Egypt and Israel Relations: History of The Wars - Research Paper Example

The Balfour Declaration 1917 To study the root cause of this conflict it is necessary to take into account all those events which are associated with it. The events date back to as long as The First World War. In October 1915, the then British High Commissioner in Egypt, Sir Henry McMahon exchanged letters with Hussain bin Ali, the Sharif of Mecca, showing Britain’s enthusiasm to recognize the independence and autonomy of the Arabs with certain conditions. Hussain was promised the control of the Arab lands with the exception of some parts of Syria.

These assurances initiated the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire and an army of 70,000 men advanced towards the Ottoman forces. However the French and the British had other plans. However, they secretly decided to divide many Arab states under their administration and mandate. On 2nd November 1917, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, a letter was send to Baron Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community, by British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour. It stated that “His Majesty's government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors 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.

” This letter is regarded as the Balfour Declaration of 1917. This Declaration paved the way for the creation of an autonomous and independent Jewish state in the region and without any doubt it can be regarded as the very first step of assigning the Jews a home in the Middle East region. Declaration of the State of Israel 1948 On 14th May 1948, the then the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and the chairman of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, David Ben-Gurion officially announced the formation of an independent Jewish State, the State of Israel, in areas of what were known as the British Mandate for Palestine.

The ceremony to declare autonomy took place in the Tel Aviv museum and was kept a secret till the very last moment in fear an invasion from the Arab armies. Over the next few days after the declaration, armies of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Lebanon raided the newly formed state, thus commencing the start of the 1948 Arab Israel war, known to Israelis as the War of Independence. By its end in July 1949, it was obvious that Israel now had about 50% more land compared to the 1947 UN Partition Plan.

Suez Canal Crisis 1956 The first major offensive war between Egypt and Israel initiated after the Suez Canal crisis. The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean. It provides a short cut to the ships going to Asia from Europe, and vice versa, and they are saved from navigating around Africa. Egypt’s growing ties with the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China was a worry for the United States of America and the Great Britain.

In May 1953 the American Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, asked the then President of Egypt, Jamal Abdul Nasser to join an anti Soviet alliance. Nasser in