The Beginnings of the Territorial Conflict
An overview of Israel’s
relationship to the Sinai, the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the
Golan Heights, 1948-67
ByJonathan
Kaplan
At the heart of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a land dispute--and in order to understand that
dispute, it is necessary to know the history of the territory in question. The
following article, part one of a four-part series on the topic, discusses the
origins of the territories dispute. It was published in 1998, and is reprinted
with permission from The Jewish Agency.
During the Six Day War of June 1967, Israeli forces took the
Sinai, the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, the West Bank (often referred to as Judea and
Samaria), and the Golan Heights. Although these "territories," with
the exception of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, were never incorporated into
the state of Israel, the question of their future has been a central topic in
Israeli politics and is at present perhaps the most important issue dividing
the major political parties.
Israeli policy regarding the territories has been influenced
by diplomatic, security, economic, religious, and moral considerations, and
interpreted and prioritized differently by different political leaders and
parties. Many observers see the issue of the territories as the key to a
resolution of the Arab‑Israeli conflict, and the peace process [when it
has been active] indeed has focused on the transfer of power over increasing
areas of the territories to a Palestinian Administration. It is therefore
important to note at the outset that the Israeli occupation of the territories
was a result, and not the cause, of the conflict between Israel and its Arab
neighbors.
Origins
Before 1967, the territories were administered by Syria,
Egypt, and Jordan. The Golan Heights were an internationally recognized part of
Syria even before the latter's independence after the Second World War. The
Sinai came under British‑Egyptian rule back in 1906. The Gaza Strip and
the West Bank/Judea‑Samaria were part of the territory defined by the
United Nations in 1947 as a Palestinian Arab State.
After the Arab defeat in 1948, Egypt put the Gaza Strip
under a military government, and Trans‑Jordan in 1950 annexed the area it
held west of the Jordan River, which became known as the West Bank. This
annexation was recognized neither in the Arab world nor in the international
community. Trans‑Jordan then changed its name to Jordan.
The city of Jerusalem, which was to have been
internationalized according to the United Nations plan, was divided between
Israel and Jordan along the cease‑fire lines. [Jewish access to holy
places in the old city of Jerusalem between 1949 and 1967 was denied.] This
situation continued essentially unchanged until June 1967.
The Six Day War
While a detailed analysis of the developments leading up to
the Six Day War lies beyond the scope of this [article], several key facts
should be noted. The concentration of Arab forces near Israeli borders, the
Egyptian expulsion of the United Nations peace‑keeping troops from Gaza and
the Sinai, the closure of the Straits of Tiran (blockading the Israeli port of
Eilat), and the formation of a military pact by the surrounding Arab states
prompted Israel in May 1967 to seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
When this was not forthcoming, the Israeli government
debated whether to take pre‑emptive military action, or to wait for the
first blow of an Arab attack, which would exact a greater price in Israeli
lives. The government decided on the former option.
After a surprise air attack on June 5--which destroyed the
Arab air forces--Israel decided upon its main objective: the Sinai and the
Egyptian positions, which commanded the Straits of Tiran. Jordan was notified
that if it abstained from fighting, Israel would refrain from any further
action against it. When Jordan entered the war, Israeli forces responded and
took the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the ensuing battles. During the last
two days of the war, the Israeli army conquered the Golan Heights, from which
the Syrians had sniped and shelled Israel settlements below.
By the end of the fighting on June 10, Israel was in
possession of the Sinai, the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the
Golan Heights. These areas were given various designations [by different
people], most of which reveal a political view: the liberated territories, the
administered territories, the occupied territories, or the conquered
territories. The areas which had been ruled by Jordan were either referred to
as "Judea and Samaria"--in order to emphasize the historical Jewish
link with the region--or continued to be known as the "West Bank,"
suggesting a connection with Jordan or a semi‑independent status.
Initial Policies
Israeli policy after the war distinguished between the Sinai
and the Golan Heights, which had been recognized possessions of Egypt and Syria
respectively, and other areas in which there was no recognized ruler and which
were strategically and ideologically important to Israel.
On June 27, East Jerusalem--expanded to include Rachel's
Tomb on the outskirts of Bethlehem and the Kalandia airport close to
Ramallah--was formally incorporated into the West Jerusalem municipality.
Israeli law and administration were extended to these areas. In August, the
Israeli national unity government (which at the time included former opposition
leader Menachem Begin) made Egypt an offer to withdraw from the Sinai in return
for a solution to the problems of the Straits of Tiran, free navigation in the
Suez Canal, the demilitarization of the Sinai, and a peace agreement. A similar
proposal regarding the Golan was made to Syria in exchange for demilitarization
of the Golan, guarantees of water supply from sources of the Jordan River to
Israel, and peace.
No specific offers were made regarding the West Bank/Judea‑Samaria
or the Gaza Strip, but Israeli leaders did state publicly that new frontiers
would be the product of direct negotiations with the Arab countries concerned.
The Response
The Arab response was formulated at the Arab League summit
held in Khartoum, Sudan on September 1, 1967: "...the Arab Heads of State
agreed on unifying their efforts in Joint political and diplomatic action at
the international level to ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the
occupied Arab territory. This is within the framework of the basic Arab
commitment, which entails no recognition of Israel, no conciliation or
negotiation with her, and the upholding of the rights of the Palestinian people
to their land."
On November 22, the United Nations Security Council passed
resolution 242 as a compromise between American‑backed Israeli demands
for mutual recognition and direct negotiations leading to border agreements,
and the Soviet‑Arab insistence on unconditional Israeli withdrawal as a
precondition for any negotiations. The resolution called for "withdrawal
of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict"
and "acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and
political independence of every state in the area and their right to live in
peace within secure and recognized boundaries." [In the resolution,
omission of the definite article "the" before "territories"
is understood to mean that in the final settlement Israel will not be expected
to withdraw totally to the 1967 border, but that border adjustments will be
negotiated.]
A Special Representative was to proceed to the Middle East
"to establish and maintain contacts with the states concerned in order to
promote agreement and assist efforts to achieve a peaceful and accepted settlement."
The Arab refusal to negotiate with Israel directly, and Israel's unwillingness
to give up its major bargaining card before coming to peace agreements with the
Arabs, led to an impasse, and to continued Israeli control of the territories.
By Jonathan Kaplan.
Reprinted, with permission, from the Pedagogic Center,
The Department for
Jewish Zionist Education, The Jewish Agency for Israel © http://www.jajz-ed.org/il/juice/2000/index.html-
“Issues in Israeli Society” series, Lecture # 7, Jewish University in
Cyberspace (JUICE)
