Research paper requirements;
In your paper, describe three to five major events, developments, people, conflicts, etc. in the past that have had the most significant impact on the current situation, and explain why each is significant. Your research paper should be from 2500 to 3500 words (approximately 10-14 pages) of text (exclusive of title page, notes, and bibliography), employing a minimum of five scholarly books and five scholarly journal articles.
Bibliography and outline submitted with instructor feedback below:
James Gelvin, 2005. The Modern Middle East: A History (New York: Oxford UP, 2005)
Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab world (New York: Norton and Co., 2000), p. 1-27
Friedman, Thomas 2012. From Beirut to Jerusalem (Picador, Expanded Edition).
Bickerton, Ian and Klausner, Carla 2001. Concise History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Prentice Hall, 4th Edition).
Kimmerling, Baruch and Migdal, Joel 2003. The Palestinian People (Harvard University Press, First Edition).Ditto
Morris, Benny 2001. Righteous Victims (Vintage, 1 Reprint edition).
Hourani, Albert 1991. A History of the Arab Peoples (Harvard University Press, Fifth Edition).
Steven L. Spiegel, The Other Arab-Israeli Conflict:: typo Making America’s Middle East Policy, From Truman to Reagan.
Bunton, Martin P. The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Very Short Introduction. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Tessler, Mark A. A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1994. Print.
Krämer Gudrun A .2011. History of Palestine: From the Ottoman Conquest to the Founding of the State of Israel, Princeton University Press
“Armistice Agreements with Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan,” jcpa.org (accessed Sep. 18, 2015)
“Palestine Liberation Organization,” oxfordislamicstudies.com (accessed Oct. 6, 2015)
“The Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: 1917-1988, Part I 1917-1947,” unispal.un.org, June 30, 1990
The UN Partition Plan and Arab ‘Catastrophe,’” foreignpolicyjournal.com, Apr. 13, 2010
“The 1973 Arab-Israeli War,” history.state.gov (accessed Sep. 18, 2015)
“The Map That Ruined the Middle East,” thetower.org, July 2013
Outline
I. Thesis; The following thesis examines the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, which has largely become one of the most controversial and polarizing issues within modern day international politics. While this geographic hotspot has seen conflict and land claims for a significant amount of history, the modern day Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not based in thousand-year-old historical or biblical conflict between the two populations. Nor is it a historically deep-rooted religious struggle between Judaism and Islam. Rather, its context is predominantly rooted in territorial claims, complex politics, and issues regarding sovereignty of the nation-state entity. Generalities here—more specificity needed.
II. Historical Context of the Conflict
1. World War I Transforms the Middle East 1900 – 1922
a. 1900-1917 – Zionism and Early Jewish Immigration to Israel
The conflict has been going on since the early 1900s, when the mostly-Arab, mostly-Muslim region was part of the Ottoman Empire and, starting in 1917, a ‘mandate’ run by the British Empire. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were moving into the area, as part of a movement called Zionism among mostly European Jews to escape persecution and establish their own state in their ancestral homeland.
b. 1915-1916 – Hussein-McMahon Letters: British Encourage Arab Uprising against Ottoman Empire. In a series of eight letters written between 14 July 1915 and 30 January 1916, the two men negotiated the terms under which Hussein would encourage the Arabs to revolt against the Ottoman Empire and enter World War I on the side of the Allies
c. June 1916 – Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire
d. Nov. 2, 1917 – Balfour Declaration: British Government States Intent to Create a Jewish Homeland in Palestine
e. 1914-1918 – World War I and the Collapse of the Ottoman Empire
f. 1919 – King-Crane Commission
2. The Effects of Imperialism on ‘The Promised Land’ 1923 – 1947
a. 1920-1922 – League of Nations Divides Former Ottoman Territories into Mandates
The mandate territories were Syria and Lebanon, awarded to France; Iraq, awarded to Britain; and a new entity called Palestine, which was also placed under British control.
b. 1933-1936 – Mass Jewish Immigration to Palestine after Nazis Gain Power in Germany
c. 1933-1945 – Jewish Persecution and the Holocaust
The Holocaust took place in the broader context of World War II. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Over the next year, Nazi Germany and its allies conquered much of Europe.
d. 1936-1939 – Arab Revolt in Palestine against British Mandate
In April 1936, what started as minor Arab-Jewish clashes quickly flared into a widespread revolt. As the strike prolonged, violence increased. There were attacks on British troops and police posts as well as on Jewish settlements, sabotage of roads, railways, pipelines.
e. 1939-1945 – World War II and Jewish Resistance to British Mandate
By 1944, Jewish attacks on British troops and police, raids on British arms and supply depots and bombings of British installations had become common, and military training camps were set up in various kibbutzim to train an army to fight the British.”
f. Feb. 14, 1947 – British Government Refers the Question of the Future of Palestine to the United Nations
On September 3, UNSCOP submitted its report to the U.N. General Assembly. The report noted that the population of Palestine at the end of 1946 was estimated to be almost 1,846,000, with 1,203,000 Arabs (65 percent) and 608,000 Jews (33 percent).”
g. Nov. 29, 1947 – United Nations Partitions Palestine into Separate Jewish and Palestinian States
3. The Founding of Israel 1948 – 1966
a. Apr. 9, 1948 – Jewish Forces Attack the Palestinian Village of Deir Yassin
b. May 14, 1948 – Israel Declares Its Independence
The Declaration of Independence pledged that the State of Israel would be based on the principles of liberty, justice, and peace as conceived by the Prophets of Israel; would uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of religion, race, or sex; and would loyally uphold the principles of the U.N. Charter. It specifically promised equal rights to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel and extended the hand of peace to all the neighboring Arab states.
c. May 15, 1948 – First Arab-Israeli War Begins
On the eve of May 14, the Arabs launched an air attack on Tel Aviv, which the Israelis resisted. This action was followed by the invasion of the former Palestinian mandate by Arab armies from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt. Saudi Arabia sent a formation that fought under the Egyptian command. British trained forces from Transjordan eventually intervened in the conflict, but only in areas that had been designated as part of the Arab state under the United Nations Partition Plan and the corpus separatum of Jerusalem. After tense early fighting, Israeli forces, now under joint command, were able to gain the offensive.
d. 1948-1949 – 700,000 Palestinians Become Refugees
e. 1949 – Israel Signs Armistice Agreements with Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria
On 23 March 1949, a second General armistice agreement was signed, this time with Lebanon. Here, too, the armistice line was to coincide with the previous international boundary. The Agreement with Transjordan (now the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan) – far more complicated because of the nature of the armistice line, and its political implications – was signed on 3 April.
f. 1949-1956 – Conflict Continues Between Arabs and Israelis
A comprehensive Arab economic boycott was imposed, including the closure by Egypt of the Suez Canal and the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping and to specific goods (such as oil) bound for Israel, carried on third-country vessels, and a ban on deals with companies doing business with Israel.
g. July 1956 – Suez Crisis / Second Arab-Israeli War Erupts
h. June 2, 1964 – Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Formed
4. War and Occupation 1967
a. June 5, 1967 – “Six-Day War” Takes Place
b. 1967 – 250,000 Palestinians Become “Displaced” after Six-Day War
During the 1967 Six Day War, another estimated 250,000 Palestinians fled the West Bank and Gaza Strip with the arrival of Israeli forces. Some of these were people who had left their homes in Israel in 1948. These individuals are considered by the international community to be displaced persons, not refugees.”
b. Sep. 1, 1967 – Arab Summit Conference Held in Khartoum (Sudan) Declares That Israel Will Not Be Recognized
c. Nov. 22, 1967 – UN Security Council Passes Resolution 242
In response to the Six-Day War, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 242 emphasizing the “inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security.”
4. Palestinian Resistance 1968 – 1987
a. 1969 – Yasser Arafat Elected Chairman of the PLO
b. Mar. 1969 – Aug. 1970 – War of Attrition with Egypt
c. Sep. 1970 – Palestinian Guerilla Organizations Attempt to Overthrow Jordanian Monarchy
d. 1970-1971 – Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Is Expelled from Jordan and Moves to Lebanon
e. Sep. 1972 – Palestinian Members of Black September Murder 11 Israeli Athletes at 1972 Munich Olympics
f. Oct. 6, 1973 – “Yom Kippur War” (aka War of 1973) Begins
g. Oct. 25, 1973 – Cease Fire Agreement Ends Yom Kippur War
h. Jan. 1974 – Israel and Egypt Sign Disengagement Accord over Suez
i. May 1974 – Israel and Syria Sign Disengagement Accord over Golan Heights
j. Oct. 28 1974 – Arab League Recognizes PLO as the Legitimate Representative of the Palestinian People
k. Nov. 10, 1975 – UN General Assembly Passes Resolution Calling Zionism a Form of Racism
l. Mar. 14-15, 1978 – Israel Invades Southern Lebanon in Response to PLO Attack
On 15 March 1978, the Lebanese Government submitted a strong protest to the [U.N.] Security Council against the Israeli invasion, stating that it had no connection with the Palestinian commando operation. On 19 March, the Council adopted resolutions 425 (1978) and 426 (1978), in which it called upon Israel immediately to cease its military action and withdraw its forces from all Lebanese territory. It also decided on the immediate establishment of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The first UNIFIL troops arrived in the area on 23 March 1978.”
m. Mar. 26, 1979 – Egypt and Israel Sign Peace Treaty; Sinai Peninsula Reverts to Egyptian Sovereignty
n. June 6, 1982 – Israel Invades Lebanon, Eventually Driving the PLO out of Beirut
weakened.”
o. 1982 – Reagan Plan Rejects Creation of an Independent Palestinian State
p. May 17, 1983 – Israel and Lebanon Sign Peace Agreement
q. Dec. 9, 1987 – First Palestinian Intifada Begins
r. Dec. 1987 – Founding of Hamas
s. July 31, 1988 – Jordan Renounces Its Claim to the West Bank and Severs All Administrative and Judicial Links
t. Nov. 15, 1988 – Palestine National Council (PNC) Proclaims the Establishment of a Palestinian State
u. 1991 – Madrid Conference: Israel Enters First Direct Negotiations with Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the Palestinians
”
v. Dec. 16, 1991 – UN General Assembly Revokes 1975 Resolution Calling Zionism a Form of Racism
w. Hamas Carries out First Suicide Bombing Attack within Israel
x. Sep. 13, 1993 – Oslo Peace Accord Is Signed by Israel and the PLO
Feedback from the instructor:
1) The bibliography is impressive in terms of number of sources collected, but the annotations are frequently minimal or lacking altogether.
2) There are numerous errors, omissions and inconsistencies in the format of the bibliography, which should be alphabetized by the authors’ last names. Be sure to clean these up on the final paper.
3) The thesis statement needs more specificity, and the outline is merely a chronology of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If you follow up on this approach, your paper will merely be a narrative retelling of the conflict, which is not the purpose of the assignment. Instead, the purpose is to identify 3-5 specific factors that have shaped the current conflict and explain how each has helped lead to the conflict today.
