New actors, new visions

The rise of a Palestinian

counter-state, 1967-1987

Arab-Israeli Conflict (1940s-1960s) Palestinians politically divided

West Bank Palestinians under Jordanian rule

Jordan grants Pal’s Jordanian citizenship, annexes territory (1950)

Incorporation of Pal. notables into Jordanian govt.

Gaza Pal’s under Egyptian rule No citizenship, refugee status

Refugees in Lebanon, elsewhere

Arab-Israeli Wars: 1948/49, 1956, 1967, 1973

                         

                                  

The Suez Canal, object of British, French, and Israeli invasion in 1956.

Palestinian-Israeli Conflict (rise of Palestinian “counter-state,” 1960s onward )

New resistance organizations Fatah, 1959 Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO),

1964 Umbrella org - factionalized Fatah dominant after ‘69

New ethos Palestinians in charge (not Arab states) Liberation of Palestine prioritized (not Arab

unity Evolving plans for Palestine/Israel

Revolutionary struggle attacks on infrastructure and civilians (raids

on Israel from Jordan, Lebanon) PFLP

Diplomatic (1974 UN recognition)

Fatah leader Yasir Arafat, elected chairman of the PLO In 1969.

Palestinian counter-state, cont.

New images and identities: from refugees to resistance Spread of Palestinian

resistance to to all classes, genders

New politics- PLO as quasi-governmental org.

Jordan, Lebanon

Arab state sponsorship/tension

Poster announcing the annual conference of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) that took place in Algeria in 1971. The text on the left reads: “Despite the scourge of violent repression and terror, Palestinian students advance the revolution and are the strong voice of the Palestinian people everywhere.”

Poster and information: http://liberationgraphics.com/ppp/Introduction.html

New boundaries: Six-Day War Causes

Syrian-Israeli tensions; Fatah attacks & shelling of Israel

Arab propaganda war; threats against Israel

Soviet message to Egyptian President Gemal abd al-Nasser that Israel was massing forces on the Syrian border and was about to attack (Egypt, Syria, and Iraqi armies had a defense pact) (message later proven to be false)

Egypt blocks Straits of Tiran (shipping lane to Israel), cutting off Israel’s supply lines.

Destroyed Israeli tank and jeep on the road to Old Jerusalem. Photo:Israeli Press Office Photo Archives.

Six-Day War: What happened 5 June 1967 Israeli forces wage

a pre-emptive strike and destroy Egyptian air fields. Destroy its air forces on the ground.

Taking advantage of Jordanian shelling of Israel and other fighting, Israeli leaders seize “historic opportunity” and take East Jerusalem. Then take West Bank.

War finished June 10: Israel takes Golan Heights from Syria, West Bank & East Jerusalem from Jordan, Gaza Strip and Sinai from Egypt.

Moshe Dayan, Israeli Defense Minister in 1967

Six-Day War: Results 1 million new Palestinians under

Israeli military rule (No citizenship) New borders and new sense of Israeli

security Israelis announce they won’t withdraw

unless they receive full peace agreements negotiated directly with Arab states

Nasser resigns, brought back into office by popular support.

General expectation that Israel will return the territories

1981 Israel annexes Jerusalem and most of Golan Heights (most of orig. inhabitants fled)

Palestinians skirt a burned-out truck in Jerusalem. Photo unattributed.

’67 War: Other effects New opportunities for

Fatah leadership Quieted Pan-Arabism “Reunited” many

Palestinians under common Israeli occupation

Israeli policies towards the territories: General

Physical but not social integration Suppression of Palestinian nationalism Citizenship NOT extended to Palestinians in

Occupied Territories Attempts to control as much land as possible economic integration of West Bank and Gaza

with Israel proper

Israeli Policies: Two Main Phases “Carrot and Stick Phase” (1967-1977)

Military rule of the territories Late 1960s and early ‘70s, relatively “liberal”

Expansion of universities, permission to engage in limited political activities

large degree of self government to municipalities Open bridge policy between Jordan and West Bank

(initially) harsh repression for any demonstration of

resistance Deportations, especially of leaders of Palestinian

nationalism Collective punishment (curfews, blowing up of

houses) Economic integration with Israel

A memorial at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank, which expanded in the 1970s and became a center of Palestinian nationalism.

Photo: Randa Shaath

“Iron Fist Phase” (1977 onward) administrative detention

Pal’s could be held for 6 months without trial (62 such cases in 1980-85; 131 in last five months of 1985); torture

dismissal of Palestinian mayors; interrogation, deportation freezing of Palestinian building permits, new limitations on freedom

of expression, editors arrested, etc Settlements, government land seizures, Israeli military control

most intense period of settlement: ’77-’85: 119 new Israeli settlements

By 1985 Israeli authorities have control over 52% of the West Bank’s land and at least 40% of the Gaza Strip.

Israel state consolidation: wars, peace, and uncertainty Arab-Israeli wars

1956, 1967, 1973, 1982 invasion of Lebanon

Intent: secure borders, eradicate Arab military threat, expand boundaries, destroy PLO bases (after ‘56)

Arab-Israeli peace settlements Camp David (Egypt) 1978 Jordan (1994)

Internal Israeli disagreements over the future

Former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, moments before he was assassinated in 1981. Sadat led Egypt against Israel in the 1974 “October/Yom Kippur” War and signed a peace treaty at Camp David with Israel in 1978.