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MLS 610B-81
Spring 2003

WEEK 15: Monday, May 5.
From Camp David to Oslo
Camp David (1978-9):
























War in Lebanon:
















Intifadah (1987-91): The (first) Intifadah, which literally means “shaking off,” began December 8, 1987, after an Israeli military truck crashed into several Arab cars in Gaza, killing four.  The uprising was in response to several developments in the occupied territories in the 1980s, including the Israeli policy of increasing settlements.  Whereas between 1967 and 1977 an annual average of 770 Israelis settled in the occupied territories, under Likud Party leadership between 1977 and 1987 that average increased to 5,690, which displaced Palestinians from their land. 





















Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, setting into motion events that would culminate in the Gulf War in early 1991.  The US prevailed upon Israel not to enter the war because doing so could destroy the coalition aligned against Iraq that included Arab nations.  Israel maintained its restraint despite the fact that Iraqi Scud missiles were fired at it several times.  During the Gulf War, the US promised Syrian President Assad and other Arab leaders that following the conflict it would convene a conference to pursue peace efforts with Israel.  US Secretary of State James Baker convened a peace conference on October 30, 1991, in Madrid, Spain, but the talks dragged on for nearly two years with little progress.  US leaders and other participants did not know that secret and far more fruitful talks had been initiated in Oslo, Norway, by the Rabin government after its election in June 1992.

The Oslo Accords: