A model answer for the thematic unit of the OCR History A Level. Awarded top band of the mark scheme. Middle East Unit - very limited content available on the internet as it is a new spec.
what extent did the intervention of the superpowers shape the Arab-Israeli conflict from 1947
to 1973?
[25 marker]
At the onset of the Palestinian crisis, the Arab-Israeli conflict emerged from 1947 to 1973.
This conflict was a series of at least five major wars and a number of minor conflicts. And the
intervention of the superpowers shaped the outcome of many of these conflicts, including; the
Suez crisis, the six-day war and the October war to a very large extent.
Firstly, during the Suez Crisis in 1956, the intervention of the superpowers, as a consequence
of the cold war and wanting to gain western control, shaped the outcome of the crisis. As
exemplified in November, where Britain and France landed paratroopers along the Suez
Canal. As a result of the intervention, the Egyptian forces were defeated, and it became clear
that Israel, France and Britain had conspired to plan out the invasion. Demonstrating how the
intervention of Britain and France heavily influenced the success of Israel over Egypt.
However, the US government was keen to maintain good relations with Egypt to prevent
Nasser, who highly influenced the other Arab states, from siding with communism.
Consequently, when the British resorted to force without letting the US government know of
their secret deal with Israel and France, president Eisenhower was furious. The heavy
political pressure from the United States and the USSR forced France and Britain to
withdrawal, limiting Israeli success. This demonstrated how intervention aided Egypt and
limited the Israelis. Overall, after the Suez Crisis, the British and French intervention meant
Israelis fulfilled some of its objectives, such as attaining freedom of navigation through the
Straits of Tiran, which Egypt had blocked to Israeli shipping since 1950. US intervention and
sanctions on Israeli’s had also forced the last Israeli forces to leave Sinai and Gaza in March
1957. Therefore, the intervention of superpowers shaped the outcome of the Suez crisis in
1956.
Secondly, during and after the Six-day war, superpowers heavily shaped the Arab-Israeli
conflict. A series of border disputes were the major spark for the Six-Day War. In April 1967,
Israel and Syria fought a ferocious air and artillery engagement in which six Syrian fighter
jets were destroyed. In the wake of the April air battle, the Soviet Union provided Egypt with
intelligence that Israel was moving troops to its northern border with Syria in preparation for
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