ABSTRACT
This chapter explores Israel's major conflicts. It examines the Six-Day War of 1967 and the transformative impact this had on the region and superpower dynamics. The establishment of Israel and prospects of conflict with the Arab states offered important new opportunities for regional influence to the two superpowers as the Cold War took hold post-1945. The chapter describes the Yom Kippur/Ramadan conflict of 1973, which led to the politicization of the oil trade and acceleration of the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. It also examines the Palestine Liberation Movement's resistance against Israel and how this led the latter to invade and occupy southern Lebanon in the early 1980s. The chapter investigates the antagonistic relationship between Israel and the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah, which solidified in response to this occupation. It also explores the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which erupted into all-out war in July 2006.
