Chapter Resources
Chapter 18: The Arab–Israeli Conflict 1949–2007
Debates
Debating the Cold War in the Middle East
Maps
Discussion Questions
- To what extent did the 1956 Suez Crisis herald the onset of the Cold War in the Middle East?
- Why did Israel launch a pre-emptive strike in 1967 but not in 1973?
- How important were Egypt's military gains during the 1973 October War for the subsequent Egyptian–Israeli peace negotiations?
- Why did the PLO embark upon setting up a state-within-a-state first in Jordan and then in Lebanon?
- To what extent was Israel's 1982 Lebanon War the result of a hegemonic contest with Syria?
- Why was Israel taken by surprise by the 1989 intifada?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of secret negotiations over public negotiations as exemplified by the Oslo and Madrid talks?
- Why were Jordanian–Israeli negotiations so much ‘easier’ than either Israeli–Palestinian or Israeli–Syrian negotiations?
- Compare and contrast the role of the US in the 1978 and 2000 Camp David talks.
- Why did the Oslo process collapse in 2000?
Weblinks
http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/us/arabisrael.htm
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm
Good websites on the Arab–Israeli conflict as a whole which have a comprehensive library of documents as well as timelines and short analyses.
http://www.memri.org/conflict/html
For analyses of recent events, the peace process and the collapse of the peace process see this website of the Middle East Media Research Institute which specializes in collating and analysing the press coverage on the peace process and the intifada, including the Arab press.
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index
Another good source on the recent period is the International Crisis Group, which has in-depth analytical papers with recommendations on conflict and violence related issues.
These academic or analytical websites provide a perfect setting for the statements by the key actors, which can be found at:
- www.mfa.gov.il — The Israeli Foreign Ministry
- www.pna.gov.ps — The Palestinian National Authority
- www.hamas.org — Hamas
- http://www.mfa.gov.eg — The Egyptian Foreign Ministry
- http://www.mfa.gov.jo — The Jordanian Foreign Ministry
- http://www.sana.org/index_eng.html — The Syrian Arab News Agency
- http://www.hizbollah.org — Hizb'allah
Documents on the web
- www.un.org/documents/sc/res/1967/scres67.htm — UN Resolution 242 (1967)
- www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/campdav.htm — The 1978 Camp David Accords
- www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/hamas.htm — The Hamas Charter (1988)
- www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/isrplo.htm — The 1993 Declaration of Principles
- www.kinghusseingov.jo/peace_treaty.html — The 1994 Israel–Jordan Treaty