History of the Arab-Israeli War - Research Paper Example

History of the Arab-Israeli War, 1900 to 2000 Abstract Prior to its establishment as an independent state in 1948, an Israeli state has not existed for at least several centuries. The Zionist movement was instrumental in the creation of the Israel. The United Nations supported the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. In 1967, however, Israel enlarged its territory relative to the intent of the United Nations. Through the enlarged territory, Israel was able to consolidate its existence as a State, especially through its peace agreement with Egypt. Through the peace agreement with Egypt, Israel was able to divide the Muslim world and persist/survive in the territory now known as the State of Israel. Table of Content Section Page Title Page 1 Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 I. Introduction 4 II Emergence of Zionism 5 III. The Period 1900 to 14 May 1948 Establishment of Israel 6 IV. 1948 Establishment of Israel to the October 1973 Yom Kippur War 10 A. Immediate Period before the June 1967 Six-Day War 10 B. June 1967 Six-Day War 15 C. October 1973 Yom Kippur War 17 V. Post-1973 Yom Kippur War to 2000 20 I. Introduction Perhaps there is no war in history that has been the longest other than the Arab-Israel War. Unfortunately, at various times the war has been classified as a religious war, as a war between Jews and Christians on one hand and the Moslem world on the other. Yet, at the same time, both Jews and Christians on one hand and Moslem have rights to Israel. Israel is the birthplace of both Judaism and Christianity but at the same time, Muslims trace their roots to Abraham although Abraham was known as Ibrahim in their Qu’ran. In the Jewish and Christian bibles Abraham or Ibrahim almost sacrificed Isaac but in the Qu’ran, it was Isaac’s half-brother Ishmael who was almost sacrificed and not Isaac. This is highly indicative that both Jews/Christians and Muslim share a common lineage although they have a slightly different version of Israel history. Nevertheless, so much have taken place between the birth of Jesus and by the 20th century such that the State of Israel did not exist as of the early 1900. Even during the time of Jesus Christ, Israel does not exist as a State because it was under the Roman empire. That is very clear in Jewish and Christian bibles. Before being occupied by the British from 1918 and 1948, the area now occupied by Israelites has been ruled by Muslim Dynasties for thirteen centuries (Filfil and Louton 2008, 14). There was no State of Israel. The first Muslim to conquer the area now occupied by Israel was Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, the second caliph or successor to the prophet Muhammed (Filfil and Louton 2008, 14). The Umayyads succeeded the four caliphs and ruled from Damascus from 637 to 750 A.D. (Filfil and Louton 2008, 14). From Baghdad, the Abbasids then ruled the area now occupied by Israel from 750 to 909 A.D. (Filfil and Louton 2008, 14). The Tulunids ruled from 868 to 905 A.D. The Ikhshidids ruled from 935 to 969 A.D. (Filfil and Louton 2008, 14). The Fatimides rule from 969 to 1171 A.D. (Filfil and Louton 2008, 14). The Ayyubids ruled from 1171 to 1250 (Filfil and Louton 2008, 14). The Mamluks ruled from 1250 to 1517 A.D. (Filfil and Louton 2008, 14). Finally, the Ottoman Empire captured the population occupying the area populated by Israel in 1517 and ruled for 400 years. The Ottoman Empire is multi-religious but has adopted Islam as the state religion for several centuries (Caha and Karaman 2006, 58). Only in 1918 did the British and French defeat Turkey in World War I and Britain and France divided the Ottoman Empire between themselves (Filfil and Louton 2008, 14). II. Emergence of Zionism One way of looking at the Israel-Arab war is to view it as a conflict between two national entities in Palestine that developed as a regular war between two armies (Naor 2008, 241). In other words, the Arab-Israel can be viewed as a war between two Palestinian brothers. One of the belligerents in the war has Islam for its worldview while the other has Zionism. This is not to say though that the Arab-Israeli war is purely an ideological war. However, Islamic and Zionist religion or ideology did play a role. Islam, while a religion, has its own perspective on how government should be run. On the other hand, the State of Israel has not existed for at least 300 years prior to its founding on modern times but Zionism has been instrumental in the creation of the State of Israel. The Zionist movement was founded by Theodor Herzl. On 12 June 1895, “Herzl confided to his diary his program for the removal of the indigenous non-Jewish population and the expropriation of private property by the Jewish State” (Simons 2003, 16). In his 1895 writings, however, he was not clear on where to establish the Jewish state, whether on Israel or Argentina (Simons 2003, 16). The Zionist movement has one primary goal, “the creation of a home for the Jewish people in Palestine secured by public law” (Harris 2005, 1). The movement also perceived that Jews were being discriminated under the Ottoman Empire (Jews for Justice in the Middle East 2000, 4). Several sources have indicated that the Zionist movement has facilitated the exodus of Jews into Israel in the early 1900s. III. The Period of 1900 to 14 May 1948 Establishment of Israel In early 1900s, Israel was under the Ottoman Empire which was “under a strong German influence” (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slide 10). At the time, Israel’s neighbor Egypt was under the influence of the British (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slide 10). Pressures and counter-pressures from both sides defined the southern border in 1906 that became the southern border of modern Israel. The left panel in Figure 1 on the next page shows the border prior to and after 1906. The 1906 border on the left panel of the figure is the border defined by the British-Turkish agreement in 1906, which has been adopted as the south border of modern Israel and operative as of 2006 (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slide 10). A northern border for Israel started to be defined in May 1916 when France and Great Britain signed an agreement known in history as the Sykes-Pikot Agreement (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slide 11). Later, the Sykes-Pikot Agreement gave way to a French-British Agreement in 1920 until a northern boarder was defined in 1923. However, the northern border of modern Israel as of 2006 actually covered a larger area on the northern side of Israel. This is shown in Figure 2 in which the red line is the 1916 border, the pink line is the 1923 border and the blue green line is the modern Israel northern border that acquired a much larger area for Israel compared to 1916 and 1923. The 1923 border resulted from the two principles adopted by the British: 1) control of the area delineated in the Bible which is “from Dan to Beer Sheba” and control of water resources for Israel like the Jordan River and Sea of Galilee (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slide 11). Figure 1. 1906 Britain-Germany powerplay between defined Israel’s south border Sources: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, 2010a Figure 2. Northern Border of Israel: 1916 and 1923 compared to 2006 Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slide 11 1923 also coincided with the implementation of British policy to divide the territory Britain controlled through the 1920 San Remo Peace Conference. Earlier, in 1921, Britain decided to divided the territory betweenTransjordan and Israel (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006, Slide 12).The Leage of Nations approved the division also in 1923 (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slide 12). The division of Britain-controlled territories based on the San Remo is shown in Figure 3. On Figure 3, we see that the left panel figure in graph representing the territory controlled by the British, also known as “British Mandate” was divided by the British into the future Israel and TransJordan (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slides 12 and 13). Figure 3. Division of “British Mandate” Into the Future Israel and TransJordan Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slides 12 and 13 Figure 4. UN Plan for Israel in 1947 Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slide 14 Finally, Great Britain surrendered to the United Nations the power to make decisions on the status of the future Israel (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slide 14). The United Nations decided to divide the land now known as Israel into a Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem under international supervision. This is the 29 November 1947 United Nations General Assembly Resolution (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slide 14). Thus, by 14 May 1948, the State of Israel was founded. The division of Israel into Arab and Jewish states and a Jerusalem supervised by the United Nations is shown in Slides 15 of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs material but it is no longer shown in discussion for brevity (2006a). IV. 1948 Establishment of Israel to October 1973 Yom Kippur War A. Immediate Period before the June 1967 Six-Day War Ahead of Israel founding as a modern state in 1948, Syria became independent in 1946 (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slides 16). When the State of Israel was founded in 1948, Syria invaded Israel and captured several territories like the Banyas, the Mishmar Hayarden, and Almagor (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b). In the armistice agreement of 1949, however, Syria agreed to withdraw its forces from the areas that it occupied provided that they are converted into a demilitarized zone. This constituted Israel’s armistice with Syria. However, Syria actually remained in territories that “secured its hold on the banks of the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee, and the Banyas” (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 16). This is depicted in Figure 5. Figure 5. Israel’s Frontier with Syria, 1948 to 1967 Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 16 Israel has an armistice with Jordan that was secured with the mediation of the United Nations in 4 April 1949 (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 17). The armistice stated however that the armistice was for the purpose of reestablishing peace in Israel and the parties agreed that the armistice is not to be interpreted as a political or territorial border (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 17). The agreement emphasized that the armistice lines are not to be interpreted that they “constitute interference with the rights, claims, or positions of any side vis-à-vis the final settlement of the question of the Land of Israel” (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 17). Within the framework of the agreement, “Israel was given land in the Sharon and the Irone River areas, and sections of the Beir Shean Valley” (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 17). Israel’s armistice with Jordan is reflected in Figure 6. Figure 6. Israel’s Armistice with Jordan, 1949 Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 17 From the perspective of Israel, the period around Israel’s establishment in 14 May 1948 is “a war for independence”. From the same perspective, Israel believes that during the “war for independence”, a number of Jewish communities were “captured”, mostly by the Jordanian army: Kibbutz Beir Ha-arava and Kalya north of the Dead Sea, the four Kiburzim of Gush Erzion (west of Bethlehem), Azarot and Neve Yaakov (north of Jerusalem), and the Jewish Quarters in the Old City of Jerusalem (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 18). The Egyptian army “captured” Kfar Darom that is near Gaza (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 18). Further, from Israel’s own account, when the “war of independence” broke out at the end of 1947, the “remnants” of the Jewish community of Hebron fled (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 18). The so-called captured territories and abandoned Hebron are indicated in Figure 7. Figure 7. “Jewish Communities Lost” in Israel’s “War of Independence” Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 18 Thus, because of the armistice agreements with Jordan and Syria and skirmishes with Egypt, the political division of Israel can be represented by Figure 8. The armistice lines were drawn on the assumption that they would temporary and would be replaced later with permanent borders (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slide 15). The armistice lines were from 1949 to June 1967, or prior to the June 1967 Six-Day War. Jerusalem itself was divided between Israel and Jordan (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 19). From Israel’s perspective, Figure 9 represents the division between Jordan and Israel of Jerusalem, with the rest of the areas left to the control of the United Nations (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 19). Note that as per Israel’s perspective, most of the areas are under the Israel’s control even if the armistice agreements were not supposed to be interpreted as relinquishment of authority of either side to the conflict. Figure 8. Armistice Lines in Territory Now Occupied by Israel, 1949 to June 1967 Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006a, Slide 15 Figure 9. Israel Perspective on Jerusalem 1949-1967 (Prior to the Six-Day War) Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 19 B. June 1967 Six-Day War From Israel’s perspective, the following events triggered the Six-Day War in 1967 (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 20): May 14: Egypt positioned its forces in and around the Suez canal. May 16: Egypt advanced its forces across the Sinai desert towards the Israeli border with a demand that the UN Emergency Force (UNEF) stationed along the frontier withdraw. May 19: Egypt dislodged the UN Emergency Force from the Gaza strip and Sinai and continued bringing in additional troops. May 22: Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. May 22: In response to a call from Egypt, forces from Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Lebanon advanced towards the Israeli border. In the course of the war, however, Israeli forces dominated and Israeli forces control reached Suez Canal or over and beyond its control before the Six-Day War. Israel also gained control over the Suez Canal, Judea, Samaria, and the Golan Heights from which Syrians had shelled Israel (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 21). From the perspective of Israel, the territories Israel controlled immediately after the Six-Day War is provided by Figure 10. Figure 10. Israel Perspective on Areas Israel Control After the 1967 Six-Day War Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 21 Meanwhile, according to Israel, after the Six-Day War, the City of Jerusalem was administered according to the divisions reflected in Figure 11. Figure 11. Israel Perspective on Divisions in Jerusalem After the 1967 Six-Day War Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 22 According to the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a few days after the end of the Six-Day War on 27 June 1967, the Israeli Parliament passed a law declaring that Israeli administration and jurisdiction will be applied to all territories acquired by Israel after the war (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 23). C. October 1973 Yom Kippur War From Israel’s own account, the Yom Kippur War started on 6 October 1973 when Egypt and Syria jointly attacked Israel in the Suez Canal and the Golan Heights (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 24). In the course of the war, Egypt established itself on the eastern side of the Suez Canal and Syria captured most of the Golan Heights (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 24). However, Israel succeeded in pushing back some of the Egyptian forces resulting to a situation in which some Israeli forces are closer to Cairo and some Egyptian forces covered territories that were controlled by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967 (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 24). According to Israel, the status of territories on 24 October 1973 but before the signing of a cease-fire agreement between Egypt and Israel can be described by Figure 12. Figure 12. Israel on Yom Kippur War Cease-fire Lines 24 October 1973 Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 24 Under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Egypt on 24 October 1973, both sides scheduled a reduction of forces and established a UN emergency force in the demilitarized zone (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 24). Israel withdrew 20 kilometers east of the Suez Canal while the Egyptian army withdrew to the West of Suez Canal (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 24). On the other hand, Israel signed a disengagement agreement in May 1974 with Syria (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 25). Under the disengagement plan, Israel forces withdrew from the additional territories the country held as an immediate result of the 1973 Yom Kippur War and retained its control over its territorial gains as immediate result of the 1967 Six-Day War (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 24). In addition, the 1974 ceasefire agreement provided that forces of the United Nations will serve as a barrier preserving de facto the territory gains that Israel acquired immediately after the 1967 Six-Day War. In Figure 13, the panel at right depicts the content of the 1974 cease-fire agreement with Syria while the panel at left depicts the immediate results of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Figure 13. Israel’s Frontier with Syria Before/After the 1973 Yom Kippur War Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 25 V. Post-1973 Yom Kippur War to 2000 Two years after the Egypt-Israel ceasefire agreement of 1973, Israel and Egypt reached an interim agreement in September 1975 wherein Israel will withdraw from the eastern side of Sinai to the eastern side of Mitla and Gidi Passes (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 26). The interim agreement also provided for the creation of an UN-monitored buffer zone in the evacuated area and the turning of the buffer zone into Egyptian territory (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 26). The interim agreement was perceived as a major step towards the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty on 26 March 1979 (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 26). Figure 14 indicates the territorial implications of the September 1975 interim agreement. Figure 14. Israel Withdraw Plan Based on Interim Agreement with Egypt 1975 Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 26 Figure 15. Israel’s Redeployment Plan Based on 1979 Peace Treaty with Egypt Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 26 The 26 March 1979 Peace Treaty that came after the David Accords of 18 September 1978 established a time table for normalization of relationships between Israel and Egypt and a timetable of withdrawal of Israel’s forces from Egyptian territory close to the situation prior to the Six-Day War of 1967 (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006b, Slide 26). Figure 15 indicates this. From Israel’s perspective, in the 1990s, Israel made arrangements for the establishment of Palestinian self-government but the Palestinian rejected the proposals made at the Camp David Summit of July 2000 and followed-up their rejection with attacks (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2006c, Slide 31). The events after 2000 and today are part of the current situation and are no longer covered by this history paper. In its interpretation of her own history and the Arab-Israel War, Israel does not mention the role of the United States. However, scholars like Noam Chomsky has shown that US economic, military, political, and diplomatic support has been crucial for the existence of Israel in the Middle East. Most likely, Israel has deemphasized the role of the US for its existence in order to bolster its claim to legitimacy. Similarly, in interpreting its history, Israel did not reflect a role of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Again, the most probable motive for delisting or striking off the records the role of the Palestinian Liberation Organization was, again, towards bolstering Israel’s claim to legitimacy. The Palestinian Liberation Organization, being a large organization and network, projects a claim to legitimacy that dwarfs the military power of a combined United States-Israeli force. Bibliography Caha, Omer and M. Lutfullah Karaman. “Civil Society in the Ottoman Empire.” Journal of Economic and Social Research 8, no. 2 (2006): 53-81. Filfil, Rania and Barbara Louton. “The Other Face of Gaza: The Gaza Continuum.” This Week in Palestine 125 (September 2008): 8-17. Harris, Nichole. “Framing the Zionist Movement: The Effects of Zionist Discourse on the Arab-Israeli Peace Process.” Center for Contemporary Conflict IV, Issue 5 (2005). Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Israel’s Story in Maps Part 1.” Powerpoint Slides. Jerusalem: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2006a. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Israel’s Story in Maps Part 2.” Powerpoint Slides. Jerusalem: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2006b. 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