Historically, Israel and Palestine did not exist as a political entity at the end of the 19th century. The land that would go on to host the Arab-Israeli conflict was once ruled by the Ottoman Empire under the name of the Vilayet of Beirut and the District of Jerusalem. The native population was mainly made up of Arab-Palestinians adhering to Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Arab society was cohesive and stable under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. When the Young Turk Revolution erupted in 1908, it inspired some Arabs in the region to seek autonomy and independence from the Ottoman Empire. This was the beginning of Arab nationalism, which the British Empire manipulated to its advantage when World War I started in 1914. During the same period, European Jews showed a desire to establish their own homeland in Palestine, especially after they had suffered from discrimination, displacement, segregation, and systematic killing. Consequently, a movement called “The Love of Zion” was established in the late 19th century. Its main objective was to assist Jews in their settlement of Palestine. In fact, the movement succeeded in its objective, leading to the creation of several Jewish settlements near Galilee and Jaffa. It is worth noting that these early settlements resembled the Zionist ideology of Jewish return to the land of their ancestors in modern time. Fraser stated that, “the Zionist movement spent the next decade [from 1904 to 1914] expanding its base amongst the Jews of the Diaspora and building new settlements in Palestine” (2008, 6). Between the Arab inspiration of independence and the Jewish desire of a homeland in Palestine, the roots of Arab-Israel conflict was planted.
In World War I, the Ottoman Empire aligned itself with...
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... Palestinians and Israelis is very hard to resolve because it becomes more affiliated with the region’s interstate conflicts, natural resources, balance of power, and political influence.
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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...
Ben-Gurion, David. “Status-Quo Agreement.” In Israel in the Middle East: Second Edition, edited by Itamar Rabinovich and Jehude Reinharz, 58-59. Waltham: Brandeis University Press, 2008.
The Nation of Israel was founded out of the eastern area of a British occupied (former Ottoman Empire) section of western Asia known as the “Mandate of Palestine”. There was an attempt in November of 1947 by the United Nations (UN) to partition the region into Arab and Israeli states with the Holy City Jerusalem as an international city. (United Nations, 1949) The Jews accepted this proposal while the Arab League and other groups did not. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2006). What followed was an Arab strike that became violent and sent the Jews on the defensive. They rebounded and brought the civil war to an end, expelling over 250,000 Arabs. The day before the British mandate was set to expire; the region was invaded by four Arab States starting the yearlong 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Ultimately a cease fire and truce was reached with the establishment of bo...
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).
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.
The dispute over the territory called Palestine began relatively recently. Palestinian Arabs had lived as impoverished peasants under corrupt, continuous Ottoman rule for centuries ; political identification as a Palestinian within the broad current of Arab nationalism only...
Bourke, Dale Hanson. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Tough Questions, Direct Answers. Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity, 2013. N. pag. Print.
In late 1800’s, Theodor Herzl founded Zionism . From the Jewish perspective, Palestine was “a land without a people for a people without a land” (“Zionist Phrase”). This led a large numbers of Jews in the early 1900’s to immigrate to Palestine, which they viewed as their God-given land.
One of the best known conflicts in the world is between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The conflict between them has been going on since before 1948, when Israel became a country. Throughout the years there has been conflict over conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Many important issues contribute to the constant conflict between these two countries, and they have yet to find a solution.
Hahn, Peter L. Caught in the Middle East: U.S. Policy Toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1945-1961. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004. Print.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a never-ending problem facing the two states. It began in the 19th century during the Ottoman or British rule. This was between the Arabs living in Palestine and the Jews living in Israel. It was Zionism for the Jews against Arab nationalism. This conflict was known as the Arab-Israeli conflict. The main issues were; border disputes, security, the control of Jerusalem, recognition as well as Palestinian freedom of movement. These issues are what spear headed the intensifying of the conflict thus it became as part of day to day activity between the two states. The Zionists believed that Palestine was their land as according to them it was part of their historic homeland- Land of Israel. The Arabs however already inhabited the place and so there was a misunderstanding between two races. Generally that is when the conflict began till now.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most controversial conflicts in modern history. The expansion of Israel since 1947 is seen as the beginning of the conflict, although its origins go back to the end of the 19th century, when Jewish immigration to Palestine began to increase. Since the start of the conflict, several peace negotiations have been carried out, resulting in variable degrees of success.
...Of course anything can be talked through and peacefully worked out, but will it? Unless serious changes take place (politically, environmentally, etc.), the conflicts will continue to grow.
Gerner, Deborah J., and Philip A. Schrodt. "Middle Eastern Politics." Understanding the contemporary Middle East. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. 85 -136. Print.
For many centuries, Judaic and Arabian societies have engaged in one of the most complicated and lengthy conflicts known to mankind, the makings of a highly difficult peace process. Unfortunately for all the world’s peacemakers the Arab-Israeli conflict, particularly the war between Israel and the Palestinian Territories, is rooted in far more then ethnic tensions. Instead of drawing attention towards high-ranking officials of the Israeli government and Hamas, focus needs to be diverted towards the more suspect and subtle international relations theory of realism which, has imposed more problems than solutions.