The Arab Israeli Conflict Before 1967 And Since

A Brookings Institution Press and the University of California Press publication Updated through the first term of President George W. Bush, the latest edition of this classic work analyzes how each U.S. president since Lyndon Johnson has dealt with the complex challenge of Arab-Israeli peacemaking. There have been remarkable successes—such as the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty—frustrating failures, and dangerous wars along the way. This book helps to situate the current Middle East crisis in historical context and point to some possible ways out of the impasse between Israelis and Palestinians. Quandt suggests a clear U.S. commitment to a two-state solution—one that would assure Israel of security and peace within the 1967 treaty-established borders, offer the Palestinians an early end to Israeli occupation of Gaza and most of the West Bank, and establish both a Jewish and Arab Jerusalem. Written especially for classroom use, Peace Process is also an invaluable resource for policymakers and anyone interested in this vital region of the world. Praise for previous editions of Peace Process “Clearly written, carefully balanced and comprehensive in scope . . . should prove invaluable to all serious students of American foreign policy.”—New York Times Book Review “A major work, whether judged by the standards of classical diplomatic history or modern political science.”—Foreign Affairs “Provides fresh insights into the complexities of creating the process and defining the substance of American foreign policymaking.”—Survival “While objective to a fault, Quandt writes with an insider's knowledge of policymaking and decisions taken at the highest levels of government.”—Middle East Policy “Both a history and analysis of an evolving relationship between Israel and its Arab opponents.”—Choice “A major contribution to understanding the complexity of U.S. presidents’ handling of the [Arab-Israeli] conflict. It should be compulsory reading for anyone studying the Middle East conflict, peacemaking and conflict resolution.”—Journal of Peace Research

The June 1967 war was a watershed in the history of the modern Middle East. In six days, the Israelis defeated the Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian armies, seizing large portions of their territories. Two veteran scholars of the Middle East bring together some of the most knowledgeable experts in their fields to reassess the origins and the legacies of the war. Each chapter takes a different perspective from the vantage point of a different participant, those that actually took part in the war, and also the world powers that played important roles behind the scenes. Their conclusions make for sober reading. At the heart of the story was the incompetence of the Egyptian leadership and the rivalry between various Arab players who were deeply suspicious of each other's motives. Israel, on the other side, gained a resounding victory for which, despite previous assessments to the contrary, there was no master plan.

In late summer 1929, a countrywide outbreak of Arab-Jewish-British violence transformed the political landscape of Palestine forever. In contrast with those who point to the wars of 1948 and 1967, historian Hillel Cohen marks these bloody events as year zero of the Arab-Israeli conflict that persists today. The murderous violence inflicted on Jews caused a fractious - and now traumatized - community of Zionists, non-Zionists, Ashkenazim, and Mizrachim to coalesce around a unified national consciousness arrayed against an implacable Arab enemy. While the Jews unified, Arabs came to grasp the national essence of the conflict, realizing that Jews of all stripes viewed the land as belonging to the Jewish people. Through memory and historiography, in a manner both associative and highly calculated, Cohen traces the horrific events of August 23 to September 1 in painstaking detail. He extends his geographic and chronological reach and uses a non-linear reconstruction of events to call for a thorough reconsideration of cause and effect. Sifting through Arab and Hebrew sources - many rarely, if ever, examined before - Cohen reflects on the attitudes and perceptions of Jews and Arabs who experienced the events and, most significantly, on the memories they bequeathed to later generations. The result is a multifaceted and revealing examination of a formative series of episodes that will intrigue historians, political scientists, and others interested in understanding the essence - and the very beginning - of what has been an intractable conflict.

One message of Peace Process is that the United States has had, and will continue to have, a crucial role in helping Israel and her Arab neighbors reach peace. If American presidents play their role with skill, they can make a lasting contribution. But just as likely, they may misread the realities of the Middle East and add to the impasse by their own errors.

Author's acknowledgements p. xi Publisher's acknowledgements p. xii Chronology p. xiii Who's who p. xxi Glossary p. xxvi Maps p. xxxi Part 1 Background p. 1 1 The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict p. 3 Zionism and Arab Nationalism p. 3 The Impact of the First World War p. 5 British Policy and the Palestine Mandate p. 6 The Inter-war Period p. 7 The Impact of the Second World War p. 9 The British Withdrawal from Palestine p. 11 Part 2 Wars and Peace p. 13 2 The 1948 War p. 15 The First Arab-Israeli War p. 15 The Palestinian Refugee Problem p. 17 Peace Negotiations p. 19 3 The 1956 Suez-Sinai Campaign p. 22 The 1952 Egyptian Coup p. 22 Israeli-Egyptian Tensions p. 23 The Israeli Foreign and Defence Policy Debate p. 25 British-French-Israeli Collaboration p. 26 The Results of the War p. 30 4 The 1967 Six Day War p. 32 The Creation of the Palestine Liberation Organization p. 33 On the Brink of War p. 34 The Six Day War p. 36 The Aftermath of the War p. 37 5 The 1973 October War p. 39 The War of Attrition p. 39 The Palestinian Revival and Black September p. 40 Syro-Egyptian Plans for War p. 41 The 'Surprise' Attack p. 43 Consequences of the War p. 45 6 The Egyptian-Israeli Peace Process p. 47 Disengagement p. 47 The 1977 Likud Victory p. 49 The Camp David Accords p. 52 Implications of Peace p. 53 7 The 1982 Lebanon War p. 55 The Lebanese Civil War p. 55 Limited Israeli Intervention p. 56 Operation Peace for Galilee p. 57 The Failures of Operation Peace for Galilee p. 59 The 1983 May 17th Agreement p. 60 Repercussions of the Invasion p. 61 8 The Intifada p. 64 The PLO after 1982 p. 64 The Intifada p. 67 Israeli Reaction p. 69 The Creation of Hamas p. 72 Part 3 The Middle East Peace Process p. 75 9 From Madrid to the Second Intifada: Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations p. 77 The Madrid Conference and Framework for Peace p. 77 The Oslo Process, 1992-99 p. 78 Palestinian Institutions and Society, 1996-99 p. 80 The 2000 Camp David Summit p. 82 The Second Intifada p. 83 Israel's Response p. 85 Peace Initiatives, 2000-07 p. 88 Whither the Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations? p. 90 10 Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, 1994-2007 p. 93 Peace with Jordan p. 93 Negotiations with Syria, 1994-95 p. 94 Lebanon First, 1996-99 p. 96 Israeli-Syrian Negotiations, 1999-2000 p. 97 The 2006 Lebanon War p. 99 Whither the Syrian-Israeli Negotiations? p. 101 Part 4 Assessment p. 105 11 Towards Conflict Resolution p. 107 Part 5 Documents p. 113 1 From the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence p. 114 2 The Balfour Declaration: 2 November 1917 p. 114 3 From the Sykes-Picot Agreement p. 115 4 From the Recommendations of the Peel Commission July 1937 p. 115 5 From the MacDonald White Paper: 17 May 1939 p. 116 6 Plan D: 10 March 1948 p. 117 7 From the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel: 14 May 1948 p. 122 8 From the Cabinet Discussions on the Czech Arms Deal: 4 October 1955 p. 122 9 The Sevres Protocol: 24 October 1956 p. 123 10 From the National Covenant of the Palestine Liberation Organization p. 124 11 UNSC Resolution 242: 22 November 1967 p. 126 12 From the Khartoum Summit: 1 September 1967 p. 127 13 UNSC Resolution 338: 22 October 1973 p. 128 14 From Sadat's Announcement to the Egyptian National Assembly: 9 November 1977 p. 128 15 From the Camp David Accords: 17 September 1978 p. 129 16 From the Reagan Fresh Start Initiative: 1 September 1982 p. 130 17 From the Fez Peace Plan: 9 September 1982 p. 131 18 From the Israel-Lebanon Agreement: 17 May 1983 p. 132 19 The Amman Agreement, or Hussein-Arafat Accord: 11 February 1985 p. 133 20 Jordan Relinquishes its Claim to the West Bank: 31 July 1988 p. 134 21 From the Hamas Charter: 18 August 1988 p. 134 22 Palestinian Declaration of Independence: 15 November 1988 p. 135 23 Madrid Conference Letter of Invitation: 18 October 1991 p. 137 24 From the Declaration of Principles: 9 September 1993 p. 138 25 A Performance-Based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict p. 139 26 Israeli-Jordanian Peace Agreement: 26 October 1994 p. 145 Further Reading p. 149 References p. 155 Index p. 167.