TOPIC 3 Flashcards
Origins of the Suez War: 1956
It was provoked because of pressure within Egypt – the population was rising and it had to be fed, as well as a rising demand for economic and political independence
The Aswan Dam project to control the flow of the Nile, improve irrigation and as prestige project
Long term political cause: Nasser’s anti-Western foreign policy
Nasser urged the Arab people to act against the “old colonial powers”
Egypt refused to join the Baghdad Pact: an anti-Soviet alliance which would prevent communist expansion
September 1955: Czech Arms Deal was announced
- Nasser secured Soviet arms from Czechoslovakia – he was believed to be pro-communist
May 1956: Nasser recognised Communist China
Economic cause: the nationalisation of the Suez Canal
Project to modernise Egypt
- Aswan Dam on the River Nile: provide HEP for improved irrigation and agriculture
Went to the World Bank, which agreed to a loan of $200 million. After September 1955, the World Bank stopped the loan
- Nasser knew through the BBC radio
- Announced that it was due to Egypt’s poor economic situation
26th July 1956: Nasser announced the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company. Get revenue from charging tolls to then use the profits to build the Aswan Dam
- “De Lesseps” was the code word to act
The Sèvres Meeting/Protocol
October 22nd – 24th 1956: Britain, France and Israel met at Sèvres to organise a joint plot
- Israel would attack on the 29th of October
- On the same day, the British and French would call for a ceasefire + withdraw from Suez Canal
Suez War Attack
29th October: Israeli forces invaded Egypt – advanced across the Sinai towards the Suez Canal
30th October: intervention by GB and France – ordered Israel and Egypt to cease fighting and withdraw 10 miles from the Canal
- Egypt refused GB and France landed and fought Egypt
o Triggered the 1952 agreement that if war, British troops could return to the Suez Canal area
31st October: GB and France bombed Egyptian airfields and destroyed most of Egypt’s airforce
5th November: British and French troops landed in Port Said
- Intensive fighting took place
- Egypt responded by sinking ships in the Suez Canal
The Soviets threatened to use force against Israel and the Western powers
The US threatened to cut off American supplies of oil to the Western powers
6th November: UN declared a ceasefire and ordered the British and the French to withdraw
- The UNEF 1 was sent to the canal to supervise the ceasefire
- It sited on Egyptian land to provide protection and monitored the frontier between Egypt and Israel
- In 1967: it left Egypt and Nasser withdrew his support – Israel feared it would attacked and decided to attack Egypt – 6 day war
Nasser blocked the canal – sank more than 30 ships
Consequences of the Suez Crisis
- For Egypt
Nasser emerged as the hero of the Arab world due to his stance against Western domination
Egypt had gained complete control of the Suez Canal and a large quantity of British military stores
Egypt moved closer to the USSR - For Israel
The spread of Israel’s victory over Egyptian forces in Gaza and Sinai proved that the Israeli Defence Force was the strongest force in the Middle East
Israeli ships could use the Gulf of Aqaba
It gained access to the Straits of Tiran. It was forced to withdraw by the UNEF and the USA
UNEF 1 – 6th November 1956
- Based in Egyptian land with Nasser’s permission
- 1966: Nasser withdrew this
Israel benefited by the UNEF
- Spotted Palestinian raids from Gaza
- Could use the Straits of Tiran
Israel’s army was better than Egypt’s - For Britain and France
They were completely humiliated and depicted as aggressive imperialistic nations
They had failed to regain control of the Suez Canal and failed to overthrow Nasser
- They had underestimated the Egyptians and made two miscalculations
o They had assumed the Egyptians would be unable to manage the Canal on their own
o There would be a popular uprising against Nasser once fighting started
European domination of the Arab world was severely weakened
Eden was forced to resign as Prime Minister 2 months later on the 8th of January 1957
- He did so, on the grounds of ill health - The UN
Israel, France and Britain were condemned and ordered to pull out
UN Emergency Force – UNEF 1
- To supervise the ceasefire
- 6000 men
- Voted for it on the 6th of November
- Present for 10 years
Israel withdrew March 1952
GB and France pulled out straightaway
Background of the 6 Day war: 1967
PLO (Palestine Liberation Organisation)
- 1964: A meeting of the Arab League took place in Cairo, hosted by Nasser
- Nasser’s objective was to promote unity between the Arab states
- They declared in an official document that their ultimate aim was the destruction of Israel. They would still refuse to recognise its existence
- It was formed to unite all Palestinians and win back the land which the Arab states had lost in 1948-9
- It had bases in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon
Rise of the Baath Party in Syria
February 1966: new radical and aggressive government came to power in Syria
o Demanded “revolutionary struggle” against Israel and called for the liberation of Palestine
It stepped up its support for the PLO guerrillas and criticised the Egyptian government for its inaction
The Ba-athists purchased weapons via the USSR – influenced by the US
November 1966: Nasser signed a defence agreement with the Syrian government which declared that if one state was attacked, the other would come to its defence.
o Failed to control Syria
December 1966: Explosion of a mine on the Israeli-Jordan frontier
- Killed 3 Israeli soldiers
- Israel bombed the village of Samu
- 15 Jordanian soldiers and 3 civilians killed. Over 100 houses were destroyed
High tension on the Israeli-Syrian border
- 7th April 1967: an Israeli tractor was ploughing land in the demilitarised zone which the UN had established on the Israeli side of the border after the 1948-9 war
- Syrians opened fire and the Israelis fired back – Israeli tanks were brought in
- 6 Syrian planes were shot done
Fatah guerillas (Palestinians)
- Trained and equipped conducted raids from Lebanon, Syria and Jordan
o To attack Israel
o Led to Israeli retaliation
o Swift and decisive
Egypt had the UNEF present so they didn’t participate
Crisis of May 1967
13th May 1967: Soviets warned the Egyptian government that Israel was moving its armed forces to the border with Syria, Egypt’s ally, and was planning to attack
- This wasn’t true, and Nasser knew it
- Nasser knew he needed to act – he couldn’t be accused of cowardice
15th May 1967: Nasser moved 100,000 Egyptian troops into the Sinai Peninsula, which alarmed the Israelis because it moved Egyptian troops nearer to Israel
Nasser also asked the UN commander to remove his troops from Egyptian soil – he wanted to prove that Egypt was completely independent – the UN troops were withdrawn
22nd May: Nasser closed the Straits of Tiran which led into the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping
- This denied the access to the Port of Eilat to ships coming from the Indian Ocean and Far East
- The Israelis claimed Nasser’s action was “an aggressive act”
29th May: Nasser stepped up the pressure in a speech to the Egyptian Parliament
- He demanded that Israel should allow the Palestinian refugees to return to Israel and that Israel should give up the land taken in the 1948-9 war
30th May: King Hussein signed a mutual defence Treaty with Egypt and a force of Egyptian commandoes was flown to Jordan
Israel’s decision to attack in the 6 day war
31st May: a second Israeli delegation went to Washington DC. They wanted the US government to act, but it was rejected, and open the Straits of Tiran
- Israel should act on its own, to open the Straits
- This was misinterpreted as a sign to go ahead and take military action.
Nasser gave a speech in May 1967 about the rights of the Palestinians to “return”
- It was an attempt to gain Arab support
- It worked in May, Jordan signed a Treaty with Egypt and Syria: United Arab Force
o Israel sought to bring the US into the conflict
1st June: New Israeli government was formed – Moshe Dayan as Defence Minister – voted to start a war
6 Day War Attack
4th June: The Israeli cabinet decided to go to war
5th June: The Israeli air force took off. It attacked 19 airbases and destroyed 300 Egyptian planes
7th June: The Israelis took the Sinai and accepted a ceasefire with Egypt
- Took the Old City of Jerusalem
- Jordan accepted a ceasefire proposed by the UN – Israel didn’t
8th June: Egypt accepted the ceasefire with Israel
- Israel occupied the West Bank
9th June: fighting took place between Israel and Syria for the Golan Heights
10th June: Israel gained control of the Golan Heights
- Syria accepted the UN ceasefire proposal
The weekend before: Israeli army had stand down to fool the Arab neighbouring countries
Israeli IDF had under 300,000 men outnumbered 3 to 1
- Were well trained and had a good leadership
- Had Sherman tanks (adapted to have better range) against TS4 and TS5 tanks
Israeli pilots: 3 – 5 bombing raids per day.
- Planes could be refuelled and re-armed within 10 minutes
Israel started the war to dictate how it could be fought
- Affected the need to attack each country one by one
Consequences of the 6 day war
- For the Superpowers:
The USA and USSR had failed to control their protegés
They had been unable to prevent the war from happening - For Israel:
- They emerged victorious and confident
- Tripled in size – had conquered the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai, Golan Heights. They then made Arab land Jewish lands
- They achieved security against the neighbouring Arab state
- Managed to get control of East Jerusalem, the Old City (became the capital). This was condemned by the UN as it violated international law
Israel acquired 1.1 million Palestinians - For the Arab States:
- Many Palestinians were forced to flee from their lands now under Jewish occupation
o 200,000 Palestinians from the West Bank into Jordan
o 300,000 Palestinians fled from Gaza
- The main oil-producing Arab states had to economically help Egypt and Jordan
o Gave $135 million annually as a total to Egypt and Jordan as compensation for their losses in the war
o Syria and Egypt used the money to re-arm themselves and bought weapons from the USSR
- NO PEACE: August 1967 conference for Arab countries – “no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel”
Casualties in the 6 day war
Egypt lost 11,500
Jordan lost over 6000
Syria lost 1000
Israel lost 776 soldiers
UN Resolution 242
November 1967: UN Secretary Council passed Resolution 242 which called for permanent peace based on:
1. Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from its occupied territories during the war
2. Urged for peace (+ recognition of Israel)
3. Palestinians and their rights to return
The resolution supported the Arabs on the issue of land and supported Israel on the issue of peace and security
- Egypt and Jordan accepted the Resolution – they recognised Israeli’s right to exist
- Israel accepted the Resolution
o Condemned the Arab leaders’ declaration that they would not recognise Israel or have peace with it
o Refused to accept the Palestinians’ right to return
Death of Nasser and rise of Sadat
September 1970: Nasser died and was replaced by Anwar Sadat, his Vice President
Sadat’s main objective was to achieve peace with Israel. He feared the outbreak of another war – he was prepared to recognise the state of Israel to regain the lost land
February 1971: Sadat put forward a plan for limited Israeli withdrawal from the Suez Canal and the reopening of the Canal for international shipping. The cost of maintaining 1 million men on the west side of the Canal was very expensive
- Egypt had economic problems as they couldn’t use the Suez Canal and had a lack of tourists
o It couldn’t be used as it was too dangerous from 1967 onwards. Reopened in 1975
Publicly: Sadat maintained hist anti-Israeli and desire to destroy it façade
- The Israelis were unwilling to discuss possible solutions
- This was due to external pressure from the Arab World
Sadat by himself couldn’t get peace
- Needed an Israeli leader to meet him half way – Begin (leader of Israel from 1975-9)
Sadat secretly communicated to Israel and the US his desire to negotiate
- Tried to show to the US that Egypt wasn’t so bad
Sadat felt the US was the only country that could help Israel and Egypt reach an agreement
1971: Nixon was president in the US. His priority was Vietnam, not the Middle East
1972: Presidential election - Nixon was re-elected
July 1972: Sadat expelled 15,000 Soviet military advisors (+ their families)
- Popular move in Egypt: greater sovereignty
- Sadat felt the Russians would be too cautious and not allow Egypt to attack Israel. Also thought the Russians would leak the new of an attack
o Wanted to keep it secret
o Détente was more important to the USSR than Egypt
Sadat received the weapons he wanted – massive arms deal from the USSR
- Looking for allies: Military and oil – used as a weapon to punish those who supported Israel
August 1973: Sadat visited King Faisal of Saudi Arabia
- Told Faisal of Egypt’s plan for war in October and asked for help from OPEC: Organisation for the Petroleum Exporting Countries
- Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Abu Dhabi
o Reduced the amount of oil, released in the market
o Put price up : from $3.20 a barrel to $5.11 a barrel
- FRIEND: normal supplies
- NEUTRAL: reduced supplies
- ENEMIES: no oil
USA’s normal requirement: 1.2 million barrels/day
USA’s crisis received: 18,000 barrels/day. This continued until 1974 (February)
