Righteous Victims - Benny Morris

#books

Preface

Imbalance of historical material, open and organised access from the Zionist perspective and Israeli archives, none to very limited from the Arab side.
Why? Historiography (study of historical writing) has been more developed in the Zionist-Jewish side than the Arab side, due to censorship, political-ideological restrictions, quantity of published material.

Palestine on the Eve

Eretz Israel means the Land of Israel for the Jews.
The borders under the British in 1918-1948; north hills just south of Litani River, east by the Jordan River, west by the Mediterranean Sea and Sinai Peninsula, south by Gulf of Aqaba.
Dry and hot, 50-60% desert, with only two perennial streams and the Jordan River. Urban population with people settling in cities from ancient times.
Historically the region changed hands between pagan tribes - Hebrews - Romans - Persians - Arabs - Turks - Crusaders - Mongols - Mamluks - Turks
Old Yishuv were the pre-Zionist Jewish population of Palestine, mostly poor and statistically insignificant.
Second half of the 19th century saw more rich urban notable families buy up land and dominate influence during the same time as increased modernisation of the country.
Turkish reforms increased the gap between peasants and urban people, reduced authority of village leaders, and in the 1856 reform ended the Muslim superiority leading to conflict.
Islam, being the newest Abrahamic religion suffered insecurity and jealousy to the other "parent" monotheistic religions.
Us and them mentality of Islam - Dar al islam (House of Islam, Muslim regions of the world) and Dar al Harb (House of War, the unbelievers should be put to the sword)
Koran is full of antisemitism - "wretchedness and baseness were stamped upon the Jews"
Special rules on dhimmi (the subject non-Muslim communities) and they had to pay jizya (special tax) - treated as second class citizens.
Historically, there have been mass violence against the Jews similar to pogroms.
The 1856 reform formally changed laws but in practice the dhimmi were second class citizens until the end of WW1.
Zionism is the drive to return to the lands of Israel, and it flourished at the same time ideas of nationalism were beginning in 19th century Europe. It emerged when most of the world's Jews lived in the Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire.
Rumours that Jews assassinated Czar Alexander II started the pogroms in the Russian Empire, cementing the idea of evacuation.
The First Aliyah - between 1881 to 1903 was the first wave of immigration, the olim (immigrants to Palestine)
Political Zionist movement was led by Theodore Herzl who was inspired by the Dreyfus Affair, where a French Jew was wrongly convicted, highlighting antisemitism in the heart of liberal democracy in Europe.
Herzl sought after a Jewish "charter" trying to secure land from political leaders. England proposed Uganda that divided the movement. Herzl died halfway through the controversy, ultimately the movement rejected the offer cementing Palestine as the goal.
The movement gained more support after the second pogroms in 1903-6 where surrounding the 1905 Revolution the czarist regime tried to divert the attention from the monarchy to the Jews. The Second Aliyah were veterans of self-defence groups that formed in the wake of the pogroms.
Arab nationalism was late in development than Zionism but emerged when the Ottoman Empire had severe political instability, where Abdulhamid II dissolved parliament and the constitution and lost a war with the Russian Empire.
Initially, the Young Turks' Revolution in 1908 which introduced back the 1876 constitution and parliament, was met with jubilation but the treatment of Arabs in the Ottoman Empire worsened, replaced with more Turkish nationalism. The Empire was in a constant state of crisis as it kept losing territories until 1918.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement was the separation of land in the Ottoman Empire with spheres of influence between the British and the French. Iraq and Palestine were left to the British.
Palestine nationalist movement emerged in response to the Zionist movement, but had its roots in Ottoman Empire administration, the holy land provinces answering directly to Constantinople and not to the provincial governors in Syria or Beirut. The daily newspaper Filastin emerged in Jaffa in 1911, and the term "Palestine" was used more widely.
The change from pan-Syrian nationalism to Palestinian-Arab nationalism occurred in 1920 when Faisal's Syrian forces were crushed by the British in trying to incite a wider revolt around Palestine. With the collapse of Faisal's regime by the French and the return home of Palestinians and Iraqis contingents from Damascus, helped reaffirm Palestine's separation from Syria.

The Beginning of the Conflict: Jews and Arabs in Palestine, 1881–1914

Land purchases were central to early Zionism, usually in the coastal areas. Most notable Arab families sold land to the Jews. Land prices increased dramatically due to Zionist demand.
Jews in the Second Aliyah were not colonists because they were not agents of a mother country, projecting its power and exploiting the native population. They brought socialistic and nationalist values, succeeding in setting up an economy based on Jewish labour. The first Aliyah was more akin to colonialism through their moshavot which was based on private property and cheap local labour.
The Sublime Porte's view on Jewish immigration in Palestine was viewed outright hostile, as many of the Jews were Russians, and the Turks viewed the Russian Empire as their archenemy. They suspected it as the carving up of their empire from hostile European powers. Because of this they heavily curtailed land purchases and restricted immigration, however due to administrative inefficiencies, Great Power pressures, and bribery baksheesh there was a gradual increase in population. Almost everything had a price, from building permits, residence permits, and land title deeds.
The first Aliyah settlers were surprised to find how cultivated the land was as many thought the promised land was bare and desolate. They saw the Arabs as primitive, lazy, and barbarian, similar to how Europeans viewed the natives elsewhere in Asia and Africa. However a more romantic view was adopted by the second Aliyah immigrants, where they romanticised the desert Arab, or the Bedouin and sometimes Druze, similarly resembling the "noble savage" archetype, which was part of the broader Orientalist and Arabophile trends at that time. They were to copy their fashion, wearing the keffiyah and robe, riding horses, and shooting.
The new olim introduced new ideas, such as socialism, anarchism, and atheism, which were unfamiliar to the local Arab population. These immigrants who were oppressed at home brought with them a spirit of revolutionary change and a desire to break away from traditional norms.
A conflicting situation arose where the settlers lorded over the bought land, sometimes displacing the local residents while at the same time depending on the local Arab population for labour, commerce, and trade. Miscommunication and cultural differences led to sometimes violence and unrest. A small minority of the settlers began to behave like lords and masters, bewildering the Arabs who once traditionally saw Jews as inferior in terms of legal status and power.
The conflict between the Zionists and the Arabs during this period arose from their distinct goals, the Arabs wanting to keep their Arab and Muslim culture of the region while the Zionists wanting to buy up as much land as possible, settle on it, and displace the population to replace the Arab-majority into a Jewish homeland. The Zionists tried to covertly hide their intentions for fearing to anger the authorities and the local population. The Arabs gradually felt threatened and hostility grew.
The first Arab protest against Jewish immigration occurred in 1891 and in the turn of the century anti-Ottoman and Arab nationalism grew. Many leaders called for a unity, Yitzhak Epstein, a Palestinian Jew, believed that the enterprise could benefit both peoples. Other Zionists believed in the impossibility of co-operation and integration.
Through the Young Turks' overthrow of the Ottoman government in 1908, the Zionists' hope for change was dismissed as it ignited Arab nationalism and increased Arab violence occurred in a more organised fashion.

World War I, the Balfour Declaration, and the British Mandate

In August 1914, WW1 began with the Central Powers (Germany and the Austria-Hungarian Empire) against the Allies (Britain, France, and Russia). The Ottoman Empire had been in decline during this time, losing most of its Balkans and African territories in the 19th century. The Arabian Peninsula enjoyed relative autonomy, the British supporting the status quo and preventing other imperial powers from expanding in the region.
The British felt threatened in their possession of the Suez Canal, linking them to India and other dominions. Horatio Kitchener, who became the war minister in August 1914, feared felt a postwar settlement in the middle east must include a northern tier - stretching from Turkey through to Iraq and Persia to curtail the expansion of Russia. Mark Sykes was a Tory MP who represented Kitchener, was a proponent of the destruction of the Ottoman Empire who supported Arab independence from the Turks and semiautonomous statehood under British tutelage. After meeting with Aaron Aaronsohn, Sykes converted to Zionism. He spoke of a Anglo-French rule of Palestine, but after 1917 he only spoke exclusively of British administration.
In 1914, Kitchener was in a secret correspondence with Hussein, a then emir of Mecca, who promised an Arab revolt in exchange for a united Arab kingdom. Henry McMahon, the high commissioner of Egypt, could not refuse lest they lose the prospective revolt, and could not accept them due to British interests in the region. McMahon bargained for the Syrian coast, including Lebanon and Iraq be left under British or French dominance. Present day Syria and Jordan was included in the independent Arab states. Palestine was not exclusively mentioned by McMahon leading to later disputes, with the Arabs arguing it was to be included in the Arab states.
In 1915, Britain invited France to talks, with Britain represented by Sykes and France by François Georges-Picot. Picot wanted the area consisting of modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, northern Iraq, and part of Anatolia under a French protectorate, while Britain sought to keep Palestine, Jordan, and most of Mesopotamia. These negotiations led to the Sykes-Picot Agreement, finalized in 1916, which divided the Middle East into British and French spheres of influence, with Palestine to have a joint Anglo-French rule.
In December 1916, David Lloyd George replaced H.H. Asquith as Prime Minister, shifting British Middle Eastern policies into greater focus. Lloyd George saw Zionism as a strategic tool: developing Palestine under British rule would protect the Suez Canal from eastern approaches and further the Crown's imperial interests. Also in 1916, Arthur James Balfour replaced Sir Edward Grey as Foreign Secretary after Kitchener's death (Kitchener died in June 1916 when his ship was sunk by a German mine in the North Sea). Balfour, along with many MPs in the War Cabinet at Whitehall, became a strong supporter of Zionism.
The Belfour Declaration of 1917 was a statement of British support of Zionism, issued partly as a strategic move because of their fear of Russia making a separate peace deal and to encourage US to support the Allies. The world Jewry despised Russia for their anti-Semitism and opposed their expansion or victory, additionally the British suspected sympathy to the Central Powers as most of the Jews in the US were of German and Austro-Hungarian origin. Belfour was convinced that this would be useful propaganda to both the Jews in Russia and the US, with the fear the Central Powers might declare a pro-Zionist declaration of its own.
The Zionists understood that the key term "national home" in the Belfour Declaration was a euphemism, and in the a post-Belfour gathering, the Yishuv voted that the Zionist movement establish not a "national home" but a "Jewish State." They were careful not to draw any borders, but Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi published a book in that year showing a map expressing their vision.
The British did not consult the Arab leaders before issuing the declaration, with Hussein replying that the Arabs would not cede any sovereignty to any Jew or Briton. On the other hand, through his paper al-Qibla (gazette of the Kingdom of Hejaz), he enjoined the Palestinian Arabs that the Jews would improve and develop the country to the benefit of its Arab inhabitants. A year later, 100 Arab dignitaries and representatives signed a petition to the British denouncing the declaration.
In 1916, Hussein launched his Arab revolt, but it never developed into the great national movement that he promised. Edmund Allenby, who led the Egyptian Expeditionary Force as well as Hussein's Arab army (assisted by Lawrence), captured key cities in the region, defeating the Ottomans. With the British not the French capturing the Ottoman Middle East, Lloyd George wanted to rescind the Sykes-Picot agreement. Whitehall decided to hold Palestine, as well as install Faisal in Damascus, with the Hashemite administration with imported officials from Palestine. In the summer of 1920, the French invaded the country, disposed the regime, and Syria became a French Mandatory territory.
In 1919, Faisal and Weizmann signed a formal agreement that recognised both Jewish and Arab aspirations, with Faisal conditionally accepting the Belfour Declaration's promise of a Jewish home provided Arab independence was fully realised. However, Faisal's attitudes towards Zionism changed, with his interview in Le Matin, his plea as the new "king" of Damascus to Britain to return Palestine to the Arabs, and after his deposition by the French, claimed Palestine belonged in the Arab state area in the McMahon-Hussein correspondence.
A month before the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, Lloyd George and Clemenceau agreed that on the inclusion of Mosul and Palestine in the British-Mandated territories. Faisal with Lawrence pleaded the case for Arab independence, specifically excluding the territory of Palestine. Weizmann and Sokolow pleaded the Zionist case.
As the Ottomans joined the Central Powers in 1914, they began to restrict further the livelihood of the Jews and Arabs that lived in Palestine. A key figure was Jamal Pasha, who employed torture tactics and executions to crush potential rebellions. The Ottomans devastated the already bare countryside, and there was widespread famine. They suspected the Zionists of hoping for an Allied victory, and through this the Jews showed feigned support for the Ottoman cause lest they be persecuted further.
The Zionist movement during this time was in a crisis. The Jewry hated Russia, but most of the potential immigrants were from the Russian Empire, with thousands of Jews serving in the Czar's army. Similarly, the Jews in the German and Austro-Hungarian Empire were patriotic, as well as the British, French, American, and Italian who served in their armies. With the sever of money and manpower from Europe and Russia, the Yishuv looked toward the US for support. The American Ambassador Henry Morgenthau organised millions in aid that was brought in by a battleship to Jaffa.
Turkey entered the war in November and imposed a military rule on the Levant. In December, Constantinople ordered the deportation of all foreign aliens - about half the Jewish community. The roundup of men, women, and children were hasty and disorganised, with most of them moved to Alexandria. Foreign nationals were given a choice of becoming Ottoman citizens at a large expense. Ben-Gurion, Ben-Zvi, and other Jewish leaders supported this idea, with some of them serving in the Ottoman army. Eventually, most leaders were imprisoned or exiled, with mass arrests and interrogations.
During 1915-17, there was an active spy ring named Nili, organised by Aaron Aaronsohn and Avshalom Feinberg, consisting of Aaronsohn's family and friends based in Zikhron Ya'akov. They gave out intelligence to the British about the Turkish Fourth Army, with the Zionist leadership opposing them. It benefited the Yishuv by allocating British funds to needed areas and helped spread news about the Ottoman's persecution to the West.
Within months of the Belfour Declaration, Muslim-Christian associations gathered in protest, and in 1919, held the "First Palestine National Congress." The Zionists downplayed this and said it was not a true reflection of majority feeling and blamed it on the actions of the British. Anti-Zionism manifested further during the King-Crane Commission, where two Americans sought to understand the wishes of the indigenous populations. Some Zionist leaders expressed their worry about the Arabs during this period. Arab antagonism was focused at the Galilee Panhandle during 1919, where Bedouin raiders, loosely associated with Faisal killed and looted Jewish settlements around this area. Reinforced by volunteers that included a war hero Yosef Trumpeldor, fighting occurred in Tel Hai and Kfar Giladi, and Metulla. As a support for the Zionist mythos, Trumpeldor's last words were "it is good to die for your country."
Arab violence against Jews also broke out in Jerusalem in 1920, after a Syrian Congress resolution on March 7 declared Faisal the king of Syria and Palestine. As riots took place in the city, the newly formed Jewish self-defence organisation, the Haganah, sent armed groups to areas in the city. Ze'ev Jabotinsky, playing a leading role in organising this new group, were consisted of members of various Jewish Legions.
In April 1920 at the San Remo conference, the Allies officially gave Britain and France the mandates over Syria-Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq. Herbert Samuel was appointed the position of high commissioner. He fostered a renewal into the Zionist project, as well as promoting the welfare of the Arab community. The Palestinian Arab Executive (PAE) set up by the Third Palestine Congress in December 1920 and headed by Musa Kazim, declared the Belfour Declaration as two parts, a promotion of the Jewish National Home and improving the condition of life of Palestinian Arabs. The then Colonial Secretary and lifelong Zionist Winston Churchill met with an Arab delegation headed by Kazim, and assured the Arabs that the Jews will not disposses them. Churchill decided on a "Hashemite Solution" offering Iraq to Faisal and Transjordan for his brother Abdullah. The Zionist leadership were unhappy about severing the territory claimed in the mandate for their national home, later favoured by the right-wing Revisionists.
In May 1921, riots broke out in Jaffa with massive violence and deaths on both sides. The Samuel administration promoted Arab political frameworks similar to the Zionist institutions, assigning Hajj Amin al-Husseini, who was at the time the "Grand Mufti" of Jerusalem, as the president of the new Supreme Muslim Council (SMC). After Lloyd George was replaced by Andrew Bonar-Law, the new whitepaper from Whitehall officially severed Transjordan from Mandatory Palestine.
Following the troubles of 1920-21, the Zionist leadership took a more isolationist approach, despite Chaim Margaliut Kalvaryski's bribes at conciliatory work. His projects of mixed Arab-Jewish clubs, schools, and organisations were to fail after the money had dried up. The reasons for the rapprochement failures were due to insincerity, by these attempts being seen as both conciliatory and cultivation of sources of information, and the reluctance of the Zionist leadership to back it.
During the periods of 1921-1929, the British administration in Palestine experienced a relative era of peace and prosperity, with both the Jews and Arabs developing their own social, political, and economic structures. Immigration and investment into the area by the Yishuv grew more rapidly than the Arabs. In the Zionist movement, left and right wing parties emerged, with the right-wing Revisionist Party established by Jabotinsky coming into the spotlight by taking inspiration from Mussolini. He believed that only by force can Jews overcome and dominate the country, and with this controversial message the Revisionists remained small and an unpopular minority until the 1930s. On the left, was the party of Brit Shalom founded by a group of intellectuals in 1925. They had hoped for a unitary Jewish-Arab state, hoping for a peaceful influx of Jewish migration, however this was viewed as naive by most of the Yishuv.
Following the 1921 disturbances, Samuel tried to form a legislative body that represented the views of the native people. However, the Arabs rejected out of hand any representation that did not reflect their numerical preponderance, and that did not give them any power, while the Jews opted for parity, and the Mandatory government retained veto powers and ultimate authority. While the PAE was partly recognised, it was outside the governmental structure and had no real power. The Palestinians rejected any idea of an official governmental Arab Agency, while the Jewish Agency, a government of the Yishuv, was authorised by the British in 1920. The Yishuv had their own school, taxation, land purchase systems, as well as other governmental organisations. \
When Samuel resigned and was replaced by Lord Plumer in 1925, he tried to improve legislation to protect tenant farmers from eviction. Although Arab nationalists used this issue for propaganda purposes, a British investigation found that around 5000 people in total were displaced. Many nationalist Palestinian families sold land to the Zionists, inlcuding within the leadership of the PAE. According to the historian Kenneth Stein, land offered for sale exceeded the Jewish ability to purchase.
By the end of the 1920s, the Arabs realised that there was a separate and exclusivist economic movement, with the Yishuv's demographic and political growth. They failed to produce a unified leadership or representation, with the dominant Husseinis challenged by the Nashashibis, who were willing to cooperate and compromise to the Jews. This struggle promted the Husseinis to plan the violence in August 1929.
The Wailing Wall or Western Wall, is a section of the wall that surrounded the Temple Mount, where the First and Second Temples stood in the first millennium. The Temple Mount, called al-Haram al-Sharif, is the third holiest site in Islam. On it, the first caliphs built the Dome of the Rock and al-Aksa mosque. The Dome of the Rock is where both Jews and Muslims believe that Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. The Western Wall is called al-Buraq by Muslims after the Prophet Muhammad's horse, which he tethered there before ascending into heaven. It has been the source of much of Arab propaganda, where the conflict over the wall culminated in August 1929, where organised riots and massacres took the streets of Jerusalem and other towns. The Zionists blamed Hajj Amin, the leader of the Palestinian Arabs, for the fomenting of violence.
In 1930, the British issued the Passfield White Paper, reducing its commitment to the Belfour Declaration, and restricting immigration and land purchases. This was met with opposition in the Yishuv, and in 1931 well applied Zionist pressure caused Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonlad to write a letter to Weizmann effectively reversing the Passfield recommendations.
Britain's ineffectiveness during the 1929 riots spurred to the major reorganisation of the Haganah. It was clear that a defence organisation, independent of the British was needed and in 1930-31, a band of Haganah officers set up the IZL or Irgun, affiliating itself with the Revisionist Movement and becoming its military wing.

The Arabs Rebel

The Macdonald letter of 1931 effectively stunted the Arabs' hopes of the Passfield white paper. This led to a more radicalised attitude, fuelled in part with dramatic increases in Jewish immigration due to new anti-Semitic measures in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as reduction of American intake of immigrants. Drastic changes in the Palestinian Arab society occurred in the 1930s, with urbanisation, industrialisation, and unemployment. Major Jewish land purchases took place, with more cultivated lands changing hands. Thousands of evictees from the rural areas moved to the towns and cities and propelled them into a lower economic status, partly due to debts, famines, and other unrelated causes connected to Jewish land purchases. Many were to join the nationalistic movement due to their dispossession.
The opposition to the Husseinis established the National Defence Party in 1934, with a view to cooperate with the Zionists while also keeping an anti-Zionist facade. In response, the Husseinis in 1935 formed the Palestinian Arab Party, whose platform called for a resistance to the establishment of a Jewish national home. Their own youth corps took inspiration from the Hitler Youth, with the Husseini-Nazi connection repeatedly reinforced during the 1930s to the 1940s. Arab radicalisation was also expressed through clandestine violence, with a number of jihaddiyyah beginning to collect money and arms, led by Amin al-Husseini. The most important clandestine group to emerge was the Black Hand, organised by Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, launching occasional raids and attacks on Jewish settlements.
The riots of 1929 radicalised the Jews as well. The Revisionists found support in their view that Zionism can only be achieved through military force, and the socialist mainstream admitted that there is a Pan-Arab nationalistic movement rather than isolated acts of opportunism. Britain's failure to stop Mussolini's conquest of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935-36 and Hitler's remilitarisation of the Rhineland in 1936, invited challenge to its authority. Anti-imperialist activities in Cairo in 1935 saw Egypt gain treaties with the British and strikes in Syria in 1936 with the French. The economic crisis following the League of Nations' sanctions on Italy saw unemployment spread, with Yishuv preferring "Hebrew labour," as well as the droughts of 1931-34 contributed to the Arab Revolt of 1936-39.
In 1936, violence against both Jews and Arabs started. It was a popular movement, with the young nationalists taking the lead. Representatives of various factions met and set up the Arab Higher Committee (AHC), the successor to the PAE. Amin al-Husseini emerged as the leader, stating that strikes and violence will occur and only stop only when the government put a stop to Jewish immigration and land transfers. Ironically, the strikes on Jaffa only increased the realisation of "Hebrew labour," with the establishment of a Jewish port in Tel-Aviv. In response, the government sent reinforcements from Egypt implementing curfews, patrols, searches, and ambushes. The peasants' support for the rebellion was reluctant, due to the British reputation of being strong, improvements in health and security, laxation in taxes, and ripening crops in spring and summer of 1936. By the end of summer in 1936, the fellahin joined with the same reasons as the urban population, the hatred of a foreign ruler, the infidel, and the Zionists. Full time guerrilla units emerged, coordinating their activities. While the AHC denied any involvement, the SMC supported explicitly the revolt. It was probable that the AHC received funds from Italy and Germany, funding the rebels with arms and finance. Major fund-raising efforts were campaigned in Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, while Emir Abdullah of Transjordan mediated between the AHC, Britain, and the Yishuv. The Nashashibi's packed Abdullah, angering the Husseinis and attempting to assassinate opposition figures. In October the AHC agreed to the cessation of the strikes, due to economic and more ruthless governmental pressures.
The Peel commission, published in 1937, was based on the premise that the conflict was irrepressible within the framework of a one state, and the recommendation was to partition the territory. The Jews were to receive 1/5th of the land, while the Arabs would get the rest, uniting with Transjordan creating a large Arab state. Peel made a second recommendation with the exchange of population between the prospective states. This was an old idea in Zionism beginning with Herzl, the future coexistence of peace would only be possible with a physical separation of the two peoples. This idea seemed to have acquired legitimacy with Peel's recommendation. Ben-Gurion seemed to have accepted that the Jews might have to carry out the transfer, with various Zionist leaders approving the idea.
In July 1937, the AHC rejected the Peel Report and the idea of partition. The Palestinians asserted that the Jews will get the best lands while they would perish in the desert, as well as more expansion from Jewish immigration. In September, rebellion resumed. With the British having to fail defeating or disarming the rural bands in the first stage, fighting began in October after the government declaring the AHC illegal and called for the arrest of its leaders. The Nashashibis and their supporters fell prey to Husseini gunmen and the rebellion lacked central structure as Amin and Jamal al-Husseini settled abroad. Until mid-1937 the Jews showed restraint, but Irgun started bombing indiscriminately at populated Arab centres in response to Arab violence. Reports of rebels using the cover of rebellion extorted the rural population for their personal gain were frequent, and due to relentless British pressure, aided by a much more developed Haganah intelligence saw the end of the revolt in 1939.

World War II and the First Arab-Israeli War, 1939–49

Just as the first pogroms in Russia prompted modern Zionism, WW1 with the issuance of a "Jewish national home," the Holocaust was to propel the movement into Statehood after WW2. When the British declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, the overall movement of Zionism was to support the cause. The Revisionists, who conducted anti-British terrorism in light of the White Paper, offered a truce, only the Lehi, or LHI (Lohamei Herut Israel) formed as a breakaway to the Irgun, would continue to adhere to the anti-British line. The Arabs viewed the British as supporters of Zionism, with the crushed revolts of 1939 still fresh in memory. As Italian and German propaganda promised the Arabs of independence, many Egyptians, Syrians, Lebanese, and Iraqis had the same desire to shake off the imperialist yoke.
The White Paper's limitation on immigration was acutely highlighted after the start of the Nazi pogroms, knowns as Kristallnacht (2 years before the Holocaust). Very few people were saved from Hitler's death camps or were added to the Yishuv's population. The British viewed illegal immigration to Palestine as a threat to their rule, also with Weizmann believing that it would do more harm than good. Whitehall adopted a policy of capturing and deporting illegal immigrants to special island camps, in Mauritius and Cyprus. It was this inhumane policy and embarrassment that led to the eventual British withdrawal from Palestine. However, with Pro-Zionist Churchill at the head, who replaced Chamberlain as prime minister on 10 May 1940, the White Paper's call for constitutional change for Arab self-government was stalled for many reasons: the support of the Axis by the Arabs and to avoid antagonising the American Jewry hence Washington. After the Allied defeats in 1939-40 and Axis gains in North Africa in 1940-41, Rashid Ali al-Gaylani rose in an Axis supported revolt in Iraq, assisted by Palestinians including Amin al-Husseini. When the revolt failed, Husseini fled to Berlin and met with Hitler, who promised him a pan-Arab revolt (similar to the one by Hussein against the Turks in WW1), for Arab postwar independence. Writing to Eastern European leaders to halt the emigration of Jews and to direct them to Poland under German supervision, Husseini indirectly cooperated with the most barbaric of regimes. The support from the Zionists in the war effort with a Jewish Brigade supported the anti-Arab view.
In May 1942, Zionist leaders met together to vote on what was called the Biltmore Program, where they demanded that "Palestine be established as a Jewish Commonwealth." Weizmann and Ben-Gurion both supported the transfer of millions of Arabs, by compulsion if necessary. This caused conflict within the Zionist movement, where Weizmann soft-played the demand for statehood and a split between the Ben-Gurion's mainstream labour party occurred. Weizmann, and his faith in British diplomacy was the downfall of his leadership role in his World Zionist Organisation due to Whitehall's rejection of Jewish statehood. But there was an increase in sympathy for the Jews, with news gradually leaking from mid-1941 to the announcement by the Allies in December 1942, that Hitler was engaged in a mass killing of Jews. The American Zionists pushed for a Jewish statehood, and Whitehall, with their appeasement of Arab countries, resurrected the partition plan of the Peel Commission in 1944. Then, on 6 November 1944, LHI terrorists killed Lord Moyne, the British minister resident in the Middle East who was a close friend to Churchill. He withdrew support for the partition scheme, then on 27 July 1945, Churchill and the Conservatives were replaced by the Labour Party led by Clement Attlee.
It was clear that the Allies would win the war by mid-1943, and the Arab Palestinian community reorganised itself, with the launch of the Palestine Arab Party, the Husseinis once again being the most active and powerful faction. This coincided with the formation of the Arab League by 7 countries in 1945. With the question of Palestine taking place in Cairo instead of Jerusalem, the new leadership body, Arab Higher Executive (AHE), was imposed on Palestine with Amin al-Husseini returning from exile to Cairo and renaming it back to AHC.
The Jews were well trained by the time WW2 was drawing to a close, and the Zionist leadership proclaimed that the British blockade was "tantamount to a death sentence upon those liberated Jews." The Haganah, with British assistance was well trained and supplied, and the Palmah strike force was established, headed by Yitzhak Sadeh. The Palmah was regarded as a commando unit to fend of Arab attacks and to be used against the Nazis, should Rommel succeed in conquering Palestine. Menachem Begin took over the IZL, and in 1 February 1944, declared that the war against the Nazis have been decided and resumed its struggle against the British. It began bombing against government buildings, with the Haganah and Palmah eventually joining in after news of the new foreign secretary Ernest Bevin dissuading Truman from publicly endorsing a large scale resettlement of Jews in Palestine was published. LHI joined in and with an operational pact between the Haganah, IZL, and Palmah, the Hebrew Rebellion Movement was launched.
Following more terrorist attacks and anti-Zionist demonstrations in Arab countries, a committee was formed in November 1945 with 6 Britons and 6 Americans, that would oversee Palestinian policy. The British position was this, they would give up the Mandate, and Palestine would transform into an international trusteeship, after a time an independent Palestinian, not Jewish state would be established. The committee's international and domestic travels influenced their report, releasing a statement of issuing 100,000 visas and expediting immigration of DPs. The Jewish Agency endorsed the immigration recommendation, while the Arabs rejected it completely. With continued terrorist attacks, in July 1946 IZL bombed the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, marking its biggest terrorist action in the organisation's history.
In 1947, the British cabinet decided to evacuate from Palestine completely, and dumped the problem onto the UN. The UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) was established to determine the guidelines for a settlement. This international committee toured the country again, warmly welcomed by their Jewish hosts who spoke their languages. A factor that influenced UNSCOP was the Exodus affair. Britain's decision to turn back a ship filled with DPs from France and forcibly disembarking passengers in Hamburg, symbolised contemporary Jewish history and British insensitivity. UNSCOP's report, agreed upon the termination of the Mandate, and the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states.
The partition plan, or Resolution 181 was passed in November 1947. The Arabs had overnight, had been designated less than half of Palestine despite being the majority of the population, and had walked out of the General Assembly, declaring that this partition would lead to war. The Arab League had decided to establish the Arab Liberation Army (ALA) earlier that year, headed by Fawzi al-Qawuqji who would become bitter rivals with Amin al-Husseini. However, most Arab leaders were unhappy with Husseini, with meetings marked by disunity and mutual suspicion. Most of their armies were weak and could not take on a serious army, but with their military rhetoric and frenzied populations, they had embarked on a course that would eventually lead them to war. Conversely, the Haganah advanced, improving their command structures and soldiering abilities. They had begun to train for conventional warfare, and with army veterans it eventually expanded mid-1948 to become the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
The first Arab-Israeli war consisted of 2 stages, a civil war from the end of November 1947 to mid-May 1948, consisting of a guerrilla fighting between the Yishuv and the Palestinian Arab community, and a conventional war from 15 May 1948 to early 1949, between the newly founded State of Israel and the armies of Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq, and small number of forces from Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
At the beginning of the war, due to the sheer overwhelming numbers, the Palestinian Arabs enjoyed a 2:1 advantage with a number of sympathetic Arab states which were able to supply them with volunteers and supplies. For the Yishuv, their support was hundreds of miles away, aid had to come through the Royal Navy blockade or the RAF-patrolled skies. However, the Yishuv had many advantages over the Palestinian Aarbs, their organisation for war, trained manpower, weapons production, morale, and most importantly command and control. They had a demographic advantage in army-age males thanks to deliberate immigration policy years before. The society of the Yishuv was a highly motivated, literate, and semi-industrial, while the Arab society was a backward, illiterate, disorganised, and agricultural. The loyalty to an average villager were to his family, clan, and village, moreover the feuding between the Husseinis and Nashashibis left the Palestinian society deeply divided.
The first half of the first Arab-Israeli war concluded with a convincing Jewish victory. Important areas assigned in the UN resolution to Palestinian or international control were controlled by the Zionists, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were driven or fled from their homes. The victory gave the Haganah control along the coastal plain, the Jezreel Valley, the Jordan Valley, and the experience and self-confindence to defeat the invading Arab armies to enable internation and diplomatic recognition to the new State of Israel.
The first Arab-Israeli war ended with a clear Israeli victory and Arab defeat. The Jews had managed to establish, protect, and enlarge its borders, while crushing the Palestinians and defeating the Arab states. Jordan's Arab Legion held its own against the Israelis, and it was to gain and eventually annex the core of Arab-populated Palestine, the West Bank. It would transform a largely Bedouin majority society to a hostile Palestinian one until 1967. Egypt, emerged from the war with a chunk of Palestine, the Gaza Strip, where it would periodically suppress the Strip's impoverished and disaffected Palestinian population. Despite the heavy losses, the war did limited harm to the Jewish side due to the massive financial contributions sent by the world Jewry and loans from various Western countries. The Arab states had further weakened their weak economies by foreign debt, and had to cope with Palestinian refugees on their soil after 1948. However, with the help of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in 1950, the Western relief capital compensated for the losses they incurred.

1949–1956

After the first Arab-Israeli war, the state of Israel faced a few challenges. One of them was the fact that it was surrounded by hostile states, its cities were in artillery range, and it had a narrow 10 mile waist between the West Bank border and the Mediterranean. The country could be cut in half within hours, even mediated by the Arab minority in the country, of whom made up around 1/6 of the population. In the years after the war, the Jewish population doubled, thanks to the help of the American Jewry. The surrounding Arab states imposed diplomatic, economic, and propaganda warfare against Israel, with the Egyptians blocking Israeli shipping in the Suez Canal and eventually blockaded Eilat. The plight of the refugees helped spur Arab animosity toward Israel, their massive presence served as a testament to the Arab world's humiliation and the injustice that had fallen to the Palestinian people. Most of them were in Jordan, constituting 70% of the country's population, Jordan granting them citizenship while those in the camps of Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon and their descendants remained stateless. But Palestinian Jordanians were largely barred from Arab Legion's combat formations and senior civil bureaucracy positions. Their animosity toward the Hashemites was clearly seen on 20 July 1951 when Husseini supporters assassinated Abdullah at the al-Aqsa Mosque. Post war unrest took place in other countries. In Egypt the veterans of the war launched a coup on 22 July 1952, ousting King Faroup and his court, establishing a republican revolutionary regime. In Syria, the army overthrew Prime Minister Khalid al-Azm and took control in March 1949.
Israel and several of its neighbours had opportunities for peacemaking during late 1948-1952. However, because Israel was unwilling to make any concessions for peace, the Arab leaders felt too weak and threatened by their own people to make peace unless it included substantial Israeli concessions. Abdullah was sincerely interested in a settlement, Syria's Husni Za'im was also ready to reach an agreement. However in Egypt King Farouq, nor the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) appeared to have been ready for peace. A comprehensive Arab economic boycott was imposed, including the closure by Egypt of the Suez Canal and the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping and goods bound for Israel carriend on third-country vessels, and a ban on companies doing business with Israel. Additionally, border clashes and tension along the frontiers built up to the second Arab-Israeli war of 1956.
During clandestine conferences in 1956, Israeli and French leaders agreed on a joint attack aimed at toppling Nasser. Egyptian subversion of pro-Western regimes in the Middle East, especially in Jordan and Iraq, nationalisation of the British and French owned Canal in July 1956, as well as the arms deal with Czechoslovakia (in effect, with the Soviet Union), strengthened suspicions that Nasser was moving toward alignment with the Communist bloc. In October, Ben-Gurion, French premier Guy Mollet, and British Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd, agreed on a tripartite attack on Egypt. France and Britain would conquer and control the Suez Canal and re-establish Western military bases, while Israel would destroy the Egyptian army in Sinai and the Gaza Strip fedayeen bases. However, this plan was thwarted by the pretence that Britain and France were intervening to separate two warring states, rather than acting as belligerents with Israel. The Anglo-French units would only begin to move from Malta after the start of Israel's attack and Egypt's rejection of the ultimatum, as well as the inefficiency of movement caused a 6 day hiatus between the air operations and the actual ground assault. The air offensive began on October 31 and lasted 3 days. The invasion began on on November 5, and with both Israel and Egypt accepting UN demand for cease-fire, the British and French amphibious units that landed on November 6 were halted before taking the objective, Suez City. The Soviet prime minister, Nikolai Bulganin sent Anthony Eden, Mollet, Ben-Gurion, and Eisenhower threatening messages. The war had threatened the sterling, with Washington not coming to its rescue. The acceptance of a cease-fire invalidated the intervention, with both Britain and France growing opposition to the operation.
Britain and France suffered an embarrassing harm in the Middle East as a result of the Suez. Their position as co-protectors of Western interests in the region was overtaken by the US, while the Soviet Union further progressed in pouring money, arms, and advisors into a succession of Arab states. Israel, due to UN and American pressure withdrew from occupying the Sinai, leaving it with a scorched earth policy. After negotiations, Foreign Minister Golda Meir announced that Israel was ready to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and Sharm ash-Sheikh, in exchange for Israel's right of passage through the straits and the right to self-defence if the Egyptians closed them. The United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) tried to impose control over the Strip but through Egyptian subversion were replaced by Egyptian officials. The ex-imperialists' collusion with the Zionist enemy increased popularity for Nasser, and in 1958 a short lived political union between Egypt and Syria, the United Arab Republic (UAR) was established. In Iraq, the army took power and the pro-Western King Faisal II and Prime Minister Nuri Said were murdered. In Lebanon, President Camille Chamoun was replaced after elections by Faud Shihab, whose foreign policy was closely aligned with Egypt. The political outcome of the war was a clear message from Nasser and Arab leaders on the destruction of Israel, they would speak openly about a "third round".

The Six-Day War, 1967

The result of the war that erupted on 5 June 1967 was a miscalculation and error from the Israeli side. In May 1964, there was the establishment of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). Fatah, founded by a group of exiles in 1959, was an armed and trained guerrilla group, becoming the biggest faction in the PLO. The fighting and skirmishes at the Syrian-Israeli border, especially at the Sea of Galilee exacerbated when in February 1966 the socialist Ba'ath party took power in Damascus. When false Soviet reports of Israeli troops were massing at the Syrian border, Egypt responded by moving into Sinai and requesting UNEF troops to evacuate. After declaring general mobilisation of the Egyptian army, Nasser announced the closure of the Straits of Tiran in 22 May, with Israel regarding this as a casus belli. He wanted to preemptively air strike Israeli targets, including the Dimona nuclear plant helped set up by the French in the late 1950s and early 1960s. After the Americans failed in mediating with Egypt, the alliances in the Arab world rallying around Nasser, the Americans believed that Israel would defeat any Arab coalition in a few days, and President Lyndon Johnson expected Israel to strike.
The aftermath of the war promoted Israel to a regional superpower in the view of the West, and a desirable ally within weak Arab states. The IDF had conquered an area 3.5 times larger than Israel itself, including 1 million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. Areas of the Golan Heights, all of Sinai, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem were in Israeli hands. The conquered territories could be traded for peace, but due to growing nationalistic and religious fervour, and Arab belligerency, peace was stalled. Increased numbers of Jewish settlement into occupied territories after the war, were caused by idealogical motives (Greater Israel), and economic incentives. When the right-wing nationalist Likud Party, under Menachem Begin came into power in 1977, there was an even more increase in settlements.
Israel's conquest of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip reignited the Palestinian question. Most of the Palestinians and their descendants were driven from their homes in 1948 and were now under Israel military government of occupation and control. Although implicit, the Defence Minister Moshe Dayan's policy of the occupation was for a creeping transfer of the inhabitants of the Palestinian territories, and to support the continued emigration. Various economic measures were made to make life difficult for the locals, for example suppressing economic development and controlling utility grids. The military administration also possessed ample powers to suppress protest, including curfews, house arrest, school shutdowns, and imprisonment without trial. This occupation, repression, and expansionism propelled thousands that lived in refugee camps in East Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon into resistance organisations and Palestinian nationalism.
The 1967 war brought into focus Palestinians and their military struggle against the Jewish state. The Arab armies had been defeated and could not offer Israel a serious challenge, perhaps a guerrilla movement could do better and thus emerged the Palestinian resistance movement represented by the PLO, achieving equal status to the Arab states. In the Arab world, Nasser suffered a severe loss of face. Egypt lost a great deal in the war, but relief from the Soviet Union came as well as their influence. In 10 June 1967, the USSR broke off diplomatic relations with Israel, with the Eastern bloc following shortly after. In Syria a two-stage coup in October 1969 and November 1970, Defence Minister Hafez Assad (who was directly responsible for the defeat) became prime minister. In 1971 he became president. Similar to the aftermath of 1948, the Arab world blamed others for the defeat, especially the US. The states committed further their principality in the Arab summit meeting in Khartoum in August-September 1967, of no peace, recognition, or negotiation with Israel, cementing Israel's emergence of unwillingness to withdraw and expansionism. The UN Security Council Resolution 242 in 22 November 1967 called for a trade-off of land for peace, with the recognition of sovereignty of every state in the area.

The War of Attrition

With revenge on his mind, Nasser declared that only through force can Egypt get Israel to withdraw. Israel wanted full peace in exchange for withdrawal from Sinai and the Golan Heights, Egypt wanted all the territories, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank but without giving Israel full peace in exchange. Cairo opted for limited warfare, dubbed "the war of attrition," based on intermittent artillery bombardment of IDF front-line positions followed by cross-Canal commando raids. Israel responded by raiding vulnerable targets on the Nile Valley, prompting a de-facto ceasefire to be established in October 1968. Israel used the respite to create the "Bar-Lev Line," a chain of forts along the eastern bank of the Suez. Fighting began again, and through the IAF's air superiority, Egypt's whole air defence systems were destroyed in 1969. This led to Anwar Sadat, speaker of the National Assembly and soon to be vice president, Defence Minister Fawzi, and Foreign Minister Riad to ask Moscow for weapons. The Soviets were reluctant, but Nasser threatened to resign suggesting someone pro-American might replace him swayed Leonid Brezhnev. With the help of Soviet personnel, Egypt rebuilt their airforce and SAMs. Neither the Soviets or Israel wanted a full scale war, and with the help of the Americans, Egypt and Israel agreed upon a 3 month ceasefire in 1970. On 28 September 1970, Nasser died of a heart attack and Sadat took over. The War of Attrition convinced Israel that they had beaten Egypt, instilling a sense of complacency regarding the Bar-Lev Line and the IAF's abilities for any future confrontation. Egypt inflicted casualties to the defenders and acquired a sense of self-confidence that was damaged among the defeats of 1948, 1956, and 1967.
Yasser Arafat, founder of Fatah, took over the PLO in 1969 after growing a following in the Palestinian community. The charter of the PLO issued in 1964 stated that it denied Israel's right to exist, affirmed the Palestinians' right to return to the country, and armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine. Other resistance organisations that popped up during this period include the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Al-Sa'iqa.
With the help of rich Arab states, PLO became more independent and bases and refugee camps around Jordan effectively turned into a state-within-a-state. Also establishing bases in Lebanon and Syria, the governments realised the dangers of the emergence of PLO and the IDF retaliatory strikes. Clashes between Jordanian and Palestinian fighters came to a climax when PFLP highjacked 3 Western jetliners on 6 September 1970 taking hundreds of hostages and landing them in Amman, directly challenging the monarch. Hussein launched a full scale assault into the PLO camps known as Black September, dragging Syria into the war, who backed off after the indirect intervention of the US and Israel.
The Palestinian terror campaign moved to targets abroad, with terrorists hijacking or successfully hijacked 29 aircraft between 1968 and 1977. Their targets were Jewish institutions, "pro-Israeli" Western states, and occasionally moderate Arab states such as Jordan. The triple hijacking of 6 September 1970 gave birth to the Black September organisation in August-September 1971 at the Fatah congress in Damascus, secretly headed by Salah Khalaf as a compromise between the moderates and with extremists. Their most spectacular operation was during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, where terrorists took hostage, and eventually killed all 11 Israeli athletes during a German rescue operation. In response, Meir authorised Mossad to kill Black September and PFLP officers wherever they could be found. Operation Springtime of Youth saw the assassinations of heads of PLO in Beirut and the Lillehammer affair saw the suspension of Mossad's war against Black September and PFLP. In autumn 1973 the PLO closed down Black September, and Arafat spoke out against it, seeing that no more good will come out of terrorism abroad politically. But both PFLP and Haddad's faction within the PFLP still attacked Israeli targets abroad, the most famous being the 1976 hijacking of a plane and rerouting it to Entebbe in Uganda. The successful counter raid and rescue of hostages, led by Yoni Netanyahu left an influential mark in training schools globally.

The October War, 1973

In February 1971, Sadat attempted for a ceasefire agreement with Israel's withdrawal from the Canal area and reopening of the waterway. However, with Meir's inflexibility and ministers hesitant on the agreements, by May Sadat was persuaded that war was his only option. In July 1972, with the negative sate of Soviet presence in Egypt, he expelled thousands of Soviet military troops and advisors thinking that this would convince Moscow in giving Egypt more sophisticated weapons, which paid off. This was seen by Israel as a weakening of Egypt's military capability. Sadat, in secret meetings with Assad, decided that D-Day would be 6 October, the 10th day of Ramadan and Yom Kippur. This date was strategically chosen due to the moon shining that night, which after midnight there would be pitch darkness, the minimal difference between low and high tide which would facilitate boat crossings and bridge-building, and the fact that on Yom Kippur many Israeli soldiers would be home on leave and radio and TV stations would be shut down. Sadat made last minute diplomatic improvements with Jordan, other Arab states, Western countries especially with Kissinger and the US, while also restoring diplomatic relations broken off in 1967 with France, Britain, and West Germany. The Arab war plan was based on tactical surprise, and because of decades of successes, there was complacency and overconfidence among the Israeli military. Syria and Egypt carried out orchestrated political and military plan of deception. Right up to October 1973, Egypt engaged in peace dialogue with American and UN officials. Damascus radio reported that Assad would begin a 9 day tour of Syria's eastern provinces. Sadat sent New Year's greetings to Egypt's Jewish community. Sadat's speech on the anniversary of Nasser's death on 28 September avoided mention of struggle against Israel, a stark deviation from his usual aggressive tone. The most eventful deceptive event in this period was the "Schönau Incident," where Saiqa terrorists attacked and took hostages demanding a closure of Schönau Castle transit camp, a transit points for Soviet Jews. Meir's mission to Vienna diverted Israel's attention from Arab war preparations, the prime minister being out of position for a crucial 3 days.
The conclusion of the October war on the 25th neither routed the Syrian nor the Egyptian armies. Both, although defeated emerged with solid, initial gains and retained organised military structures after defeat. On both fronts, unlike the war in 1967 had ended without a decisive result. At the Golan Heights, the IDF had conquered territory including Syrian Hermon peaks and Tel Shams, in the south, Egypt had conquered and held two strips of territory on the eastern side of the Canal, marking a strategic and psychological victory despite Israel's counteroffensive efforts.
The aftermath of the Yom Kippur War left Israel in a state of internal political turmoil, with widespread protests demanding the resignation of Defense Minister Moshe Dayan and a thorough investigation into the war's failures. On 11 April 1974, Meir announced her resignation along with her entire cabinet, largely due to mounting public pressure. In 1977, Menachem Begin's right-wing Likud party won the national elections, marking a significant shift in Israeli politics.

The Israeli-Egyptian Peace, 1977–79

Peacemaking between Israel and Egypt was overseen by Jimmy Carter, with the implementation of Resolution 242. Begin wanted to retain the West Bank and Gaza, while Sadat wanted complete withdrawal from Arab land including East Jerusalem. Sadat, realising the US could not deliver Israeli flexibility or concessions, decided to visit Jerusalem. This caused relations to worsen with Syria and problems with his government, foreign minister Ismail Fahmy and his deputy, Mohammed Riad resigned.
Sadat gave his speech to the Knesset on 20 November, outlining his requests. Withdrawal from "the Arab territories," Palestinian self-determination, and the right of all states in the area to live in peace within secure boundaries with appropriate international guarantees. Begin's response was uncompromising, suggesting that final borders were open to negotiation. Despite the gap between the two countries, the visit was a major milestone on the road to peace. Israel could not hide from the public the fact that there was an Arab leader who would make peace and concessions, and in Egypt the demonisation of the Zionist enemy gave way to a more rational approach. Sadat's visit shocked the Arab world, a separate Israeli-Egypt deal would mean a sellout, both Arafat and Assad called on the Egyptian people to resist this treason to the Arab nation.
On 17 September 1978, Carter, Begin, and Sadat gathered at the White House and signed two documents. They had reached an agreement on the outline of an Israeli-Egyptian peace and the framework for the negotiating a resolution of the problem of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This peace deal was the bases for the Israel-Egypt peace treaty that was signed half a year later and the Israel-PLO accords signed in Oslo, Cairo, and Washington in 1993-95. The first document outlined clearly the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai in exchange for diplomatic recognition by Egypt, peace, and establishment of normal relations. The second document was more unclear, what the extent of the withdrawal of IDF and the role of the PLO.
After Camp David, Sadat was accused by the Arab leaders of having abandoned other Arab states and selling out the Palestinians. Other pressures included the presidential elections of 1980, Carter would be increasingly unable to apply any pressure on Israel. Another was the beginnings of a revolution Iran, with Ayatollah Khomeini calling the US and Israel Great and Little Satan.

The Lebanon War 1982-85

The Litani River, the longest river in Lebanon, serves as a crucial water source, particularly in southern Lebanon. Along with the Hasbani and Wazzani Rivers, it was included in the territorial proposal for the prospective Jewish state presented by the Zionist Organization at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. Although the Zionists sought control over these vital water sources, they were not incorporated into the final boundaries of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Maronites, a Christian minority in Lebanon, had a complex relationship with the Zionist movement, with some expressing sympathy, though the community as a whole did not formally support it. Israeli officials, however, hoped for a Maronite-led uprising that could result in a peace treaty between Lebanon and Israel. Despite Israeli encouragement, such a rebellion did not occur until the 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
The PLO established itself in Lebanon after being expelled from Jordan in 1970, setting up strongholds in southern Lebanon, particularly in the Palestinian refugee camps. While the PLO had significant influence, especially in parts of West Beirut, Beirut itself was controlled by various militias and factions during the Lebanese Civil War. Syria intervened in the conflict on May 31, 1976, initially siding with the Christian militias against the PLO and leftist forces. Though the Syrian intervention limited the PLO’s power, it did not eradicate the group, and the PLO retained influence, particularly in the south.
During the civil war, Christian militias like the one led by Saad Haddad emerged, defending Christian areas from Palestinian-Muslim forces. With Israeli support, Haddad expanded his control into what became known as the "Security Zone," a buffer strip stretching from Ras al-Naqurah in the west to the foothills of Mount Hermon in the east. This militia was later named the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The Maronite Phalange Party, a powerful Christian political faction, also became a key ally of Israel. Israel provided the Phalange and the SLA with arms and training, hoping that a Christian-led Lebanon could eventually sign a peace treaty with Israel. In response to rocket attacks on Israel's northern towns from PLO positions in southern Lebanon, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched airstrikes against PLO targets. A ceasefire was brokered in 1981, leading to an unofficial recognition of the PLO’s presence in Lebanon. Ariel Sharon, Israel's defense minister at the time, had broader ambitions. He sought not only to destroy the PLO but also to restore Christian dominance in Lebanon, which could lead to a peace treaty between Israel and a Christian-led Lebanese government. In 1981, the IDF developed two plans for a potential invasion of Lebanon: "Little Pines," which focused on destroying PLO strongholds in southern Lebanon, and "Big Pines," which envisioned advancing as far north as Beirut to sever the Beirut-Damascus highway. After the assassination attempt on Israeli Ambassador Shlomo Argov by the Abu Nidal faction, Sharon persuaded the Israeli cabinet to approve a limited version of "Little Pines," which ultimately led to the 1982 Lebanon War.
In the aftermath of the war, the PLO was not destroyed as Sharon and Begin had hoped and planned. By invading Lebanon, they inadvertently paved the way for their authority in parts of the West Bank and Gaza and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Additionally, by delivering a blow to Syria's military power, Assad was not greatly weakened but hugely antagonised, and wasted its anti-SAM technology in a superfluous war. In seeking to destroy the Palestinian threat in Lebanon, they had installed in its place a far more fanatical and efficient foe in the form of Amal and Hezbollah. The alliance with the Maronites and the Christian military power in Lebanon ended, and Israel succeeded in antagonising and alienating most of Lebanon's different communities, especially the Shi'ites. Syria prevented Lebanon from being the second Arab state to make peace with Israel, as well as filling the vacuum created by the IDF withdrawal, gradually gaining greater power in the country than it had before 1982. By the end of the 1990s, Lebanese presidents and prime ministers were under the influence of Damascus. Syria drove the PLO out of Lebanon and its hegemony in Lebanon brought an end to the internecine fighting that began in 1975.

The Intifada

The Intifada is a term in Arabic for "shaking off", began on 8-9 December 1987, 20 years after Arafat first called for a revolt against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It was not an armed rebellion but a large persistent campaign of civil resistance, strikes, shutdowns, and violent demonstrations. The PLO was in a weak position after achieving close to nothing during the 20 years of struggle and the ejection from Lebanon. During the Arab League Summit in November 1987, the issues of the PLO was ignored and focused on the Iraq-Iran war and the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the Arab states and Egypt, accepting the Egyptian-Israeli peace. Additionally, the international political realities at that period was an Israeli favoured Washington, an incompetent UN, and Gorbachev going against traditional Soviet pro-Arab posture and dispatching more emigrants to Israel. Israel, in their occupation, had allowed the establishment of some Palestinian self-rule and political resistance, such as the West Bank and Gaza universities, and the Islamic Association (the front organisation of Muslim Brotherhood that soon became Hamas). The growth of the Brotherhood and Islamic fundamentalism is credited to Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin. Despite his disabilities, the movement took over various Muslim institutions and mosques, providing various civil services challenging the PLO for the loyalty of the population. Despite the economic growth of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Palestinians still lived in cramped, inhospitable conditions, with the increase in births outpacing new housing construction. Government policies favoured Israeli economic needs, such as the control of water reserves, and industries such as construction and agriculture became dependent on Arab labour. However, unemployment soared due to the Iraq-Iran war and the immigration of Soviet Jews. Israeli politicians also drove the rhetoric of the displacement of Palestinians, some from the extremist camps but from mainstream politicians as well. Attacks against Israelis were often followed by collective punishment and brutality. Ironically, the prisons and detention camps provided idealogical indoctrination and terrorism training centres for the inmates, with many of the leaders of the Intifada having gone through these facilities.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the fundamentalists began to change its non violence tactic with the success of Khomeini in Iran and the Shiites in southern Lebanon. The ayatollahs exported their fiery brand of Islam around the middle east, culminating with the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981. The PLO's demise in Lebanon left Palestinians hopeless, and Islam seemed to provide an answer. Yassin's Muslim Brotherhood switched from educational-social activity to political-military activism. This morphed into Hamas in 1987, an Arabic word meaning enthusiasm and courage, also an acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement. The Intifada ended in September 1993 when the PLO and Israel signed their first peace accord in Oslo.

Peace At Last?

By the mid 1990s, American pressure for moderation resulted in a right-wing Israeli government, and tensions between various groups of Palestinians increased considerably. When Saddam Hussein launched an invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, Iraq tried to link the issues of Kuwait and Palestine to divide the coalition of Arab states. Iraq launched Scud ground-to-ground missiles against Israel, assuming that if there was any retaliation, Washington's Arab partners might find it intolerable to be allied with Israel in an attack against an Arab state. Thanks to American pressure, Jerusalem refrained from responding. PLO and Jordan backed Saddam's conquest of Kuwait, viewing Saudi Arabia as a prosperous, exploitative, pro-Western part of the Arab world despite the years of financial largesse. However their support of Iraq lost the financial and political backing of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States. Kuwait expelled 300,000 Palestinians to Jordan, and remittances to families in the territories dwindled.
The Intifada made it clear that Israel could not hold on to the territories indefinitely and would have to talk to the PLO. Labor's assumption of power and with Yitzhak Rabin as prime minister in 1992, paved the way to peace by repealing the law banning Israeli-PLO contacts. In 1993, Arafat and Rabin signed what was eventually to be called "Declaration of Principles" (DOP) in Oslo. Many Palestinians felt that this agreement was a sellout. A large minority of Palestinians who opposed the accord, led by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, mounted a campaign to derail the peace process. Terrorist attacks would build up right-wing pressure within Israel against the agreement and pressure Rabin to continue with the process. The two sides agreed on a Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that would lead to a permanent settlement based on Resolutions 242 and 338. The DOP provided democratic general elections in the territories. As the IDF withdrew from most of the Gaza Strip in 1994, PA police and officials took control. The DOP had made Arafat responsible for stopping anti-Israeli terrorism from his areas, but clamping down on Hamas and islamic Jihad meant that he would be alienating his own people and reigning in his own "freedom fighters". Israel also violated the spirit of the accord, with settlements and increased construction in East Jerusalem and failing to free all the prisoners it had agreed to release.
In 1994, Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty.
In the aftermath of the DOP signing, right wing groups within Israel demonstrated to resist the peace process, including rabbis. Political leaders, such as Netanyahu and Sharon also joined in, denouncing Rabin. In 1995, to offset the agitation, a pro-peace demonstration was organised and at the end of the rally, Yigal Amir shot Rabin and he died a few minutes later. In early 1996, Arafat won the PA elections which would continue the peace process. But more terrorist attacks, including multiple suicide bombings in February and early March, which the right would use to smear Peres, smeared the Labor party and led to a Likud victory.
On 29 May 1996, Likud's party Benjamin Netanyahu won the vote for prime minister. Despite being critical of the Oslo Accords, for the first time, in 1997, Israel had withdrawn from Hebron, and handed it over to PLO control. A number of Hamas suicide attacks later in the year prevented the government from further continuing the Oslo process. The biggest blunder of Netanyahu's premiership would be the botched assassination attempt of Khaled Mashal, a senior Hamas official. Mossad agents were arrested by Jordanian police, and as an exchange Hamas leader Sheikh Yassin and other terrorists were released and received a hero's welcome in Gaza. Increasing pressure from the Clinton government and from inside the Israeli cabinet, in October 1998, a summit at the Wye River Plantation in Maryland with Arafat and Netanyahu concluded with the signing of the "Wye River Memorandum." It outlined further withdrawals from the West Bank and commitments to security measures. Consequently, both the right and the left lost trust in Netanyahu, the right feared Netanyahu would implement Wye, and the left, that Netanyahu would halt the implementation of the agreement as soon as possible. But due to pressures from the right wing and centrist moderates, the Knesset majority voted to dissolve the government and set early elections. By May 1999, Ehud Barak beat the incumbent Netanyahu.

Ehud Barak's 19 Months

As Israel handed over security positions in Lebanon to the SLA, the withdrawal to the frontier and the mad scramble of SLA men and their families at crossing points looked like a hasty retreat, and right wing politicians predicted that Hezbullah would soon renew its military campaign. UN officials confirmed that Israel had withdrawn back to the exact contours of the international demarcation lines agreed upon by the British and the French officials in 1923 in compliance with Security Council Resolution 425.
Barak's peace negotiations with Syria around the Golan Heights weren't fruitful, and were stalled further with the death of Hafez Assad in 2000. In the 2000 Camp David meeting mediated by Clinton, negotiations collapsed after Arafat refused at the most far-reaching Israeli concessions ever offered.
The response to Barak peace proposals at Camp David was the launch of the second Intifada, or the "al-Aqsa Intifada" where the rebellion was triggered. It differed from the first Intifada of the 1980s where shooting attacks and bomb-planting were common in the first days and Israel's million-strong Arab minority joined in. The killing of Arab Israelis erupted rebellion in Arab minority populations within Israel and historically laid in the marginalisation and discrimination against Arabs in Israeli society. Moreover, the hasty retreat of the IDF from Southern Lebanon had an effect on the Palestinians, that Israel was weak and vulnerable. Barak's attempts at peace, and proposal that the non-return of Palestinian refugees to their homes pre-1948 had thwarted the refugees on their ideology of returning back to their homeland.
Clinton, following the second Intifada, proposed Israel agree to refugees' right of return either to their homeland or historic Palestine. At the end of December, shortly before Clinton's presidency ending in January 2001, the Israeli government formally accepted Clinton's proposals as a basis for a settlement, while Arafat again rejected a peace deal.
The second Intifada hurt the economies of both the Palestinians and the Israelis, and as Barak's coalition fell apart due to his drawn-out peace initiatives and concessions, he was replaced by Likud's hardline leader, Ariel Sharon. There was a sense of confusion and betrayal by Arafat, who belligerently turned down Israel's far-reaching concessions. He had won the elections for Netanyahu in 1996 against Peres by allowing the dispatch into Tel Aviv and Jerusalem of Hamas and suicide bombers, again he won the election for Sharon in February 2001.