Territorial disputes over which religion should have control over the holy lands have been ongoing for about two thousand years with little to no resolution in sight. Everyday, on the news, there is a story about how there was retaliation over the killing of a Palestinian or Israeli. As a result of these more are killed leading to the cyclical pattern of retribution. This conflict has diminutive weight in the eyes of the people of the world since it has been carried on for so long. The argument for both groups is a claim that Jerusalem is the rightful possession of their religion and the key to the survival of their cultures. Promises for peace are frequent but never upheld by either side. As the everyday struggle for peace continues little is accomplished to up hold that pledge for peace to end the violence and hate. The shouting voices of the Palestinian People in the streets cry out in anger, ”Down the olive branch, long live the gun.” There is more to the never ending holy war than that of which the media allows us to see, the fear and loathing for that of a better life. The trifling stories of the individual are frequently untold even though they are a transgression committed against personal liberties.
When the rest of the world gets involved it becomes a much more complicated affair than if people were to leave it alone for the two countries to work it out between themselves. The Palestinians and the Israelis could view intervention as siding with one side or the other leading to defensiveness and therefor slowing down or sometimes halting any progress that may have been made. Since the late 1940’s the Untied Nations has become increasingly more involved in order to put and end to the human suffering of the people in that region. By having the two groups send representatives to the Netherlands, which is seen as a non-partisan territory that would be less intrusive in negotiations. The United Nations and the Palestinian Liberation Organization have assembled and come to resolutions that were thought to be in the best interest of each of the countries in order to instill peace and bring order to the region. By this process there has been much animosity building within the population with civilians killing soldiers and vice versa as seen on the news reports.
In around the year 750 A.C.E the A...
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...and being helpful and non-intrusive in the peace making process. Since the UN General Assembly met in 1947 and recommended that the land be partitioned among the two groups. In this the Jewish people took less land than they originally had previously wished to control. The PLO was formed of the different Arab groups that wanted to control the Israeli occupied territory. This is an example of how intervention from groups could be used to further their cause. In 1974 the UN recognizes the PLO as a legitimate representative body of the Palestinian people and therefore fueling the nationalism within the hearts of its people which is good for their cause. After the Israelis had defeated the Arabic aggressors they then were forced by the UN to return the settlements taken in the war. This action would not have been taken if the Arabs were to win. The PLO would have let them keep the lands since their primary goal was to destroy Israeli. Because of these efforts to maintain peace it is a better premise than if it were to be left up to the factions to settle disputes for themselves. The UN has used their influence to pursue a more peaceful resolution and to save the lives of the citizens.
Since the Arabs were living in Palestine when the Ottoman Empire control it. Since the Arabs defeated the Ottoman Empire with the help of from Germany, “Just short of 6 months the Palestinians were crushed, militarily and psychologically” (document 8) On the other hand, Israel grew beyond the partition lines, gained more defensible borders and they destroyed Arab homes reducing their population. The Palestinians rightly felt that the Israelis were taking over the area and were pushing out of lands promised to them in both the Balfour Declaration and the UN 1947 Partition.
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).
On the streets of Jerusalem, in the rubble of Ramallah, in synagogues, in mosques, in the hearts and minds of millions in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the remainder of Israel, Israelis and Palestinians are locked in a clash of civilizations. In his masterful work, The Clash of Civilizations, Samuel L. Huntington outlines a theory which approaches international politics on the scale of civilizations. However, he circumvents discussion about Israel. Huntington cautiously describes Israel as a “non-Western” (Huntington 90) country, but identifies the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as one along a fault line between civilizations (267). Though he chooses to avoid the issue, Huntington’s theory provides a groundwork for analyzing the conflict in Israel in terms of a clash of civilizations between Judaism and Islam. This is a dangerous and provocative idea. But if we dare examine its implications and explore its insights, we risk a more complete understanding of the conflict which has plagued relations between Palestinians and Israelis in particular, Muslim countries and Israel in general, for over fifty years.
Bourke, Dale Hanson. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Tough Questions, Direct Answers. Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity, 2013. N. pag. Print.
The insecurity in the Kingdom of Jerusalem was ignited by a lack of Western European aid and change of leadership. From 1163-1992, the Kingdom of Jerusalem experienced fiv...
Palestine (PFLP) formed in 1967 after the Arab States defeat in the Six Day War and is classified as a Marxist-Leninist group lead by George Habash. The group formed originally started under the authority of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (State, US Department of). The PLO was established three short years before the PFLP due to rising conflicts of the Arab nations in regards to politics and Israel (Robinson). The Popular Front
In 1095, Jerusalem was a flourishing city that was the main powerhouse for three religions; all three religions wanted complete control over the holy land. These three religions were Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, and all three religions were known to use Jerusalem as a place of religious reasons. But in turn, the best part about Jerusalem was the political power it held. Pope Urban’s demand for power and Jewish Israel’s desire to control Palestinians are the factors in the political conflict over the holy land.
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.
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...
“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.
The PLO works through three parts: 1.the Executive Committee, a decision-making body 2.the Central Committee, an advisory body 3.the Palestine National Council which is generally viewed as an assembly of the Palestinian people Yasser Arafat has been the head of the PLO since 1968. In 1974 at an Arab summit in Rabat, Morocco, the PLO was recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people". Subsequent to this, Arafat addressed the United Nations where the organization was given official observer status.
I have been interested in the Israel-Palestinian conflict for a long time, but the more I intend to study and learn about it, the more complex the issue becomes. The conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians involves great amounts of history and animosity from both involved parts that it is difficult to know what loose end to solve first.
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.
Because the Palestinians were furious about owning less land than the Israelis but, they began attacking Israel with bombs and rockets; the angered Palestinians were terrorizing the Israelis with terrorist attacks because they owned more land than they do (Issitt and Montanez - Muhinda). Will this conflict ever be solved? Should the United States get more involved with any of this? Yes, the United States should continue to help the state of Israel because the ambassadors of each country, Israel and Palestine, do not get along very well, the United States’ relationship with Israel will continue to grow and become stronger, and fewer deaths and terrorist attacks will occur in both Israel and Palestine.
When Yasser Arafat addressed the United Nations General Assembly, he tried to articulate the actions the Palestinian Liberation Organization had taken and to justify those actions. Arafat points out that the struggles with Imperialism and Zionism began in 1881 when the first large wave of immigrants began arriving in Palestine. Prior to this date, the Muslims, Jews (20,000) and Christians all cohabitated peacefully (pop. 1/2 million). In 1917, the Belfour Declaration authorized increased immigration of European Jews to Palestine. 1 From 1917 to 1947, the Jewish population in Palestine increased to 600,000 and they rightfully owned only 6% of the Palestinian arable land. Palestine population at this time was now up to 1,250,000. 1