Title: Palestine-Israel Conflict Historical
1 Palestine-Israel Conflict Historical
Geopolitical Perspective
- Prepared for PHILIPPINE SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE
- 25 November 2010
- by Rey Claro Casambre
- PHILIPPINE PEACE CENTER
- and the
- INTERNATONAL LEAGUE OF PEOPLES STRUGGLE
- Study Commission on Peace
-
2Introduction
- This paper aims to provide a brief historical
background and geopolitical perspective on the
decades-long conflict between the Palestinians
and the Israelis, and the role of the US in this
conflict
3The history of the Palestine-Israel conflict may
be discussed in four periods
- From ancient times to the end of World War I
- The British Mandate of Palestine 1917-1948
- The establishment of the state of Israel and the
Israel-Arab Wars (1948-1982) - Peace talks, the 1st and 2nd Intefada, to the
present
4Ancient Times to the End of World War I
- 1250 BC - Israelites conquer Canaan King
David, Solomon (965-928)and other Hebrew rulers - 586BC - Jews driven out by Assyrian conqueror
Nebuchadnezzer - Succession of Assyrian, Persian (539BC), Greek
(333BC), Egyptian, Syrian, Roman Byzantine (63
BC), and Arab rulers from Damascus (661-750),
Iraq (750-1258), and Cairo (969-1099, 1187-1516),
and the Crusaders (1099-1187) . - Palestine incorporated into the Ottoman Empire
from 1516-1917 - Zionism the movement to establish a separate
Jewish state in Palestine was born in the end
of the 19th century
5The Middle East in 1917
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7The British Mandate (1917-48)
- The Balfour Declaration of 1917 pledged Britains
support for the establishment in Palestine of a
national home for the Jewish people and paid lip
service to safeguarding the civil and political
rights of the non-Jewish communities in Palestine - Successive waves of migrations increased Jewish
population in Palestine from less than 6 in 1903
to 31 in 1945
8UN RESOLUTION 181 PAVES WAY TO THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF ISRAEL IN PALESTINE
- 29 Nov 1947 - UN Resolution 181 partitioning
Palestine into a Jewish state (56.5 of
Palestine) and a Palestinian state (43)
rejected by the Palestinians and Arab states. - 14 May 1948 - State of Israel proclaimed in Tel
Aviv at 400 P.M. , recognized by US President
Truman - 15 May 1948 - British Mandate ends. Declaration
of State of Israel comes into effect.
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10The Arab-Israeli Wars
- 1949 First Arab-Israeli War
- 1956 Suez Campaign (Oct 29-Nov 5)
- 1967 - Six-Day War (June 5-10)
- 1973 - October War (Yom Kippur)
- 1982 - Israeli invasion of Lebanon
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13- Six-Day War
- 1967
- June 5-10
14- October 1973 War
- (Yom Kippur)
15Peace Talks and the Intefada
- 1978 Camp David Accords between Israel
and Egypt Israel turns over Sinai to Egypt in
exchange for recognition of right to exist - 1987 - the outbreak of the first
Palestinian intefada in December 1987 triggered
by death of Palestinian youths run over by
Israeli lorry (military personnel carrier) - 1988 - Yasser Arafat's condemnation of
terrorism and recognition of the state of Israel
in December 1988. - 1991 October - The Madrid peace
conference
16- POST-COLD WAR (1992- PRESENT)
- 1992 - secret Israeli-Palestinian talks in Oslo,
Norway - 1993 Declaration of Principles (DoP), signed by
Yasser Arafat and Israeli PM Yitzhak
Rabino set up the Palestinian Authority,
but - o failed to resolve the issues of
return of Palestinian refugees
the status of Jerusalem
Israeli settlements
final Palestine-Israel borders - 1994 Arafat returned to Gaza Strip and West
bank to head the Palestinian Authority
17However, Israelwielded full authority and
control by frequently sealing off the
Palestinian-governed areas from the rest of the
Occupied Territories and from Israel.
18Some highlights in recent history of Palestine
- 1974 - The Arab Summit in Rabat recognized the
PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the
Palestinian people. - 1987 - Relations between Israel and the
Palestinians entered a new phase with the
intifada, a series of uprisings in the occupie - d territories that included demonstrations,
strikes, and rock-throwing attacks on Israeli
soldiers. - 1988 - The Palestinian National Conference
meeting in Algiers declared the State of
Palestine as outlined in the UN Partition Plan
181. - 1993 Israeli PM Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser
Arafat signed an historic peace agreement wherein
Israel agreed to allow for Palestinian self-rule
(Palestinian National Authority), first in the
Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho, and
later in other areas of the West Bank. But failed
to resolve the issues of return of Palestinians
to Palestine, Jewish settlements, Jerusalem and
final Israel-Palestine borders. - 1994 Jan - PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat elected
President of the PNA. -
19Camp David Summit, 11 July 2000
- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, US President
Bill Clinton and Palestinian President Yasser
Arafat failed to reach an agreement on resolving
the Israel-Palestine conflict.
20September 2000 Opposition Likud Party candidate
Ariel Sharons visit to Jerusalem sparks 2nd
Intifada, which lasts throughout 2001.
21March 2002 - Saudi Peace Initiative
- Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia proposed a
Saudi peace initiative in March 2002 that
formally changed the Arab world?s position on
Israel. - The proposal, endorsed by the Arab League, asked
Israel to withdraw to the 1949 borders and
establish an independent and sovereign state of
Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital. It
stipulated that displaced refugees should either
be allowed to return to their homes or be
compensated for their loss of property. - In return, the Arab states would consider the
Arab-Israeli conflict over, sign comprehensive
peace treaties with Israel, and normalize
relations. - The proposal was received with skepticism by
Israel and had little practical effect.
2213 March 2002 - U.N. Resolution 1397
- The U.S. pushes through the passage of U.N.
Resolution 1397 by the Security Council,
demanding an "immediate cessation of all acts of
violence" and "affirming a vision of a region
where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side
by side within secure and recognized borders".
25 November 2010
23 March 2002 - Israeli forces attack Palestinian
cities
- Operation Defensive Shield, Israel's largest
military operation in the West Bank since the
1967 Six-Day War. Its goals was launched
purportedly - to enter cities and villages which have become
havens for terrorists - to catch and arrest terrorists and, primarily,
their dispatchers and those who finance and
support them - to confiscate weapons intended to be used
against Israeli citizens - to expose and destroy terrorist facilities and
explosives, laboratories, weapons production
factories and secret installations.
24Attack on Arafats HQ at Ramallah(14 March 2002)
2512 April 2002 Massacre at Jenin Refugee Camp
- IDF used heavy armored bulldozers to flatten
apartment buildings in Jenin, burying trapped
occupants alive. Foreign media was prevented from
entering the camps for two weeks after the
operation.
26IDF troops occupy Bethlehem and attack the Church
of the Nativity, where 200 Palestinians sought
refuge for 39 days
27June 2002 Israel starts construction of the
West Bank Apartheid Wall
28The Wall will run over 650 km deep inside West
Bank, will de facto annex nearly 50 of it.
29The Wall takes on a variety of forms, but always
with watchtowers, concertina wire, and bulldozed
buffer zones.
30 The Wall is a blatant violation of
international law, particularly on the annexation
of occupied land (United Nations Charter, art.
2.4).
31The Wall has devastated every aspect of
Palestinian life, and has incited strong protest
not only by the Palestinians but by the
international community as well.
32US, European Union, Russia and the UN propose a
Road Map to Peace
- called for an independent Palestinian state
peacefully coexisting with Israel - requires the PNA to undertake democratic reforms
and abandon the use of terrorism. - Israel must support and accept the emergence of a
reformed Palestinian government and end
settlement activity of the Gaza Strip and West
Bank as the Palestinian threat is removed.
33June 2003 Arab Summit
- Arab leaders hold a two-day summit in Egypt,
announce their support for the US-EU-Russia-UN
Road Map and promised to work on cutting off
funding to terrorist groups.
3421 Aug 2003 Israel assassinates Ismael Abu
Sinaub, 3rd most senior Hamas leader
- Five Israeli missiles incinerated Ismail Abu
Shanab in Gaza City, killing one of the most
powerful voices for peace in Hamas and destroying
a seven-week ceasefire. Hamas declared an
immediate end to the truce and vowed a bloody
revenge for the death of Abu Shanab, who was
married with 11 children. He had advocated the
existence of a Palestinian state alongside
Israel, not replacing it.
35US role in the conflict
- 1948 - Israel wins the first war against its Arab
neighbors leading to the establishment of the
state of Israel. The US lobbied for Israel and
was the first country to recognize Israel in the
United Nations. - 1956 Suez Crisis - Israel, France, and Britain
attack Egypt in October of 1956 after the Suez
crisis but the US comes out against the war
forcing UN intervention and an end to
hostilities.
36 - 1967 Six-Day War - US backs Israel in its third
war in the region against the armies of Egypt,
Jordan and Syria. Israel gains control of the
Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, Syria's Golan
Heights, and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. - 1973 -October/Yom Kippur War - Egypt and Syria
attack Israel in October of 1973 in an attempt to
reclaim lands lost in the Six-Day War. Israel
initially suffers major losses until the United
States arranged a massive airlift of weapons
which helped Israel in its counteroffensive.
37- 1978 Camp David Accords - US President Jimmy
Carter mediates negotiations between Egypt's
Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin leading
to the Camp David Accords, the prerequisite to
the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty. - 1982 War of Lebanon -- Israel gets explicitly
involved in the Lebanese Civil War, attacking
Syrian and Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) forces. The US mediates an agreement with
the PLO to withdrawal which leads to American
troop deployment in Lebanon. - 1991-Current - Peace Process -- The US has
played a mediating role between Israel and its
neighboring Arab countries, leading to the Madrid
Conference (1991), Oslo Process/Accords (1993),
the Israeli-Jordanian Peace Treaty (1994), and
most recently the Roadmap For Peace. - 2006 War with Lebanon - Israel attacks Lebanon
in retaliation for the Hezbollah kidnapping of
Israeli soldiers. Questions arose about whether
or not Israel used American supplied weapons
during the conflict.
38Israel largest recipient of military aid from
1976-2004 since then 2nd only to Iraq
- US stockpiles war materials in Israel that it
ccan use in any part of the world, while Israel
can and also has used these its military
offensives such as the 2006 war in Lebanon.
From USD 800 M worth in 2007, the stockpile will
be increased to USD 1 billion in 2011 - Since 1985, Israel received nearly USD 3 B in
military aid with preferential terms (early
delivery, can be used for RDto buy military
hardware , eg warplanes from the US) -
39Straight from the US State Departments mouth
- U.S. assistance will help ensure that Israel
maintains its qualitative military edge over
potential threats, and prevent a shift in the
security balance of the region. U.S. assistance
is also aimed at ensuring for Israel the security
it requires to make concessions necessary for
comprehensive regional peace. (in justifying
FY2011 Foreign Operations budget)
40Pipeline Geopolitics and Israel
- Israel is part of the Anglo-American military
axis, which serves the interests of the Western
oil giants in the Middle East and Central Asia.
Not surprisingly, Israel has military cooperation
agreements with Georgia and Azerbaijan. - Oil and natural gas are also factors in Israels
insistence in maintaining control of occupied
territories in the West Bank and Gaza strip.
41The Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline
- While the official reports state that the BTC
pipeline will "channel oil to Western markets",
what is rarely acknowledged is that part of the
oil from the Caspian sea would be directly
channeled towards Israel. In this regard, an
underwater Israeli-Turkish pipeline project has
been envisaged which would link Ceyhan to the
Israeli port of Ashkelon and from there through
Israel's main pipeline system, to the Red Sea.
42- The objective of Israel is not only to acquire
Caspian sea oil for its own consumption needs but
also to play a key role in re-exporting Caspian
sea oil back to the Asian markets through the Red
Sea port of Eilat. The strategic implications of
this re-routing of Caspian sea oil are
farreaching. - What is envisaged is to link the BTC pipeline to
the Trans-Israel Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline, also
known as Israel's Tipline, from Ceyhan to the
Israeli port of Ashkelon.
43US-Israel targetting Iran
- US has stepped up its political and economic
offensive against Iran as part of the axis of
evil and threatens to invade and occupy it
unless it dismantles its nuclear weapons program - Israel has been pushing the US to take more
aggressive military actions against Iran, which
it accuses of preparing a nuclear attack on
Israel. - Iran remains the main obstacle to the
consolidation of US hegemony and control of the
Middle East and its resources