How Did We Get Here?
A History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict

8. US Policy Towards Israel and Palestine

This is the eighth in a series of eight lectures, sponsored by A Jewish Voice for Peace. This lecture was videotaped on Dec. 9, 2002. The lecturer is Stephen Zunes.

About Stephen Zunes

Associate Professor of Politics and Chair of the Peace & Justice Studies Program at the University of San Francisco. He serves as a senior policy analyst and Middle East editor for the Foreign Policy in Focus Project. Zunes received a B.A. from Oberlin College, M.A. from Temple University, and Ph.D. from Cornell University.

His books include:

• Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism, 2002, Common Courage Press.
• Nonviolent Social Movements: A Geographical Perspective, edited with Lester R. Kurtz and Sarah Beth Asher, 1999, Blackwell.

Chronology

The following is a brief chronology of major events relating to the US/Israel relationship.

• 1917:
  • Nov. 2: Britain issues Balfour Declaration, promising Jews a "National Home" in Palestine.
• 1945:
  • Nov. 13: Britain announces formation of an Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry to investigate Britain's handling of Palestine.
• 1946:
  • Apr. 20: The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry submits its report, recommending immediate authorization of 100,000 Jews into Palestine.
• 1947:
  • Nov. 29: UN resolution for the partition of Palestine; US votes in favor.
• 1948:
  • May 14: US recognizes Israel on a de facto basis.
  • Sept. 17: UN mediator Count Folke Bernadotte assassinated in Jerusalem by members of Jewish LEHI militia.
  • Dec. 11: UN Resolution 194 calls for cessation of hostilities, return of refugees who wish to live in peace.
• 1949:
  • Jan. 31: US recognizes Israel on a de jure basis.
  • Feb. 24-July 20: Israel signs armistice agreements with Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
  • Dec. 9: Israel admitted to UN membership.
• 1950:
  • May 25: Britain, France, and U.S. issue Tripartite Declaration on regulating the supply of arms to the Middle East.
• 1952:
  • July 23: Egypt's King Farouk overthrown by Free Officer's Movement, leading in 1954 to Gamal Abdel Nasser gaining power in 1954.
• 1954:
  • July: Lavon Affair: Israeli spies in Egypt sabotage British and US property hoping to focus blame on Egyptian terrorists.
• 1955:
  • Feb. 24: Iraq and Turkey sign Baghdad Pact.
• 1956:
  • July: US withdraws funding of Egypt's Aswan dam; Egypt nationalizes Suez Canal.
  • Oct. 29-Nov. 7: Suez War. US and USSR force return to status before war, forcing Israel to retreat from Sinai and leaving Egypt in control of the Suez Canal.
• 1963:
  • Apr.: US agrees to sell Hawk anti-aircraft missiles to Israel.
• 1967:
  • June 5-10: Israel's Six Day War, leaving Israel occupying the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula (Egypt), and Golan (Syrian) Heights.
  • June 27: Israel annexes East Jerusalem.
  • Nov. 22: UN Security Council passes Resolution 242.
• 1969:
  • Dec. 9: US Secretary of State William Rogers outlines US proposals for an Israeli-Arab peace settlement.
  • Dec. 22: Israel rejects Rogers plan.
• 1970:
  • Sept.: "Black September"; Jordan crushes Palestinian fedayeen.
• 1973:
  • Oct. 6: Egypt and Syria attack Israel in the October (Ramadan, or Yom Kippur) War to regain territories lost in June 1967 war. US provides major resupply of arms to Israel.
  • Oct. 22: UN Security Council Resolution 338 calls for direct negotiations. Dec. 21: Geneva peace conference.
• 1975:
  • Apr. 13: Outbreak of civil war in Lebanon.
• 1977:
  • May 17: Menachem Begin and Likud party rise to power in Israel.
  • Nov. 20: President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt addresses Israeli Knesset.
• 1978:
  • Sept. 17: Camp David accords signed by Jimmy Carter, Anwar al-Sadat, and Menachem Begin.
• 1979:
  • Feb. 1: Islamic revolution in Iran.
  • Mar. 26: Israel-Egypt peace treaty signed at White House.
• 1981:
  • June 7: Israel bombs Iraqi nuclear reactor.
  • Oct. 6: Anwar al-Sadat assassinated.
  • Nov. 30: US and Israel sign memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation.
  • Dec. 14: Israel annexes Golan Heights.
  • Dec. 18: US suspends agreement on strategic cooperation with Israel.
• 1982:
  • June 6: Israel invades Lebanon (Operation Peace for Galilee).
  • Aug. 21: US mediation arranges for PLO militia to leave Lebanon.
  • Sept. 1: President Reagan announces new peace plan for Middle East.
• 1983:
  • Aug. 28: Menachem Begin resigns and Yitzhak Shamir succeeds.
• 1985:
  • Oct. 1: Israel bombs PLO headquarters in Tunis, killing more than 70 people.
• 1986:
  • Apr. 15: US air attack on Libya.
  • Oct. 5: Sunday Times of London publishes a report quoting former Israeli nuclear arms technician Mordechai Vanunu as saying that Israel has been building and stockpiling atomic weapons at Dimona nuclear facility for 20 years.
• 1987:
  • Dec. 9: Intifada begins.
• 1988:
  • Feb. 3: US officials state new peace proposal including US mediated Israeli-Jordan negotiations by Sept. 30 to achieve limited Palestinian self-rule in occupied territories and direct negotiations in Dec. to reach final settlement.
  • Feb. 7: US vetoes UN Security Council Resolution demanding that Israel abide by terms of 4th Geneva Convention and calling for international conference on Arab-Israeli conflict.
  • Apr. 16: US vetoes UN Security Council Resolution calling on Israel to end deportation of Palestinians.
  • July 18: End of Iran-Iraq war.
  • July 31: King Hussein (Jordan) announces disengagement with the West Bank. This removes the last obstacle to recognizing the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
  • Nov. 15: Palestine National Council in Algiers conditionally accepts UN Resolutions 181, 242, and 338.
  • Nov. 26: US rejects Arafat's request for a visa that would permit him to address the UN General Assembly; on Dec. 1, the UN General Assembly votes 151-2 to condemn the US for denying Arafat the visa; on Dec. 3 the UN General Assembly voted to move to Geneva to hear Arafat speak.
• 1990:
  • Aug. 2: Iraq invades Kuwait.
• 1991:
  • Jan. 16-Feb. 28: Gulf War.
  • Mar.: President Bush announces major new Middle Eastern peace initiative.
  • Oct. 30-31: Middle East peace conference convenes in Madrid.
• 1993:
  • Sept. 13: Israel-PLO Declaation of Principles (Oslo Agreement) signed in White House.
• 1994:
  • Oct. 26: Israel and Jordan sign peace treaty.
  • Dec. 23: Israeli and Syrian chiefs of staff hold talks in Washington.
• 1995:
  • Sept. 28: Israel-Palestinian Interim Agreement (Oslo II) signed.
  • Nov. 4: Yitzhak Rabin assassinated; Shimon Peres succeeds.
• 1996:
  • May 29: Binyamin Netanyahu defeats Peres in Israeli elections.
• 1998:
  • Oct.: Wye River Plantation talks result in agreement for further Israeli redeployments in West Bank.
• 1999:
  • May 17: Ehud Barak defeats Netanyahu in Israeli elections.
• 2000:
  • July: Camp David final settlement talks fail to reach agreement.
  • Sept. 28: Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount leads to demonstrations, riots, heavy repression, igniting second (Al-Aqsa) intifada.
• 2001:
  • Feb. 6: Ariel Sharon elected Prime Minister.
  • Apr.: Mitchell commission recommendations for restoration of peace, returning to negotiating table.
  • Sept. 11: Terrorist attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon.
• 2002:
  • Mar.: Saudi Prince Abdullah proposes peace plan, where Israel withdraws to 1967 borders in exchange for Arab recognition.
• 2003:
  • Mar. 19: US invades Iraq; Baghdad falls Apr. 9, and "major hostilities" declared ended May 1.
  • Apr. 24: Abu Mazen appointed Prime Minister of PNA.
  • June 4: Aqaba Summit, where Abu Mazen and Sharon agree to end violence under US-backed "road map".
  • Sept. 16: US vetoes UN Security Council resolution asking Israel to desist from its threat to deport Yasser Arafat.

Glossary

• American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC): The prominent conservative American Zionist lobby group.
• Americans for Peace Now (APN): A liberal American Zionist group, allied with Israel's Peace Now movement, which supports two, separate states for Israel and Palestine.

Historical Figures:

• Nancy Pelosi (): Democratic congresswoman from San Francisco, now House Minority Leader; singled out by Zunes for her hawkish support of Israel.
• Jonathan Pollard (): US Navy intelligence analyst, convicted of spying for Israel and sentenced for life.

Suggested Readings

The website suggests the following books for further information on this lecture:

• Stephen Zunes, Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism, 2002, Common Courage Press.

• Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World, 2000, W.W. Norton, paperback.
• Kathleen Christison, Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy, updated edition, 2001, University of California Press.
• Noam Chomsky, Middle-East Illusions, 2003, Rowman & Littlefield.
• Charles Enderlin, Shattered Dreams: The Failure of the Peace Process in the Middle East, 1995-2002, Other Press, 2003.

Links

• How Did We Get Here? A History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict
• Stephen Zunes' Webpage at University of San Francisco
• 10 Things to Know About U.S. Policy in the Middle East, by Stephen Zunes.
• U.S. Financial Aid to Israel: summary compiled by Washington Report on Middle East Affairs; includes an analysis by Stephen Zunes.