The Arab-Israeli Conflict

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

1. Zionism, Arab Nationalism, and the Roots of the Conflict. Modern Zionism and Arab nationalism emerged as rival national projects over Palestine in the late Ottoman and WWI era.
2. The Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate for Palestine. Britain's Balfour Declaration and its Palestine Mandate set the stage for decades of Jewish-Arab conflict until 1947.
3. Partition, the Nakba, and the First Arab-Israeli War (1947-1949). The UN partition plan, Israel's declaration of independence, and war with Arab states produced the Palestinian Nakba.
4. The Suez Crisis, the Six-Day War, and the Yom Kippur War (1956-1973). Three wars in less than two decades reshaped Middle Eastern borders and cemented superpower involvement in the region.
5. The PLO, Palestinian Nationalism, and the Wars in Lebanon. The rise of the PLO under Yasser Arafat and Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon reshaped armed Palestinian nationalism.
6. Peace Diplomacy: Camp David, Oslo, and Regional Normalization. Camp David, Oslo, and later treaties built a partial peace that left the conflict's core issues unresolved.
7. The Intifadas, Hamas, and the Gaza Blockade. Two Palestinian uprisings and the rise of Hamas fragmented Palestinian politics and hardened the blockade of Gaza.
8. Settlements, Jerusalem, and the War After October 7, 2023. Israeli settlements, contested Jerusalem, and the 2023 Gaza war define the conflict's unresolved present.