Arab Israeli the Arab -- Thesis

Negotiations here went on for thirteen days non-stop which "apparently would have failed without the mediation of Carter and his advisers." 15

On September 17, 1979, Sadat and Begin came to an agreement which is now known as the Camp David Accords in which the two adversaries agreed to a number of conditions, such as "establishing an elected, self-governing authority in the West Bank and Gaza," the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank and Gaza "except for specified security locations," and having all negotiations based upon the U.N. Security Council Resolution 242. 16 This agreement between Egypt and Israel effectively put an end to the hostilities between the two nations and brought about a lasting peace, one which has held to this day. However, after the peace treaty at Camp David, the focus of the Arab-Israeli conflict shifted to Israel's northern borders with Lebanon.

In April of 1981, more hostilities flared up between Syria and the Lebanese forces, provoked by Lebanon leader Bashir Gemayel whose intentions were to "drag Israel deeper into Lebanon to help advance his political fortunes." Syria then installed surface-to-air missiles in Lebanon which prompted Israel to "conduct a series of air raids on PLO targets." Then, on July 24, 1981, negotiations between the PLO, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. And Israel culminated in another cease-fire between the PLO and Israel. But due to a number of selective diversions by the PLO, Israel launched a massive attack on Lebanon in June of 1982. Not surprisingly, one of the goals of the Israelis was "the total destruction of the PLO leadership and its infrastructure," thus eliminating Israel's main obstacle to the consolidation of its rule over the West Bank and Gaza. 17 However, hostilities and other conflicts between Israel, the PLO and other Arab states would continue into the 1980's and eventually led to conflicts between Israel, Shiite splinter groups and the nation of Jordan.

ENDNOTES

The Modern Middle East: A History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008, 45.

Silberstein, Laurence J., ed. New Perspectives on Israeli History: The Early Years of the State. New York UP, 1991, 124.

Heydemann, Steven, ed. War, Institutions and Social Change in the Middle East.

Berkeley: U. Of California P, 2000, 165.

"Israel and Palestine: A Brief History." 2008, Internet.

Sources in the History of the Modern Middle East. New York: Houghton-Mifflin Company, 2004, 176.

10 Heydemann, 185.

11 Ibid, 188.

12 Isseroff, Internet.

14 Heydemann, 218.

15 Ibid, 220.

16 Silberstein, New Perspectives on Israeli History, 245.

17 Ibid, 250.

SOURCES CITED

Gelvin, James L. The Modern Middle East: A History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Heydemann, Steven, ed. War, Institutions and Social Change in the Middle East.

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