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Unlock This CourseThe Yom Kippur War ended in a shaky ceasefire in late October 1973. Israeli and Egyptian armies still stood face to face, with the Egyptian Third Army trapped. UN Resolution 338 (22 October) had called for a ceasefire and talks. In November, Egyptian and Israeli officers met at Kilometre 101 on the Cairo-Suez road, and the Third Army was supplied. The USA, led by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, took charge of the wider peace effort. His plan was to settle one small problem at a time, rather than the whole conflict at once.
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Arab oil states had already decided to use the oil weapon. In October 1973 they cut their oil output. Saudi Arabia and others then banned oil sales to the USA, which had rushed arms to Israel, and to the Netherlands, among other countries. Oil prices roughly quadrupled. Petrol queues and rationing hit Western countries and their economies suffered. Western leaders suddenly had a strong reason to want a peace deal. Most Arab oil states ended the embargo in March 1974, once talks were moving.
Israel and Egypt had no peace and no wish to meet. Kissinger flew between Jerusalem, Cairo and Damascus, sometimes several times in a week, and carried proposals from one side to the other. Syria's leader, Assad, had little trust in the USA, so the Golan talks were slow.
He did not try to solve the Palestinian problem or the future of every border. He aimed for agreements on army positions. Each one would build trust and make the next easier. It also kept the Soviet Union out of the main talks, so the USA gained the credit.
Sinai, January 1974. After Kissinger's first shuttle between Aswan and Jerusalem, Egypt and Israel signed the first disengagement agreement. Israeli troops pulled back from the west bank of the Suez Canal and from part of the east bank. A UN force took over a buffer zone and Egypt kept a limited force on its side. Egypt's trapped Third Army was freed from danger, and prisoners were exchanged.
The Golan Heights, May 1974. After more than a month of shuttling, Israel and Syria agreed to separate their armies. Israel gave up land it had taken in 1973 and a small area held since 1967, including the town of Quneitra. A UN force patrolled a buffer zone between the two armies.
Sinai, September 1975. A first attempt failed in March 1975, and Kissinger returned. In the second Sinai agreement Israel pulled back further, giving up the Abu Rudeis oilfields and the Mitla and Gidi passes. Egypt agreed that non-military Israeli cargoes could pass through the Suez Canal, which had reopened in June 1975 after eight years. Early-warning stations were manned by American civilians, and the USA promised Israel more aid.
Much changed. For the first time Egypt and Israel signed agreements through a US mediator, and the USA took over from the UN and the Soviet Union as the leading peacemaker. But the central disputes stayed. The Palestinians had no say, and Israel still held the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. The step-by-step method gave Egypt and Israel a start, but it left the hardest problems unsolved.
Explain TWO causes of the disengagement agreements between Israel and its Arab neighbours in 1974-75. [8 marks]
One cause was the pressure caused by the oil embargo. After the 1973 war, Arab oil states cut output and banned oil sales to the USA, and prices roughly quadrupled. This hurt Western economies, so the USA and its allies wanted calm in the region. That was one reason Kissinger began shuttle diplomacy in January 1974, and the pressure helped him persuade Israel to pull back from the Suez Canal. Concern for steady oil supplies stayed a US aim in the talks that followed.
A second cause was the danger of a clash between the superpowers. On 24 October 1973 Brezhnev hinted that the USSR might send troops, and the next day the USA raised its alert. Both leaders saw how close this brought them to a clash over a local war. The USA therefore looked for ways to cool the conflict, and its plan to separate armies, including the Golan deal of May 1974 with its UN buffer zone, reduced the chance of fighting starting again.
This is a top answer because it explains two separate causes, gives precise dates and facts for each, and shows how each cause led to the agreements.
For each cause, write a short paragraph with three parts: name the cause, add a precise fact or date, then use the words "so" or "this led to" to link it to the outcome in the question.