The Israeli-Palestine Conflict is a growing world problem that has been here since the middle of the 20th century. This conflict is about the establishment of the state of Palestine and who governs it. This conflict is a core component of the wider Arab-Israeli conflict, and has even been referred to as the world’s most intractable conflict. Even though there has been long term peace negotiations, a final agreement has yet to be made. Mainly due to the remaining issues, which are mutual recognition, borders, water rights, ownership of Jerusalem, settlements, and the Palestinian freedom of movement.
The history of this conflict starts with the establishment of the British ruled state of Israel, on May 14th 1948. The Arab league marched their troops into Palestine, on behalf of Palestinian Arabs. This is the beginning of the main phase of the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. This led to Israel holding a lot of the mandate territory, Jordan occupying the west bank, and Egypt controlling the Gaza Strip. Through the 1950’s, Palestinian Fedayeen militants initiated cross border attacks onto Israel, which were supported by Egypt and Jordan. This prompted Israeli responses by counter attacks, which included infiltrating the countries, and performing terror attacks in the civilians, which were supposed to be a form of deterrence. At one point, Israel had even occupied Gaza, exiling the All-Palestine Government. This government was put in place by the Arab League in order to govern the former mandate of Palestine. Palestinian insurgency also took place in Lebanon, which was used as a base to attack northern Israel, which drew Israeli conflict. There were many retaliations on both parts, both starting their own skirmishes and retaliating for others.
Some of the current issues that stand are the ownership of Jerusalem, security, and Palestinian refugees. The topic of Jerusalem is a very delicate issue in this conflict, with each side asserting their claims over the city. The city of Jerusalem is a religious and historic site for both the sides. It is believed to be the former location of the Jewish Temples on the Temple Mount, as well as being the Capital of the ancient Israelite kingdom. It is also the site of Mohammed’s night journey to heaven and the location of the al-Aqsa mosque, making it important to the Muslims. For Christianity, it is the site of Jesus’ Crucifixion. All these claims to the city have caused turmoil in the peace making process, each side wanting this sacred and religious city. Another major part of peace talks is the return of Palestine refugees to their homes in Israel. An estimated 711,000 Palestinians were evicted or fled from Israel during the Arab-Israel war of 1948. Israel instead only wanted to take in 10,000 refugees, but it is still up for debate. There is no proper solution for this, due to a sudden jump of population could leave Israel in an economic downturn, due to the lack of jobs and property to accommodate the new civilians. The final issue is the security concern for the Israeli citizens. There has been many terror attacks from Palestine groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. The Israeli citizens feel that the violence from the Palestinian terror groups may not stop with the peace treaties, and they fear for their lives and the safety of loved ones.
There has been many attempts at securing and stabilizing the conflict. For example, due to a weakening trend in Palestinian violence and growing co-operation between the two sides’ authority, the Israeli military has removed 120 check points and plans on disengaging form major Palestinian population areas. This shows that they want peace, and would rather not risk more conflict. There has even been a 97% reduction in violence since 2002 in the West Bank. This also shows the Palestinian want for a resolution.
Peace in this matter will always be hard to come by, due to the conflict of interest and the suspicion each side will have for each other. It will be difficult, but I think that one day, peace will be made and this world issue will finally, after decades of war, will come to a just end.
The history of this conflict starts with the establishment of the British ruled state of Israel, on May 14th 1948. The Arab league marched their troops into Palestine, on behalf of Palestinian Arabs. This is the beginning of the main phase of the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. This led to Israel holding a lot of the mandate territory, Jordan occupying the west bank, and Egypt controlling the Gaza Strip. Through the 1950’s, Palestinian Fedayeen militants initiated cross border attacks onto Israel, which were supported by Egypt and Jordan. This prompted Israeli responses by counter attacks, which included infiltrating the countries, and performing terror attacks in the civilians, which were supposed to be a form of deterrence. At one point, Israel had even occupied Gaza, exiling the All-Palestine Government. This government was put in place by the Arab League in order to govern the former mandate of Palestine. Palestinian insurgency also took place in Lebanon, which was used as a base to attack northern Israel, which drew Israeli conflict. There were many retaliations on both parts, both starting their own skirmishes and retaliating for others.
Some of the current issues that stand are the ownership of Jerusalem, security, and Palestinian refugees. The topic of Jerusalem is a very delicate issue in this conflict, with each side asserting their claims over the city. The city of Jerusalem is a religious and historic site for both the sides. It is believed to be the former location of the Jewish Temples on the Temple Mount, as well as being the Capital of the ancient Israelite kingdom. It is also the site of Mohammed’s night journey to heaven and the location of the al-Aqsa mosque, making it important to the Muslims. For Christianity, it is the site of Jesus’ Crucifixion. All these claims to the city have caused turmoil in the peace making process, each side wanting this sacred and religious city. Another major part of peace talks is the return of Palestine refugees to their homes in Israel. An estimated 711,000 Palestinians were evicted or fled from Israel during the Arab-Israel war of 1948. Israel instead only wanted to take in 10,000 refugees, but it is still up for debate. There is no proper solution for this, due to a sudden jump of population could leave Israel in an economic downturn, due to the lack of jobs and property to accommodate the new civilians. The final issue is the security concern for the Israeli citizens. There has been many terror attacks from Palestine groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. The Israeli citizens feel that the violence from the Palestinian terror groups may not stop with the peace treaties, and they fear for their lives and the safety of loved ones.
There has been many attempts at securing and stabilizing the conflict. For example, due to a weakening trend in Palestinian violence and growing co-operation between the two sides’ authority, the Israeli military has removed 120 check points and plans on disengaging form major Palestinian population areas. This shows that they want peace, and would rather not risk more conflict. There has even been a 97% reduction in violence since 2002 in the West Bank. This also shows the Palestinian want for a resolution.
Peace in this matter will always be hard to come by, due to the conflict of interest and the suspicion each side will have for each other. It will be difficult, but I think that one day, peace will be made and this world issue will finally, after decades of war, will come to a just end.