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July 2002Edition 35

[ Click here for June posting ]

1897 - The Zionist Century - 1997

U.N. Partition Plan 1947

On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations voted with a 2/3 majority to partition western Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state.

 The Jews were to be granted what appears on the map in blue. Over 75% of the land allocated to the Jews was desert. Desperate to find a haven for the remnants of European Jewry after the Holocaust, the Jewish population accepted the plan which accorded them a diminished state.

The Arabs, intent on preventing any Jewish entity in Palestine, rejected it.

***

For the full text of the UN Partition resolution, see walter Laquere (ed.), The Arab-Israeli Reader; A Documentary History of the Middle east Conflict (New York: Bantam Books, 1969), pp.113-122

While the Jewish leadership and population in Palestine accepted partition, all of the Arab members states of the UN - Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen- voted against it. Upon the resolution's adoption, the Arab delegates declared partition invalid: The New York Times, Nov. 30, 1947. Within two days, the Arab governments declared their oposition to partition: The New York Times, Dec. 1, 2, 1947.

The Arab Invasion 1948

The Arabs not only rejected partition, but attacked Israel from all sides. On the day that Israel declared its independence, the Arab League Secretary, General Azzam Pasha declared "jihad", a holy war.

He said, "This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades".

The Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin Al Husseini stated, "I declare a holy war, my Moslem brothers! Murder the Jews! Murder them all!" 

The armies of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq invaded the tiny new country with the declared intent of destroying it.

***

Howard M Sachar, A History of Israel (New York: Knopf, 1979), p. 333.

Leonard J. Davis and M. Decter (eds.). Myths and facts 1982; a Concise Record of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Washington DC: near east report, 1982), p. 199

In a formal cablegram to the UN Secretary General on May 15, 1948, the Secretary general of the Arab League declared that the Arab states rejected partition and intended to set up a "United State of Palestine." For a full text of the cablegram, see John N. Moore (ed.), The Arab-Israeli Conflict; Readings and Documents (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, abridged and revised edition, 1977), pp. 938-943.

Armistice Agreement 1949

During the war For Israel's independence, many Jewish villages were destroyed, synagogues and cemeteries desecrated, and fields and buildings burned. The Jewish quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem was beseiged, and kept without food or water, and eventually the Jordanians expelled the Jews from the Old City.

The grey area on the inset marks the Old City. The Jordanians took over East Jerusalem and a large portion of land on the west bank of the Jordan River, thereby narrowing Israel, seen here in blue, to approxirmately nine miles at its narrowest point. Egyptian troops overran the Gaza strip in the west as well as the southern outskirts of Jerusalem. Despite tremendous losses, the new Jewish state survived.

In 1949 Israel signed armistice agreements with Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Transjordan, which in April 1949 changed its name to Jordan.

One of the major consequences of this was Jordan's annexation of Judea and Samaria. This annexation was not recognized by the international community, with the exception of Britain and Pakistan.

This territory became a launching ground for constant terrorist attacks against Israel's civilian population.

***

For a vivid description of the battle for Jerusalem, see Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, O Jerusalem! (London Pan Books, 1972).

For the text of the Israel-Egypt Armistice Agreement of Feb. 24, 1949, see Moore, op. cit., pp. 948-957. See also the Israel-Lebanon Armistice Agreement of March 23, 1949, 43 U.N.T.S. 287-298 (1949); Israel-Jordan Armistice Agreement of April 3, 1949, 42 U.N.T.S. 303-320 (1949); Israel-Syria Armistice Agreement, July 20, 1949, 42 U.N.T.S. 327-340 (1949).

The Middle East and North Africa 7982-83 (London: Europa Publications, 1982), p. 512.

Anne Sinai and Allen Pollack (eds.), The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the West Bank (New York, 1977), p. 27.

For details, see Sachar, History of Israel, pp. 443-445.

 

The Arab Refugees 1948

Approximately 720,000 Arabs, encouraged by their leaders to leave, fled from what is now Israel between April and December, 1948.

The Arab leaders promised them that they would soon be able to return following Israel's destruction. In some cases the Jews, including Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, urged the Arabs to remain, promising that they would not be harmed. Those who remained became full and equal citizens of I

srael, while those who chose to leave went to neighboring Arab states. Instead of welcoming their Arab brothers, and integrating them into the mainstream of their societies, the Arab states kept them in squalid refugee camps and used these Palestinians refugees as political pawns in their fight against Israel.

***

Irving Howe and Carl Gershman (eds.), Israel, the Arabs and the Middle East (New York: Bantam, 1972), p. 168.

See, for instance, The Economist, Oct. 2, 1948, for a description of Jewish efforts in Haifa to persuade the Arabs to stay.

 

The Jewish Refugees 1948 - 1972

In 1945 there were more than 870,000 Jews living in the various Arab states. Many of their communities dated back 2,500 years. Throughout 1947 and 1948 these Jews were persecuted. Their property and belongings were confiscated. There were anti-Jewish riots in Aden, Egypt, Lybia, Syria, and Iraq. In Iraq, Zionism was made a capital crime. Aproximately 600,000 Jews sought refuge in the State of Israel.

They arrived destitute, but they were absorbed into the society and became an integral part of the state. In effect, then, a vertible exchange of populations took place between Arab and Jewish refugees. Thus the Jewish refugees became full Israeli citizens while the Arab refugees remained "refugees" according to the wishes of the Arab leaders.

Howe & Gershman, op. cit., p. 168.

 

Egypt sealed off the Israeli port of Eilat, effectively stopping Israel's sea trade with much of Africa and the Far East.

In response to this violation of international agreements which amounted to an act of war, Israel launched a military operation on October 29, 1956.

At the same time, Britain and France, angered over the Egyptian nationalization of the Suez canal, launched their own campaign in order to reverse Egypt's unilateral action.

In March 1957, after receiving international guarantees that Israel's vital waterways would remain open, Israel withdrew her troops from the Sinai and Gaza strip.

Three thousand three hundred United Nations troops replaced them. Despite Israel's withdrawal, the Egyptians refused to open the Suez canal to Israeli shipping.

Sachar, History of Israel, p. 456.

Position  Of  Arab Forces - May 1967

During the early months of 1966, it became clear that Israel's neighbors were escalating activities against her. More and more Israeli civilians were killed in the Syrian and Jordanian borders.

The Syrians, from atop the Golan Heights, shelled Israeli towns indiscriminately.

On May 15, 1967, Egyptian forces moved into the Sinai. On May 18, Egypt expelled the U.N. Peacekeeping forces from Israel's borders. On the 22nd, the Egyptians closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. On the 25th, encouraged by Egypt - Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia moved their troops to Israel's borders. 

Two days later, on the 26th of May, President Nasser of Egypt declared, "Our basic goal is the destruction of Israel. The Arab people want to fight.... The mining of Sharm El Sheik is a confrontation with Israel".  Modelled after the November 1966 Egyptian-Syrian "defence" pact, other pacts were signed by Egypt with Jordan and Iraq on May 30th and June 4th, thereby completing the encirclement of Israel. 

For the full text of Nasser's speech, see Laqueur, op. cit., pp. 175-185

For details on the Arab military buildup on the eve of the Six Day War, see Sachar, History of Israel, pp. 632-635.

The Six Day War - June 1967

On June 5th, Israel decided to launch a pre-emptive attack on Egypt. Israel issued an appeal to Jordan to stay out of the war. 

Jordan refused and opened a heavy artillery barrage on both west Jerusalem and the Tel-Aviv area which forced Israel to counterattack.

By June 8th the Israel Defence Forces defeated the Jordanian forces and captured the whole of Judea and Samaria.

On the morning of June 9th, Israel attacked the Syrians on the Golan Heights. From these heights, Syria had shelled and destroyed 205 houses, 175 acres of orchards and 75 acres of grain.

A city won by accidents
By Michal Meyer
Historian Michael Oren of the Shalem Institute believes chance and caprice played a large part in the Six-Day War, and in Israel's return to the Old City.

Cease Fire Lines - 1967

Within six days, Israel had captured the entire Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza strip, Judea and Samaria, and the Golan Heights.

This time, however, Israel did not withdrawl to the 1949 armitice lines.

International gauarantees had proved meaningless in the past, and could not provide the security Israel's civilians needed to live their lives free of terrorist attacks.

The cease-fire lines of 1967, shown on this map, remained Israel's borders until 1973. Terrorist raids from Egypt ended, and other raids, from Jordan and Syria, greatly diminished.

Although Israel's security forces were able to prevent many of the terrorists' raids, the terrorists were able to keep secure bases in Jordan and Lebanon, eventually leading to internal conflicts in both countries.

Egyptian Attack - 1973

Shortly after midday on Saturday, October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a concerted military attack against Israel. \

They had chosen to attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, a day when most Israelis were in synagogues praying and fasting.

Syrian Attack - 1973

While Egyptian troops and helicopters crossed the Suez canal, Syrian troops began to attack Israel's installations in the Golan.

Golan Heights

Some important facts about the Golan Heights:

The Golan Heights overlook and therefore militarily control, Israel's villages
and cities in the plains and elevations in the north.

 

The heights are roughly the size of the borough of Queens in New York.

 

The width of the whole area is about 15 1/2 miles at its widest point.

 

The Heights control the Kinneret, Israel's only lake and foremost water resource.

The Golan Heights also overlook the Kinneret, the sea of Galilee, Israel's only lake. The Heights, therefore control a source of water, food and energy for all of Israel.

The geographical dimensions of Israel's withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula. - The Sinai is three times Israel's size and was returned to Egypt in 1982, a country fifty times its size, with a population ten times Israel's. Israel took an enormous risk to its security for a peace treaty.

Facts about the Sinai Desert:

Between the years 1967 and 1982, Israel built entire cities and harvested many different kinds of crops in this previously barren area.

The Sinai had also provided Israel and her population with its first buffer zone.

Economically, Sinai's oil would have made Israel fully independent of foreign oil.

The Beduins were provided with schools and medical clinics, as well as food and water.

Judea And Samaria 

Judea and Samaria, located on the west bank of the Jordan River, provide Israel with essential security.

The 1949 Armistice lines left only 9 miles between the eastern border and the Mediterranean Sea. (This is roughly the distance from LaGuardia airport to downtown Manhattan).

Over half of Israel's populations lives in this narrow vulnerable stretch of land. In addition, most of Israel's industry and economic infrastructure is concentrated there, including its energy and power installations

Another significant point is that Judea and Samaria are mountainous. The costal plain is flat. Therefore, defending the main population of Israel is very difficult.

As the maps make clear, while radar coverage from the costal area (lower map) could not detect enemy aircraft approaching Israel from the east prior to their crossing of the Jordan Valley, radar coverage from nablus (upper map) can detect aircraft well within Jordan.

Thus, while Israel's warning time without radar installations in Judea and Samaria was only a few seconds, radar coverage from the mountain ridge near Nablus provides precious minutes of warning time for Israel's main population centers in the costal area.

This map shows how narrow Israel was in its pre-1967 armistice lines. At some points Israel was only 9 miles wide. The main airport in Israel, as well as shipping ports and key civilian population areas, are concentrated in the narrow area you see.

Missile And Artillery Ranges

This map illustrates Israel's vulnerability to attack from Judea and Samaria. The range of artillery covers all of Israel's main population centers.

Again, Israel's tiny area is emphasized in this map, showing why security is such an important factor in this area. The arrows indicate the width of the northern part of the country as well as the relatively small distances involved.

With modern weapons, Israel is vulnerable to air attack as ever. Eilat could be reached from bases in Saudi Arabia in six minutes, Jerusalem in ten.

On October 26th 1994, a full peace agreement was signed between Jordan and Israel, bringing peace along Israel's longest border, together with hopes for peaceful relations which would break Israel's geographical isolation and provide more meaningful content than those with Egypt since 1978.

The peace agreement was, on the one hand, a logical conclusion to a developing relationship between the two countries since the conclusion of the Six-Day War in 1967, since which Jordan had refrained from launching war with Israel, remaining neutral in the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

On the other hand, the watershed between a cold peace and an open agreement was the 1991 Gulf War, which crippled Jordan's economy, and the Peace Treaty can be interpreted as economically motivated. Iraq was a powerful neighbour, and Jordan served as its exporter-importer: the international embargo on trade with Iraq was a crushing blow to oil trade passing through Jordan, and therefore to economic stability as a whole. Jordan hoped to benefit through increased trade with Israel, which is perceived as an regional economic super power by the Arab world, and assurances of improved water supply from the Sea of Galilee; in return, she engaged in exchange of agricultural land arrangements and joint development projects for the arid South and their two small souther airports. To a great extent, the initial Principles also reached their final formulation because of the chemistry between Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein themselves, who had resolved to achieve this goal and intervened personally to finalize the treaty.

Despite the lower than expected economic returns, the loss of King Hussein, and other potential crises (the attempted assassination of Hamas leader Mashal; the Naharayim shooting of 7 Israeli schoolgirls; and an attack on an Israeli school bus by a Jordanian soldier at Netzarim), the peace with Jordan remains probably the warmest relationship Israel has with an Arab country.

  

The Wye Agreement - November 1998

by Neil Lazarus

The Wye Agreement was the second agreement between Israel and the Palestinians under the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, brokered by the US Clinton administration. It was intended to restart the peace process that had stalled as a result of Palestinian protest over a controversial new Jewish community planned in Har Homa, Jerusalem, and as a result of a growing mistrust between both sides.

Netanyahu's attitude to the peace process differed..