new actors, new visions the rise of a palestinian counter-state, 1967-1987
TRANSCRIPT
New actors, new visions
The rise of a Palestinian
counter-state, 1967-1987
Arab-Israeli Conflict (1940s-1960s) Palestinians politically divided
West Bank Palestinians under Jordanian rule
Jordan grants Pal’s Jordanian citizenship, annexes territory (1950)
Incorporation of Pal. notables into Jordanian govt.
Gaza Pal’s under Egyptian rule No citizenship, refugee status
Refugees in Lebanon, elsewhere
Arab-Israeli Wars: 1948/49, 1956, 1967, 1973
The Suez Canal, object of British, French, and Israeli invasion in 1956.
Palestinian-Israeli Conflict (rise of Palestinian “counter-state,” 1960s onward )
New resistance organizations Fatah, 1959 Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO),
1964 Umbrella org - factionalized Fatah dominant after ‘69
New ethos Palestinians in charge (not Arab states) Liberation of Palestine prioritized (not Arab
unity Evolving plans for Palestine/Israel
Revolutionary struggle attacks on infrastructure and civilians (raids
on Israel from Jordan, Lebanon) PFLP
Diplomatic (1974 UN recognition)
Fatah leader Yasir Arafat, elected chairman of the PLO In 1969.
Palestinian counter-state, cont.
New images and identities: from refugees to resistance Spread of Palestinian
resistance to to all classes, genders
New politics- PLO as quasi-governmental org.
Jordan, Lebanon
Arab state sponsorship/tension
Poster announcing the annual conference of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) that took place in Algeria in 1971. The text on the left reads: “Despite the scourge of violent repression and terror, Palestinian students advance the revolution and are the strong voice of the Palestinian people everywhere.”
Poster and information: http://liberationgraphics.com/ppp/Introduction.html
New boundaries: Six-Day War Causes
Syrian-Israeli tensions; Fatah attacks & shelling of Israel
Arab propaganda war; threats against Israel
Soviet message to Egyptian President Gemal abd al-Nasser that Israel was massing forces on the Syrian border and was about to attack (Egypt, Syria, and Iraqi armies had a defense pact) (message later proven to be false)
Egypt blocks Straits of Tiran (shipping lane to Israel), cutting off Israel’s supply lines.
Destroyed Israeli tank and jeep on the road to Old Jerusalem. Photo:Israeli Press Office Photo Archives.
Six-Day War: What happened 5 June 1967 Israeli forces wage
a pre-emptive strike and destroy Egyptian air fields. Destroy its air forces on the ground.
Taking advantage of Jordanian shelling of Israel and other fighting, Israeli leaders seize “historic opportunity” and take East Jerusalem. Then take West Bank.
War finished June 10: Israel takes Golan Heights from Syria, West Bank & East Jerusalem from Jordan, Gaza Strip and Sinai from Egypt.
Moshe Dayan, Israeli Defense Minister in 1967
Six-Day War: Results 1 million new Palestinians under
Israeli military rule (No citizenship) New borders and new sense of Israeli
security Israelis announce they won’t withdraw
unless they receive full peace agreements negotiated directly with Arab states
Nasser resigns, brought back into office by popular support.
General expectation that Israel will return the territories
1981 Israel annexes Jerusalem and most of Golan Heights (most of orig. inhabitants fled)
Palestinians skirt a burned-out truck in Jerusalem. Photo unattributed.
’67 War: Other effects New opportunities for
Fatah leadership Quieted Pan-Arabism “Reunited” many
Palestinians under common Israeli occupation
Israeli policies towards the territories: General
Physical but not social integration Suppression of Palestinian nationalism Citizenship NOT extended to Palestinians in
Occupied Territories Attempts to control as much land as possible economic integration of West Bank and Gaza
with Israel proper
Israeli Policies: Two Main Phases “Carrot and Stick Phase” (1967-1977)
Military rule of the territories Late 1960s and early ‘70s, relatively “liberal”
Expansion of universities, permission to engage in limited political activities
large degree of self government to municipalities Open bridge policy between Jordan and West Bank
(initially) harsh repression for any demonstration of
resistance Deportations, especially of leaders of Palestinian
nationalism Collective punishment (curfews, blowing up of
houses) Economic integration with Israel
A memorial at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank, which expanded in the 1970s and became a center of Palestinian nationalism.
Photo: Randa Shaath
“Iron Fist Phase” (1977 onward) administrative detention
Pal’s could be held for 6 months without trial (62 such cases in 1980-85; 131 in last five months of 1985); torture
dismissal of Palestinian mayors; interrogation, deportation freezing of Palestinian building permits, new limitations on freedom
of expression, editors arrested, etc Settlements, government land seizures, Israeli military control
most intense period of settlement: ’77-’85: 119 new Israeli settlements
By 1985 Israeli authorities have control over 52% of the West Bank’s land and at least 40% of the Gaza Strip.
Israel state consolidation: wars, peace, and uncertainty Arab-Israeli wars
1956, 1967, 1973, 1982 invasion of Lebanon
Intent: secure borders, eradicate Arab military threat, expand boundaries, destroy PLO bases (after ‘56)
Arab-Israeli peace settlements Camp David (Egypt) 1978 Jordan (1994)
Internal Israeli disagreements over the future
Former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, moments before he was assassinated in 1981. Sadat led Egypt against Israel in the 1974 “October/Yom Kippur” War and signed a peace treaty at Camp David with Israel in 1978.