War in the middle east, why oh why?

Gaza for example had a population of 80,000 in 1948 and it was flooded by 180,000 refugees. The influx of population meant the economy wouldnt be able to sustain most of them, and that meant misery and squalor. I seriously doubt people would leave their homes to go crowd up in a tiny strip just to force a crisis on the region, out of the blue. It was war and they were refugees, and under international law, they have the right to return, right consistently refused by Israel.

UNGA Resolution 194(III) 11 December 1948
UNGA Resolution 273(III) 11 May 1949
UNSC Resolution 93, 18 may 1951
UNGA Resolution 3236(XXIX), November 1974

Not only that, but Israel also tried to push them even further into the Sinai and get rid of the problem.

take care

Well seeing from 1945 - 1948 the British Authorities in Palastine, were stopping the influx of Jewish Displaced Persons (D.P.s) from the Death Camps in Europe, and also followed the policy of not allowing the Jewish settlers to obtain weapons and also dening the Jewish any weapons even for local Self -Defence of Kibutz's from Arab raiders, and agreed to hand over all their (British) spare arms to the Arabs upon leaving Palastine how did the Israelis manage to start a war and defeat their heavily armed Arab neighbours.

Obviously you are believing Arab anti-semetic Propaganda, there was no War per-se in 1948 only the right given by the United Nations for the creation of the State of Israel to exsist.

As I stated before most ignorant, and by this I mean poor uneducated Palastinians fled upon the orders of the Grand Mufti of Cario broadcasting on Radio from Egypt.

In 1948 the newly created Israel had not the means or the manpower to take on the might of the Arab world in a war.

Kevin in Deva.

Irgun Zvai Leumi and Lohamei Herut Yisrael let loose in the region since at least 1947 had nothing to do with the poor and uneducated palestinians fleeing? but a mufti in ... Cairo had. Interesting way of looking at things.
I'm more inclined to think the power of "examples" and Israeli warnings/threats to leave were enough to make the majority of the poor uneducated palestinians leave their homes. See what happened in southern Lebanon. The Israeli merely dropped leaflets warning the residents to leave and half a million people left. Because they knew what they would face.
Besides, there was a war in 1948.

edit - could you please back some of your statements? for example the mufti thing?

This post has been edited by Imperialist on August 28, 2006 09:06 am

The Stern gang on their own were not enough to chase the Arabs out of Palastine, again a fact taken and blown out of all proportion.

Kevin in Deva.

I must repeat myself. The following acts, being just the ones I know of there could be more, state that Israel has the obligation to respect the palestinian refugees' right to return to their homes:

UNGA Resolution 194(III) 11 December 1948
UNGA Resolution 273(III) 11 May 1949
UNSC Resolution 93, 18 may 1951
UNGA Resolution 3236(XXIX), November 1974

What you're trying to say is those were not refugees but "willing movers", just packing up and leaving their homes going into an uncertain future just because someone said so on the radio? Then I dont see why the UN called them refugees. Let me guess - arab propaganda. Well, arab propaganda is so powerful and you worry so much about it that it hasnt managed to do anything in the past 60 years, has it?

Indeed, the gangs were not enough on themselves. But they did terror acts, the palestinians responded in kind, and then Haganah came in with the cavalry to retaliate* to palestinian "raids", but leaving the gangs alone. Bad cop, good cop.

I dont doubt there were palestinian attacks, arab attacks, then it was the first arab-israeli war. My point was Israel knowingly followed its objectives of evicting unwanted palestinian population then refuse its return. That's called "ethnic cleansing". And it was several times asked to let them return.

*- and as shown in the recent war with Lebanon, when Israeli army retaliates, it usually does so at least 10 times stronger

take care

You really have the cart before the horse on this topic, the Arabs were always the instigators of the attacks on the Jews, there was no policy of ethnic cleansing, no death camps, no final solution for the Palastinian problems as you put it. How could it be so when the Jew's were outnumbered by armed arabs???

The Jewish State which quickly became the State of Israel, always said it welcomes its Arab population to live with them, to freely practise their faith, to exsist alongside them. All it asked was they obey the laws of the State of Israel.

Also any large body of people who leave one area and move to another are collectively known as refugees, be it Political or Economical.

Your ethnic cleansing scenario would have us all believe the Jew's forced the removal of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes just on the word of the Jew's, (and again I state it here because you are obviously hard of understanding).

The majority,( thats the ARABS) were forced out by the minority, (Thats the JEWS) with no help from any other country. . ??

What happened the big-bad boggey man Jew said "BOO" and the Arabs got so scared, and they all ran away to Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon??

Nice Trick

Kevin in Deva

This post has been edited by New Connaught Ranger on August 28, 2006 01:52 pm

As the result of the 1948 events Israel expanded its UN-assigned territory from 55% of the Mandate to 78%. Around 700,000 palestinians became refugees, all from the lands that became Israel.

Yes, the boggey man said boo. And you saw it in Lebanon again. Bombs, leaflets, phone calls, radio broadcasting - briefly put, iron, blood and psychological warfare. Your "boo". And you saw how easy it was to send 500,000 people as refugees even when they didnt have bridges left to cross.

No, they didnt run to Egypt or Jordan, their majority ran to Gaza and West Bank, which were occupied by Egypt and Jordan also in 1948.

p.s. the responsability for the ethnic cleansing lies with Israel because it got and kept the cleansed lands and it refused the return of the refugees. typical actions when you want to ethnic cleanse a region.

take care

You cannot compare the Jewish forces of 1948 armed with second-hand Ww2 rifles, hardley a tank, or aircraft, to the modern Israeli army of today, it is totaly out of context with regards, organisation, equipment, and capability.

Again the Majority left, the Minority remained, and all without the help of heavy artillery, large combat formations, tank brigades, paratroopers, psy-opps etc. . . etc....

Look at the technical aspects of a country with nothing in 1948 as compared to a modern, 20th century country of 2006, thats 58 years difference,

If by your mentality we judge Israel with having done what you claim in 1948, then surley they should be ruling the world by now.

Or is that your next claim

Kevin in Deva.

This post has been edited by New Connaught Ranger on August 28, 2006 03:30 pm

Really? I thought they were the same.
Seriously now, I was simply comparing the way in which around 10000 soldiers (and I doubt all of them were in Lebanon when the refugees started to leave) and some "collateral victims" can put a lot more people on the run when they warn them to do so.

As to the idea that Israel had nothing:

The Haganah, the underground Jewish army in Palestine, was setting up a clandestine arms-procurement ring in the United States, headquartered in New York City. The country was split into four regions, and money for the operation was no problem.

In Palestine, Jews and Arabs were throwing everything they had at each other. It wasn't full-scale war but rather a continuing series of terrorist attacks for control of roads and villages. Haganah officials had a plan to up the ante. Cigar-smoking Jews carrying one-pound bricks of TNT would run up to Arab houses, jam short fuses into the bricks, light them, hurl them through a window and run like hell. They had the cigars; all they needed was the TNT.

Arms poured into the hands of the American Zionists. Jewish GIs sent along souvenir guns they'd brought home from overseas. Italian mobsters like Lucky Luciano and Jewish mobsters like Mickey Cohen chipped in. Playwright Ben Hecht, one of the most radical Zionists, staged huge fundraising shows featuring chorus girls cavorting with papier-mache tommy guns.

By the fall of 1947, a man named Teddy Kollek had come to the U.S. to take over the Haganah's American operations. Kollek later would become the mayor of Jerusalem. At this point, though, he was simply a clever operations man, adept at making deals and arrangements. And there were constant deals: Kollek curried favor with all kinds of people, including dictator Anastasio Somoza in Nicaragua. Throughout the U.S., operatives like Sterling were carrying out the Haganah's wishes. The Zionists had purchased ships through front companies and then used them to try to haul Jewish refugees to Palestine. Hank Greenspun, later famous as a crusading newspaper editor in Las Vegas, was in charge of the Haganah's Pacific region, and he delivered numerous planes and other materiel to the Zionists.

One arm of the Haganah was the Land and Labor Movement; Sterling set up a local branch. This group was not clandestine, but it received little publicity. He gathered doctors and psychiatrists and businessmen to screen prospective non-Jewish workers needed in Palestine. Ostensibly, the idea was to round up farmers and workers. In reality, the Denver group found a handful of tank and airplane mechanics, gave them each a $50,000 life-insurance policy and $1,000 a month and sent them off to Italy, from where they would be taken to Palestine.

full article: http://www.westword.com/issues/1997-08-14/.../feature_1.html

The Altalena, purchased by Irgun members abroad, was originally intended to reach Israel on May 15, 1948, loaded with fighters and military equipment.

4,500 tons, bringing 800-900 men, 5,000 rifles, 250 Bren guns, 5 million bullets, 50 Bazoukas, 10 Bren carriers. Zipstein (director of Tel Aviv port) assumes that at night it will be possible to unload it all.

http://www.etzel.org.il/english/ac20.htm

These are just examples, I am sure you realise "nothing" is an understatement.

No, they're not ruling the world, just a part of it. But they try their best.
Seriously now, what is your point with the minority/majority thing?

So you read something on a web-page by Ward Harkavy and we are to believe it???

Really your selected comments are meaningless, what you post has no bearing on reality, do you really think a ship load of arms or two was enough to arm the whole Jewish male population?? and run the Arabs out of town

The Haganah, the underground Jewish army in Palestine, was setting up a clandestine arms-procurement ring in the United States, headquartered in New York City. The country was split into four regions, and money for the operation was no problem.

"Was setting up", dosent mean it actually acheived anything.

And with regards "Cigar-smoking Jews carrying one-pound bricks of TNT would run up to Arab houses, jam short fuses into the bricks, light them, hurl them through a window and run like hell. They had the cigars; all they needed was the TNT."

Anybody who has used explosives knows the fuses would have been inserted into the sticks of dynamite before even approaching the intended target, who ever put this crap together obviously had no knowledge about the fusing methods of dynamite or its clandestine uses.

Arms poured into the hands of the American Zionists. Jewish GIs sent along souvenir guns they'd brought home from overseas. Italian mobsters like Lucky Luciano and Jewish mobsters like Mickey Cohen chipped in. Playwright Ben Hecht, one of the most radical Zionists, staged huge fundraising shows featuring chorus girls cavorting with papier-mache tommy guns.

Well I think you will find the Scicilian Mobster "Lucky" Luciano (a devout Catholic even for a Mobster) was in prison so he couldnt have done much, unless the Fund Raiser was being staged in "Sing-Sing" Prison.

WOW!! huge fundraising shows featuring chorus girls cavorting with papier-mache tommy guns, sounds like MTV gone wrong.


In all your posts I detect a bit of jealosy that the Jewish people managed to exsist at all, why you have this attitude I dont know, but you live in a small sad world, and nothing you say or post will change the fact the Israel, with its American friends is here to stay.

SHALOM

NCR, the fact that you dont like that article doesnt mean the Israelis had nothing as you earlier said. Like I pointed out, these are only examples to show that an active effort to bring arms and volunteers to Israel was on going. It doesnt mean the things on Altalena were the only ones shipped.
But I can already sense a change in your opinion. Earlier you said they had nothing, now you want to say they didnt have enough for all.

As for "bearing on reality" your earlier idea that 700,000 people would suddenly leave their homes because a guy in Cairo tells them so and all in a major conspiracy to make the jews look bad , must be a champion of "bearing on reality".

As for me being jealous because others managed to exist, no thank you. The discussion started from the Israeli contempt for the Palestinian right to return, in violation of these international acts:

UNGA Resolution 194(III) 11 December 1948
UNGA Resolution 273(III) 11 May 1949
UNSC Resolution 93, 18 may 1951
UNGA Resolution 3236(XXIX), November 1974

NOT from me disputing Israel's right to exist. Or do you want to imply Israel can only exist as a breaker of international law and human rights?

Can you dismiss any of these resolutions as you dismissed the Ward Harkavy article?

take care

Great friendship:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAoe26MaTew

As an irony, the bearer of the message enjoyed the freedom to show it. That makes it the most interesting of that series of photos.

Was this the same UNITED NATIONS where a vote was taken to recognise the newly formed State of Israel??

* * * * * *

The Events Leading Up to the Establishment of the State of Israel

One cannot discuss the Arab-Israeli conflict without first examining the events leading up to the establishment of the State of Israel. These events will thus be discussed in this section.

Although Jews have, over the eighteen centuries since the Roman Exile, maintained a constant presence (albeit small) in the Land of Israel, the modern concept of Zionism - which led to the formation of the State of Israel - has its roots in nineteenth century Europe. There, Jews experienced the political and scientific renaissance known as the Emancipation, which gave Jews the chance to break their general isolation from the day-to-day affairs of the countries in which they resided. Many Jews adopted the ethno-nationalist political ideology that was developing in Europe at the time and set up moshavim - communities which were financed largely by Baron Edmund de Rothschild of Paris - and socialist communes (called kibbutzim) in Israel, their ancient homeland. The first wave of Jews who were so inclined arrived in Israel (then known as Palestine) in 1882, in what is known as the First Aliyah ("going up:" the way Jews describe their immigration to the Holy Land).

Other Jews assimilated into their host countries. One such Jew was Theodor Herzl, a Hungarian-born reporter. Although he was fully assimilated into European society, Herzl’s life and worldview changed dramatically in 1895, when he covered the court martial of Captain Alfred Dreyfus. The court martial resulted from the French intelligence services’ discovery of a secret military document that had been transmitted from a French officer to the military attaché of the German Embassy in Paris. Although evidence seemed to indicate that the actual traitor was Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy, a Hungarian who had connections to the Germans, the French military establishment refused to believe that Esterhazy was guilty. Instead, they blamed Dreyfus, primarily because he was a Jew, which made him, in the eyes of the French military, a likely traitor. On January 5, 1895, following a secret court martial, Dreyfus was publically demoted and exiled for life to Devil’s Island, near South America.

At the public demotion ceremony, Herzl heard many anti-Semitic epithets being uttered by members of the crowd, including "Death to the Jews." Herzl came to the conclusion that, no matter how much the Jews assimilated into their host countries, they would always be persecuted. The only solution, Herzl believed, would be the exodus of Jews from these countries to a specifically Jewish country. Although he died in 1904, decades before the formation of the State of Israel, the state owes its existence in large part to Herzl’s ideas.

Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, Jewish immigration to Israel continued. The climactic event of this period, however, took place not in Israel but rather in Nazi Germany, in which millions of Jews, forced to remain in Germany because they had nowhere else to go, perished in the Holocaust. The Holocaust was such a powerful demonstration of Herzl’s reasons for setting up a Jewish country being taken to their logical extreme that that Jewish country, the State of Israel, was declared just three years following the end of World War II, on May 14, 1948.



World War II

The events of World War II had a major impact on the future State of Israel. From an Israeli perspective, the most significant event of World War II was the Holocaust.

Just prior to the Holocaust, many Jews tried to escape from Germany. Many attempted to get into the United States, but they were turned down. The same thing happened in other countries. As a result, they were forced to return and eventually perished in the Death Camps. Others tried to immigrate to Israel (Palestine), but the British (who had were in charge of a Mandate government in the region) purposely instituted policies that made it quite difficult for many Jews to immigrate to Israel.

In 1939, the British government put forth a new White Paper in an attempt to appease the local Arab population. Among other things, the White Paper of 1939 put significant restrictions on the numbers of Jews who would be allowed to immigrate to Israel; for all intents and purposes the White Paper closed the gates to Jewish immigration.

Jews living in Israel thus faced a serious dilemma: on the one hand, they wanted to assist the British in their efforts to fight the Nazis in Europe; on the other hand, however, they wanted to fight the British efforts in Israel to prevent Jewish immigration. This love/hate attitude toward the British was best summed up by future Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion - at the time, the Chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive: "We will fight Hitler as if no White Paper existed and we will fight the White Paper as if Hitler did not exist." Thus, Jews would assist the British in Europe, but they would reserve a right to fight against the British in Israel.

One of the most famous Jews who fought in Europe was Hanna Senesh, an immigrant from Hungary who came to Israel in 1939. Although she enrolled in the Nahalal Agricultural School and intended to become a farmer on a kibbutz, history had other plans for her. Just a few short years after her arrival in Israel, Senesh - along with the rest of the world - began to learn of the Nazi Holocaust back in Europe. She soon volunteered to serve in an elite unit of Jewish paratroopers. After undergoing grueling commando training, Senesh was chosen, along with 31 other volunteers, to parachute into Europe to fight the Nazis head-on.

In January 1944, she parachuted into Yugoslavia and crossed into Hungary. Unfortunately, she was caught by Hungarian Partisans, known for their anti-Semitism. The Partisans turned her over to the Nazis. For five months, she was held in a Gestapo jail in Budapest, where she was severely tortured. As hard as they tried, however, the Nazis could not break her. Finally, on November 7, 1944, Senesh was executed by a firing squad; she refused to be blindfolded. Hanah Senesh was reburied in Jerusalem in 1950.

Meanwhile, back in Israel, the majority of the Irgun (the Jewish National Military Organization, or Irgun Tzvah Leumi - commonly abbreviated Etzel) decided to cease fighting against the British and, instead, assist them in Europe. However, Avraham Stern led a small faction of the Irgun against the British. Stern believed that the war in Europe was so important to the British that they would be more than willing to make consessions to Jews in Israel if this proved necessary. He even negotiated with the Germans and the Italians!

Soon, Stern found it necessary to break with the Irgun altogether. He formed the LEHI (Lochamei Cherut Yisrael - "Freedom Fighters of Israel"), also known as the "Stern Gang." The British did everything possible to track LEHI members. Finally, in 1942, the British arrested Stern himself and killed him shortly thereafter. This only served to make Stern a martyr to LEHI members, and their resolve to attack the British was strengthened with Stern's death.

Meanwhile, at about the same time as Stern's death, Irgun leader David Raziel was killed in Iraq while on a mission for the British. He was replaced with future Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. By 1944, it had become clear that the Allies would win the War. Consequently, on February 1, Begin announced that the Irgun was resuming its fight against the British.

As the world outside of Germany began to learn the gruesome details of the Holocaust, the Jews of Israel increased their pressure on the British to rescind the White Paper and allow Holocaust survivors to come to Israel. The British, however, refused to cooperate. As a result, the struggle against the British intensified - especially from the LEHI, whose members considered any British policeman or soldier a legitimate target.

With more and more British being killed in Israel, the people of the United Kingdom increased their demands that the British pull out of Israel altogether. The British finally gave up, returning the Mandate for Palestine to the United Nations in 1947.

For many Jews, the events of World War II underscored the need for a safe haven for Jews, so that they would never again be without a place to flee from anti-Semitism in the Diaspora. Consequently, the State of Israel was founded in 1948, just three years after World War II ended.

The Arab-Israel Conflict Prior to the State of Israel’s Establishment

After World War I, the League of Nations gave France and the United Kingdom control of the region that had been liberated from the Ottoman Empire: France was given Lebanon and Syria, while the UK was given Iraq and Palestine (modern-day Israel - including Gaza and the West Bank - and Jordan). The stated reason for the French and British presence was to prepare the regions in question for independence.

On October 31, 1917, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration, which established the British position that the Jews should have a country of their own in Palestine.

The Jewish claim to Palestine was also strengthened by the rapidly increasing Jewish population in this region. Under the leadership of future Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion, large tracts of land were purchased from Arabs, many of whom resided abroad. Alarmed at their ever-shrinking majority, the Arabs in Palestine began to take defensive measures. Palestinian Arab nationalist organizations were set up, including the Higher Arab Council, which attempted to influence British policy and to counter the activities of the Zionists. Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, tried to garner foreign support for the cessation of Zionist activity and for the conclusion of the British mandate. The British, in an effort to win Arab support, issued several "White Papers," which restricted Jewish immigration. Palestinian Jews, however, fought the White Papers by helping European Jews immigrate to Palestine illegally.

The State of Israel’s independence only served to exacerbate the already serious conflict between the Jews and the Arabs. Indeed, as the British were preparing to leave Palestine, both Arabs and Jews were already purchasing arms abroad, in preparation for the war that both sides knew was about to ensue. On April 9, 1948, the Jewish LEHI and Irgun forces attacked Dayr Yasin, a Palestinian village that had signed a non-aggression pact with the far less aggressive Hagana. It should be noted that, before the attack, a loudspeaker was used to warn Arab civilians to evacuate the area. Some 200 heeded the warning and evacuated.

However, many other civilians did not evacuate and thus died in the ensuing attack. It has traditionally been reported that approximately 250 men, women, and children were killed at Dayr Yasin. This figure is based on the number reported in local newspapers at the time. However, a new study put out by Bir Zeit University puts the number of people killed at a maximum of 120. (See Prusher, Ilene R., "Dispute Over 1948 Killings Brings Troubled History to Light," Christian Science Monitor, April 6, 1998.)


On May 15, 1948, the day after Israel was declared an independent state, it was attacked by a military force made up of the combined armies of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan. Although few thought it possible, Israel emerged from this war as the victor; by the time the war ended in 1949, Israel had acquired parts of the West Bank and northern Palestine - both of which the UN had reserved for the Palestinian Arabs - in addition to the land that had been allocated to Israel. Furthermore, Jordan had acquired the rest of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Egypt had acquired the Gaza Strip - all of which had also been reserved for the Palestinians. The war is thus remembered by the two sides under different names: Israelis refer to it as the War of Independence, while Palestinian Arabs call it Al Nakba ("The Catastrophe").

The Sinai Campaign

In 1952, Colonel Gamal Abd al-Nasser seized power in Egypt in a bloodless coup. As a leader, Nasser espoused what has become known as "Nasserism," the major goal of which was to unify all Arabs into a single state. Fearing the loss of access to Arabian oil that could ensue if Nasserism spread, the United States and other countries attempted to weaken Nasser. In 1956, the U.S. retracted its offer to finance Egypt’s Aswan Dam. In response, Nasser nationalized the strategically important Suez Canal, which had been under British control since 1937. In order to help Britain to regain the Canal, the U.K., France, and Israel decided upon a military strategy: with French support, the Israelis would attack Egypt, and then a "peacekeeping" force from France and the U.K. would enter Egypt, thereby ensuring Western control over the region. Although the campaign went according to plan, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. pressured France, Britain, and Israel to withdraw their troops. When the three countries eventually did so, Nasser was honored by Arabs as a leader who had saved the Arab world.

Driven by his dream to unite the Arabs into a single nation, Nasser convinced Syria, in 1958, to join Egypt in the formation of the United Arab Republic (UAR). However, this success was short-lived: three years later, Syria, annoyed by what it saw as Egypt’s domination in the UAR, withdrew from the United Arab Republic. Nonetheless, Nasser continued to be a key player in Arab affairs, and, in 1964, he hosted two Arab summits; at one of the summits, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was born. Based in Egypt, the PLO was to become a key player in Palestinian Arab affairs. Even in the Organization’s infancy, Yasser Arafat, a Palestinian nationalist and the PLO’s future leader, was already the leader of a small PLO faction called FATAH ("Opening" in Arabic, as in 'creating an OPENING back to Palestine').

The Six-Day War

Soon after its creation, the PLO began to sponsor attacks on Israel from several fronts. Israel retaliated by attacking Palestinian refugee camps on all the fronts from which the PLO attacks were launched, including Israel’s northern border, which served to exacerbate Israel’s already tense relations with Syria. Finally, in April 1967, the Syrian and Israeli airforces fought one another. On May 22, Nasser blockaded the Straits of Tiran, even though Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol had warned him that such an act would be viewed as an act of war. With the atmosphere of war once again developing, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan sent their respective troops to the Israeli borders.

On June 5, Israel launched a successful preemptive strike against Egyptian air fields in Sinai, effectively destroying the entire Egyptian air force while the latter’s planes were still on the ground. Although Eshkol attempted to convince Jordan’s King Hussein to refrain from involving Jordan in the war, the former was unsuccessful. As a result, Jordan lost East Jerusalem to Israel on June 7.


Attack on the USS Liberty

On June 8, the Israeli military attacked the U.S. Intelligence ship USS Liberty. In the attack, which lasted for 75 minutes, thirty-four American personnel on board the Liberty lost their lives; 171 others were wounded. Some say that Israel attacked the Liberty on purpose, while Israel and others maintain that Israeli soldiers mistook the Liberty for the Egyptian horse carrier El Quseir. Proponents of the former view emphasize that the U.S. flag was clearly visible from the ship. They also point out that the El Quseir was significantly smaller than the Liberty, making it difficult to mistake one for the other. Additionally, they say that Israel attacked the Liberty in order to prevent a leakage of information about Israel's plans to attack the Golan Heights. According to Admiral Thomas Moorer, "Israel was preparing to seize the Golan Heights from Syria despite President Johnson's known opposition to such a move.... I believe Moshe Dayan[, the Israeli Minister of Defense,] concluded that he could prevent Washington from becoming aware of what Israel was up to by destroying the primary source of acquiring that information - the USS Liberty." (See The Link, July-August 1997.)

However, Israel and and others point out that the United States was Israel's only ally; thus, it would have been very much against Israel's interest to attack an American vessel. They also emphasize that, although the U.S. flag was clearly visible from the Liberty, as mentioned above, and although it was a bright, sunny day, mistakes such as these are not uncommon in military engagements. (For example, in April 1994, the U.S. Air Force accidentally shot down two U.S. Black Hawk helicpoters in the "No-Fly Zone" in Iraq, despite the fact that both Black Hawks had large U.S. flags painted on each side.) In 2003, tape recordings from an American spy plane that had been in the area during the Liberty attack were released by the American National Security Agency (NSA) at the request of Miami, Florida, Judge Jay Cristol. (See Zacharia, Janine, "US National Security Agency: USS Liberty Attack an Accident," Jerusalem Post, July 10, 2003.) The recordings appear to confirm Israel's version of the events. On the tapes, Israeli helicopter pilots sent in to rescue Liberty survivors are communicating in Hebrew with Israeli ground control:

"For your information, it is apparently burning, it is an Egyptian ship." "Roger." "It is an Egyptian supply ship." "Roger." (Ibid.)

According to the Jerusalem Post, "The Israelis later in the tape sound confused and concerned. The pilots are ordered to check the survivors' nationality. 'If they speak Arabic, Egyptians, you're taking them to Al Arish. If they speak English, non-Egyptians, you're taking them to Lod. Is that clear?' 'Roger.' One of the Israeli helicopter pilots is heard telling ground control that he saw an American flag and is then ordered to return and check again, suggesting they were surprised that the ship could be American vessel." (Ibid.)


The War Comes to An End

The following day, on June 9, a cease-fire was signed. All sides involved in the conflict agreed to its terms, and the Six-Day War was concluded.

UN Security Council Resolution 242

Israel had gained a great deal of land in the Six-Day War: from Jordan, it had gained East Jerusalem, which was quickly annexed into the capital city of West Jerusalem, and the West Bank; from Syria, it had gained the Golan Heights, and from Egypt, it had gained the Gaza Strip and the entire Sinai Peninsula. In response, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 242 on November 22, 1967. Resolution 242 demanded the "Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict [the Six-Day War]" and the "Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force" (i.e., the recognition of the State of Israel by its neighbors). Resolution 242 was not immediately implemented.

Black September
Although Jordan's King Hussein had a secret desire to hold peace negotiations with Israel, his country’s relationship with Israel was further strained by the fact that the PLO used its bases in Jordan as launching points for attacks on Israel. In September 1970, Hussein finally declared war on the PLO, imposing martial law. Three thousand people lost their lives in the fighting that ensued between the Jordanian and the PLO forces. Finally, in a peace agreement brokered by the Arab League and by Nasser himself, the PLO agreed to move its headquarters from Jordan to Lebanon. This was one of Nasser’s last acts as a leader, as he died that month of a heart attack.

The Yom Kippur War

Anwar Sadat, Nasser’s successor, came to power in an Egypt that had serious financial troubles, not the least of which were those brought about by the country’s defeat in the Six-Day War. The Sinai oil fields appeared to be a way to alleviate these troubles, but Israel had captured the Sinai Peninsula in 1967. Concluding that negotiation with Israel was not an option, Sadat prepared to attack Israel.

On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel. The day was well-chosen, for it was Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"), the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, and the Israelis were thus quite unprepared for war. For the first three days of the war, the Israelis seemed to have been defeated. However, the U.S. provided Israel with military aid, and, over the course of the next few weeks, the Israelis succeeded in pushing back the Syrians and the Egyptians.

On October 22, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 338. According to the Resolution, "The Security Council (1) Calls upon all parties to present fighting to cease all firing and terminate all military activity immediately...; (2) Calls upon all parties concerned to start immediately after the cease-fire the implementation of Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) in all of its parts; (3) Decided that, immediately and concurrently with the cease-fire, negotiations start between the parties concerned under appropriate auspices aimed at establishing a just and durable peace in the Middle East." However, the peace negotiations demanded by Resolution 338 would not begin for a little under a decade.

The Yom Kippur War formally ended with the Sinai I and II agreements, negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissenger. In accordance with the agreements, Israel returned a great deal of the Sinai to Egypt.

The PLO Becomes the Representative of the Palestinian People

King Hussein was dealt a major blow when the Arab League, in October of 1974, declared that the PLO, not Jordan, was "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people." Although he was reluctant to accept the Arab League’s declaration, Hussein eventually did so, likely influenced by the fact that twenty other Arab states had already agreed to grant the PLO representation in the League. A month later, the UN General Assembly gave the PLO observer status in the United Nations.

Peace Achieved Between Israel and Egypt

On November 19, 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat visited Jerusalem and spoke at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, emphasizing the need for Israeli peace with Egypt and the Palestinians (i.e., through the creation of a Palestinian state). On September 17, 1978, a peace treaty was signed between Israel and Egypt at Camp David, in the United States. Known as the Camp David Accords, the treaty states that "[T]he parties are determined to reach a just, comprehensive, and durable settlement of the Middle East conflict through the conclusion of peace treaties based on Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 in all their parts." It is interesting to note that the Accords assume from the outset that Israel will eventually sign peace treaties with Jordan and the Palestinians and thus involve the latter two sides in future negotiations. For example, negotiations regarding the establishment of a self-governing administrative council in the West Bank and Gaza are to be conducted "among Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and the elected representatives of the inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza [i.e., the Palestinians]."

In January of 1980, Israel and Egypt formally established diplomatic relations. Some Egyptians were greatly upset by this change in Egypt’s political direction, notably members of the then-unknown Organisation of Liberation of Egypt. On October 6, 1981, three Egyptian soldiers assassinated Sadat; the Organisation claimed responsibility. A week later, Hosni Mubarak became president of Egypt, vowing to continue Sadat’s policies. A year later, in accordance with the Camp David Accords, Israel withdrew from the entire Sinai Peninsula, with the exception of Taba, next to the Israeli resort city of Eilat. Finally, in 1989, Israel withdrew from Taba. The Hilton Hotel, which had been built in Israeli Taba, remained in use in Egyptian Taba until 2004. After Egypt regained Taba, a casino was added to the Hilton. The casino was managed by Inter-Casino, a British casino chain, but was staffed entirely by Egyptians. Most of the casino’s patrons came through Israel, oftentimes spending only a few hours at the casino before returning over the border to Eilat. This practice was facilitated by the fact that people who crossed from Israel into Egypt but planned to only visit Taba before returning to Israel paid no border fees of any kind. This, coupled with the fact that the Taba Hilton was walking distance from the border meant that the patrons of the Taba Casino treated it as a de facto part of Eilat. On October 7, 2004, terrorists, using a car bomb, blew up the Taba Hilton and its casino. Soon after the attack, Israel managed to secure Egyptian permission to send Israeli soldiers and rescue crews to Taba. Together, Israeli and Egyptian teams recovered the bodies of the deceased and rescued the survivors.

Peace Between Israel and PLO

On September 13, 1993, Israel signed a Declaration of Principles with the PLO, thereby officially (although not de facto) putting an end to hostilities between the two sides. The Declaration of Principles set up transitional PLO jurisdiction in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and began a five-year transitional period at the end of which Israel would withdraw from Gaza and Jericho. The Declaration also stipulated that permanent status negotiations were to commence three years later over such issues as the final status of Jerusalem - which both Israel and the Palestinians claimed as a capital - Palestinian refugees, Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, security arrangements, borders, relations and cooperation with other neighbors, and other issues of common interest. According to Annex IV, Part B, Item 8, "The Regional Economic Development Program [to be set up between Israel and the PLO] may consist of... [a] Regional Tourism, Transportation, and Telecommunications Development Plan."

On August 29, 1994, Israel and the PLO signed the Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities. According to Article II, Item 1, "Israel shall transfer and the Palestinian Authority shall assume powers and responsibilities from the Israeli military government and its Civil Administration in the West Bank in the following spheres: education and culture, health, social welfare, tourism, direct taxation and Value Added Tax on local production...." According to Annex IV, which is entitled "Protocol Concerning Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities in the Sphere of Tourism," Israel was to hand over responsibility for tourism in Palestinian areas to the Palestinian Authority (PA). The Annex covers tourism activities conducted by private, public, non-governmental and foreign bodies. The Annex also states that "The tourism authorities of Israel and the Palestinian Authority shall promote and encourage tourism to the region for the benefit of both sides." Thus, travel companies authorized by the PA were allowed to conduct tours that included Israel in their packages, and clearly-marked tourist vehicles originating in PA-controlled areas were allowed to proceed into Israel.

Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty

On October 26, 1994, Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty. The treaty was especially relevant for tourism. According to Annex V, the Israeli/Jordanian border is to be open in both directions for Israelis, Jordanians, and third country nationals. Existing arrangements are to remain in place for Muslim Israelis who cross into Jordan in transit to Saudi Arabia (which has yet to recognize the State of Israel) for Muslim pilgrimages. Also, border crossing points are to be open from 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM (but closed on Yom Kippur and on the first day of the Muslim Al Hijrah calendar). By contrast, Israel’s widely-used Eilat/Taba (Egypt) border is open 24 hours. Furthermore, anyone crossing into Jordan from Israel must pay border taxes, whereas people crossing from Israel into Taba only (as opposed to those planning to visit the rest of Egypt) do not pay any border fees. It is thus far more comfortable and convenient for tourists to cross the border between Israel and Egypt than the border between Israel and Jordan.

Although very little was done in the way of land transfers, one particular transfer is worth mentioning: the area on the northern Jordanian/Israeli border known in Israel as Naharayim and in Jordan as Baqura, some of which came under Jordanian sovereignty. Israeli landowners, however, along with their employees and guests, were permitted to go in and out as often as they wished, with no customs or immigration restrictions of any kind. In a very unusual move, the Annex declares that, while the land is under Jordanian sovereignty, the Israeli police department has jurisdiction over incidents "solely involving the [Israeli] landowners, their invitees or employees." Further, Jordanian law does not apply to activities in which only Israelis are involved. Land purchases by non-Israelis, however, can only be done with Jordanian approval.

The Naharayim/Baqura region is known for its beautiful nature trails. The peace treaty is thus important in that it eases access to the area for tourists coming from both Jordan and Israel. According to an account by Haim Shapiro, "During a recent tour of the site..., we entered the Jordanian area without visas, having only registered our Israeli identity cards with the Israeli police post. A Jordanian officer briefly boarded our bus and in fluent Hebrew asked whether he could wish us Shabbat Shalom even if it was only noon Friday. As we toured the area in our Israeli bus, a Jordanian bus entered the area from the other side. The passengers in each waved to each other." (Haim Shapiro, "Day Tripper: Down by the Riverside," The Jerusalem Post, March 21, 1997.)

September 2000 - July 2006

Since September 2000, Israel has been under constant attack from Palestinian suicide bombers. The bombers attack mainly civilian targets, such as cafés, restaurants, and buses. Many of the bombers believe that they are doing holy work and will be rewarded in the afterlife for their efforts. In response, Israel has been engaging in "targeted killings," targeting, in particular, the Palestinian leaders suspected of sending the suicide bombers on their missions. A significant percentage of these leaders are from Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority. Many Palestinians say that suicide bombings against Israeli civilians are the only way to convince Israel to agree to Palestinian demands for a Palestinian state. The Israelis point out, however, that in the year 2000 - before the current round of suicide bombings began - during talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Yasser Arafat, and U.S. President Bill Clinton, Israel offered to meet over 95% of Yasser Arafat's demands as part of the eventual creation of a Palestinian state, but Arafat turned Israel's offer down (going against the advice of even his own advisors). Thus, say the Israelis, the suicide bombings are not only not only an unnecessary (let alone evil) tactic, but are actually likely to make Israel far less willing to agree to Palestinian demands.

In addition to "targeted killings," Israel has been demolishing the homes of suicide bombers and their families, in the hope that people will be deterred from becoming suicide bombers if they believe that their families will suffer as a result. Many Palestinians say that these demolitions not only serve to give the Palestinians further grievances against the Israelis but are also wrong because the families of suicide bombers should not be punished for the crimes of the bombers. Israel, however, points out that since it has begun the demolitions, Palestinian support for suicide bombing has gone down significantly.

In 2002, Israel began to build a security fence as a way to keep terrorists from being able to enter Israel. In July 2004, the International Court of Justice at the Hague gave an opinion that the security fence violates international law in that it does not sufficiently take into account the suffering of the Palestinians. However, the opinion is merely advisory. By contrast, the Israeli Supreme Court has ruled the fence to be legal as a means for Israel to protect itself from terrorists, although the Court did rule that some portions of the fence needed to be moved, in order to minimize the division of Palestinian towns. Since the construction of the fence, the number of suicide bombings in Israel has gone down, although suicide bombers are still able to enter Israel through areas that are not yet covered by the fence.

On August 15, 2005, at precisely midnight, Israeli soldiers evicted the last Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip, resettling them elsewhere in Israel. Israel then unilaterally pulled out of Gaza, relinquishing complete control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority. Interestingly, the Gaza pullout was brought about by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who, for most of his life, had been an ardent supporter of Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip, as well as in Judea and Sumeria (which are sometimes referred to collectively as the West Bank).

In 2006, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon fell into a coma. Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert then became acting prime minister. This rather temporary situation ended on March 28, 2006, when the Kadima Party, the party that had been created, in large part, by Prime Minister Sharon in November 2005, won the national elections. With Kadima as the new majority party, Ehud Olmert officially became prime minister of Israel.

July 2006

On June 25, 2006, Palestinian terrorists dug a tunnel from the Gaza Strip into Israel, where they attacked an Israel Defense Forces outpost. During the attack, two IDF soldiers were killed and four others wounded. Cpl. Gilad Shalit, an Israeli who also holds French citizenship, was kidnapped and taken back to Gaza.

The following day, the military wing of Hamas - Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades - as well as the Army of Islam and the Popular Resistance Committees released a statement offering information about Cpl. Shalit in exchange for Israel's release of all Palestinian females and minors in Israeli jails. Two days later, on June 28, 2006, Israeli forces entered Gaza for the first time since Israel's voluntary withdrawal from that territory earlier that year. The Israeli soldiers began conducting a fierce campaign against Palestinian radicals there with the aim of securing Cpl. Shalit's release.

On July 1, 2006, another statement was issued demanding Israel's release of an additional 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. On July 3, 2006, the Palestinians issued an ultimatum threatening dire consequences if Israel did not give into the kidnappers' demands within twenty-four hours. Israel responded that no prisoners would be released. Instead, Israel promised that its military operations in Gaza would become even harsher if Cpl. Shalit were not released.

Soon, however, Israel's new war turned into a two-front war. On July 12, 2006, in a well-planned maneuver, Hezbollah terrorists snuck across the Israeli border from Lebanon and fired anti-tank rockets at an Israel Defense Forces patrol, killling eight Israeli soldiers. Two other Israeli soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, were kidnapped by the terrorists and taken back to Lebanon. In response, Israel began operations in southern Lebanon aimed at securing the release of its soldiers and at permanently disarming Hezbollah, in accordance with a 2004 United Nations resolution that called for the disarming of Hezbollah terrorists but had not yet been implemented. Eventually, Israel's military campaign reached Beirut, Lebanon's capital. Because the Hezbollah fighters hid among Lebanon's civilian population, even dressing as civilians themselves - and because many Lebanese civilians sheltered Hezbollah fighters - many Lebanese civilians died during this offensive.

Throughout Israel's offensive in Lebanon, Hezbollah terrorists launched Katyusha rockets into Israel, some reaching as far as Haifa and even Hadera. The rocket attacks killed and displaced hundreds of Israelis.

Finally, on August 14, 2006, a little over a month after Hezbollah began its war against Israel, a United Nations ceasefire went into effect. Among other things, the ceasefire called for an immediate halt in arms transfers to Hezbollah terrorists, in particular, from Syria and Iran.

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This post has been edited by Florin on August 28, 2006 08:55 pm