Arab-Israeli conflict: 1948 partition, Suez and Six-Day War

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Conflicts over Israel

After the Nazi Holocaust, the world favored the creation of a national Jewish state in Palestine. In 1948, the United Nations approved the partition of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.

The result was constant conflict between the Jewish nation and the Arabs who believed the land should not belong to the Israelis. Israel fought with the local Arab nations of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria during the twentieth-century.

In 1956, Egypt seized control of Suez Canal from the British and the French. In addition, Israeli shipping was prevented from entering the canal. In response, Israeli, British, and French forces invaded Egypt to regain control. The Soviet Union threatened to intervene when a resolution was offered that called for a withdrawal of the British, French and Israeli troops and established a multi-national peacekeeping force to keep the peace. The Suez-Canal crisis came to an end in 1967.

In 1967, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt used Soviet support to arm themselves against Israel. Egypt, after the peacekeeping force withdrew, once again prevented Israeli shipping from entering the Suez Canal leading to Israel taking a preemptive strike against Arab airfields in Egypt, Syria, and Jordan beginning the Six-Day War. Israeli soldiers occupied the territory of the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, and the West-Bank. The war ended on June 10, 1967, just six days after it began with Israel as the victor.

The Soviet Union re-equipped the Egyptian and Syrian armies, and the armies attacked Israel in 1973 during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. The fighting during this Yom Kippur War lasted until the next year with Israeli forces repulsing Egypt and Syria. The Yom Kippur War resulted in an Arab oil embargo on the United States for their involvement in supplying weapons to Israel during the war. In 1973, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut off oil exports to the United States causing oil prices to rise and thus hurting the American economy. The Soviet Union was pleased with this embargo for the sole reason that they believed it would weaken the United States’ economy. However, an end of the embargo was reached because Arab nations were too reliant on profits from the West.

In 1978, both Israel and Egypt reached a peaceful conclusion when Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin met with the United States President, Jimmy Carter, to bring about a peaceful resolution to their disputes. Israel agreed to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula

Eisenhower Doctrine

In 1958, the Eisenhower Doctrine was approved by the United States Congress that allowed the nation to use military force to aid a nation fighting against communism. In Iraq and Lebanon, pro-communist revolutions broke out in 1958. In Iraq, the king was assassinated and aid was sought from the Communist bloc. In Lebanon, pro-communist revolutionaries threatened to overthrow the government, but 10,000 United States Marines landed in Beirut to protect American interests and preserve Lebanese independence. However, order did not remain in Lebanon.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the Palestinian Liberation Organization under Yassir Arafat desired to establish a Palestinian state in Israel by force. The PLO used Lebanon as a base for raids against Israel. The Syrians, aided by the Soviets, entered the conflict leading to an invasion of Lebanon by the Israelis. United States President Ronald Reagan sent the United States Marines to Beirut to restore order, but terrorist bombings resulted in the death of 241 Americans and the United States and Israeli forces withdrawing from Lebanon.

Iran and Iraq

Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi was the ruler of Iran and an ally of the United States. The United States provided weapons to Iran when communism threatened that nation. However, in 1979, Iranian rebels under the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini stormed the American embassy on November 3, 1979 and established a totalitarian regime in Tehran, Iran. The Ayatollah’s new regime conflicted with Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein. From 1980 until 1988, the two nations fought one another using weapons such as poison gas. Both sides fought to a standstill when a ceasefire was signed in 1988.