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| A Brief History of Arab-Israeli Conflict |
| Tension between the state of Israel and its Arab neighbors began with its foundation |
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Alex Argote (alexphil)  |
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Published 2006-07-18 11:43 (KST) |
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Just when the world was heaving a sigh of relief, thinking it had seen the worst of the age-old conflict in the Middle East, the thin facade of peace was shattered by yet another cycle of violence.
The ongoing border clashes between Israeli Defence Forces and Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon have already claimed the lives of scores of civilians of both countries and left hundreds more wounded, forever bearing the scars of a mindless conflict.
The Jewish people have had a long and troubled history. First as the wanderers and slaves of Biblical times and then as victims of persecution across Europe. After the end of the Second World War, the Jewish survivors of the Holocaust were given the nation state of Israel under the auspices of the United Nations.
The solution unfortunately spawned a host of unsolved problems when Arab countries reacted violently against the formation of the new state.
In 1947, the United Nations approved U.N. Resolution 181, thereby carving the British Mandate of Palestine into two divisions, the Jewish state of Israel and the Arab state. Jerusalem and Bethlehem, owing to their religious significance and being claimed as major landmarks by Christians, Jews and Muslims, were placed under United Nations administration.
Since the end of the Second World War there have been numerous conflicts between Israel and Arab nations.
In 1948 Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq invaded Israel.
The combined Arab military forces launched offensives in the north, west and south of Israel but the Israelis, led by able commanders and operating with clear and effective strategies, repulsed the assaults.
The war ended in 1949 after thousands of Arabs and Israelis had lost their lives. The 1948 war was followed in 1956 by the Suez crisis, then the 1967 Six-Day War broke out, years later, the Yom Kippur War erupted in 1973. During the 1980s, Israel invaded neighboring Lebanon to crush the Palestinian militants who had holed up in that country.
Most notable of all the confrontations is the 1967 Six-Day War fought between Israel and the Arab countries of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Syria.
Realizing that they were militarily disadvantaged the Israelis launched a pre-emptive strike and practically destroyed the superior Egyptian airplanes as they were sitting on the tarmac.
The destruction of the Egyptian airforce allowed the Israelis unopposed control of the skies and this advantage helped them to win. Their victory allowed them to capture sizable chunks of territory like the Gaza strip, the Sinai peninsula, the West Bank and the Golan heights.
The Six-Day War has had great implications for the geopolitics of the Middle East. Even the return of most of the captured territories by Ariel Sharon did little to temper down the waves of violence ripping across the region.
Now, the hostilities have been reignited. In July 2006 Hezbollah militants crossed the northern Israeli border and killed several soldiers before abducting two more.
Israel threw a naval blockade on all ports of entry to Lebanon to force the Lebanese authorities to pressure Hezbollah into releasing the captured Israeli soldiers. Israeli warplanes also swooped deep inside Lebanese airspace and pounded hundreds of targets, including Beirut airport and the Hezbollah headquarters in southern Beirut.
In retaliation, Hezbollah guerillas launched hundreds of rounds of screaming Katyuska rockets at the communities and cities of northern Israel.
The ongoing violence has not only killed civilians on both sides but it has also sent the price of oil skyrocketing like the death-dealing Katyuskas
So once again, images of wanton destruction are splashed over the frontpages and the wheels of hate and discord gear up again into the full swing of carnage and devastation.
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©2006 OhmyNews
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