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The agreements ended the 1948 Arab-Israeli War , and established the Armistice lines between Israel and the West Bank , also known as the '' Green Line '', until the 1967 Six-Day War . One should also note that the armistice agreements were signed by Israel with its Arab neighbours, and though it effects the West Bank and Gaza Strip , Palestinian Arabs were not party to these agreements. In those areas where Israel found itself on its neighbour's territory at the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War (eg in Lebanon and Egypt) it withdrew back across the respective international border. Israel did not claim any territory from its Arab neighbours. AGREEMENTS With Egypt On 6 January 1949 , Dr Ralph Bunche announced that Egypt had finally consented to start talks with Israel on an armistice. The talks began on the island of Rhodes on 12 January , and, shortly after their commencement, Israel agreed to the release of a besieged Egyptian brigade in Faluja. At the end of the month, the talks foundered. Israel demanded that Egypt withdraw all its forces from the former area of Palestine, Egypt insisted that Arab forces withdraw to the positions which they held on 14 October 1948 , as under Security Council Resolution S/1070 of 4 November 1948 . One reason for the deadlock was the mounting tension in Egypt, which culminated on 12 February 1949 in the murder of Hassan El-Banah , leader of the Islamist group Muslim Brotherhood . In early February, Israel threatened to abandon the talks, where upon the United States appealed to the parties to bring them to a successful conclusion, and on 24 February the Israel–Egypt Armistice Agreement was signed in Rhodes . The main points were:
With Lebanon The agreement with Lebanon was signed on March 23 . The main points were:
With Jordan The agreement with Jordan was signed on April 3 . The main points:
With Syria The agreement with Syria was signed on July 20 . Syria withdrew its forces from most of the territories it controlled west of the international border, which became Demilitarized Zone s. Others Iraq , whose forces took an active part in the war (although it has no common border with Israel), withdrew its forces from the region in March 1949. The front occupied by Iraqi forces was covered by the armistice agreement between Israel and Jordan and there was no separate agreement with Iraq. CEASE-FIRE LINE VS. PERMANENT BORDER The new borders of Israel , as set by the agreements, encompassed about 78% of Mandatory Palestine as it stood after the independence of Jordan in 1946. Considering the original British mandate (including Jordan, which was included within the Mandate in the summer of 1921, but excluded from the provisions for a Jewish National Home ), however, Israel was created only on 18% of the total area of Palestine and Transjordan. The areas of Mandatory Palestine not occupied by Israel (the Gaza Strip and West Bank ) were occupied by Egypt and Jordan respectively until 1967. See the related articles Occupation Of The Gaza Strip By Egypt and Occupation Of The West Bank And East Jerusalem By Jordan . The armistice agreements were intended to serve only as interim agreements, until they would be replaced by permanent peace treaties. However, no peace treaties were actually signed until decades later. Excepting the agreement with Lebanon, the armistice agreements were clear (at Arab insistence) that they were not creating permanent or '' De Jure '' borders. The Egyptian-Israeli agreement stated "The Armistice Demarcation Line is not to be construed in any sense as a political or territorial boundary, and is delineated without prejudice to rights, claims and positions of either Party to the Armistice as regards ultimate settlement of the Palestine question." {Link without Title} The Jordanian-Israeli agreement stated: "... no provision of this Agreement shall in any way prejudice the rights, claims, and positions of either Party hereto in the peaceful settlement of the Palestine questions, the provisions of this Agreement being dictated exclusively by military considerations" (Art. II.2), "The Armistice Demarcation Lines defined in articles V and VI of this Agreement are agreed upon by the Parties without prejudice to future territorial settlements or boundary lines or to claims of either Party relating thereto." (Art. VI.9) {Link without Title} In the . {Link without Title} After the 1967 Six Day War several Israeli leaders argued against turning the armistice lines into permanent borders on the grounds of Israeli security:
The internationally recognized border between Egypt and Israel was eventually demarcated as part of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty . The border between Israel and Jordan (except for Jordan's border with the post-1967 West Bank) was demarcated as part of the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty . VIOLATIONS In each case a Mixed Armistice Commission was formed, which investigated complaints by either party and made regular reports to the UN Security Council . In the years following the signing of the agreements, all of the parties were condemned many times for violations. Egypt kept large military forces in the demilitarized 'Uja al-Hafeer area. Israel, on its side, reinforced the Mount Scopus enclave (which was supposed to be demilitarized) with armed soldiers, disguised as policemen. Israel also sent soldiers into Jordanian territory on many occasions to conduct raids in retaliation for incursions by armed persons into Israel. Syrian forces launched numerous artillery attacks against Israeli forces and settlements in the demilitarized zone adjacent to the Golan Heights . SEE ALSO
ARAB-ISRAELI PEACE DIPLOMACY AND TREATIES
TEXTS The complete texts of the Armistice Agreements can be found at The Avalon Project at Yale Law School
A search at the United Nations web site for "Mixed Armistice Commission" will reveal many of the reports made to the UN by those commissions. SEE ALSO |
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