Syria

Syria has always been Israel's strongest critic in the region. The Syrian president Assad has attacked all the Arab countries which have signed peace deals with Israel. Syria also played a leading role in the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948-9, 1967 and 1973. The key flashpoint here is the Golan heights region on the border between Israel and Syria. This has been occupied by Israelis since 1967.

President Assad of Syria. Syria is strongly opposed to Israel, and was a major player in the various Arab-Israeli wars of the second half of this century. Picture courtesy of the ITN archive.

USA

The key issue for US leaders has always been the large Jewish population in the USA. This group has been consistently successful in getting US Presidents to support Israel. Another factor up to the early 1990s was the Cold War between the USA and USSR. The Middle East is an important strategic area and both the Americans and the Soviets wanted power and influence there. The USA achieved this by supporting Israel. Israel's Arab neighbours turned to the USSR for support and arms.

Since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of Communism, US governments have put greater pressure on the Israelis to compromise and look for agreements with the Arabs.

President Clinton, at the signing of the 1994/5 peace agreement. With the end of the Cold War, the USSR and the USA are no longer contesting the Middle East region through buffer states. As a result, the USA is increasing the pressure on Israel to make compromises. Picture courtesy of the ITN archive.

USSR/Russia

When the State of Israel was first declared in 1948 it had the support of the USSR. However, this changed as the Cold War developed between the USSR and the USA. Like the USA, the Soviet Union used the Arab Israeli conflict as a way of increasing its influence in the Middle East. Since the USA supported the Israelis, the Arab states were keen to accept help and arms from the USSR. These arms played an important role in the 1973 war in particular. Since the end of the Cold War, Russia has been too concerned with its economic problems to play a leading role in Middle East affairs.

General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev - leader of the USSR between 1966 and 1984. The USSR and the USA supported and armed various factions in the middle east during the Cold War, in order to increase their own influence in the region. Picture courtesy of the ITN archive.

Europe

The European Union has tried to act as a force for peace in the Middle East. The EU is the largest contributor of aid to the Palestinian Authority. In the Summer of 1998, British PM Tony Blair invited Palestinian and Israeli leaders to talks in London to help resolve problems with the peace process.