Conflict Overview

              The conflict over Palestine became volatile after World War II when the United Nations adopted Resolution 181 outlining a partition plan for Palestine to be divided into two separate states: one Jewish and the other Arab.  When the Jewish people agreed to the terms of the resolution and declared themselves the nation of Israel on May 15, 1948, the Arab nations around Palestine retaliated.  This began the War of Independence, which lasted until the Arab countries signed Armistice Agreements in the first part of 1949.  Later in 1949, Israel became the 59th member of the United Nations.  1956 brought the Sinai Campaign, through which Israel gained the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula.  In 1967, the Six-Day War heightened the tensions between the Arabs and the Israelis.  This conflict prompted the UN to look into the issue of Middle East peace.  The UN adopted Resolution 242 to provide a means for the Arabs and Israelis to settle their disputes.  Between 1967 and 1970 there were many incidents of fighting, the War of Attrition being the most notable occurring in 1969 and 1970.  1973 brought the Yom Kippur War, which ended in a UN imposed cease-fire.  The Separation of Forces Agreement in 1974 between Israel and Egypt opened a dialogue for the Camp David Accords, which took place in September of 1978.  Israel attempted to wipe out Palestinian terrorists in Lebanon with Operation Peace for Galilee in 1982.  The Palestinians began the Intifada in 1987 to establish a Palestinian state.  Iraq attacked Israel during the Gulf War in 1990.  In 1991, the United States and the USSR co-sponsored the Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid, Spain.  Two years later, Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization signed the Declaration of Principles.  On May 4, 1994, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators signed the Gaza-Jericho Agreement establishing security for citizens in the areas of Gaza and Jericho.  Also in 1994, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Prime Minster Abdul-Salam Majali of Jordan signed the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty.  It was the second peace treaty Israel had signed since its independence.  In late 1995, the Israelis and Palestinians signed the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  This agreement provided for the Palestinian Council to govern the Palestinians in the West Bank.  November 12, 1995, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, a first in the history of the nation of Israel.  The major concern for the next few years will be the continuation of the peace process between Israelis and the Palestinians.

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