1. Essential Question:
How did events during/after WWI
create conflicting views regarding
the fate of Palestine in the early 20th
century?

2. Pre Class
•What was the most
difficult part about
developing your
partition plan?
•Look at the maps in
your packet. If you
were a Jew in
Palestine in 1947,
would you support
this UN Partition
Plan? A Palestinian?
Explain.

3. The PartitionThe Partition
Plan…Plan…
• The territory of Palestine should be
divided as follows:
• A Jewish State covering 56.47% of
Mandatory Palestine (excluding
Jerusalem) with a population of
498,000 Jews and 325,000 Arabs;
• An Arab State covering 43.53% of
Mandatory Palestine (excluding
Jerusalem), with 807,000 Arab
inhabitants and 10,000 Jewish
inhabitants;
• An international trusteeship regime
in Jerusalem, where the population
was 100,000 Jews and 105,000
Arabs.

4. The partition plan also laid down:
• A guarantee of the rights of minorities and
religious rights, including free access to
and the preservation of Holy Places;
• A constitution of an Economic Union
between the two states: custom union,
joint monetary system, joint administration
of main services, equal access to water
and energy resources.

5. • Jews –
accept
the plan
• Arabs –
reject it
Why?

6. 11stst
Arab Israeli War :Arab Israeli War :
“The War of Independence” (Jews)“The War of Independence” (Jews)
“The Catastrophe” (Arabs)“The Catastrophe” (Arabs)
• British leave Palestine; Israel is
surrounded by hostile Arab nations
• Israel declares its independence (1948)
• The next day armies from surrounding
Arab countries invade Israel

7. Israel Becomes a Nation:
May 14, 1948
David Ben-Gurion,
1st
Prime Minister
Chaim Weizmann,
1st
President

8. War Begins!: May 15, 1948
Why do youWhy do you
think Israelthink Israel
was able towas able to
hold off these,hold off these,
as well asas well as
subsequent,subsequent,
invasions??invasions??

9. • Israel outnumbered,
but wins, gains
territory
• forces its neighbors to
sign a series of
armistices
– created the
internationally
recognized borders
of Israel (over 78%
of what was
Palestine)

11. Palestinians fleeing their homes in 1948.

12. Nakba, the Palestinian Catastrophe (1948)

13. The war cont’d…The war cont’d…
• 700,000 Arab refugees (people who flee
their homeland to seek refuge elsewhere).
• Palestinian Arabs resented leaving what
they believed to be their land and
neighboring Middle East governments
resented having the Palestinians within
their borders.
• Tensions will heighten again in the 1960s.

14. Superpower InvolvementSuperpower Involvement
• US – has always firmly backed Israel
– Military and economic aid
• Former Soviet Union – provided arms to
Arab countries (Syria, Iraq and Egypt)
• How did this involvement FUEL the Arab
Israeli conflict??
– US and SU rearmed their allies in the Middle
East after each war

15. Pre ClassPre Class
• What important event in Israel’s history
happened in 1948?
• What was the reaction in the Arab world?
• Explain how this one event is remembered
very differently by the Israelis and Arabs.

16. Suez War - 1956Suez War - 1956
• Israel, Britain and France
attacked Egypt after
Nassar nationalized (took
over) the Suez Canal
• Israeli troops occupied
(but later left) the Sinai
Peninsula
• Egypt aligns itself with the
Soviets

17. Israeli troops preparing for combat in the Sinai peninsula.

18. ““Six Day War” - 1967Six Day War” - 1967
• Israel made major territorial
gains
– Sinai Peninsula, Gaza
Strip from Egyptian
Control
– West Bank from
Jordanian control
– East Jerusalem from the
Arabs
– Israel – premier military
power in region
– Now governing 1 million
Palestinians

20. Creation of the PLOCreation of the PLO
• Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)
– Palestinians were living in refugee camps
following Israel’s gains in the Six Day War
– Formed with the goal of winning self rule for
Palestinians
– Waged guerilla warfare against Israel
– Committed terrorist acts (hijackings,
bombings)
– Funded/trained by other Arab countries

21. 1972 – Munich Olympics1972 – Munich Olympics

22. Yom Kippur WarYom Kippur War
- 1973- 1973
• Syria and Egypt
attacked Israel in
an attempt to
regain lands they
lost during the 6
Day War
• Israel pushes back;
UN negotiated a
cease fire
•October 1973 (Yom
Kippur) war Ceasefire
Lines

23. 1973 – Arab Oil Embargo1973 – Arab Oil Embargo
•Arab response to US
support of Israel in
Yom Kippur War
•impact on US
•High gas prices
•Economic Output
down 6%
•inflation

25. The first signs that all was not well with Detroit was the 1973 oil crisis, when Middle East producers declared a boycott.
Queues formed at petrol stations, and consumers for the first time switched in large numbers to smaller, more economical
cars – often made by the Japanese – which they found more reliable. The Detroit-made cars had more defects, and
Detroit's attempts to build a successful small car failed. Source: BBC

28. Camp David Accords - 1978Camp David Accords - 1978
• Israel (Menachum
Begin) & Egypt
(Anwar Sadat)
– U.S. (President Jimmy
Carter) was the
mediator
• Egypt is first Arab country
to recognize Israel
• Israeli withdrawal from the
Sinai Peninsula
• Other Arab nations
condemned the peace,
making peace efforts
more difficult

29. Intifada - 1987Intifada - 1987
• “intifada” means “shaking off” (Arabic)
• Palestinian uprising
• Frustration with Israeli occupation
• Strikes against Israeli businesses, boycott
of Israeli goods, attacks on Israeli soldiers
and civilians
• Israel – arrested, deported leaders, closed
schools on West Bank, destroyed homes
of suspected rebels

30. • Life inside Hebron’s isolated Jewish enclave: an Israeli
soldier stands guard as a settler’s baby crawls by in
1997. Under the Oslo peace accords, 80 percent of
Hebron was turned over to the control of the Palestinian
Authority.
msnbc.com

31. • As is often the case in areas of conflict, young boys learn early to
emulate the defiance of their fathers, while mothers and daughters
cast a more skeptical eye on political struggle. This brother and
sister are pictured in their home in the West Bank village of Jenin in
1989. msnbc.com

32. • Rubber bullets, while not as deadly as the real thing, do
kill and maim if they hit the right target. This boy — lucky
not to have lost an eye — is treated at Gaza City’s main
hospital after being struck by a plastic bullet in 1989.
msnbc.com

33. • While conflict rages, the United Nations tries to keep food flowing to the
elderly and helpless in the sprawling refugee camps on the Gaza Strip. This
boy’s mother had just found out that food deliveries for this week in 1988
had been suspended because of an Israeli military curfew. msnbc.com

34. • The village of Fahme on the West Bank is home
to the intifada’s outcasts: the families of
Palestinians who work for Israel’s security
services. Here Fahme children play “intifada”.
msnbc.com

35. Early 1990s – Peace is DifficultEarly 1990s – Peace is Difficult
• During the Intifada – some Palestinians joined
underground terrorist groups that called for the
destruction of Israel
– Islamic Jihad
– Hamas
• More than 2 million Palestinians living in refugee
camps in occupied territories (W. Bank, Gaza Strip)
supported PLO
– Israel supported Jewish settlement in occupied
territories (Pal. lived there since 6 Day War)

36. Oslo Accords - 1993Oslo Accords - 1993
• Israel and PLO met in
Oslo, Norway
• Agreed to recognize
each other
• Israel – withdraw forces
from occupied
territories; allow
Palestinians limited self
rule in Gaza and
Jericho (in W. Bank)
• Yassir Arafat – leader of
PLO; Palestinians
hoped for independent
state
Yitzhak Rabin
(Israeli PM,
Yassir Arafat
(PLO leader)
and Bill Clinton

37. Recent Attempts at PeaceRecent Attempts at Peace
• 2000 - Camp David – Pres. Bill Clinton, Yassir
Afarat (Palestinian Authority), PM Barak (Israel)
Americans failed to prepare Israelis and
Palestinians for talks (not enough diplomacy
before the talks)
– Prompted a second intifada
• 2002 - Roadmap for Peace – failed attempt at two
state solution; new conflict in ‘06 w/ election of
Hamas in Gaza

38. UnresolvedUnresolved IssuesIssues
1. Jerusalem
– Capital of Israel
– E. Jerusalem – Palestinians outnumber Jews –
Palestinians want Jerusalem to be their capital
2. “Right to Return” – would grant Palestinians who fled
their homes during the Arab Israeli wars the right to
return
– Israel says NO – too many people, most born
SINCE wars happened
3. Borders/Settlements - Future of Jewish settlements in
E. Jerusalem, W. Bank and Gaza
4. Water

39. Israel West Bank Gaza Strip Total
Jews 5,137,8001
255,6001
01
5,393,4001
Arabs 1,439,7001
2,460,4922
1,428,7572
5,328,949

40. WHY IS PEACE SOWHY IS PEACE SO
DIFFICULT??DIFFICULT??
This is a conflict over LAND,
fueled by RELIGION -
BOTH SIDES BELIEVE
THEIR RELIGION
JUSTIFIES THEIR CAUSE

41. • Israeli Prime Minister - Ehud Olmert
• Palestinian National Authority – set up
after Oslo Accords to provide security and
civilian rule in W. Bank and Gaza
– Mahmoud Abbas (President)

42. Return of ViolenceReturn of Violence
• 1994 – Israel and Jordan sign peace agreement
• Israel and PLO – peace talks stalled
• Second Intifada (2000) – full-scale uprising
against Israel; suicide bombers killed Israelis on
buses, in restaurants and shops
• March 2002 – Israeli military forces invaded
Palestinian-ruled areas of W. Bank and Gaza
(that they believed were centers of terrorist
activities)

43. Two Perspectives…Two Perspectives…
As either an Israeli or Palestinian, write a
paragraph in which you describe your
feelings on the ongoing conflict in your
homeland. Use the following words:
- Palestine, homeland, Jews, Arabs,
Zionism, partition, independence,
refugees, war, land, religion
- Underline the words in your paragraph

44. The Arab Israeli ConflictThe Arab Israeli Conflict
Then and NowThen and Now
Origins of the Conflict
Write a paragraph that describes the
origins of the A-I Conflict using the
following words
- Palestine, homeland, Jews, Arabs,
Zionism, partition, independence,
refugees, war, land, religion
- Underline the words in your paragraph

45. Arab-Israeli Timeline AssignmentArab-Israeli Timeline Assignment
• Sample Timeline (made using timetoast)
• Please, email me your timeline:
lindme@abington.k12.pa.us
• When your timeline is finished:
Look closely at the events that you chose,
and their descriptions. Write down 3
conclusions that you can draw by
examining your timeline.

46. • What transpires is inspiring; they find
that what divides them is secondary to
what unites them as human beings,
and they walk away with mutual
respect, tolerance for one another and
friendships they never thought
possible. –www.fire-within.org