Arab/Israel Crisis

6 Day War - Or 1967 War

A brief war where the combined Arab states of Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Jordan were defeated by Israel. The Arab states had been massing troops on the borders and Israel decided to strike first. Israel was victorious and took the Sinai, Golan Heights, West Bank and Gaza Strip. All of these territories were placed under Israeli occupation. Israel's victory in this war totally changed the face of the Middle East and Egypt, Syria and Jordan all lost their power over the Palestinian occupied areas within Israel.

Plan Dalet

A highly controversial Jewish plan spearheaded by David Ben Gurion and the Haganah. It focused on creating defensive borders for the inevitable Arab invasion by taking various Arab towns and villages. Many Palestinian historians claim that it was in fact a clear attempt to drive Arabs from their homes and never let them return. Jewish historians claim that Arabs were TOLD to leave their homes by Arab governments, and they would be allowed to return once the Arab nations had won the war.

Deir Yassin Massacre

A massacre that took place in 1948 by the Irgun and Stern Gang. Perpetrated as part of Plan Dalet in the village of Deir Yassin. Accounts vary, but at least 107 Arab civilians were killed, including women and children. Jewish historians claim that they were offering resistance to the Jewish military groups. Palestinian historians claim they were innocent civilians.

Irgun

A militant Zionist underground group, active during the period (1917-48) of British control by mandate of Palestine. They promoted far more violent terrorist tactics than Haganah and used methods such as assassinations and kidnappings of prominent Arab leaders. The members were a splinter group from the original Haganah. The Irgun were responsible for the massacre of villagers at Deir Yassin.

The McMahon Correspondence

A series of letters written in 1916 between the British high commissioner in Cairo and an influential Arab leader, Sharif Hussein. In these letters, McMahon made statements that promised land set aside as an independent Arab state in the Middle East. He made this promise based on the fact that Arab leaders would ensure that Arabs rose up against the Ottoman Turks during World War I. However, sources disagree on what land was actually promised. These letters were in direct contradiction to the later Balfour Declaration.

Zionism

A worldwide movement, originating in the 19th century that sought to establish and develop a Jewish nation in Palestine. Since 1948, its function has been to support the state of Israel. It is commonly believed to have begun with the publishing of the pamphlet Der Judenstaat by Jewish journalist Theodor Herzl. Zionists believed that there must be a homeland for Jews and that it must be located within the Holy Land of Israel.

UN Resolution 242

Adopted in 1967 by the UN Security Council in response to the Six Day War, it called for the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the territories occupied during the war. This later served as the basis for negotiations on the recognized borders of Israel. Many aspects of this Resolution were never upheld by the Israelis and none of the territory gained in 1967 was handed back.

Pan-Arab Nationalism

Belief that several hundred million Arabs living in the vast territory between North Africa and Central Asia should be joined together into one powerful nation-state. It was a policy that was heavily focused upon by the Egyptian leader Nasser during his time as president of Egypt. It led to the creation of the United Arab Republic between Egypt and Syria, although this union was short-lived.

Yom Kippur War

Frustrated by their losses in the Six-Days War, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur on October 6, 1973. Israel counterattacked, won a decisive victory, and had even occupied portions of northern Egypt. At the end of the war, Israel realised that they could not always protect their borders from hostile Arab states. This led to the first steps down the path of peace processes, culminating in the Camp David Accords of 1978.

The Gaza Strip

Is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the south, east and north. The area is recognized internationally as part of the Palestinian territories. Actual control of the area is currently in the hands of Hamas.

The West Bank

Is a landlocked territory and is the eastern part of the Palestinian territories on the west bank of the River Jordan. It was captured by Israel during the Six-Day War in June, 1967. Before this, it was controlled by Jordan. It houses the general majority of the Palestinian people and is operated under the control of the Israeli government.

Fatah

Is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) It is generally considered to have had a strong involvement in terrorism in the past and was founded by Yasser Arafat and other Arab leaders in 1958. They eventually took almost complete control of the PLO in 1968. Fatah conducted a great deal of their operations from Jordan, until the late 1960s early 1970s, when King Hussein of Jordan forcibly removed Fatah and the PLO from his country due to the problems they were creating.

Yasser Arafat

Leader of Palestinian Liberation Organization or PLO which organized terrorist attacks on Israelis around the world. The goal of PLO was to rid Palestine of the state of Israel. However, he eventually became a peace advocate who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994. He did not condone many of the attacks carried out by Palestinian terror groups was often highly criticised for not being able to control these terrorists.

al Nakba

Literally translates as 'The Catastrophe'. This series of events took place during and after the 1948 war. The Catastrophe refers to the 900 000 or so Palestinian refugees who were forced to flee their homes due to the war. When they tried to return, they were denied access to their land, due to it having been occupied by Israel. This led to the movement of hundreds of thousands of peoples to areas like the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Stern Gang

Militant Jewish group that advocated overthrowing the British to allow unrestricted immigration to Israel. They used terrorist tactics and were responsible for much of the violence that took place in Palestine. They were a splinter group from Irgun.

PLO

Palestinian Liberation Organisation. A political movement uniting Palestinian Arabs in an effort to create an independent state of Palestine. It was formed in 1964 during an Arab conference convened by Nasser in Cairo. It began as more of an umbrella group for other terrorist organisations. However, when it was taken over by Yasser Arafat in 1968, it became much more Palestinian focused and also more violent. They claimed to represent the political goals of all Palestinian people located within the occupied territories and other Arab countries.

Balfour Declaration

Statement issued by Britain's Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour in 1917 favoring the establishment of a Jewish national homeland in Palestine. It greatly angered the Arab population as they felt they had been promised the land earlier due to the McMahon Correspondence. The basic gist of the letter stated that 'His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.'

Fedayeen

The Arabic word for "self-sacrificer". Palestinian refugees and other young Arab men who performed guerrilla attacks on Israel. They were party funded by Egypt and heavily supported by Nasser.

Gamal Abdel Nasser

The Egyptian leader from 1954 until his death in 1970. He was a staunch nationalist and was responsible for nationalising the Suez Canal in 1956 and causing the Suez Crisis. He was a big supporter of the Palestinian cause and helped to fund and train Fedayeen groups operating out of Egypt. He launched the 1967 War against Israel and when defeated, was responsible for Egypt's dishonour. He was a proponent of the idea of 'Pan-Arab Nationalism' and believed that the Arab world neede to unite in their opposition against Israel.

Menachem Begin

The Israeli Prime Minister from 1977 until 1983 who was responsible for negotiating the first peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the Camp David Accords. Before he was PM, he was the leader of the Irgun and was openly hostile to the British Mandate in Palestine. He was a firm believer in the Israeli settler movement and encouraged the large development of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, causing much controversy.

Straits of Tiran

The Straits of Tiran are the narrow sea passages between the Sinai and Arabian peninsulas which separates the Gulf of Aqaba from the Red Sea. Egypt's blockade of the Straits to Israeli ships and ships bound for Israel in 1956 and again in 1967 was a catalyst to the Suez Crisis in 1956 and the Six-Day War in 1967.

Haganah

The clandestine military wing of the Jewish Agency during the British rule over the mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948. They did not advocate the same terrorist tactics as other Jewish groups. However, they did believe that the Jewish people needed to overthrow British rule in Palestine. They became the main basis for the Israel Defense Force after Israel was created in 1948.

Post-Zionism

The field of study that believes Zionism has reached its goal with the creation of Israel and should no longer be such an issue in the Middle East. They promote a peaceful solution with the Palestinian people and also acknowledge the right for some Palestinian ownership of the land.

Davin Ben Gurion

The first Prime Minister of Israel. He was the leader of the Jewish Agency and therefore the defacto leader of Palestinian Jews before the creation of Israel occurred in 1948. He was instrumental in the military leadership of the Jewish people in their struggled against the British mandate. He is seen as an Israeli hero due to his role in the multiple wars fought by Israel. He was also a 'hawk' a man who promoted warfare over peace.

The British Mandate

The thirty years of British rule from 1918 to 1948 in the area of Palestine. Their strategy depended on protecting their interests in the Middle East, including their oil reserves and the Suez Canal. The British Mandate heavily favoured the creation of a Jewish state. However, the Jews were still responsible for the British leaving Palestine due to increased violence that they could not stop. Under the British Mandate, Palestine was entirely controlled by the British and there was no Palestinian government.

1948 War

This is an international war between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Five Arab armies attacked Israel, but were not coordinated, and Israel defeated each one. (Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq). April 3, 1949 Armistice Israel gains about 50% more land from what they conquered during this war. After the war, Palestinian refugees who fled the crisis were unable to return home.

Settler Movement

This movement promotes the establishment of Jewish communities within the occupied territories of the West Bank. While many of these communities are illegal, they are tacitly supported by the Israeli government. Establishing the communities allows them to gain a military and civilian presence within the occupied territories. The communities are still being established today and are the cause of a great deal of controversy, as Palestinian people claim that they are being forcibly removed from their land.

The Jewish Agency

This organisation is primarily responsible for the immigration of Jewish people to the state of Israel. They are the largest, and most powerful Jewish organisation in Israel and began during the early 1900s under the British Mandate. They promoted the ideals of Zionism and were heavily responsible for lobbying the British government to create a Jewish State in Israel. From 1935 until 1948, they were led by David Ben-Gurion.

1947 UN Partition Plan (Resolution 181)

This was the plan put forward by the UN to partition the land of Palestine and create a Jewish State. The Jewish State would comprise approximately 15 000 square km while the Arab State would comprise approximately 11 000 square km. The name of this UN Resolution was Resolution 181. It was rejected out of hand by all Arab nations and the Palestinian people. This was because Jews would received 56% of the land, while only having owned 6%-8% of the land previous to this.

Anwar Sadat

Was a high-ranking politician who held many positions in Nasser's government. Upon the death of Nasser in 1970, he became the new Egyptian President. He was responsible for launching the Yom Kippur War in 1973 against Israel, which was another defeat for Egypt, although it did lead towards the first steps in the peace process. He was also responsible for signing the Camp David Accord peace treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1978. He was considered a traitor to the Arab cause for signing this document.