Emergent Nationalism in the Emergent Nationalism in the Middle East Middle East

The Struggle for Stability

In the following lesson, we examine:• Effects of the Six-Day War of 1967• Effects of the October War of 1973• The significance of the Camp David

Accords• The rise of Arab and Islamic terrorism

OVERVIEWOVERVIEW

Context Question: What major issues were left unresolved by the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 and the Suez Crisis of 1956?

Effects of the Six-Day WarEffects of the Six-Day War

Arab Perspective• Palestine could only be

resolved with the threat of force

• Israel would retreat from captured territories if given a sufficient demonstration of force

• Israel’s allies needed to become involved to prevent regional instability

Israeli Perspective• Israel needed either

Arab recognition or a buffer zone

• Palestinian guerillas were launching attacks against Israeli targets

• Egypt requested the UN to leave the Sinai and mobilized its forces

• Egypt had blocked the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping

What were the major factors which led to war between the

Arabs and the Israelis in 1967?

Feeling threatened by the surrounding Arab states, Israel launched a pre-

emptive war against Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Key effects included:

• Buffer zone: In only 6 days, Israel had secured 3 times more territory than it had before in the Sinai Peninsula, West Bank and the Golan Heights

• International involvement: UN Resolution 242 called on Israel to give up captured territories in return for recognition and peace with its Arab neighbours

• Terrorism: the Palestinian Liberation Organization and other Palestinian groups increased guerilla operations and began to use global terrorism, such as in the massacre of Israeli athletes during the Munich Olympic Games of 1972

Why would Israel be less likely to withdraw from the captured

territories as called on by the UN?

By 1973, the Arab states had vowed revenge for the defeat of 1967.

Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, coordinated a two-front, surprise assault with Syria during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, when the largest numbers

of Israeli forces were on leave. After nearly 3 weeks of fighting, a ceasefire was signed. What were the results of

Sadat’s bold plan?

• Initial Israeli defeat – Even though Egyptian forces were forced to pull back, Sadat’s successful surprise attack broke the invincibility myth that the Israeli forces could not be defeated; Sadat’s status increased among Arabs.

• Economic ‘weapons’ – the OPEC nations attempted to lower oil production and increase prices to Western states such as the US and the Netherlands from 1973 to 1974

• Increased international involvement –The US became increasingly involved after the war in order to stabilize the region

Effects of the October WarEffects of the October War

Context Question: Why might both Israel and Egypt be more willing to consider diplomacy as a means of resolving their conflict after 1973?

The Camp David AccordsThe Camp David Accords

Several key events would lead to peace talks in 1978 between Sadat and Menachem Begin, prime minister of Israel. In 1975, Egyptian forces withdrew from the Sinai, and in 1977 Sadat visited Israel and offered recognition in return for peace and territory.

How might the Arab community respond to Sadat’s gestures of peace

with Israel?

• Both sides gained peace and US aid money, military resources and/or food

• Egypt regained the Sinai peninsula forcing Israeli settlers to leave; Egypt would be forced out of the Arab League

• Israel gained official recognition from Egypt and unhindered access to the Straits of Tiran

In September 1978, Sadat and Begin flew to Camp David to discuss a peace treaty, to be brokered by US president, Jimmy Carter. What did each side gain

and lose as a result of the peace treaty?

What major issues were left unresolved by the peace treaty and

why?

• 1971: The Jordanian Army forced the PLO out of Jordan after they attempted to take over the West Bank and other parts of the country

• 1981: Sadat was assassinated by members of the Muslim Brotherhood; their membership was heavily suppressed in Egypt.

• 1982: Syria forces massacred thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members and other Islamic militants in the town of Hama after the failure of an assassination attempt on President Hafez al-Assad

• 1982: Israel launched a costly invasion of Lebanon to destroy PLO bases, further destabilizing that country in the middle of its civil war

The response to the Camp David Accords by the Arab and Islamic

community was related to the rise in Arab and Islamic conflict.

What might explain the increase in Islamic fundamentalism in the Arab world in terms of unresolved issues

with Israel?

Arab and Islamic TerrorismArab and Islamic Terrorism

• Why did the Six-Day War of 1967 break out and what issues would lead to the Yom Kippur War of 1973?

• What did Egypt and Israel gain in the Camp David Accords of 1978 and what role did the US play in that agreement?

• Why did increasing numbers of the Arab community turn to terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism after 1978?

SUMMARY QUESTIONSSUMMARY QUESTIONS