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Arab Israeli (1 Viewer)

lauraa123

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sorry this is all i have at the moment not sure if itll help
Arab Israeli conflict 1948 – 1996
In light of Israel’s declaration of independence, discuss the impact that it had on all interested parties in the region up to 1967.

The Israeli declaration of independence did not only impact Palestinian Arabs but also various interest parties such as America, Britain and France. For Palestine, the creation of Israel meant that Palestine no longer existed; they were stateless refugees in their own nation. Many significant events occurred after Israel’s dependence. These events, as well as the involvement of neighbouring countries and the UN, severely impacted both the Palestinians and the Israelites. The famous Deir Yassin massacre, resulted in the killing of a hundred or more Arabs. This massacre caused the Arabs to retaliate. Just four days later the Arab force managed to ambush a Jewish convoy also killing some of their men. This event quickly became metaphoric bait in the propaganda war between the Arabs and Israelis.

The 1948-49 Palestine war marks the war of independence for the Israelis; the Arabs refer to this war as the catastrophe. In 1947, Resolution 181 was rejected by the Arabs and accepted by the Israelis. This resolution included the partition of the British – ruled land into both a Jewish and Arab state. The refugee problem was another event that greatly impacted both the Arabs and the Jews. Around 726,000 Arabs became refugees according to the United Nations, which is more than half of their population. The Palestinian communities were destroyed. The Suez crises impacted both sides, this time more the Israelis. They were determined to attack Egypt as Egypt had access to the Suez Canal, a major route for trading between Europe and Asia. Egypt was not allowing Israel access to this. The UN’s input into the crises impacted the outcome and humiliated Israel, France and Britain. In the Six-Day War, major alterations occurred in territorial gains. The Israeli’s carried out an immense and devastating strike against Arab states. The impact of this war introduced more factors into the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Deir Yassin Massacre could be one of the most significant events of the twentieth centenary for Palestine. On the sixth of April Operation Nachshon was launched, Deir Yassin was one of the Arab villages that were to be occupied as part of the operation. Deir Yassin Massacre involved a number of parties such as the Irgun (National Military Organisation) and the Lehi (Freedom Fighters of Israel). The following day on the seventh of April day Haganah commander, David Shaltiel wrote a letter addressed to the leaders of the Lehi and Irgun, the letter stated:

I learn that you plan an attack on Deir Yassin. I wish to point out that the capture of Deir Yassin and its holding are one stage in our general plan. I have no objection to your carrying out the operation provided you are able to hold the village. If you are unable to do so I warn you against blowing up the village which will result in its inhabitants abandoning it and its ruins and deserted houses being occupied by foreign forces....Furthermore, if foreign forces took over, this would upset our general plan for establishing an airfield. *

On April 9, 1948, the Irgun and Lehi attacked the village of Deir Yassin near Jerusalem despite Shaltiel’s advice. The shock in this attack was because it had a peace pact with its Jewish neighbours. They managed to massacre over one hundred non – soldiers. This massacre had no purpose or significance in defending the Israeli’s, but brought immense damage by forming opponents with the Arabs. They now had more than enough reason and motivation to retaliate. Just four days later the Arab force ambushed a Jewish convoy also killing some of their men, doctors and nurses.

The meaning of the Palestinian war was completely different for both the Arabs and the Israeli’s. The question that was left on its aftermath - was it a catastrophe or was it a war of independence? Of course, the Israeli’s believe this was a war of independence, as they gained their independence from this war. Israel’s view was that the success of the war happened because of the self sacrifice they obtained to gain their nation back. The Palestinians suffered, their nationalist’s aspirations were shattered. More of their homeland was lost. This war was about the Israeli’s regaining the land that was allocated to them by the United Nations in resolution 181, that the Arabs had taken over in the Haganah. By the time the war which had won Israel its independence had ended, the land which had once been Palestine had been dramatically altered; this change was not in favour for the Arabs.

From all their newly succeeded territory, Israel was now the only independent state in the territory. The land set by the United Nations in resolution 181, for Palestinian Arabs was no longer in existence; Israeli’s had all of Palestine now. Hundreds of thousands of Arabs instantly became homeless; the majority of the population had transformed Palestinian Arabs into stateless refugees. The tragic affect on the Arab population was enormous during the conflict with the Israelis. During 1948-9 many hundreds of thousands of Arabs were forced to leave their homes for the section of Palestine that was still under Arab control.

It was apparent very early on that Israel was not going to allow those Palestinians who had fled their home to return home. Israel wanted the Arabs to find new homes in neighbouring Arab states. The threshold for the conflict between both sides was that Israel would not consider any form of return of the Arabs unless there was a form of peace treaty in place. The Arabs did not recognise or accept Israel so they would not consider a peace treaty or the return of Refugees. The United Nations mediator, Count Bernadotte, recommended that resolution 181 is revised in favour of the Arabs. Bernadotte was killed by the Stern Gang. One of the leaders of this group was the Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Shamir.

The Suez Canal was used for trade between Europe and Asia. The shareholders of the Suez Canal Company (France and Britain) were outraged after Nasser unexpectedly nationalised the Suez Canal. British and French governments came to the decision that they were going to gain access to the Canal from Egypt through force. After secretly agreeing to join the war the Israeli’s were eager and remained confident about the attack on Egypt. The initial invasion on the 29 October 1956 was extremely successful. Only day later Israel had gained access to the Gaza strip and Sinai Peninsula. Through threats from the Soviet Union to use ‘every kind of modern destructive weapon’ to prevent this attack from taking place, Britain suddenly agreed to cease fire. The Israelis also had to abandon all gains. The United States threatened Britain that they would withdraw their one billion dollar loan if the fighting continued any longer. For France and Britain this was a huge humiliation. Israel however were still satisfied with the attack - they had still gained land from it; although 231 Israeli soldiers were lost. The United Nations also had a lot of input into this war - they controlled when the fighting stopped. If there had of been no order to cease weapons, a lot more damage would have been done.

There was a big international impact from The Suez War as well as an impact on the Israelis. President Eisenhower held great fury towards Israel, France and Britain for organising to evict Egypt from the Suez Canal behind America’s back. The President was also angry with Israel for ignoring American entreaties stating not to go to war. From Israel, France and Britain’s actions, President Eisenhower threatened Israel that he would withdraw all American assistance and force out Israel from the United Nations if they refused to withdraw from the Sinai. Israel chose to withdraw without gaining any consideration from Egypt.

In the Six-Day War, Israeli’s borders increased by seventy percent in just six days. This war caused much devastation for the Arabs; in which Israel carried out a strike against its Arab neighbours. The impact of the Six-Day War marks the introduction of new elements into the already complicated conflict. The major importance of Arabs was increased, although most of the changes were seen in territorial gains. There was now a buffer between Israel and Egypt, the Sinai and the Gaza strip between states. The capture of the West Bank resulted in hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs now under Israeli control. Israel also gained the Holy City of East Jerusalem, as well as Golean Heights that was captured by Syria – this provided a strategic prize. Jewish settlers began to reside in all the territories gained from the Six-Day War. Arabs lost more and more land and were constantly forced to leave their homes. This was creating an influx of Arab refugees with nowhere to go.

The impact of the creation of Israel did not only affect the Arabs, it also greatly affected Arabs neighbouring states. In 1949, the armistice that was to end the fighting did not actually confirm the concerns surrounding the existence of the new state. The Arab neighbouring states opposed the armistice. They refused to recognise or sign the peace treaty. The Arab population that remained in Palestine was left at midpoint. This left the future of their refugees uncertain.

The Declaration of Israel’s independence affected the Arabs who were currently living in Palestine before this, but unfortunately they were not the only individuals affected. Surrounding Arab states were also impacted. Arabs suffered severe loss of land and people as well as their dignity and nationalism. Various attacks took place for land in Palestine; both parties were unable to find a satisfactory result and could not resolve the situation; other countries and the United Nations frequently attempted to help or prevent fighting. Israel’s major concern was that they finally had their own Jewish nation but were constantly at war to keep their nation. Specific Arab nations were now caught up in the conflict. Land was lost and refugees were gained. These refugees were not particularly welcomed by the surrounding states. Around 100,000 Arabs in Israel were displaced from their own villages. With the exception of Jordan, no country has allowed permanent resettlement of Palestinian refugees.
 

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