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The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

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<strong>The</strong> Arab defeat <strong>and</strong> the birth <strong>of</strong> the refugee problem<br />

Despite initial setbacks, better organization <strong>and</strong> intelligence successes,<br />

as well as timely cl<strong>and</strong>estine arms shipments, enabled the Jews <strong>to</strong> gain<br />

a decisive vic<strong>to</strong>ry. <strong>The</strong> Arabs <strong>and</strong> Palestinians lost their initial advantage<br />

when they failed <strong>to</strong> organize <strong>and</strong> unite. When the fighting ended in 1949,<br />

Israel held terri<strong>to</strong>ries beyond the boundaries set by the UN plan – a <strong>to</strong>tal<br />

<strong>of</strong> 78% <strong>of</strong> the area west <strong>of</strong> the Jordan River. <strong>The</strong> UN made no serious<br />

attempt <strong>to</strong> enforce the internationalization <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem, which was now<br />

divided between Jordan <strong>and</strong> Israel, <strong>and</strong> separated by barbed wire fences<br />

<strong>and</strong> no man’s l<strong>and</strong> areas.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Arab countries refused <strong>to</strong> sign a permanent peace treaty with Israel.<br />

Consequently, the borders <strong>of</strong> Israel established by the armistice commission<br />

never received de jure international recognition. Arabs call the<br />

defeat <strong>and</strong> exile <strong>of</strong> the Palestinian Arabs in 1948 the Naqba – “the Disaster”.<br />

<strong>The</strong> war <strong>of</strong> 1967 <strong>and</strong> its aftermath<br />

<strong>The</strong> Arab world refused not only <strong>to</strong> sign any peace treaty with Israel, but<br />

as well never accepted de jure the creation <strong>of</strong> the State <strong>of</strong> Israel.<br />

<strong>The</strong> 1967 Six-Day-War changed the perceived balance <strong>of</strong> power in the<br />

Middle East <strong>and</strong> created a new reality. With the Sinai desert, the Golan<br />

Heights <strong>and</strong> the West Bank, Israel had acquired extensive terri<strong>to</strong>ries sev -<br />

eral times larger than its 1948 borders.<br />

It must be mentioned here that the Israel-Arab war was nourished not<br />

only by the genuine conflict, but was also part <strong>of</strong> the Cold War between<br />

the two dominant powers <strong>of</strong> the time, the USA <strong>and</strong> the USSR.<br />

While Israel had acquired terri<strong>to</strong>ries <strong>and</strong> a military vic<strong>to</strong>ry, it also marked<br />

a new day for Palestinian aspirations. <strong>The</strong> defeat brought about a million<br />

Palestinian Arabs under Israeli rule. After the war, the fate <strong>of</strong> the Palestinians<br />

came <strong>to</strong> play a large role in the Arab-Israeli struggle.<br />

Religious <strong>and</strong> nationalist groups began agitating for annexation <strong>and</strong> set -<br />

tlement <strong>of</strong> areas in the West Bank <strong>and</strong> Golan Heights.<br />

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