Palestinian Israeli Conflict

Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

When the Palestine Problem was created by the British in 1917, more than 90% of the population of Palestine was Arab. At that time, there were no more than 56,000 Jews in Palestine. Also, at that time, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Palestinians lived peacefully together. The problem with the Palestinians and Israelis is that the Israelis allegedly invaded the land that the Palestinians have lived on for many years. Eventually, the Jewish had taken over most of Palestine, without any notice. There are a few solutions to this problem and if more force was put forth to solve this case, less innocent people would die, and there would be peace in the country of Palestine.

To know fully about the Palestinian Israeli conflict, one must first define certain aspects of the conflict. The political status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is one of the most violently disputed issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Various conferences and negotiations have been conducted to determine the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. These are parts of Palestine that have no recognized sovereignty

(Albright, 256-280). The Israel-Palestinian Liberation Organization Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements the DOP, better known as the Oslo accords, was signed in Washington on September 13, 1993. This agreement provided a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security internal security as well as the public order of Israeli settlements and its citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank had begun in September 1999, after a three-year hiatus, but have been derailed by the al-Aqsa Intifada that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. (Sherbok, par 40-45). This violence interferes with the progress towards peace and agreement between Palestinian and Isareali authorities.

For the Jews, the significance of Jerusalem is quite clear. The Jewish connection to Jerusalem is an ancient and powerful one. Judaism made Jerusalem a holy city over three thousand years ago and through all that time Jews remained steadfast to it. Jews pray in its direction, mention its name constantly in prayers, close the Passover service with the wistful statement, "Next year in Jerusalem," and recall the city in the blessing at the end of each meal. In addition, Jerusalem has had a prominent historical role as the only capital of a Jewish state it is the only city with a Jewish majority during the whole of the past century. Masjid al Aqsa or the Farthest Mosque is the third Holiest Shrine in Islam and it is situated in Jerusalem. It is the First Qibla of Muslims. Qibla is the direction in which Muslims all over the world must have to face to while praying to the Only One God of all-Almighty Allah (Albright, pg. 345). Jewish and Islamic faiths both view Jerusalem as a holy place, so that is why many Muslims and Jews fight over this city of faith.

In its current form, the Arab-Israeli conflict is a modern phenomenon, which dates back to the end of the 19th century. The conflict became a major international issue after the Ottoman Empire, in 1917, lost power in the Middle East and in various forms it goes on until this very day. The Arab-Israeli conflict was the source of at least five wars and a large number of "minor conflicts". It has also been the source of two Palestinian intifadas. Intifada is an Islamic term for uprising. The Israeli War of Independence in 1948-1949, began as a joint Jordanian, Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese and Iraqi attack, helped by some other Arab troops, on Jewish positions immediately after the British withdrawal and the declaration of the State of Israel on May 15, 1948. Arabs had rejected the United Nations Partition Plan of November 1947, which proposed establishment of an Arab and a Jewish state in Palestine and fought to "drive the Jews into the sea". About two-thirds of Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled by Israeli forces from the territories which came under Jewish control. The Arabs expelled all Jews from the territories which came under their control. In addition, many Arab countries' Jewish populations were forced to flee due to anti-Jewish sentiment. About 700,000 Palestinians and 600,000 Jews became refugees.("Arab-Israeli Relations" par 2). In few cases, like Morroco, local Arab governments strongly encouraged Jews to stay, and some Jewish leaders encouraged Arabs to stay. Jewish refugees were absorbed by Israel("Arab-Israeli Relations" par. 2). Palestinians were neglected by most Arab nations which, by some, were blamed for the poverty and hatred prevailing in some Palestinian camps. The fighting ended with signing of the Rhodes Armistice, but only two states eventually signed a peace agreement with Israel: Egypt and Jordan("Arab-Israeli Relations" par. 3).The Six-Day War of 1967 began as a strike by Israel, often considered preemptive, against Egypt following the Egyptian closure of the Straits of Tiran, expulsion of U.N. peacekeepers from the Sinai, stationing some 100,000 Egyptian troops at the peninsula, and public announcement by Nasser that he intends to destroy Israel. Israeli strikes were followed by a ground invasion into Egyptian territory, leading to the capture of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. Both Jordan and Syria began to shell Israeli civilian targets. As a response, Israel captured the West Bank on June 7th, and on June 9th - the Golan Heights("Arab-Israeli Relations" par. 5). The fight and conflict between land has lead to many innocent deaths and both countries have not been close to agreeing on anything towards peace.

The first Intifada of 1987 began as an uprising of Palestinians, many of them youths, against Israeli control in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The uprising was instigated by rumors that a traffic accident in Jabalya, in which four Palestinians died, was staged by the Israelis. The exiled PLO leadership in Tunisia quickly took control, but the uprising also brought a rise in the importance of Palestinian extremist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The Intifada ended with signing of the Oslo Accords.(Palestinian / Israeli Conflict, par. 52). The al-Aqsa Intifada is the wave of violence and political conflict that began in 2000 between Palestinian Arabs and Israelis.("Arab-Israeli Relations"