Figure 1.--Here we see ascene on the West Bank near Beth El in the West Bank during 1993. The press caption read, "Jewish sttler children in Beth El, north of Ramallah, hoist an Israeli flag 28 Dec. on the barricade set up to prevent Israeli soldiers from evacuating part of the settlement which was built a week ago without authorization from the Israeli goverment." The photograph was dated December 28, 1993.

A coalition of Arab states led principally Egyptian President Gamel Abdel Nassar preared a massive invasion of Israel (1967). It had to be Egypt organizing the campaign. Egypt was the most powerful Arab country. No other Arab country had the capability to attack Israel. The Soviet Union delivered massive quantities quantities of modern weaponry to the Arabs. (America was still imposing an arms embargo.) Nassar and his military commander, Army Chief of Staff Abdel Hakim Amer were confident of victory. The Arabs thanks to the Soviets held the advantage in every category (men, aircraft, tanks, artillery, etc.). The resulting Six Days War was an astonishing Israeli victory (June 1967). Israeli forces defeated the Arab armies and seized East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, Sinai (up to the Canal), and Gaza. The West Bank and Gaza had sizeable Palestinian populations, in part because Jews were driven out. Despite the resounding Israeli victory, the Arab League issued the Khartoum Resolution (September 1967) including the "Three No's" -- "no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations ...." Israel was vulnerable to attacks from the West Bank, potentially cutting the country in two. And the Arabs were clearly committed to another war. Both Israel's major political parties (Labor and Likud) thus understandably supported establishing settlements in the Occupied Territories. (Labour has since vacillated on the settlements, preventing the construction of some new settlements. Likud on the other hand has been a firm supporter.) Labour Government built the first settlements (1968-77). The objective was to establish Jewish populations at strategic points on the West Bank, particularly the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem corridor. This was the scene of heavy fighting in both the 1948 and 1967 wars. And without it Jerusalem could be isolated. The initial effort was limited. Only five sparsely populated settlements existed beyond the Green Line (1969). A group of Jews without authorization seized the Park Hotel in Hebron. This was a town with a long Jewish history, but subject to Arab pogroms during the British Mandate (1920s-48)) and actions by the Jordanian Army to eradicate any evidence of Jewish presence 1948-67). This led to a second wave of settlement construction. The settlement issue has since become a stumbling block to negotiations. The PA refuses to negotiate until the settlements are removed. The Israelis who removed the settlements from Gaza as part of peace agreement found that the Palestinians not only found that the Palestinians not only were no more willing to make peace, but began using their control of Gaza to stage attacks on Israel, including in recent years massive rocket barrages. This makes the est Bank issue much more difficult to solve. Israeli withdrawal would mean that the Palestinians would have launch sites able to hit virtually anywhere in Israel.

Created: 2:15 AM 5/11/2019
Last updated: 2:15 AM 5/11/2019