Palestine Dispute

After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the control of Palestine shifted from Muslim to Western powers. Britain promised Jews and Zionists the land in Palestine in the form of the Balfour Declaration. However, at the same time, there were already Palestinians living in that land. Even today, there is no correct answer as to who should have rightfully acquired the land; however, the Palestinian Arabs should have cooperated when the Jews immigrated to the Palestine. There are plenty of facts which support both sides. The solution can only be determined through one’s opinion.

According to Biblical sources, Arabs and Israelites first met in Palestine about 1500 to 500 B.C. This time period recognized the beginning of the tradition of the two peoples’ common patriarchs and the cousinly ties between the offspring of Isaac and the children of Ishmael, the sons of Abraham.(Cohen 1)

Before Islam surfaced, the Jews and the Arabs met in the Arabian peninsula. There was actually a very large Jewish population in the Arabian peninsula before the Prophet Muhammed was known. After the Jews were kicked out of Jerusalem by the Romans following the Second Revolt, a large number of Jews went to the northern area of the Arabian peninsula. The settlements of Jews in the Valley of the Villages were important areas for the wandering and nomadic Arabic tribes. The Arabs actually settled near them under their protection, understanding their traditions, customs, and views of religious and social matters. Before Muhammed, some Arabs even accepted the Jewish doctrine of the “chosen people” and other basic elements of Judaism. (Cohen 2)

However after some time, things started to change. The prophet Muhammed began presenting Islam as a new religion. He even tried converting some Jews into Islam. But when his hopes of winning them over failed, he turned against the Jews. In 626, he attacked the Jewish tribes of Medina and completely destroyed them. This marked the beginning of conflict between the Jews and the Arabs. (Cohen 3)

The relationship between the Jews and the Arabs always remained tense. The connection between the two peoples is tense even today. Even with the same enmity, there has been a great deal of change from the beginning of time.

An impor...

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...o solution to the Arab-Israeli problem. The wars are merely eruptions in the historical encounter that is nothing less than a prolonged war which is doomed to continue until it is resolved in a catastrophic holocaust.

However, others actually have a standpoint. Some believe that the Jews really deserved the land in Palestine because it was theirs to begin with. They were forced out of Jerusalem by the Romans. On the other hand, others say that the land is rightfully the Arab’s land. There were Palestinian Arabs who were living there before the Jews were rewarded the land by the British. Why should they give up their land? There is no solution. However, the two peoples could have lived peacefully. The two groups could have lived together if the Arabs had cooperated. If the Arabs already living in the land had not initiated the attacks on the Jews, the two peoples could have eventually learned to live together in one nation.

Works Cited

Barker, A. J. Arab-Israeli Wars. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1980.

Cohen, Aharon. Israel and the Arab World. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1970.

Levin, Meyer. The Story of Israel. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1966.