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Balfour Declaration
Britain declares that Palestine must create a Zionist nation for the Jewish people -
Balfour Declaration Violation
Just before WWII, Britain began to violate the Balfour Declaration (that they had created) by greatly limiting the Jewish people's access into Palestine. During WWII, Britain kept the gates to Palestine closed to the surviving Jews who were seeking refuge there -
Palestine Issue to UN
Britain gave up on the problem in the Middle East, turning it over to the UN General Assembly. They decided to-
1. End British rule of Palestine
2. Put Jerusalem under international control
3. Partition palestine into two separate staes (Arab and Jewish) -
Israeli Independence
Isarael declares independence from British rule. They are Middle East's only democratic state. -
Arab Hostility
Arabs denied the motion to give the Jewish their own state, and attacked the Jewish people. They created an economic boycott against Israel and any other countries supporting them. They also denied the Israelis access to the Suez Canal. This hosility lasted until 1956. -
Sinai Campaign
Israeli invaded Egypt to end the Arab reign and restore the Suez Canal to the control of the Western people. -
PLO
(Palestine Liberation Organization). During the Arab hostility to Israelis, about 540,000 Arabs relocated to Arab nations for fear for their own safety. Yasir Arafat headed the PLO in the mid-1960s. -
Arab-Israeli War
The first war in 1967 lasted six days, and "peace" was created by the help of the United Nations. There were still back-and-forth raids between the two. In 1970, Nasser died, and Anwar al-Sadat took his place. Determined to regain the parts of Egypt that the Israeli's took, he began a new war in 1973. The United States tried to end the warfare while the Soviet Union fueled it. Together, those two worked with the UN to ceasefire. Israel won. -
Geneva Peace Conference
Israel, Egypt, and Jordan (but not Syria) met at a UN-backed conference in attempt to create peace. The conference failed after one day. -
Lebanon's Civil War
In 1975-1990, Lebanon's society fell to pieces due to civil war. This war broke out because of the greatly divided religious beliefs. In the end, peace was determined and both sides remained on Lebanese soil. -
War in Iran
Rebels opposed the restraining Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi under the terms of low wages and inflation. The Shah fled Iran and an Islamic religious leader took over. -
Problems Facing Iran
Resentment of being excluded from the new government, resentment of the religious rule, assassinations, unemployment, inflation, and a cut in oil production -
Iran-Contra Scandal
Relations between the U.S. and Iran remained hostile. There were many controversies over secret arms sales and funds. Reagan urged the U.S. to end issues, and the chanrges were brought to court two years later. -
American Hostages
More than 50 American embassy members and staff were taken hostage in Iran. President Carter had control of the Shah in a hospital, and he refused to give him over until the American citizens were returned. Carter also froze all American economic trade with Iran. A rescue attempt was done in 1980, but failed when the helicopters malfunctioned. -
Hostility in the 1980s
-Israeli warplanes bombed their own nuclear reactor being built with the aid of France
-Egyptian President Sadat assassinated by four Muslims -
Iran-Iraq War
A peace treaty was signed in 1975, but in 1980, President Saddam Hussein of Iraq declared the treaty to be "humiliating" and attacked Iran. -
American Hostages Return
Iranian Parliament proposed to return the hostages a year later.
-U.S. not interfere with Iranian government
-U.S. ends economic freeze with Iran and pays back the lost money
-Two nations establish arbitration commission
-Iran could sue in American courts for the Shah -
Ceasefire
The fighting between Iraq and Iran lasted until 1988 when the UN arranged for a ceasefire between the two nations. -
Persian Gulf War
-Iraq invades Kuwait in 1990
-Bush compares Hussein to Hitler and the UN comes to Kuwait's rescue
-On Jan. 12th, 1991, Congress voted to support military action against Iraq
-Operation Desert Storm
-The UN helped the Kuwait leader return from exile, and Iraq created shaky peace for a short period of time -
Shaky Peace
The Arab and Israeli leaders signed a peace treaty in Washington and many citizens from both sides rejoiced. Jordan and Israeli signed a peace treaty in July 1994. Syria and Israeli start to talk about a peace treaty.