Conflict in the Middle East

Nationalism in the Middle East ► Regions in the Middle East consist of three major religions—Islam, Christianity and Judaism—and religious differences have often led to conflict in this area

The Formation of Israel ► Following WWII, Jews were determined to create a Jewish state, free of oppression ► As Jews began to settle in Palestine, Arabs there viewed them as intruders and violence between the two groups began ► By 1946, civil war had erupted ► In 1947, the UN created a partition of Palestine; one Jewish state and one Arab state ► Israel was created in 1948, but Palestinians refused to accept them as a legitimate state

The 1948 War ► In May 1948 British troops left Palestine and armies of 5 Arab nations (Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan) attacked Israel in an attempt to restore Palestine to the Arabs ► The Israelis defeated Arab forces easily and acquired over half of Palestinian land

Palestine ► The ongoing trouble between Israel and Palestine led the Palestinians to form the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) in 1964 ► The goal of the PLO was to 1)Eliminate Israel 1)Eliminate Israel 2)Create Palestinian State 2)Create Palestinian State

Israel ► After defeating the Arabs (mostly Egypt, Jordan and Syria) in the Six-Day War, Israel tripled its land holdings, including the Gaza Strip and Sanai Peninsula from Egypt and East Jerusalem from Jordan ► Israel also occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River which was land that had been designated to the Palestinians by the UN in 1947

Yasir Arafat and the PLO ► Over 1 million Palestinians found themselves under Israel military occupation ► Yasir Arafat emerged as the leader of the PLO and vowed to use armed struggle to establish a Palestinian state ► Terrorist attacks and border raids have continued on both sides since

Israel/Egypt ► In 1973, Egypt and Syria launched war against Israel ► Fighting continued until the UN arranged a cease-fire in 1974 ► US support of Israel angered Arab countries so they placed an embargo on all allies of Israel until 1974

Camp David Accords ► In 1978, leaders of Israel (Begin) and Egypt (Sadat) met with US President Jimmy Carter to discuss a peace treaty ► Many Arab nations broke ties with Egypt as a result and Anwar el-Sadat was assassinated in 1981

Revolution in Iran ► In the 1960s and early 1970s the shah (king) of Iran was friendly with the US and exported oil to US ► Shiite Muslims disliked western ideas and values in Iran and wanted to return to a traditional way of life

Revolution in Iran ► In the late 1970s Ayatollah Khomeini began protest movements against the shah, and in 1979 the shah fled and Khomeini seized the government ► This new government was based on traditional Muslim traditions and laws

Protests in Iran ► Anti-shah feelings turned into anti-American feelings in Iran ► In November 1979, militant students stormed the American embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage ► The hostages were held captive for 444 days in miserable conditions (released in January 1981)

Iran Today ► Tensions have been strong between the US and Iran since its new leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, came to power in 2005 ► He has called for the dissolution of Israel, denied the Holocaust ever happened, and dislikes the West and America in particular