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    On November 29, 1947 the United Nations passed Resolution 181 outlining a plan for the partition of Palestine into separate Jewish and Israeli states.  It included a plan for the withdrawal of troops from the United Kingdom and the establishment of a Palestinian Government.  The Jewish people declared themselves the nation of Israel under this resolution, but the Palestinians rejected the plan and the Arab nations retaliated, resulting in the War of Independence.
• full text of Resolution 181
 

    When the Israelis adopted the United Nation's conditions outlined in Resolution 181, the surrounding Arab nations attacked.  Israel fought against Lebanon and Syria in the north: Iraq and Transjordan in the east: Egypt with some forces from Sudan in the south; and Palestinian and some Arab forces in the interior.  It was a very bloody war and was fought in four phases intermittently from November 29, 1947 to July 20, 1949.  Israel not only fought off the Arab forces, but also gained 5,000 sq. km more than granted to it by United Nations resolution 181.  The conflict ended with the Arab countries and Israelis signing the Armistice Agreements.
 

     In 1949, the Armistice agreements are signed with Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.  During this time, Jerusalem is divided between Israel and Jordan, with Jordan holding the Old City and east Jerusalem, and Israel retaining the western and southern parts of the city.  Apparently the armistice Agreements did not accomplish what they were intending to accomplish.  During the agreements, Jerusalem was declared a capital and Israel became the 59th member of the United Nation.  The Armistice Agreements were the start for people to accomplish their existence without fighting.
 
 

    In 1956, the Sinai Campaign took place.  The Sinai Campaign strove to put an end to terrorist being able to enter into Israel and to remove the Egyptian blockade of Eilat.  The operation took 100 hours, under the leadership of General Staff; the entire Sinai Peninsula fell into Israeli hands.  They then acquired the Gaza Strip and the entire Sinai Peninsula.  During this process 231 soldiers were killed.  The conquest for this particular battle was Armor.
from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Web Page
 


from Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Web Site
 
 

Six-Day War:

    In 1967 the Six-day war took place.  This was Israeli's strike for survival against Arab armies.  There were six days that resulted in extensive areas of  captured territory.  The Six Day War was simple the result of three weeks of tension which began in 1967.  These people waited 20 years for salvation.  If there was going to be peace, there must be justice.  Arabs must be able to live side by side with the Jews.  Through this war a direct threat to Israeli territory was created.
 Following the June 1967, the UN discussed Six-Day War, the situations in the Middle East.  After a lengthy discussion, a final draft for a Security Council was established.  Resolution 242, established provisions and principles which, it was hoped, would lead to a solution of the conflict.  Resolution 242 was to become the cornerstone of Middle East diplomatic efforts in the coming decades.
 


from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Web Page
 

    The War of Attrition occurred from 1969-1970.  The War of Attrition was aimed at engaging Israel in a drawn-out and bloody conflict, which would make optimal use of the Arab world's massive resources.  The main point of the War of Attrition was the Egyptian front.  During this period, infiltration from across the Jordan became a significant source of terrorist activity.  Between 1967-1970, many incidents of fighting took place along the eastern front, mostly artillery and gunfire from Jordanian territory.  This is where "Black September" became known.
 

    Before one of Egypt and Israel's worst wars, skirmishes between the two countries continued to fuel the fire of hatred and malice.  These resulted in high Egyptian and Israeli casualties and military expenses.  Egypt's Anwar Sadat tried unsuccessfully to negotiate his way out of economic and other problems with Israel, so he was left with one option:  Yom Kippur.  Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement, one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar.  In the year 1973 it fell on October the sixth.  This day the Israeli community was totally unprepared for the attack that was planned by Egypt and Syria.  Yom Kippur seemed to be the perfect day and time for the destruction of Israel.  The Syrians overran the Golan Heights and came close to the Sea of Galilee. Even with all the gains made early in the war, Israel retaliated within just a few days.  Within those days, the IDF (Israel Defense Force) was on the western bank of the Suez Canal, which is 100 km from the Egyptian capitol of Cairo. A few months later Egypt accepted a cease-fire, which it had first refused.  When the United Nations imposed the cease-fire it began to patrol a line of peace between the Egyptian and Israeli armies.  Despite the swift Israeli win against this coordinated surprise attack, it was still quite a loss for Israel: 2688 soldiers fell.
 

    On January 18, 1974 the Separation of Forces Agreement between Israel and Egypt was signed. Henry Kissinger, United States Secretary of State, was largely responsible for the signing of this peace treaty.  In this treaty, Kissinger worked out an agreement to disengage Israel and Egyptian forces along the Suez Canal. Under the terms of this settlement, Israel agreed to pull back its forces that had been in Sinai for seven years.  In return, Egypt promised to thin out its army  stationed all across the Suez Canal during the October War.
 
 

    The United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had not been successful in being able to develop the Middle Eastern Peace process past written agreements.  Neither talking nor meetings were solving any problems until Egyptian Anwar Sadat made a dramatic gesture.  He arrived in Tel Aviv on November 28, 1977.   Anwar had come to their country not to sign a peace treaty but to talk about their differences and how they could overcome them.  Sadat began a 57 minute speech that slowly broke down barriers of years of hatred and miscommunication.  He said, “today we agree to live with you,” which was a start.   Largely due to this act of humbleness, United States President Jimmy Carter, Israeli Prime Minster Menachem Begin, and Anwar Sadat  met through September 15-17, 1978 to discuss one of the most important issues in their day: peace.  Camp David Maryland seemed an ideal place; quiet, remote, and on American soil, a neutral territory. These men met to try to work out a basis for peace and a hope for solving the Palestinian issues between Israel and Egypt.  The basic outline for the treaty is as follows: The first document is entitled, “A Framework for Peace in the Middle East” which enabled Israel, Jordan, and Palestine to work out agreements over the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.  The second document called for an Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty to be signed within three months of the Camp David Accords, and for Israeli military to be withdrawn from three to nine months after that.  From all these conclusions came the actual peace treaty between the two nations, which was signed in Washington D.C. March 26, 1979.  Egypt received the land called the Sinai Peninsula and got diplomatic recognition. But, for this treaty, Egypt was expelled from the Arab league for making a treaty with Jews.  Despite being expelled, many political advantages were made for Egypt through the treaty.
 

     In 1982, the Operation Peace for Galilee was launched against PLO terrorists strongholds in Lebanon used for attacks against northern Israel. It had been hoped that the Peace would result in a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon, putting a stronghold on the tension for the time being. A token force was left behind, to help the citizens of south Lebanon to patrol the Security Zone, a narrow strip of territory adjacent to Israel's border, which was an essential tripwire for Israeli settlements, some of which are located next to the border.
 

    In December 1987, an uprising by the Arabs in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip broke out against the IDF and Israeli settlers in these areas. This uprising, known as the Intifada, was accompanied by terrorists operations within the pre-1967 borders of Israel. The goal of the Intifada was to establish a sovereign Palestine state. It entailed a great deal of patrolling of Arab population centers, while clashing with teenage stone throwers on a daily basis. During this period, nearly 27,000 attacks and many disturbances occurred. It was more a moral problem than a military one. The IDF was under strict orders to open fire only in a situation of real danger to life. The IDF was under strict orders to open fire only in a situation of real danger to life. It was a time that tested the army's morale to the utmost, as warfare was restricted. The IDF viewed most of the Intifada years as a passing phenomenon, and would be solved politically and would not greatly affect the state of Israel.
 

    In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait and threatened to attack Israel with various types of weapons, including non-conventional types. Iraq was wanting a chunk of Kuwait's rich oil supply, and threatened to take over their resevours. That's when the U.S. came in, threatening to stop Iraq militarily if they would not pull out. With the support of 30 coalition partners and backed by Security Council resolutions, the U.S. coalition air forces attacked Iraq. In response, Iraq fired attacks of ground missiles to Israel. These missiles main targets were the Tel Aviv region and Haifa. Israel refrained from participation in the war, for the U.S. was concerned that it might be deserted by its Arab coalition partners. The end result was an easy victory for the coalition, as Iraq surrendered and pulled out of Kuwait. For Israel, this war was characterized as the War of the Civilian Rearm, the Gadna, and the Youth Battalions , which once again played a useful and important role in the war efforts.
 

    The Gaza-Jericho agreement signed on May 4, 1994 established security zones in the areas of Gaza and Jericho.  The agreement provided for security arrangements and withdrawal of Israeli forces, transfer of civil affairs, legal matters, and economic relations.
• full text of the Gaza-Jericho Agreement

 
 

    On October 1991, a Peace Conference which was co-sponsored by the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., was convened in Madrid, Spain. Two years later, that conference was followed by the signing of the Declaration of Principles between Israel and the PLO, marking a big step towards reconciliation between Israel and Palestine. The Madrid Conference also lead the way to negotiations for the Treaty of Peace with the nation of Jordan, which was signed by both prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Abdul Salem Majali on October 26, 1994.
 

    On September 28, 1995 the Palestinians and Israelis adopted the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  This agreement incorporates and supersedes the Gaza-Jericho and early empowerment agreements.  The main objective of the agreement is to increase Palestinian self-government in the West Bank by setting up the Palestinian Council.  The council's purpose is to allow the Palestinians to handle their own internal affairs and to facilitate a new period of peace.  The agreement outlines the election of the council, the size and duty of the council, the revocation of the PLO covenant, and other security and civil matters.
• full text of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

    On November 12, 1995 Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, was assassinated by a Jewish extremist.  He was the first Israeli Prime Minister to be murdered by an assassin.  Still today hundreds of thousands Israelis continue to visit his grave and mourn his death.                              
• Yitzhak Rabin remembrance page

 

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