12. The Arab–Israeli Conflict
This chapter examines the military, political, and economic aspects of the Arab–Israel conflict over time. The Arab–Israeli conflict refers to the belligerency between the Arab states and Israel. The first Arab–Israeli War broke out immediately after the proclamation of the state of Israel on 14 May 1948, followed by other conflicts such as the 1967 and 1973 wars. The chapter first provides a historical background on the creation of Israel and how the Six Day War in 1967 gave rise to Arab nationalist rivalries and led to the re-emergence of the Palestinian factor in the Arab–Israeli conflict. It then considers the Egyptian–Israeli peace treaty and the Oslo peace process and shows how both realism and the contours of identity politics inform the position of different states in the conflict. It also discusses the relations between Palestine and Israel during the period 2000–2015.