Part V History Segment- From War to War

 This one is long, of course.
From: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel's diplomatic challenge was to translate its military gains into a permanent peace based on UN Security Council Resolution 242, which called for acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of every state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force.

However, the Arab position, as formulated at the Khartoum Summit (August) called for no peace with Israel, no negotiations with Israel, and no recognition of Israel. In September 1968, Egypt initiated a war of attrition with sporadic, static actions along the banks of the Suez Canal, which escalated into full-scale, localized fighting, causing heavy casualties on both sides. Hostilities ended in 1970, when Egypt and Israel accepted a renewed cease-fire along the Suez Canal.

 

1973 Yom Kippur War

Three years of relative calm along the borders were shattered on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), the holiest day of the Jewish year, when Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated surprise assault against Israel (October 6th), with the Egyptian Army crossing the Suez Canal and Syrian troops penetrating the Golan Heights.

During the next three weeks, the Israel Defense Forces turned the tide of battle and repulsed the attackers, crossing the Suez Canal into Egypt and advancing to the Syrian capital, Damascus. Two years of difficult negotiations between Israel and Egypt and between Israel and Syria resulted in disengagement agreements, according to which Israel withdrew from parts of the territories captured during the war.

1982 Operation Peace for Galilee

Israel has never wanted a conflict with its northern neighbor, Lebanon. However, when the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) redeployed itself in southern Lebanon after being expelled from Jordan and perpetrated repeated terrorist actions against the towns and villages of northern Israel (Galilee), which caused many casualties and much damage, the Israel Defense Forces crossed the border into Lebanon.

Operation Peace for Galilee resulted in removing the bulk of the PLO's organizational and military infrastructure from the area. For the next 18 years, Israel maintained a small security zone in southern Lebanon adjacent to its northern border to safeguard its population in Galilee against attacks by hostile elements.

Second Lebanon War

In May of 2000 Israel withdrew all its forces from the security zone in southern Lebanon. Lebanon however failed to comply with UN Security Council Resolutions 425 and1559, which call for the dismantling of Hezbollah- an Islamic militant group and political party based in Lebanon- and the deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon.

As a result of this failure, violence erupted in July of 2006, following Hezbollah's abduction of two Israeli soldiers and bombardment of Israel's northern cities. In the ensuing conflict, which came to be known as the Second Lebanon War, over 4,000 rockets were fired at civilian targets in Israel. The fighting concluded in August of 2006 and UNSC Resolution 1701 was passed, calling for the unconditional release of the captured Israeli soldiers, the deployment of UNIFIL (United Nations Interim FOrce In Lebanon- created by the UN to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security, and help the government of Lebanon restore its effective authority in the area) and Lebanese soldiers throughout southern Lebanon, and the establishment of an embargo on weapons supplied to Lebanese armed groups.

2008 Gaza Operation

Following Israel's 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the northern West Bank, and the election of Hamas in 2007, terrorism against Israel increased. Thousands of rockets have been fired into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, resulting in damage to property and both physical and psychological injury to the population living in the south; and creating a situation in which Israel was forced to take military action in the form of Operation Cast Lead (December 27, 2008 - January 18, 2009). Related questions: