Egypt and the Arab-Israeli conflict

Wars between states

The Basic Situation

• Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip and shared a long border with Israel

• Jordan integrated the West Bank into itself

• Syria shared a short but poorly defined border with Israel

• Egypt is the “hegemonic” regional power threatened (in different ways) by Israel, Syria, and Saudi Arabia

1952 Revolution

• LAND REFORM IN SEPTEMBER 1952 AND ARMY’S PROMISE TO LIQUIDATE FEUDALISM AND COLONIALISM

• COLLAPSE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MONARCHY AND CLOSEST ALLY OF BRITAIN IN THE REGION

Nasser Searches for independence

• 1954 – Nasser at Bandung

• 1955 – Czech arms deal; rejection of the Baghdad Pact

• 1956 – Nationalization of Suez Canal

1956 War

• October 29 – Israel invades Sinai

• November 5 – Anglo-French invasion

• December 22 – Anglo-French withdrawal

• Nasser wins a dramatic political victory despite military defeat

Republicanism victorious

• February 1958 – creation of United Arab Republic

• July 1958 – the Iraqi revolution

• July 1961 – Egypt moves further toward socialism

Abdel Karim Qasim

And the turning point

• September 1961 – Syria withdraws from UAR

• 1962-1967 – the “Arab Cold War”

• 1962 – the republican coup in Yemen and “Nasser’s Vietnam”

The Problem for Nasser

• Challenges to his leadership– Fatah incursions into Israel– Syrian claims to revolutionary leadership– The domestic threat of the Muslim Brothers– Saudi opposition to Arab nationalism

• Islamic or Arab solidarity?• Oil as a factor in international politics

Throwing the Dice - 1967

• May 14 1967 – Egyptian troops into Sinai

• May 16 – Request for UNEF to leave

• May 21 – Closure of Straits of Tiran to Israeli-bound shipping

• May 30 – King Husayn of Jordan signs a joint defense pact

War

• Israeli war strategy makes waiting impossible

• Fighting broke out with Israeli attacks on Egyptian air bases, obliterating the airforce

• With no air cover the Egyptian ground forces—mainly conscripts—were destroyed

• Within 6 days Israel had occupied Sinai, the West Bank, and Golan

Outcome

• Egypt now had renewed foreign occupation

• Jordan had lost its most populous and productive region

• Israel emerged as the regional strategic power

• Israel now controlled all of the territory of Mandatory Palestine

Collapse of the Arab states

• Nasser briefly resigns

• A new leader emerges in Damascus

• The Khartoum declaration– No negotiation– No withdrawal without recognition of

Palestinians– Resolution of Egyptian-Saudi conflicts on

Saudi terms

Space for the PLO

• The military defeat of the Arab states opens the door to the PLO

• Strengthens Palestinian resolve not to trust the Arab states

• The Palestinian issue becomes a more important symbol for Arab states even as they realize how dangerous it is