Israel

1
Israel

• A Point of Middle East Conflict

2
Background History of Palestine

• The area that is Israel today used to be called
  Palestine.
• The Jews view Israel as their promised land
  that was given to them by God.
• The Kingdom of Israel first formed in the 11th
  century B.C., and lasted until it was defeated in
  the 6th century B.C.
• After the defeat, most Jews were exiled to other
  parts of the world and were known as the
  Diaspora.
• After the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D.,
  there was a strong desire of the Jewish people to
  return to their homeland of Israel.

3
The Creation of Israel

• After World War I, the British were given control
  over Palestine. Palestine was considered a
  British mandate.
• Thousands of Jews migrated to Palestine.
• Both the Arabs and Jews felt they had the right
  to the land, and conflicts arose.
• In 1917, the British Foreign Secretary Balfour
  sent a letter to Zionist leaders stating that the
  British government favours the establishment in
  Palestine of a national home for the Jewish
  people
• This letter made Jews happy, but Arabs were
  angry.
• After World War II, Britain turned the issue over
  to the United Nations who decided to divide
  Palestine into two states, one for Jews and one
  for Arabs.
• When the British Mandate ended, the Jews
  announced the formation of Israel.
• Arabs were unhappy with the decision and attacked
  Israel, but Israel was able to defeat them.
• After approximately a year, Israel signed an
  armistice with its Arab neighbors ending the war.

4
The Suez Campaign

• In October of 1956, Israel attacked Egypt,
  because Egypt denied them access to the Suez
  Canal.
• Israel took control of the Sinai Peninsula, but
  the U.N. got involved and Israel left the
  peninsula.
• No peace talks occurred, so minor disputes
  continued, but for the most part, peace prevailed
  for the next decade.

5
The Six-Day War

• In 1967, Egypt signed a military alliance with
  Syria, Jordan, and Iraq.
• Egypt began to move troops to the Sinai Peninsula
  toward their border with Israel.
• The U.N. tried to intervene and settle the
  dispute, but failed.
• Israel carried out a preemptive strike against
  Egypt and took the Gaza Strip and Sinai
  Peninsula.
• They also attacked Syria and Jordan and took over
  the Golan Heights, which had been controlled by
  Syria, and the West Bank, which was controlled by
  Jordan.

6
Israel after the Six-Day War.
7
The Occupied Territories

• The Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights are
  considered the occupied territories.
• These territories are controlled by the Israeli
  military.
• The population of these areas is made up mainly
  of Arab Palestinians who are mainly Muslims.

8
The Palestinians

• The Palestinian people want to have there own
  nation consisting of the West Bank and the Gaza
  Strip.
• Yasir Arafat is the leader of the Palestinians.
• The Palestinians have often resorted to violence
  in order to try to achieve their goals.
• Groups such as Hamas are terrorist groups that
  plan suicide bombings against Israeli targets.

Yasir Arafat
9
The Israelis

• Israel is led by Ariel Sharon, who was a former
  general in the Israeli Army.
• He had a reputation of being extremely brutal
  toward Palestinians as a military leader.
• Israels military continues to seek out leaders
  of Palestinian groups who are responsible for
  suicide bombings.

Ariel Sharon
10
U.S. Policy

• The U.S. has been a strong ally of Israel.
• President Bush has developed a plan called the
  road map to help bring peace to the region.
• President Bush has agreed to the development of a
  Palestinian state.
• Recent attacks in the area where Americans were
  involved, could have a major negative effect on
  the process.

11
What do you think?

• Answer the following
• What is your reaction to the situation between
  the Israelis and Palestinians?
• Do you think that the U.S. should change its
  policy toward the situation? Why or why not?
• Do you think peaceful ending can occur in this
  situation? Why or Why not?