The Arab-Israeli crisis

Flag of the Arab league Flag of Israel.

The Arab-Israeli crisis1967- 1973

War of Attrition and the Yom

Kippur War

The Khartoum Resolution1967

• The Arab leaders of the Arab league met in this

city to discuss what to do next with Israel.

• They had been badly beaten in the Six Day War.

• The Palestinian issue was still unresolved.• The Palestinian issue was still unresolved.

• They decided to have:

– No recognition of the State of Israel.

– No peace with Israel.

– No negotiations with Israel.

Egyptian forces.

• They were the most powerful of all the

Arab forces- and to have suffered such a

complete defeat was very galling.

• The army, navy and air force therefore

undertook small raids to keep the tension

high between themselves and the Israeli

forces.

The Israeli Navy Ship ‘Eilat’

Sunk by Egyptian

missile boats

1968.

An attempt to

provoke a larger

conflict.conflict.

The War of Attrition. 1969.

• Gamal Nasser of Egypt still sought to create a united Arab (pan-Arab) front with himself as leader.

• He now proposed a new idea, the wearing down (‘attrition’) of Israel with constant pressure on her Southern borders. Hopefully Israel was tired of war, and would give in.

• His goal was more modest also- the surrender of the Sinai desert for Egypt • His goal was more modest also- the surrender of the Sinai desert for Egypt (and his own reputation).

• The Egyptians spread their military positions several miles deep inside Egypt. It was ‘defence in depth’. It was to try to stop the Israelis attacking them whilst they were attacking the Israelis.

• In the North Jordan and Syria continued with supporting terrorist raids into Israel, but the main action took place over the Suez canal where the border of Israel and Egypt met.

Egyptian military

build up and

defence in

depth.

Israeli defences – the

‘Bar Lev’ line

Irritating raids by

Palestinians from

Jordan and Syria.

A bus bombing in Israel. This was typical of Arab terror raids on Israeli territory.

• The Egyptian army enthusiastically shelled Israeli positions across the Suez Canal.

• The USSR sent military assistance and about 10,000 advisors to help Egypt recover its military abilities.

• The USSR also saw an opportunity to test out new weapons and radar systems, as well as train personnel in combat situations. The Soviet arms personnel in combat situations. The Soviet arms industry had also taken a knock in the Six Day War and saw a chance at research and development.

• The Egyptians built up large amounts of anti-aircraft weaponry to try to neutralise the effect of the superior Israeli air force. They bought in particular the new, and deadly, SAM (Surface to Air) missile systems from the USSR.

An Egyptian air force Mig 21 jet.

An Egyptian air force Mig 21

being shot down (from an

Israeli jet’s gun camera). The

white dots are tracer bullets.

•The Egyptian air force flew its MIG-21 fighters over the Canal Zone to provoke the Israelis.

Israeli war effort.

• The Israeli’s found a solution to the Egyptian ‘defence in depth’ : they launched daring helicopter raids deep into Egyptian territory.

• These spread alarm and confusion. One raid cut off all electricity to the whole country at one point. Another captured, intact, the latest design Soviet missile defence radar and took it back to Israel!

• Israel, also, was being largely supported by the USA to counter the USSR’s support of Egypt. (France, a large supplier to Israel, had put an arms embargo on the Middle East).

• US weaponry was superior to USSR weaponry and new jets- such as the A4 Skyhawk, and the F4 ‘Phantom’ were excellent machines. The Phantom was to dominate the skies for the Israeli air force.

Daring Israeli helicopter raids.

New US planes for

the Israeli IAF:

the A4 Skyhawk

(above), and the F4

Phantom (left).

The American F4

Phantom would

dominate the skies for

20 years.

Asymmetric response.• ‘Asymmetric response’ was the name given to the overwhelming Israeli retaliation for even the slightest sign of Egyptian aggression. Huge reprisals, bombing, shelling, etc were acceptable for the tiniest reason. Israel argued that because her military was outnumbered, they had to make up for this disadvantage with greater aggression.

• As a result Egypt lost more men and materiel than Israel in the war.

• Because the land was largely desert however few civilians were involved.

• However, Egypt was a bigger country, and could arguably afford to lose more men and machines than Israel could.

August 1970. The Rogers Plan.

• The UN resolution 242 was clearly not operative in such a situation, and the USA sent Secretary of State Rogers to broker a new deal.

• The Rogers Plan: Aug 1970 Israel, Egypt and Jordan would have a ceasefire if missile deployment was restricted and certain lands exchanged. They all signed. The Plan (like 242) did not credit the Palestinians with any right to their land- now taken as Israel. Palestinians with any right to their land- now taken as Israel. Consequently Palestinians began criticism of Nasser and Hussein.

• The Rogers Plan was immediately broken, however, by the Egyptians who sited new missiles close to the Canal Zone.

• King Hussein of Jordan, by signing the plan, caused the PLO in Jordan to come out fiercely against him. He had broken the Khartoum Resolution. Arab was now set against Arab in Jordan.

Death of Gamal Nasser.

September 1970.• For many Arabs Nasser was a fighter for Arab dignity and freedom.

• His pan-Arab and anti-colonial ideas gave many Arab people a sense of identity.

• Many of his reforms enhanced Egypt eg the • Many of his reforms enhanced Egypt eg the Aswan dam.

• His involvement in war caused many problems too, however, besides damage and casualties. Not least was the heavy involvement of the USSR in Egypt- which many independent minded Arabs just saw as a new form of imperialism.

Gamal Nasser’s funeral 1970, Cairo, Egypt.

Such was Nasser’s popularity- despite

the lost wars- that huge crowds

attended his burial. Estimated at 5

million people- it was one of the

largest funerals in history. News

casters cried openly on television, and

women wept in the streets.women wept in the streets.

The crowds in fact hijacked his funeral

and people insisted on carrying the

coffin themselves.

This shows his true legacy- the

restoration of Arab pride in

themselves.

September 1970 impact of the

death of Nasser.• The Egyptian aggression faltered at this point.

• Nasser’s successor, Anwar Sadat, considered the war of attrition to be a waste of time. Israel was showing no sign of running out of resources.resources.

• Sadat considered diplomacy to be a cheaper option in the short term. In the longer term, however, he was considering whether inflicting a sharp, limited defeat on Israel would be more effective in forcing concessions from her.

Anwar Sadat – successor to

Nasser as leader of Egypt.

Casualties

• Israel 1,500 soldiers killed.

• Egypt 10,000 soldiers killed.

• Israel 15 aircraft lost• Israel 15 aircraft lost

• Egypt 101 aircraft lost.

TerritoryNot a yard was lost, or gained. The

border remained at the Suez Canal.

Jordan and the Civil War

Women Palestinian fighters in Jordan. September 1970.

Intifada.

• Intifada: انتفاضة Arabic word stands for shaking off or shivering because of fear or illness. It also means abrupt and sudden waking up from sleep or unconcerned status. Politically; The word came to status. Politically; The word came to symbolise the Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation. The word also stands for the weakness of the Palestinian people and their suffering under the Israeli occupation.

The Palestinian

Liberation

Organisation

‘PLO’Crest of the PLO.

Notice the map of Palestine all one colour.

In Jordan, and particularly the West bank, Palestinian Arabs had been preparing for war. They were organised into many different groups but they were all largely prepared to operate under the umbrella name ‘PLO’.

When King Hussein of Jordan signed the Rogers plan, the Palestinians felt betrayed. When Hussein’s army began receiving arms and equipment from the USA they felt even more threatened.

Different PLO groups began new campaigns of violence. They worked out of fortified refugee camps and cities. They raided Israeli targets , but also Jordanian police and army targets.

Arab fighting

Arab in Jordan.

• King Hussein, for his part, felt threatened by the Palestinians. As refugees in his country they insisted in behaving independently- and had grown in such numbers as to take over several cities. They now comprised 50% of his population. They were confident enough to fight off Jordanian army units who sought to impose Jordanian laws. He saw US help as a solution to this problem.

• The Jordanian army shelled several suspected bases- where Palestinian activists were thought to be hiding- and he ordered that all weapons be handed in.

PLO?The Palestinian Liberation Organisation was an ‘umbrella’ name for all many

Palestinian political groups. It helped small groups have a greater say, and

effect, on events and helped to keep secret the organisation of the more

militant groups.

• Fatah - Largest faction, social democratic/nationalist.

• The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) - Second largest, radically militant and Communist

• The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) - Third largest, • The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) - Third largest, Communist

• The Palestinian People's Party (PPP) - Ex-Communist, non-militant.

• The Palestine Liberation Front (PLF, Abu Abbas faction) - Minor left-wing faction.

• The Arab Liberation Front (ALF) - Minor faction, aligned to the Iraqi Ba'ath Party.

• As-Sa'iqa - Syrian-controlled Ba'athist faction.

• The Palestine Democratic Union (Fida) - Minor left-wing faction, non-militant

• The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF, Samir Ghawsha faction) -minor left-wing faction.

• The Palestinian Arab Front (PAF) - minor faction.

Hijackiing. August 30.1970

• The Palestinians (PFLP) in return demanded a

say in the government of Jordan and hijacked

passenger jets, belonging to Swissair, BOAC

and TWA to give weight to their demands.

• The King refused to be threatened so the

Palestinians blew up the jets- (but released the

people first though)

• Several assassination attempts were also made

against the King. They all failed.

Planes burn, and the world is

shocked.

‘Black September’ 1968• In Syria some army units called ‘The Palestinian Liberation

Army’(PLA) had been equipping.

• The US, meanwhile, promised aid to King Hussein of Jordan, and even Israel flew threatening missions over Syria to stop her supporting the PLO with the PLA.

• The death of Gamal Nasser (September 1968) took real authority away from the Palestinians. Without his support they had to stop the conflict.

• Yasser Arafat , leader of the PLO, immediately began looking for new sponsors for the Palestinian cause. The Palestinians called this time ‘Black September’ because their cause, for a while, looked lost.

Victory for the King.

• October 1968. Yasser Arafat signed a document returning power to King Hussein, ordering Palestinian bases dismantled, and banning concealed weaponry.

• Large groups within the PLO (notably the PFLP) refused to honour the document however.

• Large groups within the PLO (notably the PFLP) refused to honour the document however.

• Fighting continued. Civilians were killed on both sides. The Jordanian army, with US support, made good progress, ultimately silencing all the rebels.

Fighting in Jordan.

Many civilian deaths but it is

unclear how many.

The Jordanians would want the

number to be low- so as not to

seem too harsh.seem too harsh.

The PLO would want the

number to be as a high as

possible so as to win sympathy

from outsiders.

Lebanon.• The Palestinians were now without power in

Jordan.

• But Yasser Arafat had, by now, made a deal

with a Lebanese General that PLO ‘fatah’

fighters could live in the Lebanon (Nov 1969). fighters could live in the Lebanon (Nov 1969).

• In fury some of these ‘Fatah’ members set up a

radical ‘Black September’ group who would vent their anger on Israel at Munich in 1972.

• The Palestinians moved to Lebanon to continue

the struggle- the Intifada.

July 1971

• Expulsion of Palestinian people from Jordan.

• 7-8,000 Palestinians had been killed. Maybe many more.had been killed. Maybe many more.

• The Palestinians fled North to Lebanon.

• New refugee camps were set up. Raids into Israel would continue.

A new Palestinian refugee camp

in South Lebanon. A sadly

familiar, and depressing, scene.

In time the tents

would become

replaced by replaced by

buildings, and the

tracks by roads.

The anger of the

people would be

more difficult to

modify.

The Munich Massacre 1972• The Black September Movement targeted the Israeli sportsmen who

attended the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, 1972.

• They managed to kill 12 of the Israeli Olympic team and successfully put Western attention back onto the Arab-Israeli conflict.

•The image of the International Terrorist became widely recognised

Importance@@

A Black September terrorist

negotiating with police.

Terrorist became widely recognised for the first time.

Three terrorists survived and were later

released when other terrorists hijacked

a German plane and threatened to kill

the passengers.

King Hussein was the only Arab leader

to condemn the massacre.

Yom Kippur War 1973• The Yom Kippur War, or October Waralso known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli Warand the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to October 26,

1973, between Israel and a coalition of

Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. Arab states led by Egypt and Syria.

Egypt

• Anwar Sadat began building up to war in 1972. He still had ideas of a sharp blow against Israel, and was still harbouring ideas of an Egyptian led Arab world.

• New planes(Mig 21s), tanks (T55, T62 ) and anti-aircraft missiles(SA2 to 7 and RPG 7)were delivered, plus old missiles(SA2 to 7 and RPG 7)were delivered, plus old defeated generals were replaced.

• Soviet objections to his plans resulted in Sadat throwing out all the 20,000 Soviet ‘advisors’ left over from the war of attrition. Egypt would never return to the Soviet side again. The Russians would now look for other friends in the Arab world.

Older style Soviet tank -the T 55

RPG 7. The ‘Rocket propelled grenade’. This was so effective as a weapon that it would become the weapon of choice for many Palestinian fighters.

T 62

A most modern Soviet battle tank

SAM (Surface to air missiles)

MIG 21 fighters.

Syria• Syria was building up militarily too. With Soviet assistance she was rapidly becoming the strongest Arab nation in the Middle East.

• She had split with Egypt (the UAR) in 1963, and had successfully resisted both Palestinian influence and Turkish pressure.

• With her leader, President Assad, • With her leader, President Assad, she was becoming a serious challenger to Egypt’s authority over the Arab world.

• Syria’s political ‘Baath’ party established full control over the nation and now established links with the Baath party in Iraq. The centre of the Arabic political world was moving East.

President Assad of Syria.

Summary.• Egypt and Israel, by a lot of fighting, had found a

way to work together.

• The Palestinians, PLO, were not prepared to

tolerate this and would step up their campaign of

attacks from their bases in Lebanon.attacks from their bases in Lebanon.

• Other Arab states looked to take over Egypt’s

role as leader of the Arab league; Syria notably,

but also Iraq. Attacking Israel was seen as a

good way to get Arab unity.