Arab-Israeli WarsID & SIGImportance of the Middle East during the Cold WarCreation of IsraelSlide 5Slide 6War of Israeli Independence (1948)Slide 8Abdel NasserSuez Canal (1956)Slide 11Slide 12Slide 13Slide 14Slide 15The Six Day War (1967)Slide 17Slide 18Slide 19Slide 20Slide 21The Yom Kippur War (1973)Slide 23Slide 24Slide 25Slide 26Slide 27Slide 28Slide 29Slide 30Continued ViolenceBeirut BombingContinuing IssuesNextArab-Israeli WarsLsn 36ID & SIG•Camp David Accords, Golan Heights, Israel, Nasser, OPEC, PLO, preemptive strike, Sadat, Sharon, Sinai, Six Day War, Suez Canal, unity of command, Yom Kippur War, War of Israeli IndependenceImportance of the Middle East during the Cold War•Colonial legacies•Oil reserves•Islamic, Jewish, Christian religious roots•Location on the southern flank of the Soviet Union•Soviet and American client states–Presence of advanced weapons•Suez Canal as a vital link between the Red and Mediterranean SeasCreation of Israel•Jews had long hoped to establish an independent state in Palestine based on the covenant between Yahweh and Abraham (Genesis 17:7-8)•Arabs rejected this desire with equal passion•After the European anti-Semitism of the 1930s and the Holocaust of World War II, Jews increasingly began migrating to PalestineCreation of Israel•Following World War I and the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations’ mandate gave Great Britain control of Palestine•After World War II, the British concluded they could no longer control the escalating violence between Arabs and Jews and turned the problem over to the United Nations•In November 1947, the UN voted to partition PalestineCreation of Israel•British forces withdrew and on May 14, 1948 the Jews proclaimed the establishment of the state of Israel•The next day the Arabs attackedDavid Ben-Guiron, first prime minister of Israel, declares Israel’s independenceWar of Israeli Independence (1948)•At first the Egyptian air force struck Tel Aviv•Soon after that forces from Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia all attacked•Most analysts felt the more numerous and better equipped Arabs would overwhelm the Israelis easilyWar of Israeli Independence (1948)•Instead the Israelis fought with great courage and skill•The Arabs on the other hand frittered away their numerical advantage with uncoordinated attacks•The war turned into a series of disorganized clashes among small units•After four weeks of fighting, both sides accepted a UN-sponsored ceasefireAbdel Nasser•In spite of the ceasefire, tensions remained high•They increased after 1954 when General Abdel Nasser, a bold Arab nationalist, gained control of the Egyptian government–Nasser first tried to acquire weapons from the West but when that failed he turned to the Soviet Union–The USSR began indirectly supplying Egypt with weapons through Czechoslovakia•France became upset with Egypt’s providing weapons to insurgents in Algeria so France began supplying IsraelSuez Canal (1956)•On July 27, 1956, Nasser unexpectedly nationalized the Suez Canal Zone, hoping to end the British presence there•The British and the French decided to intervene militarily and Israel joined them in attacking EgyptBetween 1859 and 1869, the British constructed the Suez Canal. In 1882 the British army occupied Egypt to ensure the safety of the canal which was crucial to British communications with IndiaSuez Canal (1956)•On Oct 28 Israel called up its reserves and then conducted a daring airborne landing deep inside the Sinai east of Milta Pass•At the same time a small force of Israeli infantry and tanks drove across the desert and linked up with the paratroopers on Oct 30Suez Canal (1956)•In the north the Israelis bypassed the strong Egyptian defenses at Abu Agelia and attacked them from the rear•In the south the Israelis attacked Sharm el-Sheikh, the strategic point at the mouth of the Gulf of Aquaba•On Oct 31, British and French bombers began attacking Egyptian airfields and destroyed most of the Egyptian air forceSuez Canal (1956)•Nasser began fearing his forces would be cut off in the Sinai and ordered a withdraw•The Israelis continued to advance and halted about 15 km east of the Suez Canal•The British and French landed one and a half infantry divisions near the northern mouth of the canal on Nov 6 and started advancing down the canalSuez Canal (1956)•Soon after they began moving, the British and French accepted a UN ceasefire•It was a decisive Israeli, French, and British victory•Nonetheless, the US, and then the USSR, began demanding the Israelis relinquish the captured Egyptian territory–Both the US and Russia were concerned about the explosiveness of the situation–One Soviet diplomat wrote President Eisenhower, “If this war is not curbed, it… can develop into a third world war.”Suez Canal (1956)•In the face of this international pressure, Israel had no choice but to withdraw•The intervention also cost the British and the French much of their influence in the region•Eisenhower announced the “Eisenhower Doctrine” saying, “The existing vacuum in the Middle East must be filled by the United States before it is filled by Russia.”President Eisenhower was upset by the Israeli, French, and British actions surrounding the Suez CrisisThe Six Day War (1967)•A fragile peace lasted until May 1967 when the Soviet Union informed Nasser (incorrectly as it turned out) that Israel was massing forces for a strike against Syria•Nasser responded to this report by mobilizing his reserves and moving troops into the Sinai•He also pressured the UN to withdraw its peacekeeping forces from the Sinai and soon occupied Sharm el-SheikhNasser and Soviet premier KhrushchevThe Six Day War (1967)•With Sharm el-Sheikh in his control, Nasser cut off Israeli shipping through the Gulf of Aquaba•To correct previous problems, the Arabs tried to establish unity of command under Egyptian control–In reality there was no true unity of command of the diverse forcesKing Hussein of Jordan and Nasser signing a mutual defense treatyThe Six Day War (1967)•Israel realized the serious situation, mobilized its reserves, and launched a preemptive air strike on June 5•The strike hit eleven Egyptian airfields and in a matter of hours destroyed most of the Egyptian air force•Then Israel turned its attention to the other Arab countries–By the evening of the second day of