Arab Israeli Final
Bashir Gemayal
A Lebanese politician, militia commander, and president-elect. Leader of the Lebanese forces during the Lebanese civil war.
Second Intifada
A Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, started in Sept. 2000, when Ariel Sharon made a visit to the Temple Mount. Unlike the first intifada, this one was very violent using lethal ammunition. This pretty much ruined any hope of future peace negotiations at that time and for the following decade.
Kadima
A centrist and liberal political party in Israel. Started by Ariel Sharon in 2005 in support of a unilateral disengagement plan. Sharon abandoned Likud because he abandoned his dreams of Greater Israel, but still believed that settlements were necessary for defense reasons.
Benjamin Netanyahu
A member of the Likud Party, he took over after Rabin in 96 but was voted out in 99 for being too indecisive. He came back into office in 2009, after the Gaza War. In his first term, he had an obvious distaste for Oslo, but continued to withdraw from Gaza and the West Bank under American pressure.
Yasser Arafat
Chairman of PLO, leader of Fatah which he founded in 1959. Spent much of his life fighting against Israel in the name of Palestinian self-determination, but modified his position in 1988 when he accepted UN Security Council Resolution 242. Later in his career, Arafat engaged in a series of negotiations with the government of Israel to end the decades-long conflict between it and the PLO. In 1994, Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize, with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, for the negotiations at Oslo. In late 2004, after effectively being confined within his Ramallah compound for over two years by the ISraeli army, Arafat became ill, fell into a coma, and died at the age of 75.
War of Attrition
Fighting between Israel and Egypt from 1967-1970. Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser believed that only military initiative would compel Israel or the international community to facilitate a full Israeli withdrawal from Sinai, and hostilities soon resumed along the Suez Canal. Hostilities continued until August 1970 and ended with a ceasefire, the frontiers remaining the same as when the war began, with no real commitment to serious peace negotiations. Led to the war of 73 because Egypt realized they could not sustain open ended mobilization, and it would be impossible to get the Sinai back without full-fledged war. The war of attrition also weakened Israel and led to the elections of Likud in 1977, because the Israeli people were losing faith in Labor.
Menachim Begin
Founder of the Likud party and sixth Prime Minister of Israel. leader of Israeli militant group the Irgun.
Hamas
Hamas is a Palestinian, Sunni, Islamist organization, located in the the Palestinian territories and based in Gaza. It was founded in 1987 by Sheik Ahmed Yassin, but did not gain significant power until 2007 after winning the 2006 legislative elections. Before 2007, they were just a social, political, and guerrilla organization. They were heavily involved in the 2nd intifada and all of the suicide bombings and completely against peace negotiations. They were part of the reason for Oslo's failure because they continued attacking during the peace negotiations.
Mahmoud Abbas
He has been the chairman of the PLO since Nov. 2004 and has been President of the PA since January 2005. He is a member of Fatah. He set up the 2006 PLO legislative elections a year earlier than they would have been, with support from the US, in an attempt to strengthen himself. However, this completely backfired when Hamas shocked everyone and won the elections. The US then sent Abbas a lot of money to isolate Gaza and convict Hamas supporters. Israel and the US thought he was more moderate and reasonable, would help stop the violence, and would be willing ot go into negotiations.
Hezbollah
Hezbollah is a Shiite Islamic militant group and political party based in Lebanon. It has grown from a small militia, to an organization with seats in the Lebanese government, a radio and a satellite television stations, and programs for social development, often being referred to as a state within a state. They are, with Hamas, the biggest non-state actors against Israel. After Israel's invasion of Lebanon of 1982, Israel succeeded in kicking the PLO out, but this was bad for the in the long run because Hezbollah took over and grew stronger than the PLO had been.
separation barrier
Israel began building the Israeli WEst Bank barrier in 2002. Spearheaded by Sharon in response to Oslo's failure and suicide bombers. Successfully limited and stopped suicide bombers and by 2004 they were almost all gone. Went around the 1948 borders but added 9% of the West Bank to ISrael. Israel wanted this to represent the political borders.
4th Geneva Convention of 1949
It was adopted in August 1949, and defines humanitarian protections for civilians in a war zone. It said that there would be no population changes in occupied areas. This was uses as a reason that Israeli settlements in the West Bank during Likud's reign in n1977-1992 were illegal, but Israel claimed this did not apply because there was no sovereign in the region before 1967.
First Intifada
Palestinian uprising from 1987-1993 against Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. It was a violent, but non-lethal uprising by the Palestinians, sparked by a car accident in Gaza in which an Israeli car hit a Palestinian car and killed the passengers. This led to peace negotiations and the Oslo Accords.
Anwar Sadat
President of Egypt from Oct. 1970 until his assassination in Oct. 1981. He changed Egypt's trajectory, departing from many of the political and economic tenets of Nasserism. He led Egypt in the October War of 1973 to liberate Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had occupied since the 6 day war of 1967, making him a hero in Egypt. Though Israel was able to come back after the initial shock of the Yom Kippur War, Sadat had won a symbolic victory and could now negotiate with Israel without the humiliation.
Yitzhak Rabin
Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974-77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995. In 1994, Rabin won the Nobel Peace PRize together with Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat. He was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli radical who was opposed to Rabin's signing of the Oslo Accords.
Ariel Sharon
Served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel, extensive military background. Member of the Likud party. Responsible for the 1982 Lebanon War. Formed the political party Kadima.
Camp David Summit
The 2000 Camp David Summit was a summit meeting at Camp David between the United States president Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and PA chairman Yasser Arafat. It was an effort to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but ended without an agreement. The 3 main issues discussed at Camp David were borders, refugees, and Jerusalem. In terms of borders, progress was marked. Clinton suggested that 9% of the West Bank is kept by Israel, while the rest of the West Bank plus 1% of Israeli territory be given to Palestine. Barak agreed and Arafat seemed flexible, but nothing further came of this. In terms of refugees and Jerusalem, no agreements were made. For refugees, Arafat wanted everyone to return to their homes, including descendants if they so chose because of resolution 194, the right to return. Barak says no to this, especially because descendants are not mentioned in resolution 194, and Clinton says nothing, making no progress. For Jerusalem, Barak wants Israeli sovereignty with Muslim access to Muslim holy sites, Arafat wants a divided city as before 1967, but with Jewish access to Jewish holy sites, while Clinton suggests his "swiss cheese method," in which Palestine and Israel control, respectively, Palestinian and Israeli sites. This was the last time they came together for peace negotiations. This ended with no agreement, and in some ways sparked the second intifada. According to the Palestinian narrative, because Barak allowed Sharon to visit the Temple Mount, his concessions were not sufficient, he allowed to IDF to overreact to violence, and he pushed forward with Camp David because of his own political agenda, the second intifada was inevitable
AIPAC
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the US. It is a big part of the Israel lobby, which is heavily responsible for America's strong pro-Israeli stance.
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords of 1978 were signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin after 13 days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The Accords led to the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. Due to the agreement, Sadat and BEgin received the shared 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. Some results of the Accords were that Egypt became a client state of the US instead of the Soviet Union, and Egypt recognized Israel as legitimate and was the first Arab state to do so. Egyptians were happy at first because of economic benefits, but soon turned on Sadat when Egypt was kicked out of the Arab League for betraying the other Arab states without consulting them. Sadat was then assassinated in 1981. Israel was content with the Accords because it ended the threat of a two front war. Ultimately, this produced a cold peace between Israel and Egypt.
Fatah
The Fatah movement, which adopted a Palestinian nationalist ideology in which Palestinian Arabs would be liberated by their own actions, was founded in 1959 by Yasser Arafat. Fatah became the dominant force in Palestinian politics after the 6 day war in 1967. After 1967, Fatah gained power through making a financial base in the Palestinian diaspora, political networking in refugee camps, and their guerrilla wing in Jordan. In 1970 they took over the PLO and joined many different groups together under the PLO umbrella. After the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections when Hamas won, Fatah started to lose power and was kicked out of Gaza.
Oslo II
The Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza ensure future IDF redeployments and gave the PLO autonomy over 98% of the PA. The PLO struck from its national charter the call for Israel's destruction, and money started flooding to the PA and Israel because the world wanted peace, and they thought that if the negotiations could go hand in hand with economic benefits, they would be more successful. However, Oslo failed. There was a general dislike among the Palestinians because they believed that Arafat was betraying them, leading to general violence and suicide bombings. The Palestinians also found out that Fatah was corrupt, leading to an increase in support for other organizations like Hamas. The Israelis were displeased because although they wanted to negotiate, they felt all that was coming from Oslo was suicide bombings, leading to Rabin's assassination in 1995.
Oslo I
The Oslo I Accord was an attempt in 1993 to set up a framework that would lead to the resolution of the ongoing ISraeli-Palestinian conflict. It was an outgrowth of the Madrid Conference of 1991, conducted secretly in Oslo, Norway, completed in August 1993, by PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and US President Bill Clinton. It provided for the creation of a Palestinian 5 year interim government, the Palestinian Authority (PA), which would have responsibility for the administration of the territory under its control. It also called for the withdrawal of the IDF from parts of Gaza and the West Bank. In August 1993, the PLO acknowledged the State of Israel and pledged to reject violence, and Israel recognized the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people and as partner in negotiations. Jordan also became the second Arab state to recognize Israel as legitimate.
Green Line
The demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbors after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The Green Line is also used to mark the line between Israel and the territories captured in the 6 day war, including the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights, and Sinai Peninsula. Palestine often returns to the Green Line as the preferred political borders during negotiations, but Israel refuses to give up Jerusalem and other areas near there because of their skinny, hard to defend waist.
PLO
a secular organization founded in 1964 with the purpose of creating an independent State of Palestine. It is recognized as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people by over 100 states, and has enjoyed observer status at the UN since 1974. It was considered by the US and Israel to be a terrorist organization until the Madrid Conference in 1991. In 1993, the PLO recognized Israel's right to exist in peace, accepted UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, and rejected "violence and terrorism"; in response, ISrael officially recognized the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people.
1973 Arab-Israeli War
a war fought by the coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against Israel on October 6, 1973 (Yom Kippur). Through meticulous strategic planning, Egypt and Syria were able to strike in the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights, catching the Israelis off guard. The Israeli advantage came from their first strike doctrine, but when attacked on October 6, they were caught in civilian mode. Israel was able to come back from the initial shock of the war, first to fight back Syria because they were so close to Israel, pushing them back all the way to Damascus. Israel then moved on to Egypt, pushing them back over the Suez Canal. This war proved that it would be nearly impossible to destroy Israel, and Egypt's symbolic victory allowed them to negotiate with Israel without humiliation.
Noble Sanctuary/Temple Mount
one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years and holds significance for at least three different religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount during Camp David kick started the second intifada.
Likud
the major center-right party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the so-called "earthquake elections" of 1977 was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had lost power. The Israelis were losing faith in the Labor Party, especially after the shock of the Yom Kippur War, and didn't trust them to defend their national security. Likud stayed in power from 1977-1992, during which it instituted its Greater Israel plan to annex the West Bank and Gaza into ISrael and to Judaize the West Bank.