 The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an ongoing dispute between Israel & Arab Palestinians  What is at the heart of the conflict?  Land, i.e. – Jerusalem!!!

 Background: Romans kicked Jews out of Palestine in 70 A.D.  Jews spread throughout the world – called the Great Diaspora  Zionism: movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland  Resulted from: anti-Semitic movement in Eastern Europe and Russia (1800s)

 Britain controlled land after WWI  Many wanted to move to Palestine because of Zionism; asked for British support  Balfour Declaration (1917) – officially gave the Jews British support for the creation of a state of Israel  Zionist groups gave Jews money to buy land in Palestine; violence breaks out, esp. against Britain

 Post WW2: Jewish refugees go to Palestine, violence continues, GB turns it over to UN  1947: UN divides Palestine btw Jews & Arabs (2 Separate States)

 May 1948: Jews declare Israel’s creation  Some Arab countries refused to recognize Israel as a state b/c it symbolized western domination

 Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon sent troops to help the Arabs fight; Israel won and took ½ the Arabs’ land in Palestine  Palestinian refugee camps were set up in nearby Arab countries; many refuse to move out and give up land

 Founded in 1964 to form a Palestinian state  Yasser Arafat was chairman of the PLO from with his death

 Want to destroy Israel, use terrorist actions (bombings, airplane hijackings, kidnappings) against Israel and supporters (U.S.)  January 1965: PLO launched guerilla attacks against Israel, Israel attacks Syria & Jordan

 Egypt signed an alliance with Syria, Jordan and Iraq; moved troops into the Sinai Peninsula  Israel sees this as a threat and strikes back  How long did the war last???  6 Days

Israel takes: Sinai Pen. and Gaza Strip from Egypt, Golan Heights from Syria, West Bank from Jordan, East Jerusalem from the Arabs Builds settlements on land taken following the war; violation of international law

 Refers to Resisting oppression  Palestinians attacked Israeli soldiers and citizens with ROCKS  the government imprisoned and deported many, destroyed homes of rebels, closed Arab schools  Israel criticized for violating rights

 Camp David Accords: Sept. 18, 1978: U.S. President Jimmy Carter hosts Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli prime-minister Menachem Begin at Camp David  Peace treaty signed March 26, 1979 giving Egypt the Sinai Pen. and Palestinians self rule in occupied land

 Oslo Accords (1993):  Israel and the PLO would recognize one another  PLO would stop attacks  Israel would withdraw its forces from parts of the occupied territories  limited Palestinian self-rule in Gaza and Jericho, plan to phase in more self-rule