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Arab-Israeli Wars

(Encyclopedia)Arab-Israeli Wars, conflicts in 1948–49, 1956, 1967, 1973–74, and 1982 between Israel and the Arab states. Tensions between Israel and the Arabs have been complicated and heightened by the politic...

Scopus, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Scopus, Mount skōˈpəs [key], peak, 2,736 ft (834 m) high, NNE of Jerusalem. Dominating Jerusalem, it has long held strategic importance in the defense of the city. Roman legions camped there in a.d...

Arish, Al

(Encyclopedia)Arish, Al äl ärēshˈ [key], town (1986 pop. 67,337), NE Egypt, in the Sinai peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a fishing port and a military and administrative center; since the 1980s it ha...

Habash, George

(Encyclopedia)Habash, George, 1925?–2008, Palestinian guerrilla leader. When Israel was established (1948), he fled to Lebanon, where he attended the American Univ. of Beirut (M.D., 1951). He practiced medicine i...

Glubb, Sir John Bagot

(Encyclopedia)Glubb, Sir John Bagot băgˈət [key], 1897–1986, British soldier. He served in France during World War I and in 1920 was posted to Iraq, where he lived among Arab Bedouins and studied their languag...

Aqaba, Gulf of

(Encyclopedia)Aqaba, Gulf of, northeastern arm of the Red Sea, 118 mi (190 km) long and 10 to 15 mi (16.1 to 24.1 km) wide, between the Sinai and Arabian peninsulas; a part of the Great Rift Valley. The gulf, which...

Ismailia

(Encyclopedia)Ismailia äl ĭsmăĭlēˈyə [key], city (1986 est. pop. 212,759), capital of Ismailia governorate, NE Egypt. It is the seat of the Suez Canal administration. Extensive irrigation is used for growing...

Ramallah

(Encyclopedia)Ramallah rämäˈlä [key], city (2007 pop. 27,4000), in the West Bank, N of Jerusalem. The administrative center for the Palestinian Authority, it lies in a fertile farming region where olives, figs,...

Qantarah esh Sharqiya

(Encyclopedia)Qantarah esh Sharqiya känˈtärä ĕsh shärkēˈyä [key], town, NE Egypt, on the east bank of the Suez Canal. It is on the ancient military road between Egypt and Syria. Qantarah esh Sharqiya is th...

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