1. Conflict in the Middle East

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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)

13. 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