Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict A History with Documents

by Smith, Charles D.

• ISBN13: 9781319115746
• ISBN10: 1319115748
• Edition: 10th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2020-09-22
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict provides a comprehensive, balanced, and accessible narrative of a complex historical topic. The narrative is supported by more than 40 primary documents that highlight perspectives from all sides of the struggle. Throughout the book, the author examines how underlying issues, group motives, religious and cross-cultural clashes, diplomacy and imperialism, and the arrival of the modern era shaped this volatile region. Maps, photographs, chronologies, public opinion polls, and discussion questions help facilitate student understanding. A fully updated final chapter makes this the most current history of the topic.

Author Biography

CHARLES D. SMITH is professor emeritus of Middle East history in the School of Middle East and North African Studies, University of Arizona. He has been awarded numerous grants for research in the Middle East, was a Fulbright scholar in Egypt, and served as a member of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and as president of the American Research Center in Egypt. He has published scholarly articles on many topics, including Egyptian Islam, Anglo-French imperialism in the Middle East, and nationalism and identity. He is the author of Islam and the Search for Social Order in Modern Egypt and co-author of The Modern Middle East and North Africa: A History in Documents, which was awarded the 2013 Undergraduate Education Award by the Middle East Studies Association [MESA]; he received the Mentor of the Year award from MESA in 2012 for his teaching and guidance of students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He is currently writing a study of Anglo-French relations and European imperial goals in the Middle East during World War I. Professor Smith’s numerous media appearances include interviews on Bloomberg News, The History Channel, and Fresh Air as well as invited commentaries from England, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and China.

Table of Contents

PROLOGUE. The Arab-Israeli Conflict in Historical Perspective: The Middle East and Palestine to 1517
Ancient Israel and Palestine to the Coming of Islam
Political Fragmentation and Rebellion to the Roman Period
Palestine under Roman and Byzantine Rule
The Arabs and the Spread of Islam
Islam and Its Relationship to Judaism and Christianity
Palestine under Muslim Rule to 1517
Chronology

1. OTTOMAN SOCIETY, PALESTINE, AND THE ORIGINS OF ZIONISM, 1516–1914
Commercial Relations and Military Decline, 1500–1800
Regional Strife, Imperial Interventions, and Ottoman Retraction, 1800–1914
Ottoman Society and European Inroads: Communal Tensions in an Age of Reform
Palestine in the Nineteenth Century
Changing Patterns: Trade, Land, Agriculture, and Population
Zionism: Its Origins and Development to 1914
The Jews of Western Europe
Eastern European Jewry and the Rise of Zionism
Theodor Herzl and the Zionist Movement to 1914
The Arab Response to Zionism
Ottoman Policies and Jewish Land Purchases
Growing Apprehension: Palestine and the Arab World
Conclusion
Questions for Consideration
Chronology
DOCUMENT 1.1 The Islahat Fermani [Hatti Humayoun] of February 44 1856
DOCUMENT 1.2 Theodor Herzl, Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State)
DOCUMENT 1.3 Naguib Azoury, From The Awakening of the Arab Nation, 1905

2. WORLD WAR I, GREAT BRITAIN, AND THE PEACE SETTLEMENTS: Deciding Palestine’s Fate, 1914–1921
World War I: The Ottoman Empire and the European Powers
British Imperial Objectives
Britain, the Arabs, and the Husayn-McMahon Correspondence, 1915–1916
The Lure of an Arab Revolt
The Husayn-McMahon Correspondence: Defining the Terms
McMahon’s Deception: The Roots of Arab Bitterness
Anglo-French Interests and the Sykes-Picot Agreement
Spheres of Control and Influence
British Evaluation of Their Commitments
Britain, Palestine, and the Balfour Declaration
Chaim Weizmann and British Politics
British War Aims and Palestine
Negotiating the Text
Goals versus Promises: The European Powers, Zionism, and the Arabs, 1917–1918
Reassuring Sharif Husayn
Syria and “Self-Determination”
Zionist-Arab Fears: The Faysal-Weizmann Agreement
The Peace Settlements and the Mandate System
Faysal and the British-French Struggle for Syria
Wilson, the League of Nations, and the Mandate System
Postwar Crises and the Creation of Transjordan
Conclusion
Questions for Consideration
Chronology
DOCUMENT 2.1 The Husayn-McMahon Correspondence, July 1915–January 1916
DOCUMENT 2.2 Drafts and Final Text of the Balfour Declaration
DOCUMENT 2.3 The Faysal-Weizmann Agreement, January 3, 1919
DOCUMENT 2.4 Resolutions of the General Syrian Congress, July 2 ,1919
DOCUMENT 2.5 Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, January 1920
DOCUMENT 2.6 The Mandate for Palestine, July 24, 1922

3. PALESTINE BETWEEN THE WARS: Zionism, the Palestinian Arabs, and the British Mandate, 1920–1939
The First Phase: Hopes Fulfilled and Dashed, 1918–1920
Political Leadership in Palestinian Arab and Zionist Communities
Palestinian Arabs and British Policies
Zionist Leadership in Palestine and Abroad
Jews and Arabs under the Mandate: The Clash of Conflicting Aspirations
The Land Question
The Conflict over the Western Wall, 1928–1929
Investigations and Retractions: The Passfield White Paper
European Crises and Their Repercussions: Yishuv Expansion and Arab Rebellion
The Arab Revolt: Its Roots and Impact on Palestine
Britain Rethinks Its Obligations: The 1939 White Paper
Palestine in British Strategy
Partition Foiled: The Woodhead Commission
The St. James Conference
The 1939 White Paper
Great Britain and Palestine on the Eve of World War II
Conclusion
Questions for Consideration
Chronology
DOCUMENT 3.1 The Churchill White Paper, July 1, 1922
DOCUMENT 3.2 Palestine Royal (Peel) Commission Report, July 1937
DOCUMENT 3.3 The 1939 White Paper

4. WORLD WAR II AND THE CREATION OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL, 1939–1949
Palestine, Zionism, and the War Effort, 1939–1945
World War II and the Middle East
Palestine: Jewish Immigration and the British Response
The Jewish Division and the Question of Jewish Military Capabilities
The Biltmore Conference and Its Consequences
The White Paper, Partition, and Britain’s Place in the Middle East, 1942–1945
Jewish Terrorism, the Hagana, and the British, 1940–1945
Palestinian Arab Leadership and the Question of Arab Unity, 1939–1945
The End of the Mandate and the Creation of Israel, 1945–1949
The Middle East and Postwar Tensions: Origins of the Cold War
Anglo-American Perspectives on Palestine
Great Britain, the United States, and Zionism, July 1945–February 1947
UNSCOP and United Nations’ Ratification of Partition, February–November 1947
The Battle for Palestine/Israel, December 1947–May 1948
The Arab-Israeli Wars and the Armistices, 1948–1949
Conclusion
Questions for Consideration
Chronology
DOCUMENT 4.1 The “Final Solution”: Nazi Extermination of European Jewry
DOCUMENT 4.2 UNSCOP’s Plan of Partition with Economic Union
DOCUMENT 4.3 Jamal al-Husayni, Testimony on Palestinian Arab Reaction to the UNSCOP Proposals, September 29, 1947
DOCUMENT 4.4 Rabbi Hillel Silver, Testimony on Zionist Reaction to the UNSCOP Proposals, October 2, 1947
DOCUMENT 4.5 Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948

5. THE BEGINNING OF THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT: Regional Strife and Cold War Rivalries, 1949–1957
Israel, the Arab States, and the Palestinian/Israeli Arabs, 1949–1954
Israel: Government, Citizenship, and the Law
Israeli Arabs: Dispossession and Isolation
The Palestinian Refugees
The Western Allies, Israel, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Israeli Views of Arabs and the World
The Arab States: Domestic Turmoil and Regional Rivalries
The Cold War and the Middle East: Looking for Allies, 1953–1955
Containment and the Northern Tier Concept
The Baghdad Pact
Israel, the Lavon Affair, and the Gaza Raid
The Gaza Raid and the Czech Arms Deal
Israel and France Draw Closer
Border Clashes and Blockade of the Straits of Tiran
Countdown to Suez: Failed Diplomacy and Dreams of Empire, January–November 1956
Carrots and Sticks: Projects and Peace Proposals
Nasser Nationalizes the Canal
Invasion Plans Take Shape
The Attacks and Their Aftermath
Conclusion
Questions for Consideration
DOCUMENT 5.1 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 [Palestinian Refugee Question] – Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator, December 11, 1948
DOCUMENT 5.2 Letter on the Position of the Palestinian Refugees, November 17, 1949
DOCUMENT 5.3 Gamal Abd al-Nasser, Speech Justifying Nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, July 28, 1956
DOCUMENT 5.4 Golda Meir, Speech to the United Nations General Assembly, March 1, 1957

6. FROM SUEZ TO THE SIX-DAY WAR, 1957–1967
The Struggle for Syria and the Creation of the United Arab Republic, 1957–1958
The United States, Syria, and the Cold War
The United Arab Republic: Context and Significance
Lebanon: Political Strife, Civil War, and Regional Crisis, 1957–1958
Maronite Catholics and Lebanese Political Alignments
Lebanon’s Civil War and the Iraqi Revolution
The Arab World in American Perspective: The Cold War Context
Inter-Arab and Arab-Israeli Tensions, 1958–1964
Nasser Strives to Dominate Arab Politics
Water Wars: Israeli-Syrian Clashes and the Arab Response
The Palestine Question in Arab Politics: The Palestine Liberation Organization and al-Fatah
Israeli Politics to 1967
Great-Power Rivalries in the Middle East to 1967
The United States between Israel and the Arabs
Lyndon Johnson and Israel
The Soviet Union and the Arab World
The Crisis Escalates: Military Clashes, Misleading Assurances, and Failed Diplomacy
Syrian-Israeli Tensions and Threats
The Egyptian Blockade of the Tiran Straits
Israeli Debates: Eshkol and the Generals
Israel Attacks: U.S. Assurances and the Pending Egyptian Peace Initiative
The Six-Day War: Israel’s Conquests and American Expectations
Conclusion
Questions for Consideration
Chronology
DOCUMENT 6.1 Communiqué No. 1 from Headquarters of Asifa Forces (Fatah), January 6, 1965
DOCUMENT 6.2 Gamal Abd al-Nasser, Speech to Members of the Egyptian National Assembly, May 29, 1967
DOCUMENT 6.3 Abba Eban, Speech to the U.N. Security Council on Israel’s Reasons for Going to War, June 6, 1967

7. LAND, WAR, AND DIPLOMACY: Shifting Calculations in a Cold War Context, 1967–1976
The Search for Negotiating Leverage, 1967–1971
The Khartoum Conference
Deliberate Ambiguity: Security Council Resolution 242
Palestinian Agendas and Their Regional Repercussions
Jordan and the Palestinians
Palestinian Factions and the PLO
Lebanon, the Palestinians, and Israel
Wars of Attrition and Cold War Diplomacy: The Rogers Plan
Competing Agendas: Nixon Administration Rivalries and Middle East Policy
Globalism vs. Regionalism under Nixon: Analysis
Jordan and the Palestinians, August–September 1970
The Jordanian Crisis: Regional and International Repercussions
The 1973 War and Its Consequences
The Arabs: Seeking Responses to Signals
Israel and the Politics of Expansion: The Galili Document
The 1973 War: The Chance for Diplomacy
Tactics and Ultimate Intentions: The PLO and Israel, 1973–1977
Conclusion
Questions for Consideration
Chronology
DOCUMENT 7.1 U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, November 22, 1967
DOCUMENT 7.2 The Palestinian National Charter: Resolutions of the Palestine National Council, July 1–17, 1968; PLO Resolution on Security Council Resolution 242, June 1974
DOCUMENT 7.3 U.N. Security Council Resolution 338, October 22, 1973
DOCUMENT 7.4 Yasir Arafat, Address to the U.N. General Assembly, November 13, 1974
DOCUMENT 7.5 Yosef Tekoah, Response to Arafat’s Address, November 13, 1974

8. LEBANON, THE WEST BANK, AND THE CAMP DAVID ACCORDS: The Palestinian Equation in the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1977–1984
The Lebanese Civil War and Its Aftermath, 1975–1978
Roots of the Lebanese Conflict
Arab Factions and Alignments vis-à-vis Syria and Israel
U.S. Diplomacy amid Regional Strife
The Carter Administration and Camp David, January 1977–September 1978
Carter’s Failed Attempts to Restructure Negotiating Parameters
The Road to Camp David, November 1977–September 1978
Camp David Exchanges: The West Bank and the Gaza Strip
The Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty: The Carter Legacy
The Reagan Administration and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
The Anticommunist Crusade: The Middle East in Global Perspective
West Bank and Israeli Arabs between Jordan and Israel, 1948–1977
Sharon’s Vision: Israel, Israeli Arabs, and the West Bank, 1977–1982
Begin and the West Bank after Camp David
Lebanon: The Struggle for Hegemony
The Phalange-Likud Alliance
American Diplomacy and Its Impact
The Israeli Invasion of Lebanon, August 1981–September 1982
America’s Lebanon Policy, September 1982–February 1984
Lebanon Postscript, 1984–1991: The Taif Accord and Hizbollah
Conclusion
Questions for Consideration
Chronology
DOCUMENT 8.1 Platform of the Likud Coalition, March 1977
DOCUMENT 8.2 Anwar al-Sadat, Speech to the Israeli Knesset, November 20, 1977
DOCUMENT 8.3 Menachem Begin, Reply to President Sadat, November 20, 1977
DOCUMENT 8.4 A Framework for Peace in the Middle East Agreed at Camp David, September 17, 1978

9. FROM PARIAH TO PARTNER: The PLO and the Quest for Peace in Global and Regional Contexts, 1984–1993
Peace Gambits, Terrorism, and Political Strife, 1984–1987
Competing Agendas and Coalition Politics: Israel and the Jordanian Option
Temporary Allies: The Husayn-Arafat Accord
The United States and Israel: Cold War Calculations
The Intifada
Roots of the Intifada
The Gaza Strip
Intifada: The First Two Years, December 1987–December 1989
The Intifada and Islamic Resistance
The Intifada and International Politics, 1988–1991
The First Gulf Crisis
The United States: Motives and Opportunities
Arab and Israeli Reactions to the Gulf Crisis
The Intifada, the Gulf Crisis, and the Negotiating Process
Diplomacy and Conflict: The Madrid Talks, October 1991–Summer 1993
Conclusion
Questions for Consideration
Chronology
DOCUMENT 9.1 Communiqué No. 1 of the Intifada Issued by the Unified National Leadership, January 8, 1988
DOCUMENT 9.2 Leaflet No. 1 of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), January 1988
DOCUMENT 9.3 Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Peace Initiative of the National Unity Government, May 14, 1989

10. ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN/ARAB NEGOTIATIONS AND AGREEMENTS, 1993–1999
The 1993 Oslo Accord
The Terms
Analysis of the Accord
East Jerusalem and the Settlements
The Politics and Economics of Violence
Economic and Diplomatic Inequalities
Hebron and Hamas: Prelude to Oslo 2
Oslo 2 and the Rabin Assassination
Terms of the Agreement
The Rabin Assassination
From Rabin to Netanyahu: The Peres Government and Likud’s Victory, November 1995–May 1996
The Netanyahu Government, June 1996–July 1999
Reciprocity and Confrontation
The Hebron Agreement, January 1997
Palestinian Communal Tensions and Charges of Corruption
The Mashal Affair
The Wye Memorandum and the Collapse of the Netanyahu Coalition
Jewish Communal Strife: The Culture War Intensifies
Domestic and Regional Realignments, December 1998–July 1999
Conclusion
Questions for Consideration
Chronology
DOCUMENT 10.1 The Israeli-PLO Declaration of Principles, Washington, D.C., September 13, 1993
DOCUMENT 10.2 The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement (Oslo 2) on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, September 28, 1995
DOCUMENT 10.3 Yitzhak Rabin’s Last Speech at Tel Aviv Peace Rally, November 4, 1995

11. THE OSLO PROCESS UNDONE: Camp David 2000, Palestinian Rebellion/Factionalism, and Israeli Unilateralism: Identities in Conflict, 1999–2015
Prelude to Camp David, July 1999–July 2000
The Camp David Talks: Background and Context
What Happened at Camp David? July 2000
Initial Negotiating Positions
Barak’s Proposal and Clinton’s Role
Conflicting Interpretations
Subsequent Diplomacy
The Clinton Parameters
The Taba Discussions, January 2001
The Second Intifada
The Initial Stage, September 2000–March 2001
The Political Context of the Intifada: Bush, Sharon, and Arafat
Intensified Conflict and Suicide Bombings: The Israeli Barrier
Iraq and the Neoconservative Vision of a U.S.-Israeli Strategic Alliance
Official and Unofficial Reports and Peace Efforts, 2001–2005
The Sharm al-Sheikh Fact-Finding (Mitchell) Committee
The Rose Garden Address, June 2002
The Road Map vs. the Rose Garden Address
The Aqaba Summit, June 2003
The Geneva Initiative, October 2003
The Israeli Disengagement Plan
The Disengagement Plan and Israeli Politics
The Palestinian Elections: Hamas, Fatah, and the Peace Process
Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria: Rockets, Hostages, and Political Ambitions, 2006–2009
Israel, Syria, and the Gaza Assault
Fanfare and Stalemate: Obama Administration Peace Efforts, 2009–2015
U.S. Peace Efforts, 2009–2015
Wars and Their Motives: Gaza and Iran’s Nuclear Program Between Conflict and Political Calculations
Clashing Identities, Intercommunal Violence, and the Struggle for the Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif
Conclusion
Questions for Consideration
Chronology
DOCUMENT 11.1 “You’ll Miss Me Yet”: Interview with Marwan Barghouti,
November 9, 2001
DOCUMENT 11.2 “The Urgent Thing, It Is to Unconditionally Disengage
Ourselves from the Territories”: Interview with Ami Ayalon,
December 22, 2001
DOCUMENT 11.3 Arab Peace Plan Proposed by Saudi Arabia and Adopted
at Arab League Summit, Beirut, March 27, 2002
DOCUMENT 11.4 Palestinian-Israeli Polls on Possible Peace Agreements, 2013–2015
DOCUMENT 11.5 Authorized Construction Starts in the West Bank Settlements, 1996-2014
DOCUMENT 11.6 Jerusalem and the Israel-Palestinian Conflict, October 6, 2015

EPILOGUE
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
Index
Chronology