South Asia and the Middle East: historical issues

International Relations · History and regions. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Two regional stories are tested here. The first is the Arab-Israeli conflict. In 1947 the UN General Assembly proposed the partition of Palestine. War followed the creation of Israel in 1948, and again in 1956, 1967 and 1973. The war of June 1967 changed the map, because Israel took territory from Egypt, Jordan and Syria. The war of October 1973 brought the Arab oil embargo, and later the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab state, Egypt.

The second story is South Asia. The crisis of 1971 ended in war and the creation of Bangladesh. The Soviet entry into Afghanistan in December 1979 made the region a front line of the Cold War. SAARC was founded in 1985 for regional cooperation.

Rules to remember

Resolution 181 (General Assembly, 1947): partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem under an international regime.
Suez Crisis, 1956: began when President Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal Company; Britain, France and Israel then attacked Egypt.
June 1967: Israel captured Sinai and Gaza from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Security Council Resolution 242: 'land for peace'.
October 1973: Egypt and Syria attacked. Arab oil producers imposed an embargo on states supporting Israel, and oil prices rose sharply. OPEC itself was founded at Baghdad in 1960.
Camp David Accords, 1978: Sadat and Begin, brokered by President Carter. The Egypt-Israel treaty of 1979 led to Israel's withdrawal from Sinai.
1971: the Awami League won an overall majority in the 1970 elections; power was not transferred; Pakistani forces in East Pakistan surrendered at Dhaka on 16 December 1971.
Afghanistan: Soviet troops entered in December 1979; the Geneva Accords were signed in 1988; withdrawal was completed in February 1989.

Common mistake

Students mix up the wars of 1967 and 1973. In 1967 Israel captured territory in six days; in 1973 Egypt and Syria attacked first, and this is the war linked to the oil embargo.

Worked example

Which territory captured in the war of June 1967 was returned under the peace process that began at Camp David, and to which state?

List the 1967 gains: Sinai and Gaza from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria.
The Camp David Accords of 1978 were between Egypt and Israel only, so the territory must be one taken from Egypt.
The Egypt-Israel peace treaty of 1979 provided for Israel's withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula.

Answer: The Sinai Peninsula, returned to Egypt.

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