The Israel-Palestine conflict began in 1947 with the UN partition plan to divide Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. This was rejected by Palestinians and neighboring Arab states, who invaded Israel after its declaration of independence, though Israel prevailed. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians became refugees. Subsequent wars in 1967 and 1973 resulted in Israel occupying the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula. Israel established settlements in occupied territories despite international condemnation. Palestinian uprisings (Intifadas) protested the occupation. Oslo Accords established limited Palestinian self-rule but the second Intifada and ongoing settlement expansion have prevented a lasting peace agreement. The U.S. is a key ally of Israel but this complicates

1. Israel-Palestine conflict

2. Founding of Israel
• The land of Israel has
been central to Jewish
consciousness.
• Zionism: the idea of a
Jewish national
homeland in Palestine.
• After Holocaust there
was a pressure for a
Jewish state.

3. • In 1947 UN General Assembly adopted a plan
to partition Palestine into Arab and Jewish
states.
• 14 May 1948 Israel was declared a state.

4. • Palestine Arabs rejected the state.
• Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq
invaded Israel.
• The fight lasted 15 months and it became
known as Israel’s War of Independence.
• 1949- Negotiation were held with the invading
countries under UN auspices, except with Iraq.

5. • The events of 1947-48 created new sources of
conflict which endure to this day: refugees and
frontiers.
• 726,000 Arabs fled from Israeli territory.
• They settled in the West Bank of Jordan and
Gaza Strip in refugee camps.
• The exile generated solidarity in the Arab
community-concept of the ‘Palestinian people’

6. • For Palestinians the loss of their land in 1948
became known as "Al Nakbar" - the
catastrophe

7. 1967 War
• In May 1967, Egypt moved large numbers of
troops into the Sinai desert.
• On 5 June 1967, Israel launched a preemptive
strike against Egypt and Syria.

8. • The war lasted 6 days.
• The Sinai Peninsula, the
West Bank of the Jordan
River, including all of
East Jerusalem, Gaza,
and the strategically
important Golan
Heights were under
Israel's control.

9. Settlement movement
• Israelis built settlements on the Golan Heights, in
the West Bank and the Sinai.
• Characterized by a conspicuous and provocative
display of presence, the militant settlers’
movement contributed to the increase of
Palestinian resistance.
• The Arab states produced its own characteristic
form of violence directed against the Jews in the
form of state-sponsored terrorism.

10. • In 1968 PLO (Palestine Liberation
Organization) adopted terror and mass murder
as its primary policy towards Israel.
• On Oct. 6, 1973, on Yom Kippur, Egypt and
Syria attacked Israeli positions in the Sinai and
the Golan Heights.
• In response to Israeli pleas, the U.S. began an
emergency airlift of advanced weapons and the
Israeli Defense Forces were able to turn the
tide of the battle.

11. • In December 1973, the first Arab-Israeli peace
conference opened in Geneva, Switzerland,
under UN auspices.
• An agreement to disengage Israeli and
Egyptian forces was reached in January 1974,
largely through the mediation of U.S.
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

12. • U.N. Security Council resolutions and the
International Court of Justice have both
declared the settlements illegal under
international law.
• Israel has rejected the rulings and continues to
expand its settlements.

13. Intifada
• 1987-first uprising broke out in protest against the
Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza
Strip.
• The Israeli military retaliated harshly with
measures against the Palestinian population.
• They used a system of checkpoints to control the
movement of people and goods around the West
Bank.
• Imposed curfews at times of high security and
detained many Palestinians, often without charge
or trial.

15. • 1993- Oslo Accords- Israel agreed to establish
limited Palestinian self-rule in parts of the
West Bank and Gaza Strip.
• 2000-second Intifada sparked by a visit by
Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon to the Al
Aqsa compound in Jerusalem.
• In 2003, Israel took the decision to dismantle
all Jewish settlements in Gaza and some
settlements in the West Bank

16. • In 2005, around 8,000 settlers were forcibly
evicted from Gaza by the Israeli army, along
with 500 from the West Bank.
• The Gaza Strip came under Palestinian control.
• In June 2007, a power struggle between Fatah
and Hamas spilled over into fighting between
armed factions on the streets of Gaza.

18. • Hamas declared control over Gaza.
• May 2011-Fatah and Hamas signed a
reconciliation agreement mediated by Egypt.
• Israel stated it would reject any government
that included Hamas and would refuse to hold
peace talks with it.

19. Hamas
• Acronym for Islamic
Resistance Movement
• Emerged during the 1980s
Palestinian uprising
• Led a suicide bombing
campaign over the next decade
as part of its stated aim of
destroying Israel
• Built popular support through
a social welfare programme
Fatah
• Founded in 1965 by the leader
of the Palestine Liberation
Organization, Yasser Arafat
• Is the mainstream Palestinian
nationalist movement
• Its strongest support base lies
in the West Bank
• Recognizes Israel's right to
exist and is formally
committed to peace talks with
it

20. U.S. Policy
• Israel- Palestine conflict complicates the U.S.
foreign policy in the Middle East.
• There is a resentment against the U.S. among
Arabs.
• Perception that U.S. policy regarding the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict is biased toward
Israel.

21. • In 1948 U.S.A under president Truman was
the first state who acknowledged Israel.
• Truman also endorsed the first U.S. loan to
Israel, marking the beginning of America’s
financial commitment to Israel.
• Israel still receives about US $ 3 billion per
year in economic and military grants, refugee
settlement assistance, and other aid.

22. • The position of the administration of Lyndon
B. Johnson was that Israel should withdraw
from the occupied territory, but only in return
for a peaceful settlement.
• Every U.S. president from Lyndon B. Johnson
to George W. Bush has subscribed to six
fundamental positions for a settlement of the
conflict:

23. 1. Israel should not be required to return the
territories seized in 1967 without a ‘quid pro quo’
from the Arab parties involving
peace, security, and recognition.
2. Israeli settlements beyond the 1967 armistice
lines are obstacles to peace and no U.S. funds
should be used for settlements beyond that line.
3. East Jerusalem is legally considered occupied
territory whose status is seen as subject to peace
negotiations.

24. 4. However Palestinian rights may be defined,
they do not include the right of unrestricted
return to homes within the 1967 lines.
5. Israel’s military superiority over any coalition
of Arab parties is in the interest of the U.S. and
should be maintained, through American
military assistance.
6. The existence of Israel’s nuclear capabilities is
tolerated.

25. U.S. relation with Israel
• There appear to be many reasons for the special U.S.-
Israeli relationship.
• During the Cold War years, special ties to Israel were
justified by claims that Israel was the only democratic
ally in the region.
• Helping Israel to become the strongest military power in
the Middle East was defended on grounds that Israel had
a strategic value to the U.S. in its defense against the
spread of communism in the Middle East.
• Extension of American power.

26. • Today’s Middle East is characterized by anti- U.S.
radical Islamists movements who exploit America’s
support of Israel to deepen popular distrust of the
U.S.
• The close relationship between Israel and the U.S. has
limited Washington’s ability to serve as a neutral
mediator.
• The policy of using unconditioned U.S.
moral, financial and military support to persuade
Israel to move on in the peace process, has not
achieved the desired outcome.