Teh Arab Israeli Conflict Essay Research Paper — страница 2

invasion of the Sinai peninsula was disproportionate to the attacks that Israel had suffered from the fedayeen bases. It took four months of bargaining and international pressure, before Israel relinquished the territory she had gained. Perhaps the most controversial of the wars was the June (Six Day) War of 1967. It was noted that It had long been Israel s practice, whenever it judged that Arab raids had reached an intolerable level, to retaliate massively and that even unconventional threats would …elicit cunning and violent preemption or the most terrible retaliation , and this is particularly true from the 1967 war. Israel did so on November 13, 1966, attacking the moderate Jordan which led to international censure and on April 7, 1967 shooting down of six Syrian planes. On

both occassions, the Arab nations had not launch any major attack, besides the normal border disputes. The Israelis had done so on the grounds that Egypt and Jordan had received large contingents of troops from the other Arab states and on June 5, 1967, made the first strike. Proving their military might and superiority over their neighbours, and disproving that implication that Israel was weak because of its size, Israel achieved complete military victory six days later, occupying an area four times greater than the area of Israel before the war. The controversy thus arises. Does Israel have the right to pre-emptive attack? This is disputed over articles 2(4) and 51 in the charter, as the same clauses could be used to defend both the Arabs and the Israelis. [2] By the two above

mentioned articles, the Israeli action is taken as defensive actions of a beleaguered State against military measures… threatening its… independence However, a narrow reading of the two articles would also support the case that Israel s pre-emptive strike amounted to an act of aggression. The war thus disproved several notions suggested by the standard portrayal of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Firstly, Israel may be surrounded by the Arab nations, but this held no consequence to her military strength. In fact, it might have helped her built on her military prowess as a tool for survival. Secondly, the Arab states had not been the aggressors, or at least, did not declare war nor draw first blood, and therefore the Israelis cannot be said to be repelling invading forces. Thirdly,

if anything, the Arabs were definitely not overwhelming. It would be ironic to point out that it was the Israelis forces that was overwhelming. The Israelis had gained two major things in this war: security and a bargaining chip, land for peace and recognition. The October War of 1973 was won on a slight margin on Israel s part. On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel. In this war, we would have to concede that there is some truth in the standard portaryal. The Arabs proved here that they were capable of co-operation and a well co-ordinated attack, and this offence was overwheliming enough for the Israelis to come close to losing have it not been for the American airlift which brought them ammunition. The Arabs however won a psychological and diplomatic victory. It

was this war that eventually led to the peace talks between Israel and the Arab nations, particularly Egypt. The war, however brings out another point. Israel will not, and debatably will never, be overwhelmed by the Arabic forces, because they have the support of other countries, notably the United States. The protection of the international community means that the threat that the Arabs posed was not as calamitous as it may seemed initially. We could then look to broader perspectives. It was said that the assumption that universal and impalcable hostility on the part of its neighbours was never completely accurate .The Arab nations were adaptable to their own diplomatic aims and Israel was able to form relations with Jordan, Iran and Turkey. Moreover by the 1990s, the threat

was almost non-existent. Israel made her peace with Egypt over the Camp David Accordes in 1979. In July 1988, King Hussein of Jordan reliquished all claims to the West Bank and by 1994, the state of war between the two countries was ended. The Lebanon War of 1982 led to peace table talks with Lebanon. By 1994, several other Arab states had opened low level relations with the Jewish state. The state of perpetual war had ended, and it is suspected that Israel had gained from it. It had brought the Jews who had come to Israel from all over the world together, united in their efforts against the Arabs. It had brought them world-wide recognition, and economic support particularly from the States. It was even argued that Israel might have prolonged the conflict in order to gain more