Diversion Plan
7th April 1967: Israeli farmer ploughing the land was shot in the Syrian-Israeli frontier - Topic 3
Israel and Jordan
King Abdullah wanted peace
Fear that Jordan would recognise Israel and sign a separate peace agreement
- The situation of Jerusalem might be changed
King Abdullah was assassinated by Palestinian extremists
- Abdullah’s grandson Hussein inherited from 1953-99
October 1953: Palestinians killed a mother and her 2 children
- Israelis attacked the Dibya village – 45 houses, 55 inhabitants
Israel and Egypt
British presence in the Suez Canal was intolerable to the Egyptians, as they saw it as imperialism
- Felt they could only be independent once the British left
In Gaza (part of Egypt): 300,000 Palestinians
- Unharmed Palestinians and Fedayeen
o Some wanted to check their land and visit relatives
o Others wanted to steal from Jews and kill them
IDF retaliated: attacked into Gaza – a problem area in 1950s
Nasser of Egypt
Gamal Abdel Nasser was a young officer who had risen up through the ranks of the army
- He was part of the Free Officers, a group of young officers who aimed to overthrow the government
Egypt is where the Suez Canal lay – not free
- There were 70-80 thousand British soldiers stationed in Egypt – source of tension and unhappy relations
Monarchy ruled over by King Farouk
Suez Canal was the easiest way to transport oil from the Persian Gulf countries to Western Europe
Britain used the Suez Canal the most – life line to Asia
- 1st: acted to “persuade” the British to pull out the troops
- 2nd: move to seize the Suez Canal
King Farouk was blamed for Egypt’s failure in the 1948-9 war – adopted to Western ways (drank, smoked, gambled, divorced his wife…)
- Poor weapons
- Incompetent generals
- His government was corrupt and too pro-British
Israel’s attack on Gaza: February 1955
1955: formation of the Baghdad Pact
- Created by Britain, Turkey, Iran and Iraq
- Protect them from Soviet influence
28th February 1955: Israel attacked Gaza (Operation Black Arrow)
- dismantle refugee camps
- 38 soldiers killed
Hoped to show Nasser as weak and triggered a revolt against him
Nasser wanted to be neutral in the Cold War
- Wanted to modernise
o Tried to buy weapons from the US and Britain but they declined
o He organised the Czech arms deal – September 1955 with Soviet approval
Britain, France and the US
Britain
Eden became Prime Minister in April 1955, but before this, he was Churchill’s Foreign Secretary
Eden authorised Operation Omega to assassinate Nasser
France
Saw and publicly said they saw Nasser as “Hitler on the Nile”
GB and the US refused to sell weapons to Egypt (bought them from Czech Republic) and Israel
- Tried to be neutral
France sold weapons to Israel
- 70 mystiere fighter planes to Israel and 200 tanks
- Egypt created a joint Arab force – Egypt, Syria and Jordan
USA
Presidential election year – Eisenhower sought re-election Especially the US had to keep the Arabs on their side
o Had oil interests in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran
o But also 3 states dominated by Jewish Americans – pro-Israel
They weren’t consulted and were in opposition of the use of war to oust Nasser – forbidden it
Too obviously imperialistic - Use of old methods “gunboat diplomacy”
