Palestine & Israel

2. Palestine &Israel

3. Size of Israel

4. Ottoman Empire

5. Before and During WWI • Ottoman Empire Owns Land before WWI • During WWI, Britain wanted to both - help the people gain independence from the Ottoman Empire and • take the land of Palestine (and other Middle East land) for themselves

6. Post-WWI • Ottoman Empire is gone • Britain takes ownership of Palestine as a mandate (with plans for giving them independence) • Britain promises BOTH the Palestinians (mostly Muslims and Arab) AND the Zionists (Jews and mostly European) the land • Both unhappy: • Palestinians do not want to give up the land they have lived on for centuries • Zionists want the land in its entire as it is their Promised Land

7. British Mandate

8. Post-WWII • Britain cannot solve problem so… • Britain hands the issue of Palestine to the United Nations

9. The United Nations Involvement • Creates committee to investigate • Palestinians/Muslims refuse to cooperate • do not want to give up their land • Zionists/Jews cooperate • want the land • Committee decides to split Palestine into two states • one for Jews and one for Muslims

10. 1947 UN Partition Plan

11. The PartitionUN Resolution 181, November 1947 • UN General Assembly approves partition plan: • 56.5 % of Palestine for a Jewish state • (33% of pop., owned 7% of land) • 43 % for Palestinians • internationalization of Jerusalem

12. Israel Established • May 15, 1948: Country of Israel estb. • Almost immediately Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq invade Israel (why?) • Arab-Israeli War • By early 1949, an armistice was signed; Israel now had 78% of Palestine

13. U.S. Involvement • Involved largely because of Cold War • to contain communism • And to keep economic ties with Middle East • Stability • Access • ‘safeguard their vital interests’

14. 1949-1967 (Pre-6 Days’ War)

15. Six Days’ War • June 1967: Israel launches preemptive attack against Egyptians • To prevent Egypt leading an Arab movement to take Palestine for the Arabs • Israel took West Bank, Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights and the Egyptian Sinai peninsula

16. 1967 (Post-6 Days’ War)

17. Yom Kippur War • October 1973: on Yom Kippur, Egyptian and Syrian armies launch attack against Israel • Despite surprise, Egypt and Syria failed to regain land lost in 1967 • Yet - after the war, a number of years of relative calm came

18. 1973 (Post Yom Kippur War)

19. Territory changes: March 1979 • As a result of diplomatic meetings • Most notably by Carter at Camp David

20. The Past 20 Years… • 1987: First Intifada (uprising) begins • Mostly in reaction to Israelis moving in to Palestinian Territories – (look up: “Occupied Territories”) • 1992: Israeli prime minister (Rabin)  opened talks with Arabs  assassinated by radical Israeli (1995)  mid-1990s: another prime minister opens talks with Arabs

21. 2000 talks open between Palestinian leader (Arafat) and Israel.. and others continue • 2006: Hamas won majority of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council • the provisional gov. of the Palestinian Territories • Hamas is radical and refuses to speak with Israel

22. June 2007: internal issues between Hamas and Fatah (another political organization) • December 2008: Israel attacks Hamas (in Gaza Territory) • And most recently?

23. Israel Today