Asad’s Syria : the key to the perpetuation of the Arab-Israeli conflict 1973-1984.

Syrian President Hafez al-Asad strove to lead Arab resistance against Israel in the 1970s and 1980s. When Egypt made peace with Israel in the 1970s, Asad had an opportunity to assume the leadership position Egypt vacated. He joined the Arab-Israeli conflict alongside Egypt in the October War of 1973, but now he picked up the mantle of Arab resistance and carried it into the Lebanese Civil War and the Arab alliance known as the Steadfastness and Confrontation Front. Through these endeavors, in alliance with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Asad’s Syria became the leader and perpetuator of the Arab-Israeli conflict during the years 1973-1984.