Between a Rock and a Hard Place in Gaza

Historical Background of Israel/Palestine and the current Gaza Attacks

1922: After the Ottoman Empire is defeated in Word War I, the League of Nations confirms British mandates over Iraq and Palestine, and a French mandate over Syria and Lebanon. Transjordan is separated from the Palestine Mandate and becomes an autonomous kingdom.

1936: Palestinian Arabs demand a halt to Jewish immigration and a ban on land sales to Jews. British troops attempt to assert control, but violence continues. The Peel Commission recommends partition of Palestine between Arabs and Jews.

1939: Britain announces severe restrictions on Jewish immigration and land purchases in Palestine. Violence erupts from Jewish militants.

1947: Britain lets the United Nations decide what to do about Palestine, which is partitioned into Jewish, Arab, and international areas (Jerusalem and Bethlehem). Fifty-five percent of the territory is allocated to the Jewish state. Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan are now independent states.

1948: The British mandate over Palestine terminates. Israelis declare their independence as a nation, Arab armies attack, and Israel prevails. U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194 establishes a conciliation commission and asserts that refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace should be allowed to do so, that compensation should be paid to others, and that free access to holy places should be assured.

1949: Armistice agreements with the Arabs allow Israel to gain more land (77% of Palestine). Egypt occupies the Gaza Strip. Transjordan, renamed Jordan, controls what is left of the west bank of the Jordan River, including Old Jersusalem, and in 1950 annexes this territory.

1956: Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal, and Israel joins Britain and France in occupying the canal area. Under international pressure all foreign forces withdraw from Egyptian territories by the next year. U.N. forces are assigned to patrol strategic areas of the Sinai.

1964: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is established, committed to wage a battle to liberate the homeland of the Palestinian people.

1967: Egypt blockades the Straits of Tiran, and Arab forces make menacing moves. Israel launches preemptive attacks on Egypt, Syria, Iraq and then Jordan, and within six days occupies the Golan Heights, Gaza, the Sinai and the West Bank, including Jerusalem.

Six months later, U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 is passed, confirming the inadmissibility of the acquisition of land by force and calling for Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories, the right of all states in the region to live in peace within secure and recognized borders, and a just solution to the refugee problem.

1973: Egypt and Syria attack Israeli forces in the Sinai and Golan Heights. This conflict becomes known as the Yom Kippur War. After sixteen days of war, U.N. Resolution 338 is passed, confirming Resolution 242 and calling for international peace talks. Various disengagement agreements follow.

1974: The Arab summit at Rabat in Morocco unanimously proclaims the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Israel agrees to withdraw form Syrian territory, except for control of the Golan Heights.

1975: Civil war erupts in Lebanon. With approval from the international community the following year, Syria sends troops to establish order.

1977: Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat visits Jerusalem and outlines Arab demands to the Israeli Knesset. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin makes a return visit to Ismailia, with no progress toward peace.

1978: The Camp David Accords are approved by Israel and Egypt, confirming Israel’s compliance with U.N. Resolution 242, withdrawal of political and military forces from the West Bank and Gaza, and full autonomy for Palestinians. The Accords outline a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt and other Arab neighbors. The Accords are rejected by the Arabs at the Baghdad summit, and Egypt is isolated.

1979: A peace treaty is signed between Israel and Egypt, guaranteeing withdrawal of Israel from the Sinai, normal diplomatic relations, and Israel’s access to the Suez Canal.

1981: In response to terrorist attacks across Lebanon’s border, Israeli troops move into Lebanon, seeking to destroy PLO forces there. The militant Lebanese organization known as Hezbollah is established. Subsequent actions by the Israelis in Lebanon draw international criticism.

1985: Israel partially removes its forces from Lebanon.

1987: A Palestinian intifada (uprising) erupts, and Israel responds to the violence with harsh reprisals. The militant Palestinian organization known as Hamas is established.

1988: Jordan cedes its rights in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to the PLO. PLO head Yasir Arafat acknowledges Israel’s right to exist and renounces violence. The U.S. and the PLO initiate dialogue.

1991: The Persian Gulf War ejects Iraqi forces that have invaded Kuwait. Many Palestinian exiles move to Jordan. A Middle East peace conference, focusing on Arab-Israeli relations, is convened in Madrid.

1993: Israel and the PLO conclude a peace agreement in Oslo with mutual recognition and a five-year plan to resolve all remaining differences. Militant Palestinians and right-wing Israelis begin attempts to undermine the agreement.

1994: The Palestinian National Authority is established. Israel and Jordan sign a comprehensive peace agreement.

1995: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated by an Israeli right-wing religious fanatic. This setback to the peace process is exacerbated by violent attacks from Palestinian groups opposed to the Oslo Agreement.

1996: Palestinians elect Yasir Arafat as President and elect the members of a legislative council. Israelis return the Likud Party to power, which stalls the Oslo process.

1998: The Wye River Memorandum is issues after talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians, under U.S. auspices. An airport is opened in Gaza, with flights to Arab nations.

2000: Israeli forces are withdrawn with Lebanon except for a disputed area, Shebaa Farms. Peace negotiations at Camp David break down. Arial Sharon visits the Temple Mount and a second intifada is launched, more violent than the first.

2001: Ariel Sharon is elected Prime Minister of Israel, committed to rejection of the Oslo peace agreement and an emphasis on national security. The Gaza airport runway is bulldozed.

2002: An Arab League summit meeting endorses a Saudi peace plan based on U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338. Suicide bombings provoke strong Israeli response. Sharon blames Arafat for the violence and confines him in the Ramallah office. Israel begins building a separation barrier within the West Bank.

2003: The Quartet Group (the United States, United Nations, European Union, and Russia) agree on a “road map for peace.” Palestinians pledge full support but Israel rejects key points. Violence continues, and the security barrier in the West Bank draws international criticism for undermining the peace process. An unofficial peace agreement negotiated by Israelis and Palestinians is released with extensive international support as the Geneva Initiative.

2004: Yasir Arafat Dies.

2005: Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is elected President of the Palestinian National Authority. Israel unilaterally evacuates its settlements from the Gaza Strip and four from the West Bank.

January 2006: Ariel Sharon sufferse a massive stroke. Palestinians elect a new government, with Hamas winning a small plurality of votes but a majority of parliamentary seats. Israel and the U.S. isolate Palestine, cutting off funds.

March – August 2006: Ehud Olmert becomes Israel’s Prime Minister, promising that the dividing wall will, in effect, be the new Israeli-West Bank border. Hamas and Hezbollah militants capture Israeli soldiers, and Israeli forces attack Gaza and Lebanon. Hezbollah missiles strike northern Israel. The United Nations approves Resolution 1701, establishing a fragile cease-fire.

(From Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid by Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, 2006)

June 13, 2007: In a burst of fighting in which more than 100 people are killed, Hamas gunmen rout the Fatah forces and seixe control of Gaza outright.

June 19, 2007: Israel and Hamas agree to an Egyptian-brokered case-fire to last for six months.

November 14, 2008: Hamas fires a barrage of rockets into southern Israel, and says the attack is revenge for the deaths of 11 militants and the recent increased Israeli closing of Gaza crossings. Both sides accuse the other of breaking the truce.

December 19, 2008: Hamas officially declares an end to the cease-fire, saying the truce would not be renewed because Israel was failing to fulfill its fundamental conditions and obligations.

December 27, 2008: Israel launches a major attack on Hamas targets throughout Gaza in retaliation for heavy rocket fire from the area. More than 200 Palestinians are killed in the Israeli air strikes.

January 3, 2009: Israeli tanks and troops sweep across the border into Gaza, opening a ground war against Hamas after a week of intense air strikes.

January 4, 2009: Israeli ground forces moved across the Gaza Strip, splitting the region in two, and isolating Gaza City.

January 5, 2009: Battle focused on northern Gaza. Two-thirds of Gazans had no electricity or water; hospitals were unable to provide adequate care to the high number of casualties.

January 6, 2009: At least 40 people, including women and children, were killed when a school was hit by Israeli fire in Jabaliya, according to the United Nations and hospital officials.

(From New York Times Timeline and Interactive Graphics)

Articles, Op-Eds and Books by our Guests:

“Democrats are Cowards in the Face of Israel’s Brutality” (By Stephen Zunes, Alternet, 1/6/09)

“America’s Hidden Role in Hamas’s Rise to Power” (By Stephen Zunes, Alternet, 1/3/09)

Letter to President Elect Obama calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and convene an international Middle East Peace Conference to facilitate a lasting and just settlement for all parties (signed by Rabbi Michael Lerner, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, and others, 1/6/09)

Rabbi Michael Lerner on Israel in Gaza (1/5/09)

“Beyond anguish, what can we say about Gaza that points toward an alternative? Not just in pretty theory, but in political practicality?” (By Rabbi Arthur Waskow, 12/31/08)

Crisis in Gaza panel from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, includes Nathan Brown (12/31/08)

“U.S. Blocks UN Security Council Vote Calling for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza” (By Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies, 1/5/09)

“The Israeli airstrikes are a clear violation of international humanitarian law” (By Phyllis Bennis, Letter to the Editor of New York Times, 12/30/08)

“Gaza Crisis: Israeli Violations & U.S. Complicity” (Talking Points by Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies, 12/28/08)

“Cast Lead in the Foundry” (From the Editors of the Middle East Report including Chris Toensing, 12/31/08)

“Lost in the Rubble” (By Chris Hedges, Truthdig, 1/2/09)

“Israel’s ‘Crime Against Humanity’” (By Chris Hedges, Truthdig, 12/15/08)

“Barred from Gaza, Jim Fine Returns from Middle East Trip” (Friends Committee on National Legislation Press release, 12/30/08)

Dave Lippman’s “Star of Goliath” page

“To Live and Die in Gaza” (By Laila Al-Arian, Nation, 1/2/09)

Web Links:

Israel and Hamas: Conflict in Gaza (Interactive graphics by New York Times)

Grief and Rage at Stricken Gaza School (By Taghreed El-Khodary, New York Times, 1/7/09)

BBC News Gaza online maps, timeline and profile

“Moral Blindness in Gaza” (By Robert Scheer, The Nation originally from Truthdig, 1/7/09)

The Nation’s coverage of Israel

UN rights body calls special Gaza session (Reuters, 1/7/09)

“Iraqi cleric urges attacks on U.S. troops over Gaza” (By Sameer N. Yacoub, Associated Press, 1/7/09)

“U.S. supports Egyptian-French initiative on Gaza” (By Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press, 1/7/09)

“Israel Puts Media Clamp on Gaza” (By Ethan Bronner, New York Times, 1/6/09)

“Israel Strikes Before an Ally Departs” (By Scott Shane, New York Times News Analysis, 1/4/09)