MIDDLE EAST CRISES

PARTITIONING OF PALESTINE 1947- UN VOTED TO PARTITION PALESTINE TO MAKE WAY FOR THE JEWS WHO WANTED TO SETTLE IN THE AREA AS PART OF THEIR ZIONIST MOVEMENT MONTHS OF VIOLENCE ERUPTED MAY 1948- JEWS ANNOUNCED THE CREATION OF ISRAEL David Ben-Gurion became the 1st Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir-Israel’s Foreign Minister

GAMAL ABDEL NASSER RULER OF EGYPT FROM 1954-1970 SUCCEEDED IN GETTING RID OF BRITISH INFLUENCE AND NATIONALIZED THE SUEZ CANAL CREATED THE ASWAN HIGH DAM (MAJOR IRRIGATION PROJECT FOR THE UPPER NILE) CREATED THE PLO IN 1964 SPENT MOST OF HIS YEARS TRYING TO ANNIHALATE THE JEWS AND THE NATION OF ISRAEL INSTIGATED THE 6-DAY WAR

SIX DAY WAR MAY 1967- EGYPT AND SYRIA LAUNCHED A CAMPAIGN AGAINST ISRAEL NASSER WAS QUOTED “OUR BASIC OBJECTIVE WILL BE THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL. THE ARAB PEOPLE WANT TO FIGHT. WE WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY COEXISTENCE WITH ISRAEL… TODAY THE ISSUE IS NOT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PEACE BETWEEN THE ARAB STATES AND ISRAEL… THE WAR WITH ISRAEL IS IN EFFECT SINCE 1948.” JORDAN AND IRAQ ALSO JOINED IN THE WAR RHETORIC ISRAEL COULD NOT AFFORD TO WAIT FOR AN ARAB ATTACK, THEY HAD TO STRIKE FIRST

IN LESS THAN 2 HOURS, 300 EGYPTIAN AIRCRAFT WERE DESTROYED JUNE 5, 1967- ISRAELI AIR FORCE USED ALL BUT 12 FIGHTERS TO LAUNCH A SURPRISE ATTACK ON THE EGYPTIAN AIR FORCE WHILE THEY WERE EATING BREAKFAST IN LESS THAN 2 HOURS, 300 EGYPTIAN AIRCRAFT WERE DESTROYED THEN THEY ATTACKED SYRIA, JORDAN AND IRAQ BY THE END OF THE 1ST DAY, NEARLY THE ENTIRE EGYPTIAN AND JORDANIAN AIR FORCES AND HALF OF SYRIA’S HAD BEEN DESTROYED AFTER JUST SIX DAYS OF FIGHTING, ISREALI FORCES BROKE THROUGH ENEMY LINES AND WAS IN POSITION TO TAKE THE CAPITALS OF ITS ENEMIES ISREAL HAD TAKEN THE GOLAN HEIGHTS AND THE SINAI PENINSULA CASUALTIES- -ISRAEL- 776 DEAD, 2,586 WOUNDED ARABS- 15,000 EGYPTIANS, 2,500 SYRIANS, 800 JORDANIANS ISRAEL HAD CAPTURED ENOUGH TERRITORY TO TRIPLE ITS SIZE (8,000 TO 26,000 SQ. MILES) ISRAEL CAPTURED THE SINAI PENINSULA, GOLAN HEIGHTS, GAZA STRIP AND WEST BANK

Land Taken During Six-Day War

Oct. 6, 1973- Egypt and Syria launched another surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur (holiest day in Jewish calendar) A force equal to the size of NATO in Europe approached Israel’s borders At Golan Heights- 180 Israeli tanks vs. 1,400 Syrian tanks At the Suez Canal- 500 defenders and 3 tanks met 600,000 Egyptian soldiers with 2,000 tanks and 550 aircraft Yom Kippur War (1973)

During this war, Arab oil-producing states placed an oil embargo against the U.S.

END OF THE 1973 WAR Israelis held their ground; backed by U.S. relief supplies (Soviets backed the Arabs) Worst fighting occurred between Oct. 12th and Oct. 14th Israeli forces destroyed 250 Egyptian tanks in the 1st two hours of fighting- another humiliating loss for Egypt By the end of fighting 2, 688 Israeli soldiers had been killed, but the combat deaths for Egypt totaled 7, 700 and Syria had 3, 500

MOVING ON TO ANOTHER CRISIS 1974 AND 1975- DISENGAGEMENT AGREEMENTS BETWEEN ISRAEL AND EGYPT 1977- ISRAEL UNDER LEADERSHIP OF MENACHEM BEGIN EXTENDED AN INVITATION TO ANWAR SADAT OF EGYPT TO TRADE LAND FOR PEACE NOV. 19, 1977- SADAT BECAME THE 1ST ARAB LEADER TO VISIT ISRAEL BEGIN WAS PREPARED TO GIVE UP THE SINAI IN EXCHANGE FOR PEACE, BUT NO FIRM AGREEMENT RESULTED

CAMP DAVID ACCORDS OCT. 6, 1981- SADAT WILL BE ASSASSINATED SEPTEMBER 5, 1978 SADAT, BEGIN, CARTER AGREED ISRAEL WOULD WITHDRAW FROM SINAI WITHIN 3 YEARS 5 YEAR AGREEMENT TO GIVE THE PALESTINIANS IN THE WEST BANK AND GAZA STRIP AUTONOMY OCT. 6, 1981- SADAT WILL BE ASSASSINATED

IRANIAN HOSTAGE CRISIS 1979- MILITANT REVOLUTIONARIES SUPPORTIVE OF THE AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI STORMED THE AMERICAN EMBASSY AND CAPTURED 66 HOSTAGES THEY WERE PROTESTING U.S. SUPPORT OF THE SHAH PAHLAVI- U.S. HAD ALLOWED HIM IN TO THE U.S. FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT HOSTAGES COULD HAVE BEEN RELEASED WHEN WE TURNED THE SHAH BACK OVER BUT HE DIED WHILE WAITING IN EGYPT

HOSTAGES WERE HELD FOR 444 DAYS DESPITE MANY FAILED ATTEMPTS FOR THEIR RELEASE BY CARTER THEY WERE SET FREE WHILE REAGAN WAS TAKING THE OATH OF OFFICE

PERSIAN GULF WAR SADDAM HUSSEIN INVADED THE COUNTRY OF KUWAIT TO TRIGGER THIS CONFLICT ONLY 100 HOURS OF GROUND FIGHTING WE ARE NOW IN OUR 3RD WAR WITH IRAQ SADDAM HUSSEIN WAS REMOVED FROM POWER