The History of the conflict in the Middle East is long and well documented. To both, and to many biased

observers the history of the Egyptian/Israeli conflict is very one sided, with one government, or one people

causing the continued wars between the tw

In 1948, the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel was read by David Ben-Gurion in Tel

Aviv. The Egyptians, like most of the Arab states saw this as a creation of a Western State, backed by the

British Empire, and thus an imperialistic

The causes of this war, and Egypt's involved can be examined in several ways. Obviously, the creation of

the State of Israel by Ben-Gurion and his supporters provided a excuse for the Arab Nations, and Egypt to

attack the Jewish population in Israel. As

Still, Egypt was clearly the main aggressor in this instance, and was not defending their own territory, but

instead attempting to obtain territory, which they did succeed in acquiring, through the Gaza Strip. The

Egyptian actions quickly set the tone of

From the outcome of this poorly prepared war emerged Gamal Abdul Nasser, who commanded an Egyptian

Army in Palestine. He organized a clandestine group inside the army called the Free Officers. After the war

against Israel, the Free Officers began to plan

While Naguib was the head of the RCC and the government, Nasser was the real power behind Egypt.

Although the first 2 years of the RCC's existence was a struggle of power, Nasser eventually won, and the

Egyptian foreign policy was dictated by him. Withi

It should be mentioned that around this time, the great contracts against the USSR were formed and

implemented. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Southeast Treaty organization were supposed

t o contain the Soviet Union in the west and east.

When in 1955, after the British had agree to eventually leave the Canal Area, Nasser started to become

convinced once again that Egypt had to arm to defend itself against Israel. Still, the first attack in 1955 was

Israel, when they attacked Egyptian Mili

In Secret Britain, the United States and Israel agreed to allow Israel to attack the Canal from across the Sinai

Desert. When Israel neared the canal, Britain and France would issue a n ultimatum for an Egpytian and

Israeli withdrawal from both sides of t

While France and Britain withdrew, Israel was very reluctant. Eisenhower placed a great deal of pressure on

Israel with withdraw from all of its territorial acquisitions, and even threatened sanctions if Israel did not

comply. The Israelis did withdraw,

During the mid-1960's the Tension between Israel and Egypt increased. In November 1966, Egypt signed a

5 year defense pact, and Israeli forces crossed into the West Bank of Jordan and destroyed the village of As

Samu. IN 1967 Israeli leaders threatened t

After the 1967 war, the first move of the Arabs was to hold a summit in Khartoum in September 1967. At that

meeting, Saudi Arabia agreed to give Egypt the financial aid needed to rebuild its army and retake land lost

to Israel. At this conference the Ara

At the UN in November, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 242 which provided the

framework for the settlement of the June 1967 War. This resolution called for Israel to withdraw "from

territories occupied in the recent conflict", for the

During this time, the Israeli Military was supplied by the Nixon Administration, because it supposedly

regarded Israel as a bulwark against Soviet expansion in the area. Nassar, seeing that his chances were

few, flew to Moscow and asked the Soviet Union

This truce was criticized once again by some of the Arab powers, including the Newly formed PLO, who

openly advocated the removal of Nasser from power. This led to a conflict between the PLO and Egypt, and

many PLO members were expelled from Egypt. Durin

When Nasser died, it became apparent that his successor, Anwar as Sadat, did not intend to be another

Nasser. As Sadat's rule progressed, it became clear that his priority was solving Egypt's pressing economic

problems by encouraging Western financial inv

On February 4, 1971, Sadat announced a new peace initiative with Israel, that called for peace in return for a

partial withdraw from Sinai. A timetable would then be set for Israel's withdrawal from the rest of the

occupied. Egypt would reopen the canal,

Internally, the Egyptian economy was being steadily drained by the confrontation with Israel. Economic

problems were becoming more serious because of the tremendous amount of resources directed toward

building up the military since the June 1967 War, and

On October 6, 1973, Egyptian forces launched a successful surprise attack across the Suez Canal. The

Syrians carried out an attack on Israel at the same time. For the Arabs, it was the fasting month of Ramadan,

and for Israel it was Yom Kippur. The next d

Israel was able to counterattack and succeeded in crossing to the west bank of the canal and surrounding

the Egyptian Army. Sadat appealed to the Soviet Union for help. On October 22, the UN Security Council

passed Resolution 338, calling for a cease-fire

The Soviet Union was furious, believing it had been double-crossed by the United States. On October 24,

the Soviet ambassador handed Kissinger a note from Brezhnev threatening that if the United States was not

prepared to join in sending forces to impose

Meanwhile, Syria felt betrayed by Egypt because Sadat did not inform his ally of his decision to accept the

cease-fire. Two days after Sadat, Syria accepted the cease-fire as well. The Israelis, however, paid a heavy

price for merely holding their attacke

Sadat's prestige grew tremendously. The war, along with the political moves Sadat had made previously,

meant that he was totally in control and able to implement the programs he wanted. He was the hero of the

day. In 1977 the outlook for peace between I

Many Egyptians accepted peace with Israel if it meant regaining Egyptian territories. Of the Arab countries,

only Sudan, Oman, and Morocco were favorable to Sadat's trip. In the other Arab states, there was shock

and dismay. The Arabs felt that Sadat had

In fact, that is what happened. In December 1977, Egypt and Israel began peace negotiations in Cairo.

These negotiations continued on and off over the next several months, but by September 1978 it was clear

that they were deadlocked. President Jimmy Carte

The Camp David Accords made Sadat a hero in Europe and the United States. The reaction in Egypt was

generally favorable, but there was opposition from the left. In the Arab world, Sadat was almost universally

condemned. Only Sudan issued an ambivalent sta

In the West, where Sadat was extolled as a hero and a champion of peace, the Arab rejection of the Camp

David Accords is often confused with the rejection of peace. The basis for Arab rejection was opposition to

Egypt's separate peace with Israel. Althoug

The Camp David Accords brought peace to Egypt but not prosperity. With no real improvement in the

economy, Sadat became increasingly unpopular. His isolation in the Arab world was matched by his

increasing remoteness from the mass of Egyptians. While Sada

Sadat's handpicked successor, Husni Mubarak, was overwhelmingly approved in a national referendum on

October 24. Mubarak's main concern in regard to the Israeli conflict was concerned to regain the Sinai

Peninsula for Egypt and to return his country to t

It is perceivable that without the influence of the United States the peace in Israel would have been different,

if not sooner. The United States, in order to push the cold war policies saw Israel and Egypt as pawn in their

global game of politics. Especi

Under Carter, however the United States, perhaps for the first time, played a peace-making role in the Middle

East. Perhaps Carter was being the peaceful President, or more likely he realized the need for peace in the

middle east in order to lower the gas