159-768: Second phase: 1977–1982 Third phase: 1982–1984 Fourth phase: 1984–1990 Cantons and puppet states International incidents The 1978 South Lebanon conflict , also known as the First Israeli invasion of Lebanon and codenamed Operation Litani by Israel , began when Israel invaded southern Lebanon up to the Litani River in March 1978. It was in response to the Coastal Road massacre near Tel Aviv by Palestinian militants based in Lebanon. The conflict resulted in
318-522: A 2001 election ; he carried out his plan to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip and spearheaded the construction of the West Bank barrier , ending the intifada. Between 2000 and 2008, 1,063 Israelis, 5,517 Palestinians and 64 foreign citizens were killed. In 2006, a Hezbollah artillery assault on Israel's northern border communities and a cross-border abduction of two Israeli soldiers precipitated
477-675: A two-state settlement on the pre-1967 borders. But the Rejectionist Front denounced the calls for diplomacy, and a diplomatic solution was vetoed by the United States. In 1975, the increasing tensions between Palestinian militants and Christian militias exploded into the Lebanese Civil War , involving all factions. On 20 January 1976, the PLO took part in the Damour massacre in retaliation to
636-465: A unicameral parliament elected by proportional representation , the Knesset , which determines the makeup of the government headed by the prime minister and elects the figurehead president . Israel is the only country to have a revived official language, Hebrew . Its culture comprises Jewish and Jewish diaspora elements alongside Arab influences. Israel has one of the largest economies in
795-620: A Jewish " national home " in Palestine. Weizmann's interpretation of the declaration was that negotiations on the future of the country were to happen directly between Britain and the Jews, excluding Arabs. Jewish-Arab relations in Palestine deteriorated dramatically in the following years. In 1918 the Jewish Legion , primarily Zionist volunteers, assisted in the British conquest of Palestine . In 1920
954-804: A Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule, broke out in 1987, with waves of uncoordinated demonstrations and violence in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Over the following six years, the intifada became more organized and included economic and cultural measures aimed at disrupting the Israeli occupation. Over 1,000 people were killed. During the 1991 Gulf War , the PLO supported Saddam Hussein and Iraqi missile attacks against Israel . Despite public outrage, Israel heeded American calls to refrain from hitting back. In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin became prime minister following an election in which his party called for compromise with Israel's neighbours. The following year, Shimon Peres on behalf of Israel and Mahmoud Abbas for
1113-512: A ceasefire. The PLO's initial reaction was that the resolution didn't apply to them because it didn't mention the PLO. The PLO leadership finally ordered a ceasefire on 28 March 1978, after a meeting between UNIFIL commander General Emmanuel Erskine and Yasser Arafat in Beirut. Helena Cobban has described the agreement as "a turning-point in the history of the Palestinian resistance moment" because it
1272-616: A de facto independent emirate in the Galilee. Ottoman attempts to subdue the sheikh failed. After Zahir's death the Ottomans regained control of the area. In 1799, governor Jazzar Pasha repelled an assault on Acre by Napoleon 's troops, prompting the French to abandon the Syrian campaign. In 1834, a revolt by Palestinian Arab peasants against Egyptian conscription and taxation policies under Muhammad Ali
1431-664: A decree suspending the PLC and some sections of the Palestinian Basic Law , and appointed Salam Fayyad as prime minister. The PLO remains the official representative of the State of Palestine at the UN . On 4 February 1969, Fatah founder, Arafat, was elected Chairman of the PLO in Cairo . Since, Fatah has been the dominant factor within the PLO, which still continues in 2015. Under pressure from
1590-562: A ground attack on all PLO positions along the Lebanese border with Israel. The ground forces were led by two division commanders, and attacked simultaneously along the entire front. Paratroopers landed from helicopters to capture all the bridges on the Litani River, cutting off the possibility of retreat by the PLO, and later expanded north to the Litani River. Shayetet 11 vessels were used as carrier platform for helicopters to attack targets on
1749-549: A group of Palestinian lawyers, jurists and legal scholars, due to lack of elections. They questioned the PLO's legitimacy to alter the status and role of the Organization in respect of their status within the UN. They demanded immediate and direct elections to the Palestine National Council to ″activate representative PLO institutions in order to preserve, consolidate, and strengthen the effective legal representation of
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#17329028800361908-623: A lengthy chase and shootout, 38 Israeli civilians, including 13 children, were killed and 76 were wounded. On 14 March 1978, Israel launched Operation Litani, after the Coastal Road Massacre. Its stated goals were to push Palestinian militant groups, particularly the PLO , away from the border with Israel, and to bolster Israel's ally at the time, the South Lebanon Army , because of the attacks against Lebanese Christians and Jews and because of
2067-768: A massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The Israeli government responded with an assassination campaign against the organizers of the massacre, a bombing and a raid on the PLO headquarters in Lebanon . On 6 October 1973, the Egyptian and Syrian armies launched a surprise attack against Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, opening the Yom Kippur War . The war ended on 25 October with Israel repelling Egyptian and Syrian forces but suffering great losses. An internal inquiry exonerated
2226-537: A movement that sought to establish a Jewish state in Palestine, thus offering a solution to the Jewish question of the European states. Antisemitism, pogroms and official policies, in tsarist Russia led to the emigration of three million Jews in the years between 1882 and 1914, only 1% of which went to Palestine. Those who went to Palestine were driven primarily by ideas of self-determination and Jewish identity, rather than as
2385-568: A part of Coele-Syria . Over the ensuing centuries, the Hellenization of the region led to cultural tensions that came to a head during the reign of Antiochus IV , giving rise to the Maccabean Revolt of 167 BCE. The civil unrest weakened Seleucid rule, and in the late 2nd century the semi-autonomous Hasmonean Kingdom of Judea arose, eventually attaining full independence and expanding into neighboring regions. The Roman Republic invaded
2544-637: A proclamation allowing the exiled Judean population to return to Judah. The construction of the Second Temple was completed c. 520 BCE . The Achaemenids ruled the region as the province of Yehud Medinata . In 332 BCE, Alexander the Great conquered the region as part of his campaign against the Achaemenid Empire . After his death, the area was controlled by the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires as
2703-652: A regional power, with a capital at Samaria ; during the Omride dynasty , it controlled Samaria , Galilee , the upper Jordan Valley , the plain of Sharon and large parts of Transjordan . The Kingdom of Israel was conquered around 720 BCE by the Neo-Assyrian Empire . The Kingdom of Judah, under Davidic rule with its capital in Jerusalem , later became a client state of first the Neo-Assyrian Empire and then
2862-517: A response to pogroms or economic insecurity. The Second Aliyah (1904–1914) began after the Kishinev pogrom ; some 40,000 Jews settled in Palestine, although nearly half left eventually. Both the first and second waves of migrants were mainly Orthodox Jews . The Second Aliyah included Zionist socialist groups who established the kibbutz movement based on the idea of establishing a separate Jewish economy based exclusively on Jewish labor. Those of
3021-532: A school in Israel and killed a total of 26 students and adults and wounded over 70 in the Ma'alot massacre . The 1975, Savoy Hotel hostage situation killing 8 hostages and 3 soldiers, carried out by Fatah. The 1978, Coastal Road massacre killing 37 Israelis and wounding 76, also carried out by Fatah. From 1967 to September 1970 the PLO, with passive support from Jordan, fought a war of attrition with Israel. During this time,
3180-462: A secondary concern to Israeli military and other Lebanese factions. With ousting of the PLO, the Lebanese Civil War gradually turned into a prolonged conflict, shifting from mainly PLO-Christian conflict into involvement of all Lebanese factions – whether Sunni , Shia , Druze , and Christians . In 1982, the PLO relocated to Tunis , Tunisia after it was driven out of Lebanon by Israel during
3339-617: A secret alliance with the UK and France and overran the Sinai Peninsula in the Suez Crisis but was pressured to withdraw by the UN in return for guarantees of Israeli shipping rights. The war resulted in significant reduction of Israeli border infiltration. In the early 1960s, Israel captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and brought him to Israel for trial . Eichmann remains
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#17329028800363498-513: A senior Israeli diplomat by Lebanon-based Palestinian militants in Lebanon, Israel invaded Lebanon in a much larger scale in coordination with the Lebanese Christian militias, reaching Beirut and eventually resulting in ousting of the PLO headquarters in June that year. Low-level Palestinian insurgency in Lebanon continued in parallel with the consolidation of Shia militant organizations, but became
3657-535: A series of coordinated attacks on Israel, leading to the start of the Israel–Hamas war . On that day, approximately 1,300 Israelis, predominantly civilians, were killed in communities near the Gaza Strip border and during a music festival . Over 200 hostages were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip. After clearing militants from its territory, Israel launched one of the most destructive bombing campaigns in modern history and invaded Gaza on 27 October with
3816-612: A sub-machine gun during the incident) in SLA territory; in a separate incident another Irish soldier, Private S. Griffin, was shot by Haddad's men, and was evacuated to Israel where he subsequently died during medical treatment. The Israeli press at the time, particularly The Jerusalem Post , accused the Irish of pro-PLO bias. (Fisk, 152–154). Palestinian factions also attacked UNIFIL, kidnapping an Irish UNIFIL soldier in 1981 and continuing to occupy areas in southern Lebanon. Hostilities continued as
3975-586: A violation of American law. Carter's administration prepared to notify Congress that American weapons were being used illegally, which would have resulted in military aid to Israel being cut off. The American consul in Jerusalem informed the Israeli government of their plans and, according to Carter, Prime Minister Begin said that the operation was over. In response to the invasion, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 425 and Resolution 426 calling for
4134-630: A year of fighting, a ceasefire was declared and temporary borders, known as the Green Line , were established. Jordan annexed what became known as the West Bank , including East Jerusalem , and Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip . Over 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled by Zionist militias and the Israeli military —what would become known in Arabic as the nakba ('catastrophe'). The events also led to
4293-619: Is bordered by Lebanon and Syria to the north, the West Bank and Jordan to the east, the Gaza Strip and Egypt to the southwest, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. The country also has a small coastline on the Red Sea at its southernmost point, and part of the Dead Sea lies along its eastern border. Israel's proclaimed capital is in Jerusalem , while Tel Aviv is the country's largest urban area and economic center . Israel
4452-466: Is criticized for not differentiating between combatants and civilians. Members of the PLO have claimed responsibility for a number of attacks against Israelis during the Second Intifada. The PLO has been sued in the United States by families of those killed or injured in attacks by Palestinians. One lawsuit was settled prior to going to trial. The other went to trial. The PLO was found liable for
4611-501: Is debate about the earliest existence of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah and their extent and power. While it is unclear if there was a United Kingdom of Israel , historians and archaeologists agree that the northern Kingdom of Israel existed by ca. 900 BCE and the Kingdom of Judah by ca. 850 BCE. The Kingdom of Israel was the more prosperous of the two and soon developed into
4770-605: Is known as the Nakba , with those remaining becoming the new state's main minority. Over the following decades, Israel's population increased greatly as the country received an influx of Jews who emigrated, fled or were expelled from the Muslim world . Following the 1967 Six-Day War Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and Syrian Golan Heights . Israel established and continues to expand settlements across
4929-720: Is located in a region known to Jews as the Land of Israel , synonymous with the Palestine region , the Holy Land , and Canaan . In antiquity, it was home to the Canaanite civilization followed by the kingdoms of Israel and Judah . Situated at a continental crossroad , the region experienced demographic changes under the rule of various empires from the Romans to the Ottomans . European antisemitism in
1978 South Lebanon conflict - Misplaced Pages Continue
5088-579: Is the belief that Zionists had unjustly expelled the Palestinians from Palestine and established a Jewish state in place under the pretext of having historic and Jewish ties with Palestine. The PLO demanded that Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to their homes. This is expressed in the National Covenant: Article 2 of the Charter states that ″Palestine, with the boundaries it had during
5247-509: The jizya tax. Non-Muslim Ottoman subjects faced geographic and lifestyle restrictions, though these were not always enforced. The millet system organized non-Muslims into autonomous communities on the basis of religion. The concept of the "return" remained a symbol within religious Jewish belief which emphasized that their return should be determined by Divine Providence rather than human action. Leading Zionist historian Shlomo Avineri describes this connection: "Jews did not relate to
5406-512: The 1982 Lebanon War . Following massive raids by Israeli forces in Beirut, it is estimated that 8,000 PLO fighters evacuated the city and dispersed. On 1 October 1985, in Operation Wooden Leg , Israeli Air Force F-15s bombed the PLO's Tunis headquarters, killing more than 60 people. It is suggested that the Tunis period (1982–1991) was a negative point in the PLO's history, leading up to
5565-706: The Arab League initiated the creation of an organization representing the Palestinian people. The Palestinian National Council convened in Jerusalem on 28 May 1964. After concluding the meeting, the PLO was founded on 2 June 1964. Its stated "complementary goals" were Arab unity and the liberation of Palestine . The PLO began their militancy campaign from its inception with an attack on Israel's National Water Carrier in January 1965. The group used guerrilla tactics to attack Israel from their bases in Jordan (which then included
5724-557: The British mandate , is an indivisible territorial unit″, meaning that there is no place for a Jewish state. This article was adapted in 1996 to meet the Oslo Accords. Article 20 states: ″The Balfour Declaration , the Mandate for Palestine, and everything that has been based upon them, are deemed null and void. Claims of historical or religious ties of Jews with Palestine are incompatible with
5883-536: The Cairo Agreement led the PLO to establish itself in Lebanon. In the late 1960s, and especially after the expulsion of the Palestinian militants from Jordan in Black September events in 1970–1971 , Lebanon had become the base for PLO operations. Palestinian militant organizations relocated their headquarters to South Lebanon, and relying on the support in Palestinian refugee camps, waged a campaign of attacks on
6042-544: The Four Holy Cities —Jerusalem, Tiberias, Hebron , and Safed —and in 1697, Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid led a group of 1,500 Jews to Jerusalem. A 1660 Druze revolt against the Ottomans destroyed Safed and Tiberias . In the second half of the 18th century, Eastern European Jews who were opponents of Hasidism , known as the Perushim , settled in Palestine. In the late 18th century, local Arab Sheikh Zahir al-Umar created
6201-734: The Gaza Strip in the ongoing Israel–Hamas war . Observers, including the UN Special Committee to investigate Israeli practices and United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese , have cited statements by senior Israeli officials that may indicate an " intent to destroy " (in whole or in part) Gaza's population, a necessary condition for the legal threshold of genocide to be met. A majority of mostly US-based Middle East scholars believe Israel's actions in Gaza were intended to make it uninhabitable for Palestinians, and 75% of them say Israel's actions in Gaza constitute either genocide or "major war crimes akin to genocide". On 29 December 2023, South Africa instituted proceedings against Israel at
6360-402: The International Court of Justice pursuant to the Genocide Convention , PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO ; Arabic : منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية Munaẓẓamat at-Taḥrīr al-Filasṭīniyyah ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the Palestinian territories and
6519-499: The Iran–Iraq War , the Israeli air force destroyed Iraq's sole nuclear reactor, then under construction, in order to impede the Iraqi nuclear weapons program. Following a series of PLO attacks in 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon to destroy the PLO bases. In the first six days, Israel destroyed the military forces of the PLO in Lebanon and decisively defeated the Syrians. An Israeli government inquiry (the Kahan Commission ) held Begin and several Israeli generals indirectly responsible for
1978 South Lebanon conflict - Misplaced Pages Continue
6678-512: The Israeli–Palestinian conflict after the interim Oslo Accords have not succeeded, and the country has engaged in several wars and clashes with Palestinian militant groups . Israel's practices in its occupation of the Palestinian territories have drawn sustained international criticism—along with accusations that it has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people—from human rights organizations and United Nations officials. The country's Basic Laws establish
6837-452: The Karantina massacre . The PLO and Lebanese National Movement attacked the Christian town of Damour , killing 684 civilians and forcing the remainder of the town's population to flee. In 1976 Syria joined the war by invading Lebanon, beginning the 29‑year Syrian occupation of Lebanon , and in 1978 Israel invaded South Lebanon in response to the Coastal Road Massacre , executed by Palestinian militants based in Lebanon. The population in
6996-415: The Labor Party . Later that year, Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat made a trip to Israel and spoke before the Knesset in what was the first recognition of Israel by an Arab head of state. Sadat and Begin signed the Camp David Accords (1978) and the Egypt–Israel peace treaty (1979). In return, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula and agreed to enter negotiations over autonomy for Palestinians in
7155-538: The Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BCE), large parts of Canaan formed vassal states of the New Kingdom of Egypt . As a result of the Late Bronze Age collapse , Canaan fell into chaos, and Egyptian control over the region collapsed. A people named Israel appear for the first time in the Merneptah Stele, an ancient Egyptian inscription which dates to about 1200 BCE. Ancestors of the Israelites are thought to have included ancient Semitic-speaking peoples native to this area. Modern archaeological accounts suggest that
7314-494: The League of Nations granted Britain the Mandate for Palestine under terms which included the Balfour Declaration with its promise to the Jews and with similar provisions regarding the Arab Palestinians. The population of the area was predominantly Arab and Muslim, with Jews accounting for about 11% and Arab Christians about 9.5% of the population. The Third (1919–1923) and Fourth Aliyahs (1924–1929) brought an additional 100,000 Jews to Palestine. The rise of Nazism , and
7473-423: The Neo-Babylonian Empire . It is estimated that the region's population was around 400,000 in the Iron Age II . In 587/6 BCE, following a revolt in Judah , King Nebuchadnezzar II besieged and destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple , dissolved the kingdom and exiled much of the Judean elite to Babylon . After capturing Babylon in 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great , founder of the Achaemenid Empire , issued
7632-442: The Palestinian towns and camps in southern Lebanon were totally leveled. It is estimated that by October 1977, about 300,000 refugees—mainly Lebanese Shia Muslims —had fled southern Lebanon. In November 1977, an exchange of gunfire led to the deaths of several people on both sides of the Israel–Lebanon border and led to Israel's bombing of targets in southern Lebanon that killed 70 people, mainly Lebanese . The proximate cause of
7791-471: The Royal Navy and the refugees placed in detention camps in Atlit and Cyprus . On 22 July 1946, Irgun bombed the British administrative headquarters for Palestine, killing 91. The attack was a response to Operation Agatha (a series of raids, including one on the Jewish Agency , by the British) and was the deadliest directed at the British during the Mandate era. The Jewish insurgency continued throughout 1946 and 1947 despite concerted efforts by
7950-469: The Sabra and Shatila massacre and held Defense Minister Ariel Sharon as bearing "personal responsibility". Sharon was forced to resign. In 1985, Israel responded to a Palestinian terrorist attack in Cyprus by bombing the PLO headquarters in Tunisia. Israel withdrew from most of Lebanon in 1986 but maintained a borderland buffer zone in southern Lebanon until 2000, from where Israeli forces engaged in conflict with Hezbollah . The First Intifada ,
8109-456: The Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem and the short-lived Jewish revolt against Heraclius in 614 CE, the Byzantine Empire reconsolidated control of the area in 628. In 634–641 CE, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Levant . Over the next six centuries, control of the region transferred between the Umayyad , Abbasid , Fatimid caliphates, and subsequently the Seljuk and Ayyubid dynasties. The population drastically decreased during
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#17329028800368268-557: The Ubeidiya prehistoric site . The Skhul and Qafzeh hominins , dating back 120,000 years, are some of the earliest traces of anatomically modern humans outside of Africa. The Natufian culture , which may have been linked to Proto-Afroasiatic language , emerged by the 10th millennium BCE, followed by the Ghassulian culture by around 4,500 BCE. Early references to "Canaanites" and " Canaan " appear in Near Eastern and Egyptian texts ( c. 2000 BCE); these populations were structured as politically independent city-states . During
8427-442: The Venice Declaration of 1980 had called for the Palestinian right of self-determination to be recognized by Israel. Opposition to Arafat was fierce not only among radical Arab groups, but also among many on the Israeli right. This included Menachem Begin , who had stated on more than one occasion that even if the PLO accepted UN Security Council Resolution 242 and recognized Israel's right to exist, he would never negotiate with
8586-400: The West Bank ), Lebanon , Egypt ( Gaza Strip ), and Syria . The most notable of what were considered terrorist acts committed by member organizations of the PLO were in the 1970s. The 1970 Avivim school bus massacre by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), killed nine children, three adults and crippled 19. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Popular Front for
8745-413: The destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple and a sizable portion of the population being killed or displaced. A second uprising known as the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE) initially allowed the Jews to form an independent state, but the Romans brutally crushed the rebellion, devastating and depopulating Judea's countryside. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a Roman colony ( Aelia Capitolina ), and
8904-535: The diaspora . It is currently represented by the Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank city of Al-Bireh . Founded in 1964, it initially sought to establish an Arab state over the entire territory of the former Mandatory Palestine , advocating the elimination of Israel . Mediated talks between the Israeli government and the PLO in 1993 (the Oslo I Accord) resulted in the PLO recognizing Israel's legitimacy and accepting United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 , which mandated Israel's withdrawal from
9063-400: The illegally occupied territories , contrary to international law, and has effectively annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in moves largely unrecognized internationally. After the 1973 Yom Kippur War , Israel signed peace treaties with Egypt —returning the Sinai in 1982—and Jordan . In the 2020s, it normalized relations with more Arab countries. However, efforts to resolve
9222-419: The occupied West Bank , increasing friction with the Palestinians there. The 1980 Jerusalem Law was believed by some to reaffirm Israel's 1967 annexation of Jerusalem by government decree and reignited international controversy over the status of the city . No Israeli legislation has defined the territory of Israel, and no act specifically included East Jerusalem therein. In 1981 Israel effectively annexed
9381-453: The "liberation of Palestine". The Palestinian National Charter describes the ideology of the PLO. A constitution, named "Fundamental Law", was adopted, which dictates the inner structure of the organization and the representation of the Palestinian people. A draft Constitution was written in 1963, to rule the PLO until free general elections among all the Palestinians in all the countries in which they resided could be held. The Constitution
9540-435: The 2010s, increasing regional cooperation between Israel and Arab League countries have been established, culminating in the signing of the Abraham Accords . The Israeli security situation shifted from the traditional Arab–Israeli conflict towards the Iran–Israel proxy conflict and direct confrontation with Iran during the Syrian civil war . On 7 October 2023, Palestinian militant groups from Gaza, led by Hamas, launched
9699-437: The 4.6 million Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT) are Palestinian Christian . Under President Arafat, the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority adopted the 2003 Amended Basic Law, which stipulates Islam as the sole official religion in Palestine and the principles of Islamic sharia as a principal source of legislation. The draft Constitution contains the same provisions. The draft Constitution
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#17329028800369858-413: The British military and Palestine Police Force to suppress it. British efforts to mediate with Jewish and Arab representatives also failed as the Jews were unwilling to accept any solution that did not involve a Jewish state and suggested a partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, while the Arabs were adamant that a Jewish state in any part of Palestine was unacceptable and that the only solution
10017-417: The British would evacuate. As Arab militias and gangs attacked Jewish areas, they were faced mainly by the Haganah as well as the smaller Irgun and Lehi. In April 1948, the Haganah moved onto the offensive. On 14 May 1948, the day before the expiration of the British Mandate, David Ben-Gurion , the head of the Jewish Agency, declared "the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel". The following day,
10176-410: The City of Jerusalem [...] the last to be under an International Trusteeship System". Meanwhile, the Jewish insurgency continued and peaked in July 1947, with a series of widespread guerrilla raids culminating in the Sergeants affair , in which the Irgun took two British sergeants hostage as attempted leverage against the planned execution of three Irgun operatives. After the executions were carried out,
10335-447: The Galilee and on Israeli and Jewish targets worldwide. Increasing penetration of Palestinians into Lebanese politics and Israeli retaliations gradually deteriorated the situation. By the mid-1970s, Arafat and his Fatah movement found themselves in a tenuous position. Arafat increasingly called for diplomacy, perhaps best symbolized by his Ten Point Program and his support for a UN Security Council resolution proposed in 1976 calling for
10494-433: The Golan Heights from Syria. Jerusalem's boundaries were enlarged, incorporating East Jerusalem. The 1949 Green Line became the administrative boundary between Israel and the occupied territories . Following the 1967 war and the " Three Nos " resolution of the Arab League, Israel faced attacks from the Egyptians in the Sinai Peninsula during the 1967–1970 War of Attrition , and from Palestinian groups targeting Israelis in
10653-402: The Golan Heights. The international community largely rejected these moves, with the UN Security Council declaring both the Jerusalem Law and the Golan Heights Law null and void. Several waves of Ethiopian Jews immigrated to Israel since the 1980s, while between 1990 and 1994, immigration from the post-Soviet states increased Israel's population by twelve percent. On 7 June 1981, during
10812-585: The Holocaust. During the 1950s, Israel was frequently attacked by Palestinian fedayeen , nearly always against civilians, mainly from the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip, leading to several Israeli reprisal operations . In 1956, the UK and France aimed at regaining control of the Suez Canal , which Egypt had nationalized. The continued blockade of the Suez Canal and Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, together with increasing fedayeen attacks against Israel's southern population and recent Arab threatening statements, prompted Israel to attack Egypt. Israel joined
10971-413: The Irgun killed the two British soldiers, hanged their bodies from trees, and left a booby trap at the scene which injured a British soldier. The incident caused widespread outrage in the UK. In September 1947, the British cabinet decided to evacuate Palestine as the Mandate was no longer tenable. On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 (II) . The plan attached to the resolution
11130-423: The Israeli invasion was the Coastal Road massacre that took place near Tel Aviv on 11 March 1978. On that day, 11 Palestinian Fatah members led by the 18-year-old female fighter Dalal Mughrabi travelled from Lebanon to Israel, where they killed an American tourist at a beach before hijacking a bus on the Coastal Road near Haifa ; the group later also hijacked a second bus that was bound for Tel Aviv . After
11289-405: The Israelis could meet the Palestinian guerrillas was on the field of battle." Until 1993, the only promoted option was armed struggle. From the signing of the Oslo Accords, negotiation and diplomacy became the only official policy. In April 1996, a large number of articles, which were inconsistent with the Oslo Accords , were wholly or partially nullified. At the core of the PLO's ideology
11448-790: The Israelites and their culture branched out of the Canaanite peoples through the development of a distinct monolatristic —and later monotheistic —religion centered on Yahweh . They spoke an archaic form of Hebrew , known as Biblical Hebrew . Around the same time, the Philistines settled on the southern coastal plain . Most modern scholars agree that the Exodus narrative in the Torah and Old Testament did not take place as depicted; however, some elements of these traditions do have historical roots . There
11607-554: The Jordanian assault on its armed groups, in the events known as Black September in 1970. The Palestinian groups were expelled from Jordan, and during the 1970s, the PLO was effectively an umbrella group of eight organizations headquartered in Damascus and Beirut , all devoted to armed struggle against Zionism or Israeli occupation, using methods which included direct clashing and guerrilla warfare against Israel. After Black September,
11766-522: The Lebanese civil war escalated as fighting intensified in the south. Continued attacks in Israel from the Lebanese based PLO culminated in a second Israeli invasion in 1982 resulting in a flare-up that persisted over the next decade. In 2000, the UN Security Council concluded that, as of 16 June 2000, Israel had withdrawn its forces from Lebanon in accordance with Resolution 425 . Lebanon has not extended control over south Lebanon , though it
11925-638: The Levant was fairly cosmopolitan, with religious freedoms for Christians, Muslims, and Jews . In 1561 the Ottoman sultan invited Sephardi Jews escaping the Spanish Inquisition to settle in and rebuild the city of Tiberias . Under the Ottoman Empire's millet system , Christians and Jews were considered dhimmi (meaning "protected") under Ottoman law in exchange for loyalty to the state and payment of
12084-669: The Liberation of Palestine , the second-largest PLO faction after al-Fatah , carried out a number of attacks and plane hijackings mostly directed at Israel, most infamously the Dawson's Field hijackings , which precipitated the Black September crisis. In 1972, the Black September Organization carried out the Munich massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes. In 1974, members of the DFLP seized
12243-577: The Middle East and among the highest GDP per capita and standards of living in Asia . One of the most technologically advanced and developed countries in the world, it spends proportionally more on research and development than any other and is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons . Under the British Mandate (1920–1948), the entire region was known as Palestine . Upon establishment in 1948 ,
12402-674: The Oslo Accords. Although many in the PLO opposed the Oslo Agreements, the executive committee and the Central Council approved the Accords. It marked the beginning of the PLO's decline, as the PA came to replace the PLO as the prime Palestinian political institution. Political factions within the PLO that had opposed the Oslo process were marginalized. The PLO managed to overcome the separation by uniting
12561-479: The Oslo negotiations and formation of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The PLO in exile was distant from a concentrated number of Palestinians and became far less effective. There was a significant reduction in centres of research, political debates or journalistic endeavours that had encouraged an energised public presence of the PLO in Beirut. More and more Palestinians were abandoned, and many felt that this
12720-572: The PLC , held in the Territories in 2006, with Hamas as the big winner while not even a member of the PLO, "underlined the clear lack of a popular mandate by the PLO leadership", according to PASSIA . Individual elected members of the PLC representing Hamas, however, are automatically members of the PNC. The representative status of the PLO has often been challenged in the past. It was for example doubted in 2011 by
12879-622: The PLC. The CC functions as an intermediary body between the PNC and the EC. The CC makes policy decisions when PNC is not in session, acting as a link between the PNC and the PLO-EC. The CC is elected by the PNC and chaired by the PNC speaker. The PNC serves as the parliament for all Palestinians inside and outside of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem. The PLO is governed internally by its "Fundamental Law", which describes
13038-550: The PLO changed significantly. In 1968, the Charter was replaced by a comprehensively revised version. For the first time, the PLO called for the establishment of a Palestinian state (to replace Israel) in which Christians, Muslims and Jews would have equal rights, thereby tacitly accepting Jewish presence in Palestine. The goal was akin to forcing regime change in Israel, as opposed to a drastic redrawing of borders. The Palestinian National Council also insisted upon greater independence from Arab governments. In 1974, PLO accepted
13197-507: The PLO launched artillery attacks on the moshavim and kibbutzim of Bet Shean Valley Regional Council , while fedayeen launched numerous attacks on Israeli forces. Israel raided the PLO camps in Jordan, including Karameh , withdrawing only under Jordanian military pressure. This conflict culminated in Jordan's expulsion of the PLO to Lebanon in July 1971. The PLO suffered a major reversal with
13356-584: The PLO signed the Oslo Accords , which gave the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) the right to govern parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The PLO also recognized Israel's right to exist and pledged an end to terrorism. In 1994, the Israel–Jordan peace treaty was signed, making Jordan the second Arab country to normalize relations with Israel. Arab public support for the Accords
13515-689: The PNC, nor for the EC, the PCC or the President of the State of Palestine . The executive committee has formally 18 members, including its chairman, but in past years many vacant seats in the Executive remained empty. Moreover, Hamas , the largest representative of the inhabitants of the Palestinian Territories alongside Fatah , is not represented in the PLO at all. The results of the last parliamentary elections for
13674-481: The Palestinian people as a whole″, before changing the status within the UN. The 1993–1995 Oslo Accords deliberately detached the Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories from the PLO and the Palestinians in exile by creating a Palestinian Authority (PA) for the Territories. A separate parliament and government were established. Mahmoud Abbas was one of the architects of
13833-616: The Second Aliyah who became leaders of the Yishuv in the coming decades believed that the Jewish settler economy should not depend on Arab labor. This would be a dominant source of antagonism with the Arab population, with the new Yishuv's nationalist ideology overpowering its socialist one. Though the immigrants of the Second Aliyah largely sought to create communal Jewish agricultural settlements, Tel Aviv
13992-531: The Sinai Peninsula since 1957, and blocked Israel's access to the Red Sea. Other Arab states mobilized their forces. Israel reiterated that these actions were a casus belli and launched a pre-emptive strike ( Operation Focus ) against Egypt in June. Jordan, Syria and Iraq attacked Israel. In the Six-Day War , Israel captured and occupied the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and
14151-580: The United Nations (UN) proposed partitioning the land between them. The State of Israel declared its establishment on 14 May 1948. The armies of neighboring Arab states invaded the area of the former Mandate the next day, beginning the First Arab–Israeli War . Subsequent armistice agreements established Israeli control over 77 percent of the former Mandate territory. The majority of Palestinian Arabs were either expelled or fled in what
14310-544: The West Bank and Gaza Strip saw Arafat as their best hope for a resolution to the conflict. This was especially so in the aftermath of the Camp David Accords of 1978 between Israel and Egypt, which the Palestinians saw as a blow to their aspirations to self-determination. Abu Nidal , a sworn enemy of the PLO since 1974, assassinated the PLO's diplomatic envoy to the European Economic Community , which in
14469-529: The West Bank and the Gaza Strip. On 11 March 1978, a PLO guerilla raid from Lebanon led to the Coastal Road massacre . Israel responded by launching an invasion of southern Lebanon to destroy PLO bases. Most PLO fighters withdrew, but Israel was able to secure southern Lebanon until a UN force and the Lebanese army could take over. The PLO soon resumed its insurgency against Israel, and Israel carried out numerous retaliatory attacks. Meanwhile, Begin's government provided incentives for Israelis to settle in
14628-508: The adult male Palestinian Arab population was killed, wounded, imprisoned or exiled. The British introduced restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine with the White Paper of 1939 . With countries around the world turning away Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust , a clandestine movement known as Aliyah Bet was organized to bring Jews to Palestine. By the end of World War II , 31% of
14787-585: The area can live in security"), while Israel recognized the PLO as a legitimate authority representing the Palestinian people. Despite the Israel–PLO Letters of Mutual Recognition (1993), in which PLO leader Yasser Arafat renounced "terrorism and other acts of violence" against Israel, the PLO continued to engage in militant activities, particularly during the Second Intifada (see next subsection). The Second or Al-Aqsa Intifada started concurrently with
14946-456: The armies of four Arab countries—Egypt, Syria, Transjordan and Iraq—entered what had been Mandatory Palestine, launching the 1948 Arab–Israeli War ; contingents from Yemen , Morocco , Saudi Arabia , and Sudan joined the war. The purpose of the invasion was to prevent the establishment of the Jewish state and to "sweep them [Jews] into the sea". The Arab League stated the invasion was to restore order and prevent further bloodshed. After
15105-589: The arrest of all involved and Abu Daoud was later accused of collaborating with Fatah renegade Abu Nidal to break the ceasefire. Israeli forces withdrew later in 1978, turning over positions inside Lebanon to their ally, the South Lebanon Army (SLA) militia under the leadership of Maj. Saad Haddad . On 19 April 1978, the SLA shelled UNIFIL headquarters, wounding 8 UN soldiers (Fisk, 138). In April 1980, three Irish UN soldiers (Privates Barrett, Smallhorne and O'Mahoney) were kidnapped and two of them murdered by Christian gunmen. Private O'Mahoney survived (being shot by
15264-560: The basis that the partition plan privileged European interests over those of the Palestinians, and indicated that they would reject any other plan of partition. On 1 December 1947, the Arab Higher Committee proclaimed a three-day strike, and riots broke out in Jerusalem . The situation spiraled into a civil war . Colonial Secretary Arthur Creech Jones announced that the British Mandate would end on 15 May 1948, at which point
15423-467: The beginning, the PLO was designed as a government in exile, with a parliament, the Palestine National Council (PNC), chosen by the Palestinian people, as the highest authority in the PLO, and an executive government (EC), elected by the PNC. In practice, however, the organization was rather a hierarchic one with a military-like character, needed for its function as a liberation organization,
15582-408: The breakdown of July 2000 Camp David talks between Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak . The Intifada never ended officially, but violence hit relatively low levels during 2005. The death toll, including both military personnel and civilians, of the entire conflict in 2000–2004 is estimated to be 3,223 Palestinians and 950 Israelis, although this number
15741-465: The casualties were Palestinian militants initially holding the front line and killed by the IDF ground operation. According to other sources about 2000 Lebanese and Palestinian were killed. Estimates for the number of people displaced by the military operations range from at least 100,000 to 250,000. Syrian troops deployed inside Lebanon, some of which were within visual range of the IDF, but did not take part in
15900-462: The church and the authorities. Many Jews had emigrated to flourishing diaspora communities, while locally there was both Christian immigration and local conversion. By the middle of the 5th century, there was a Christian majority. Towards the end of the 5th century, Samaritan revolts erupted, continuing until the late 6th century and resulting in a large decrease in the Samaritan population. After
16059-429: The country formally adopted the name State of Israel ( Hebrew : מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל , Medīnat Yisrā'el [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel] ; Arabic : دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل , Dawlat Isrāʼīl , [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl] ) after other proposed names including Land of Israel ( Eretz Israel ), Ever (from ancestor Eber ), Zion , and Judea , were considered but rejected. The name Israel
16218-424: The creation of a "national authority" in the West Bank and Gaza as a first step towards liberating Palestine. This tacit recognition of Israel caused the Rejectionist Front to break away. In 1976, PLO accepted an "independent state" in the West Bank and Gaza, which was widely interpreted as accepting Israel's permanent existence. Shortly after that, the PLO established contacts with the Israeli left. PLO's proposal
16377-615: The crusaders before Muslim rule was fully restored by the Mamluk sultans of Egypt in 1291. In 1516, the Ottoman Empire conquered the region and ruled it as part of Ottoman Syria . Two violent incidents took place against Jews, the 1517 Safed attacks and the 1517 Hebron attacks , after the Turkish Ottomans ousted the Mamluks during the Ottoman–Mamluk War . Under the Ottoman Empire,
16536-479: The death and injuries of US citizens in a number of terrorist attacks in Israel from 2001 to 2004 and ordered to pay a judgment of $ 655.5 million. The verdict was overturned on appeal for a lack of US federal jurisdiction over actions committed overseas. The ideology of the PLO was formulated in the founding year, 1964, in the Palestinian National Covenant . After the 1967 war , the ideology of
16695-491: The deaths of 1,100–2,000 Lebanese and Palestinians , 20 Israelis , and the internal displacement of 100,000 to 250,000 people in Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces gained a military victory against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the latter was forced to withdraw from southern Lebanon, preventing it from launching attacks on Israel from across its land border with Lebanon . In response to
16854-505: The defeat of Palestinian groups to Jordanian forces during the Black September conflict ; the Palestinian political cause began to regroup in southern Lebanon and re-shifted the focus of its attacks to Israeli targets, and did so via the Israel–Lebanon border . Israel responded to Palestinian attacks from Lebanon with extensive air raids against PLO bases of operations. As a consequence of Israeli aerial attacks from 1968 to 1977, some of
17013-486: The destruction of most of Palestine's Arab culture , identity , and national aspirations . Some 156,000 Arabs remained and became Arab citizens of Israel . By United Nations General Assembly Resolution 273 , Israel was admitted as a member of the UN on 11 May 1949. In the early years of the state, the Labor Zionist movement led by Prime Minister Ben-Gurion dominated Israeli politics . Immigration to Israel during
17172-513: The entirety of the Gaza Strip and over 90% of the West Bank with Jerusalem as a shared capital. Each side blamed the other for the failure of the talks. In late 2000, after a controversial visit by Sharon to the Temple Mount , the Second Intifada began. Palestinian suicide bombings were a recurrent feature. Some commentators contend that the intifada was pre-planned by Arafat after the collapse of peace talks. Sharon became prime minister in
17331-533: The eyes of Israeli hard-liners, "the Palestinians posed a greater challenge to Israel as a peacemaking organization than as a military one". After the appointment of Ariel Sharon to the post of Minister of Defense in 1981, the Israeli government policy of allowing political growth to occur in the occupied West Bank and Gaza strip changed. The Israeli government tried, unsuccessfully, to dictate terms of political growth by replacing local pro-PLO leaders with an Israeli civil administration. In 1982, after an attack on
17490-450: The facts of history and the true conception of what constitutes statehood. Judaism, being a religion, is not an independent nationality. Nor do Jews constitute a single nation with an identity of its own; they are citizens of the states to which they belong″. This article was nullified in 1996. Article 3 reads: ″The Palestinian Arab people possess the legal right to their homeland and have the right to determine their destiny after achieving
17649-504: The fighting. The PLO retreated north of the Litani River, continuing to fire at the Israelis. The IDF used cluster bombs provided by the United States. According to U.S. President Jimmy Carter , this use of the cluster bombs violated the legal agreement between Israel and the U.S. because the weapons had been provided for defensive purposes against an attack on Israel. Israel also transferred American weapons to Saad Haddad's Lebanese militia,
17808-513: The following several centuries, dropping from an estimated 1 million during Roman and Byzantine periods to about 300,000 by the early Ottoman period , and there was a steady process of Arabization and Islamization . The end of the 11th century brought the Crusades , papally -sanctioned incursions of Christian crusaders intent on wresting Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim control and establishing crusader states . The Ayyubids pushed back
17967-436: The government of responsibility for failures before and during the war, but public anger forced Prime Minister Golda Meir to resign. In July 1976, an airliner was hijacked in flight from Israel to France by Palestinian guerrillas; Israeli commandos rescued 102 of 106 Israeli hostages . The 1977 Knesset elections marked a major turning point in Israeli political history as Menachem Begin 's Likud party took control from
18126-518: The increasing persecution of Jews in 1930s Europe led to the Fifth Aliyah , with an influx of a quarter of a million Jews. This was a major cause of the Arab revolt of 1936–39 , which was suppressed by British security forces and Zionist militias. Several hundred British security personnel and Jews were killed; 5,032 Arabs were killed, 14,760 were wounded, and 12,622 were detained. An estimated ten percent of
18285-445: The international community led by Israel and US, and from inside his own party Fatah, Arafat partially transferred some of his strongly centralized power in 2003, causing strong tensions within the Palestinian leadership. Arafat appointed Mahmoud Abbas as prime minister, but this resulted in disputes about the transfer of tasks and responsibilities. Abbas was strongly supported by the US and
18444-449: The international community, because he was supposed to be more willing to give far-reaching concessions to Israel. While Arafat had retained most of his power and a power struggle within Fatah continued, the leadership was criticised for corruption and nepotism. After Arafat's death , Abbas increasingly gained exclusive powers within both PLO and PA as well as in Fatah, until he had acquired
18603-485: The late 1940s and early 1950s was aided by the Israeli Immigration Department and the non-government sponsored Mossad LeAliyah Bet ( lit. "Institute for Immigration B "). The latter engaged in clandestine operations in countries, particularly in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, where the lives of Jews were in danger and exit was difficult. Mossad LeAliyah Bet was disbanded in 1953. The immigration
18762-469: The late 19th century galvanized Zionism , which sought a Jewish homeland in Palestine and gained British support . After World War I , Britain occupied the region and established Mandatory Palestine in 1920. Increased Jewish immigration in the leadup to the Holocaust and British colonial policy led to intercommunal conflict between Jews and Arabs , which escalated into a civil war in 1947 after
18921-457: The latter were often re-designated for the former, so Jews newly arrived from Arab lands generally ended up staying longer in transit camps. During this period, food, clothes and furniture were rationed in what became known as the austerity period . The need to solve the crisis led Ben-Gurion to sign a reparations agreement with West Germany that triggered mass protests by Jews angered at the idea that Israel could accept monetary compensation for
19080-499: The liberation of their country in accordance with their wishes and entirely of their own accord and will″. The PLO and its dominating faction, Fatah, are often contrasted with more religious-orientated factions like Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). All, however, represent a predominantly Muslim population. Practically the whole population of the Territories is Muslim, mostly Sunni . Around 50,000 (c. 1%) of
19239-474: The long-running Israeli–Palestinian conflict . After 1968, militant groups that formed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and other Palestinian groups established a quasi-state in southern Lebanon , using it as a base for attacks against civilian targets in northern Israel as well as terror attacks on diaspora Israelis and other targets worldwide. This violence was exacerbated by an influx of some 3,000 PLO militants who had fled Jordan following
19398-473: The members of the PNC are appointed by the executive committee. The document further states that "the PNC represents all sectors of the Palestinian community worldwide, including numerous organizations of the resistance movement, political parties, popular organizations and independent personalities and figures from all sectors of life, including intellectuals, religious leaders and businessmen". The PLO has published various newspapers and magazines first of which
19557-764: The month-long Second Lebanon War . In 2007 the Israeli Air Force destroyed a nuclear reactor in Syria. In 2008, a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel collapsed, resulting in the three-week Gaza War . In what Israel described as a response to over a hundred Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israeli cities, Israel began an operation in the Gaza Strip in 2012, lasting eight days. Israel started another operation in Gaza following an escalation of rocket attacks by Hamas in July 2014. In May 2021 another round of fighting took place in Gaza and Israel, lasting eleven days. By
19716-550: The northern Lebanese coast. The IDF did not succeed in engaging large numbers of PLO forces, who retreated to the north. Many Lebanese civilians were killed by heavy Israeli shelling and air strikes, which also caused extensive property damage and internal displacement . According to Augustus Richard Norton , professor of international relations at Boston University , the IDF military operation killed approximately 1,100 people, most of them Palestinian and Lebanese. According to IDF reporting and internal investigation, at least 550 of
19875-410: The occupied territories, globally, and in Israel. Most important among the Palestinian and Arab groups was the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), established in 1964, which initially committed itself to "armed struggle as the only way to liberate the homeland". In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Palestinian groups launched attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world, including
20034-554: The occupied territories, while Israel recognized the PLO as a legitimate authority representing the Palestinian people. Despite the Israel–PLO Letters of Mutual Recognition (1993), in which PLO leader Yasser Arafat renounced violence against Israel, the PLO engaged in militant activities during the Second Intifada (2000–2005). On 29 October 2018, the PLO Central Council suspended the Palestinian recognition of Israel . As
20193-499: The officially recognized government of the de jure State of Palestine , it has enjoyed United Nations observer status since 1974. Prior to the Oslo Accords , the PLO's militant wings engaged in acts of violence against both the Israeli military and civilians, within Israel and abroad. The United States designated it as a terrorist group in 1987, though a presidential waiver has permitted American–PLO contact since 1988. At its first summit meeting in Cairo in 1964,
20352-403: The one hand, and Syria and Lebanon on the other. Arab nationalists led by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser refused to recognize Israel and called for its destruction. By 1966 Israeli-Arab relations had deteriorated to the point of battles taking place between Israeli and Arab forces. In May 1967, Egypt massed its army near the border with Israel, expelled UN peacekeepers stationed in
20511-501: The only person executed in Israel by conviction in an Israeli civilian court. In 1963, Israel was engaged in a diplomatic standoff with the United States in relation to the Israeli nuclear programme . Since 1964 Arab countries, concerned over Israeli plans to divert waters of the Jordan River into the coastal plain , had been trying to divert the headwaters to deprive Israel of water resources, provoking tensions between Israel on
20670-713: The organization. This contradicted the official United States position that it would negotiate with the PLO if the PLO accepted Resolution 242 and recognized Israel, which the PLO had thus far been unwilling to do. Other Arab voices had recently called for a diplomatic resolution to the hostilities in accord with the international consensus, including Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat on his visit to Washington, DC in August 1981, and Crown Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia in his 7 August peace proposal; together with Arafat's diplomatic maneuver, these developments made Israel's argument that it had "no partner for peace" seem increasingly problematic. Thus, in
20829-593: The outbreak of hostilities, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 425 and Resolution 426 on 19 March 1978, which called on Israel to immediately withdraw its troops from Lebanon and established the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Israel launched a second invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Though it took the form of an invasion by the Israeli military of southern Lebanon , Operation Litani arose from
20988-680: The patriarch Jacob who, according to the Hebrew Bible , was given the name after he successfully wrestled with the Angel of the Lord . The earliest known archaeological artifact to mention the word Israel as a collective is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt (dated to the late 13th century BCE). Early hominin presence in the Levant , where Israel is located, dates back at least 1.5 million years based on
21147-417: The population of Palestine was Jewish. The UK found itself facing a Jewish insurgency over immigration restrictions and continued conflict with the Arab community over limit levels. The Haganah joined Irgun and Lehi in an armed struggle against British rule. The Haganah attempted to bring tens of thousands of Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors to Palestine by ship. Most of the ships were intercepted by
21306-719: The power in PLO and PA in one individual, Yasser Arafat . In 2002, Arafat held the functions of Chairman of the PLO/Executive Committee; Chairman of Fatah , the dominating faction within the PLO; as well as President of the Palestinian National Authority . He also controlled the Palestinian National Security Forces . Only during the Hamas -led PA Government in 2006–2007 did the PLO resurface. After Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, Abbas issued
21465-533: The powers and the relations between the organs of the PLO. Ahmad Shukeiri was the first Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee from 1964 to 1967. In 1967, he was replaced by Yahia Hammuda. Yasser Arafat occupied the position from 1969 until his death in 2004. He was succeeded by Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen). According to an internal PLO document, the PNC continues to act if elections are not possible. In absence of elections, most of
21624-570: The province of Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina . Jews were expelled from the districts surrounding Jerusalem. Nevertheless, there was a continuous small Jewish presence, and Galilee became its religious center. Early Christianity displaced Roman paganism in the 4th century CE, with Constantine embracing and promoting the Christian religion and Theodosius I making it the state religion . A series of laws were passed that discriminated against Jews and Judaism, and Jews were persecuted by both
21783-473: The region in 63 BCE, first taking control of Syria , and then intervening in the Hasmonean civil war . The struggle between pro-Roman and pro- Parthian factions in Judea led to the installation of Herod the Great as a dynastic vassal of Rome . In 6 CE, the area was annexed as the Roman province of Judaea ; tensions with Roman rule led to a series of Jewish–Roman wars , resulting in widespread destruction. The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE) resulted in
21942-413: The relentless shelling into northern Israel. The area south of the Litani River , excepting Tyre , was invaded and occupied in a week long offensive. The operation began with air, artillery, and naval bombardment, after which IDF infantry and armor forces, comprising about 25,000 soldiers, entered south Lebanon. The Israelis first captured a belt of land approximately 10 kilometers deep, by launching
22101-404: The remaining 14,000 (of 50,000 originally) Syrian troop withdrawal and the dismantling of Hezbollah and Palestinian militias. On 26 April 2005, after 29 years of Syrian military presence in Lebanon, the last of the Syrian troops withdrew in accordance with the resolution. Israel Israel , officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia . It
22260-409: The same power as was previously held by Arafat. Abbas is criticized for his autocratic rule and refusal to share powers and plans with other Palestinians. In the absence of a functioning parliament and Executive, he even began to issue his own laws. Senior representative of Abbas' Fatah faction and former Fatah minister of prisoner affairs, Sufian Abu Zaida , complained that Abbas appointed himself as
22419-502: The stated objectives of destroying Hamas and freeing hostages. The fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008, it has been the deadliest for Palestinians in the entire Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the most significant military engagement in the region since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Israel is accused of carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian people by experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations during its invasion of
22578-427: The territory was divided between Britain and France under the mandate system , and the British-administered area (including modern Israel) was named Mandatory Palestine . Arab opposition to British rule and Jewish immigration led to the 1920 Palestine riots and the formation of a Jewish militia known as the Haganah as an outgrowth of Hashomer, from which the Irgun and Lehi paramilitaries later split. In 1922,
22737-434: The vision of the Return in a more active way than most Christians viewed the Second Coming ." The religious Judaic notion of being a nation was distinct from the modern European notion of nationalism. The Jewish population of Palestine from the Ottoman rule to the beginning of the Zionist movement, known as the Old Yishuv , comprised a minority and fluctuated in size. During the 16th century, Jewish communities struck roots in
22896-621: The withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon were both adopted on 19 March 1978. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was created to enforce this mandate, specifically "for the purpose of confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces, restoring international peace and security and assisting the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area". UNIFIL forces arrived in Lebanon on 23 March 1978, setting up headquarters in Naqoura . Resolution 425 didn't result in an immediate end to hostilities. The Israelis continued military operations for 2 more days until they ordered
23055-406: Was Falastinuna and pamphlets. During the late 1970s its publications increased consisting of twenty-nine dailies, eighteen weeklies, thirteen biweeklies, sixty-two monthlies, sixteen quarterlies, and twenty-one annuals. Some of them are Falastin Al Thawra and Shu'un Filastiniyya . Its official news agency is Wafa . As of 2015, there have not been elections for many years, neither for
23214-427: Was a unified Palestine under Arab rule. In February 1947, the British referred the Palestine issue to the newly formed United Nations . On 15 May 1947, the UN General Assembly resolved that a Special Committee be created "to prepare ... a report on the question of Palestine". The Report of the Committee proposed a plan to replace the British Mandate with "an independent Arab State, an independent Jewish State, and
23373-414: Was called on to do so by Resolution 1391 of 2002 and urged by Resolution 1496 . Israel has lodged multiple complaints regarding Lebanon's conduct. Hezbollah 's claim that Israel has not fully withdrawn (see Shebaa Farms ) was explicitly rejected by the UN's Secretary-General's report which led to Resolution 1583 . The Syrian occupation of Lebanon led to UN Security Council Resolution 1559 demanding
23532-431: Was damaged by the continuation of Israeli settlements and checkpoints , and the deterioration of economic conditions. Israeli public support for the Accords waned after Palestinian suicide attacks . In November 1995, Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir , a far-right Jew who opposed the Accords. During Benjamin Netanyahu's premiership at the end of the 1990s, Israel agreed to withdraw from Hebron , though this
23691-519: Was essentially that proposed in the report of 3 September. The Jewish Agency, the recognized representative of the Jewish community, accepted the plan, which assigned 55–56% of Mandatory Palestine to the Jews. At the time, the Jews were about a third of the population and owned around 6–7% of the land. Arabs constituted the majority and owned about 20% of the land, with the remainder held by the Mandate authorities or foreign landowners. The Arab League and Arab Higher Committee of Palestine rejected it on
23850-409: Was established as the first planned Jewish town in 1909. Jewish armed militias emerged during this period, the first being Bar-Giora in 1907. Two years later, the larger Hashomer organization was founded as its replacement. Chaim Weizmann's efforts to garner British support for the Zionist movement eventually secured the Balfour Declaration of 1917, stating Britain's support for the creation of
24009-467: Was formulated by a Constitutional Committee, established by Arafat in 1999 and endorsed by the PLO. The PLO incorporates a range of generally secular ideologies of different Palestinian movements "committed to the struggle for Palestinian independence and liberation," hence the name of the organization. It's formally an umbrella organization that includes "numerous organizations of the resistance movement, political parties, and popular organizations." From
24168-825: Was in accordance with the One Million Plan . Some immigrants held Zionist beliefs or came for the promise of a better life, while others moved to escape persecution or were expelled from their homes. An influx of Holocaust survivors and Jews from Arab and Muslim countries to Israel during the first three years increased the number of Jews from 700,000 to 1,400,000. By 1958, the population had risen to two million. Between 1948 and 1970, approximately 1,150,000 Jewish refugees relocated to Israel. Some immigrants arrived as refugees and were housed in temporary camps known as ma'abarot ; by 1952, over 200,000 people were living in these tent cities. Jews of European background were often treated more favorably than Jews from Middle Eastern and North African countries—housing units reserved for
24327-406: Was never ratified or implemented, and he signed the Wye River Memorandum , giving greater control to the PNA. Ehud Barak , elected prime minister in 1999, withdrew forces from southern Lebanon and conducted negotiations with PNA Chairman Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill Clinton at the 2000 Camp David Summit . Barak offered a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state , including
24486-401: Was revised in 1968. The Palestinian National Council has 740 members and the Executive Committee or ExCo has 18 members. The Palestinian Central Council or CC or PCC, established by the PNC in 1973, is the second leading body of the PLO. The CC consists of 124 members from the PLO Executive Committee, PNC, PLC and other Palestinian organizations. The EC includes 15 representatives of
24645-446: Was similar to the one given by Egyptian Prime Minister Ismail Fahmy , in 1976, where he promised Israel peace on the basis of withdrawing to the 1967 borders, creation of State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza, and a nuclear weapons free Middle East. The PNC also authorized Palestinian representatives to meet Israeli officials at an Arab-Israeli peace conference. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Rabin responded, "the only place
24804-564: Was suggested by David Ben-Gurion and passed by a vote of 6–3. In the early weeks after establishment, the government chose the term Israeli to denote a citizen of the Israeli state. The names Land of Israel and Children of Israel have historically been used to refer to the biblical Kingdom of Israel and the entire Jewish people respectively. The name Israel (Hebrew: Yīsrāʾēl ; Septuagint Ancient Greek : Ἰσραήλ , Israēl , " El (God) persists/rules", though after Hosea 12:4 often interpreted as "struggle with God") refers to
24963-486: Was suppressed; Muhammad Ali's army retreated and Ottoman rule was restored with British support in 1840. The Tanzimat reforms were implemented across the Ottoman Empire. The first wave of modern Jewish migration to Ottoman-ruled Palestine , known as the First Aliyah , began in 1881, as Jews fled pogroms in Eastern Europe. The 1882 May Laws increased economic discrimination against Jews, and restricted where they could live. In response, political Zionism took form,
25122-400: Was the beginning of the end. Mediated talks between the Israeli government and the PLO in 1993 (the Oslo I Accord ) resulted in the PLO recognizing Israel's right to exist in peace and accepting United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 ("inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East in which every State in
25281-416: Was the first open acceptance of a ceasefire agreement with Israel that was endorsed by all official PLO bodies. Parts of the Palestinian resistance movement opposed the agreement and tried to violate the ceasefire. In April 1978, second-level Fatah leader Mohammad Daoud Oudeh (Abu Daoud) organized cells of about 70 to 80 fighters with the intention of breaking the ceasefire. Arafat and Khalil Wazir ordered
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