Palestine and Israel: Open Ended Conflict
The birth of a nation and an imminent end to another sparked by a simple demand or right as many like refer to. The demand was simple; Jews need a homeland after the Jewish Holocaust by Hitler’s reign. “In November of 1947, the United Nations voted to establish two nations: one Arab and one Jewish in a partitioned Palestine.” (BBC) Since this establishment of 1947, conflicts, tragedies, high numbers of casualties, lost homes, forced migrations, etc. arose between these two nations. There have been attempts by the Oslo Declaration of 1993, Oslo Interim Agreement of 1995, UN, The Oslo Accord, Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), etc. but none of them have been able to successfully solve this bloodshed, long-term conflict. The United States appears to play an intermediate role in inhibiting the Israeli-Palestinian peace due to Israel and US relationships. There has not been much of an effort seen from neighboring Arab countries to stop the conflict. Israel is a powerful country that is significantly funded by the United States; therefore there is a reaction from other nation to end the conflict. To be able to analyze and look for possible resolutions to this conflict, one should attempt to understand reasons behind the lack of or minimal reactions by neighboring countries to facilitate an end to it. It is well known that Israel is a powerful country and not many have tried to stop it, there is a long-term persistence by Zionists to colonize Palestine, and when there are no personal connections or benefits, countries do not feel the need to help Palestinians.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the ongoing fight between Israel and Palestine in the early 20th century. Palestinians live...
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Though the First Intifada brought much death, destruction and economic loss to both Palestine and to Israel, it also brought worldwide attention to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The First Intifada provided not only the Palestinians a voice and ultimately a platform to stand up for their Nationalism; it also provided Israel a stage to show its strength. The Oslo Peace Accords, through interim in nature, would set a precedent that Palestine should be recognized as its own Nation-State. Nevertheless, following the First Intifada, the dialogue between Israel and Palestine continued to be strained, and in fact would further deepen the Israeli-Arab discord.
The fight between Israel and Palestine has been seen as an unfair battle, due to the high-tech supplies given to Israel by the US. Israel’s military is extremely strong and constantly growing, with people joining from all over the world, while Palestine’s main defense is a terrorist group called Hamas. Israel has been forced into building a wall surrounding the Gaza strip to stop these terror attacks from harming the citizens of Israel. Palestine believes that Israel’s fighting is too severe compared to Palestine’s attempts at attacking Israel. Gideon Levy wrote, “Once again, Israel’s violent responses, even if there is justification to them, exceed all proportion and cross every red line of humaneness, morality, international law, and wisdom (Document 5, Palestinian View)”. The Palestinians believe that the Israeli military is fighting too much and unfairly, and should not be allowed to take these measures against them.
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...
...m. A part of the problem today in this conflict is the people not willing to change or go along with what their leaders enforce and their ideas. There have been many acts of aggression from the Jews themselves because they didn’t feel Palestine’s should receive land. Civil disobedience and acting out is a cause to making the conflict last longer.
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).
...untries’ shared values, providing years of unparalleled military and diplomatic support. But now those ties are being tested. The Arab Spring, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, failed peace talks, and Israel’s own decision to give Washington the cold shoulder have put new strains on the 65-year-old alliance. Without solving the Occupation, Israel will continue being a failed state. Societal chaos in Palestine can be directly attributed to a conflict in which Israel is at least an equal partner. Accordingly, the U.S. should treat the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a serious menace to America’s safety and move forcefully to end it. As a Civil Affairs team deploying to Israel and trying to meet Department of State, Department of Defense, and USAID’s objectives for the country we should put in place project and programs to help ease tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.
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.
“There is no such thing as a Palestinian.” Stated former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir after three fourths of one million Palestinians had been made refugees, over five hundred towns and cities had been obliterated, and a new regional map was drawn. Every vestige of the Palestinian culture was to be erased. Resolution 181, adopted in 1947 by the United Nations declared the end of British rule over Palestine (the region between the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River) and it divided the area into two parts; a state for the Jewish and one for the Arab people, Palestine. While Israel was given statehood, Palestine was not. Since 1947, one of the most controversial issues in the Middle East, and of course the world, is the question of a Palestinian state. Because of what seems a simple question, there have been regional wars among Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, terrorist attacks that happen, sometimes daily, displacement of families from their homes, and growing numbers of people living in poverty. Granting Palestinian statehood would significantly reduce, or alleviate, tensions in the Middle East by defining, once and for all, the area that should be Palestine and eliminating the bloodshed and battles that has been going on for many years over this land.
After World War II, the United Nations handed the Jewish people a piece a land so they could live together. This land known as Israel has holy places for the Jewish religion and is surrounded by Muslim countries. Before the United Nations relinquished the land to the Jewish people it belonged to the Palestinian Muslims. This land is important to the Muslims as they consider it holy. There is a religious belief among Palestinians to regain control of East Jerusalem as part of lasting peace region. Also Palestinians are in an occupied nation with Israelis have military rule. The Palestinians have retaliated with a terrorist network to attack innocent Israeli civilians. Israelis believe they must control the Palestinians with military force to protect against terrorism.
The Israeli-Palestine conflict is an event that has been well documented throughout the course of Middle-Eastern history. The conflict dates back as far as the nineteenth century where Palestine and Zionist, will later be known as Israel, are two communities each with different ideologies had the same overwhelming desire to acquire land. However, what makes this clash what it is, is the fact that both of these up and coming communities are after the same piece of land. The lengths that both sides went to in order obtain they believed was theirs has shaped the current relationship between the two nations today.
The tension between Arabs and Israeli people has been caused by both sides wanting control and power while attempting to prove their superiority over the other. This conflict is a struggle between the Jewish state of Israel and the Arabs of the Middle East. This conflict has included several wars between Israel and certain Arab countries that are opposed to Israel 's existence. The Arab-Israeli tension began prior to the colonization of the British; however the tension grew when the United Kingdom attempted to assisted during World War I. After the war finished the UK left and war broke out between the Arabs and the Jews.
Bourke, Dale Hanson. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Tough Questions, Direct Answers. Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity, 2013. N. pag. Print.
own side for signing a deal which he had decided in 1974 not to sign
Since 1967, numerous illegal Israeli settlements have been built on Palestinian land and the occupied territory, “housing more then 400,000 Jewish settlers.” Even since 1967, there has been a lot of divergence, unrest, bereavement, war and obliteration on both sides. There was a war in 1973 and two intifadas Palestinian uprising one that began in 1987 and one that began in 2000 that brings us into the 21st century. There have been many attempts in resolving conflicts however; the conflict is a matter of whether the Palestinians should be permitted to form their own independent country and government in an area that was once theirs yet now occupied and currently the nation of Israel. The Arab- Israeli conflict is historically a fuse that ignites regional battle due to the occupation of Palestine.
On the 28th of September, of the year 2000, the second Palestinian Intifada took place. The main reason that sparked this Intifada was the provocative visit of Ariel Sharon, the current Israeli Prime Minister, to the Haram Al Sharif. Even though the visit was what set the ground on fire, these feeling of hatred and desire to rebel had been stirring inside the Palestinians ever since the declaration of the Israeli State, on the Palestinian land, back in 1948. This Palestinian frustration is due to their lack of trust and hope in a peace process that did not yield meaningful results. After seven years of peace talks and six agreements, Palestinians realized that Israel is not serious about peace. Since 1993, Israel has doubled settlements on confiscated Palestinian land, continued to imprison Palestinian prisoners and has implemented only 8 percent of what it agreed to implement in all the signed agreements.