Ever since the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict and the Six Day War in 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Golan Heights, Sinai and Gaza Strip, Palestinians have been fighting for their ‘birthright’ country and have unfortunately been pushed into a corner and surrounded by borders by the Israeli’s, unsurprisingly, it has tormented and tested the Palestinians living in these occupied territories with shifting forms of Israeli military and civilian rule , which consequently has sparked major uprisings by Palestinians such as the second Intifada. Moreover, areas such as the Gaza strip in particular, face air strikes and attacks daily. Furthermore, the Gaza strip is where the Rafah Border Crossing is located, one of the main crossings joining Egypt and Gaza. It is this crossing that has faced so much controversy, yet very little improvement. , naturally, it has led to the Palestinian community finding new ways across the border in extraordinary ways, by building smuggling tunnels to combat the infuriating grasp of the Israeli’s and Egyptians, throughout this essay, it will be focusing on how the smuggling tunnels have helped Palestinians to an extent, overpower the Israeli restrictions.
Active warfare between the Israel and neighbouring Arab states of Syria, Egypt and Jordan commenced immediately after the UN Partition Resolution of 29th November 1947 , which split Palestine into an unequal Arab state and a Jewish state. The resolution was accepted by the Jews in Palestine, yet rejected by the Arabs in Palestine and the Arab states . To make things worse, on May 14th, 1948 the British Mandate ended, and Israel proclaimed its independence as a sovereign state within the borders determined by the UN Partition Resolut...
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Bob Hawke once said; “Unless and until something concrete is done about addressing the Israeli-Palestinian issue you won't get a real start on the war against terrorism.” Perhaps Hawke put into a few simple words one of the most complicated issues within our world today, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As Israel continues to strip the Palestinians of their land and fears it’s very existence because of the Palestinians terrorist acts, there seems to be no solution in sight. The world appears to be split and all over the place when it comes to this matter. According to The Middle East Institute for Understanding approximately 129 countries recognize Palestine as a state while many others do not. Over all the political matters within this issue not only affect Palestine and Israel but the world as a whole, as the Middle East and the West seem to disagree. This has had and will continue to have an enormous impact on many political affairs all over the world particularly in the current fight against terrorism. Personally I feel that the Israeli Palestinian conflict while being a very complicated matter has a simple solution. Within this issue I am a firm believer that the occupation of the West Bank by Israeli forces is extremely unjust and must come to an end. Once this is achieved a two state solution will be the most effective way to bring peace to the area. The occupation of the West Bank violates political and legal rights, human rights, and illegally forces Palestinians who have lived in the area for hundreds of years from their land. This conflict is at the height of its importance and a solution is of dire need as nuclear issues arise in the Middle East due to the tension between Israel and it’s surrounding neighbors, and the...
"Short Historical Overview of the Golan Heights". Web Golan. Retrieved on September 11, 2002. .
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted for a partition resolution that led to the establishment of the nation of Israel in May, 1948. This was great news for Jews in Palestine and the diaspora as it meant the fulfillment of the quest for the rebirth of their nation in their previous homeland after many years of wandering (Pappe, 2006, p. 12). However, their Palestinian Arab counterparts opposed to the establishment from the start felt cheated by the international community and remained categorical that the final answer to the Jewish problem would only be solved in blood and fire (Karsh, 2002, p. 8).
"History of the Holocaust - An Introduction." Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Web. 8 July 2010. .
Since the inception of an Israeli nation-state in 1948, violence and conflict has played a major role in Israel’s brief history. In the Sixty-One year’s Israel has been a recognized nation-state, they have fought in 6 interstate wars, 2 civil wars, and over 144 dyadic militarized interstate disputes (MIDs) with some display of military force against other states (Maoz 5). Israel has been involved in constant conflict throughout the past half century. Israel’s tension against other states within the Middle East has spurred vast economic, social, and political unity that has fostered a sense of nationalism and unity in Israel not seen in most other states. Over the next several pages I will try and dissect the reasons for why the nation state of Israel has been emerged in constant conflict and how this conflict has helped foster national unity and identity among the people of Israel.
In an article published by the Palestine-Israel Journal, it spoke about a survey done of Palestinian living conditions in parts of their homeland, including West Bank and Gaza Strip. The findings of the survey provided insight of the Palestinians constant war against unbelievers. The article stated, “In examining social change in Palestinian society, it was found that a high level of social integration exists together with a low level of social advancement. And the economic disadvantages of prolonged occupation with restrictions on movement and unexpected curfews and closures have created an environment of uncertainty and an inability to plan ahead of time for individual, family and group
Palestinians are restricted by the Israeli soldiers as they hinder them at checkpoints between cities. Therefore, Palestinians must get approval each day to finish everyday tasks. However since Palestinians use terrorism to revolt the Israeli soldiers ab...
ProQuest. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Sanchmo, . "The Israeli Response to the 1972 Munich Olympic Massacre.”
"Arab Spring Fallout Fuels Mediterranean Smuggling Rise." Times of Malta. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
The Middle East has historically rebuked Western influence during their process of establishing independence. When Britain and France left the Middle East after World War II, the region saw an unprecedented opportunity to establish independent and self-sufficient states free from the Western influence they had felt for hundreds of years. In an attempt to promote nationalistic independence, the states of the region immediately formed the League of Arab States in 1945. The League recognized and promoted the autonomy of its members and collaborated in regional opposition against the West until 1948 when Israel declared independence. Israel represented then and now an intrusive Western presence in the Arab world. The ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict typifies this cultural antagonism. The Cold War refocused attention to the Middle East as a site of economic and strategic importance for both sides, yet the two hegemons of the Cold War now needed to recognize the sovereignty of the Middle Eastern states. With their statehood and power cemented, the Middle Easte...
Conflicts between people often have multiple causes and effects. A majority of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an argument that dates back to Biblical times. The Jewish argue Palestine was the historical site of all Jewish kingdoms, which was promised to Abraham and his descendants. The Arabs argue that Ishmael, forefather of Arabs, is the son of Abraham so God’s promise that the land should go to Abraham’s descendents includes Arabs as well . Some of the main causes which worsen the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are the disparity between Sykes-Picot agreement and Balfour Declaration, The United Nation Partition plan of 1947, which was the separation of the boundaries, and Hitler’s Final Solution. While these causes affected both sides
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is a complex movement, which stumbles from one setback to another. The PLO was riven with factionalism; it pursued revolution and diplomacy as if there were no contradiction between the terms. Then, at the moment of winning recognition from Israel, it seemed poised to lose its most precious asset - the support of the Palestinian people, whom it sought to serve. Barry Rubin wrote a history of the PLO in which he investigates and interprets its political circumstances, strategies, and doctrines from their inception in the late 1950s to the events of 1993 culminating in the Rabin-Arafat handshake on the White House lawn. His book aims to offer a general account of the organization’s history and politics. The task of illustrating the incompetence and corruption of the PLO and its leaders is not difficult, and Rubin seemed to have pursued this task with enthusiasm.
The War of 1948, also known as the War of Independence, was fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors. The war began May 15, 1948 when units from the armies of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq invaded Israel launching a war that lasted until December 1948.# The war resulted in the defeat of the Arab forces and the success of Israel as a newly established state. It is evident that the Arab forces were not successful in the first Arab-Israeli war because the Arab army lacked motivation, education, and proper equipment.# Despite the support from Arab states outside of Palestine, the Arabs were unable to gain enough strength to overcome the Israeli forces. In contrast, the Israeli army was able to succeed because they had unconditional support from the Jewish community, efficient infrastructures, and modern equipment. Israel also used significant strategies that proved lethal against the competing Arab forces. With the Arab communities unorganized attempt to go to war in 1948, it was inevitable that Israel would come out of the war as the victor.
In mid-November of last year amidst rising tensions in the Middle East, Israel launched a major offensive against Palestinian militants in Gaza on Wednesday, killing the military commander, Ahmed Al-Jabari of Hamas in an air strike. This strike on a car carrying the commander stemmed the beginning to what is known by the Israeli’s as operation “Pillar of Defense”. Following this “surgical” assassination, the Israeli air force struck over 20 underground rocket launch sites belonging to Hamas (governing terrorist organization in Gaza) and the Islamic Jihad. According to Palestinian sources these strikes killed an additional six Palestinians.
After the Six Day War Israel security forces were attempting to cultivate and expand islamism. In between the years 1967 and 1987 the number of mosques in Gaza went from 200 to 600. While islamism was expanding at this time so were the other smaller nationalist terrorist groups, such as the PLO, were also expanding in the streets, and in schools. Hamas was founded in 1978, during the expansion of islamism and terrorist nationalist groups, by Ahmed Yassin as a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The real terrorist acts from this group started happening around the 1990’s ...