The Israel-Palestine Conflict

The Israel-Palestine Conflict

Introduction

Israelis and Palestinians have been in war, especially in Gaza, for several decades. The Israel-Palestine Conflict is a continuous struggle between Palestine and Israel that started in the mid-Twentieth Century. The genesis of the conflict may be associated to the sectarian disagreement as well as the immigration of the Jews. The conflict between the two countries is labeled as the world’s most intractable fights, with the current control of Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank by Israel hitting fifty-two years. Although there have been efforts by other countries, including Egypt and Jordan, to bring peace between the two countries, they have not been successful in that regard. The violence resulting from the conflict has led to several international conferences related to historic and human rights as well as security issues. It is also associated with the reduced tourist activities and access to places that are heavily contested. The Israel-Palestine Conflict is associated with the need to have control over the holy city of Jerusalem, other holy sites, as well as Israel’ security fears.  

 Origins of the Conflict

In 1948, after the declaration of the creation of Israel, the Arab League resorted to chip in so as to assist Palestinian Arabs, and led their armies into the country, starting the significant stage of the 1948 Israel-Arab War (Harms & Ferry, 2017). The conflict led to approximately fifteen casualties, although it led to the 1949 armistice agreements, and Israel took a major junk of what was initially called Mandate territory; Jordan controlled the West Bank, while Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip (Harms & Ferry, 2017).  Violence continued in the Fifties and early Sixties, such as attacks on Israelis by Palestinian militants known as Fedayeen. In 1955, Israel attacked Egyptian armies in Gaza, killing thirty-seven armies. As a result, Egypt started to actively support, arm and train Palestinian fighters, who were committed to attack Israel. Moreover, to support the Palestinian fighters, the Palestine Liberation Organization was formed in 1964.  This was important in fueling Palestine’s war against Israel.

Similarly, the Six Day War that took place in 1967 had a significant influence on Palestinian nationalism, and Israel obtained control of the West Bank from the inhabitation of Jordan as well as displaced Egypt from the Gaza Strip (Harms & Ferry, 2017). However, in 1970, the Palestinians could not operate from Jordan as a result of the Jordanian-Palestinian civil war. This meant that Palestinians had to seek other ways of staying put in their battle.  Jordanians overcame the PLO, and most of its militants moved to Lebanon (Harms & Ferry, 2017). Despite this, in the Seventies, insurgency of the Palestinians grew in South Lebanon, and it was used as the center of attacks against Israel, which led to Israel’s retaliation.

Additionally, the initial Palestinian uprising started in 1987 as a result of the increased attacks and indefinite occupation. Starting in the Nineties, international endeavors to end the conflict had begun (Gerner, 2018). Consequently, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process resulted into the Oslo Accords, making it possible for the PLO to move to the West Bank as well as Gaza Strip, and it created the Palestinian National Authority. However, the peace process faced significant opposition from radical Islamic believers of Palestinian origin, such as Hamas, who instantly began attacks that aimed at Israelis (Gerner, 2018). Despite many attempts to end the feud, in 2000, the conflict re-emerged as the Second Intifada, and it escalated into a war between Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinian National Security Forces. The violence ran from the year 2000 to 2005, and led to about one hundred and thirty fatalities (Gerner, 2018).  Israel‘s Prime Minister ordered the departure of the country’s troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005. However, most international organizations, including the United Nations and Human Rights Watch have faulted the nation insisting that there is no total freedom until they cease controlling the movement of people and goods entering and leaving Gaza strip (Gerner, 2018). This reiterates Israel’s significant control over the Gaza Strip.

Moreover, Hamas obtained significant victory in the Palestinian parliamentary election in 2006. As a result, Israel opined that it would impose economic sanctions, lest Hamas opted to acknowledge initial Israeli-Palestinian agreements, recognize the existence of Israel, and stop war (Gerner, 2018). However, Hamas was adamant to accept the terms. Hamas seized control over Gaza Strip in 2007 winning an on raging conflict against Fatah that resulted into the Battle of Gaza. This compelled Israel to impose a military blockade in Gaza. Rivalry between Hamas and Israel grew until 2008, when the country began operation Cast Lead in Gaza, which led to many casualties among civilians as well as damages that were valued at billions of US dollars. A ceasefire was reached in 2009, but the occupation and sporadic and minor outbreaks of violence were still common (Gerner, 2018). This is still the case up to date.

Sources of the Israel-Palestine Conflict

There are various sources of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The control of Jerusalem is one of the key issues that have dominated in the conflict (Spangler, 2015). Both Israel and Palestine claim ownership of the city. All the three major religions, that is, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, individually hold the belief that Jerusalem is a holy city for religious occasions. For Judaism, the city holds significance as the holiest city since ancient Jewish temples were built there and it was Israelite Kingdom’s capital (Spangler, 2015). According to Muslims, the city is where Mohammad made his last journey to heaven. According to Christians, Jerusalem marks the city of Jesus’ crucifixion as well as the location of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Spangler, 2015). This makes the city a place of interest for both Palestinians and Israelis.  

Additionally, other holy sites have fueled the feud between Israel and Palestine. Israel is worried about the state of holy sites under Palestinian control (Chapman & Benson, 2015). During the period when Jerusalem was being controlled by Jordan, Jews were not allowed to reach the Western Wall and other places regarded as holy by the Jews. As from 1975, Israel stopped giving access to Muslims to worship at Joseph’s Tomb, yet it is a place that is regarded as being holy by both Muslims and Jews (Chapman & Benson, 2015). Palestine has on numerous occasions complained about state of Muslim and Christian holy shrines that are controlled by Israel. Some Palestinians allege that the Western Wall Tunnel’s use with the intention to weaken the mosque’s foundation and eventually have it collapse. Israel refuted such claims in a UN meeting (Chapman & Benson, 2015). However, it is no doubt that holy shrines are a major cause of rivalry between the two. Furthermore, Israeli security concerns are a source of the Conflict between the country and Palestine. Israel and other partners believe that the attacks on the Israelis are an act of terrorism (Chapman & Benson, 2015). The attacks are fuelled by multiple motivations. However, a common objective is the need to destroy Israel so as to substitute it with a Palestinian Arab nation (Chapman & Benson, 2015). At the same time, the most influential Jihadists, including Hamas, believe that the conflict is a religious jihad.

How the Conflict Has Changed Over Time and Key Players   

The Israel-Palestine conflict has changed in various ways over time. Various attempts have been commenced to come up with a two-state solution, with the aim of creating the State of Israel and Palestinian state (Shafir, 2017). For instance, in 2007, most of both Palestinians and Israelis believed that creating a two-state would solve the conflict. At the same time, most Jews hold that Palestine’s pursuance of an independent state is just, and hold that Israel should allow for its establishment (Shafir, 2017). Moreover, in the Palestinian and Israel societies, this conflicts leads to various opinions and views, which highlight the significant divisions that are available not only among the civilians, but also within their societies.  For instance, fighting is carried out by armies, civilians, and terror groups. The main entities involved in the negotiation of the conflict are the PLO and Israel Government (Shafir, 2017). The main mediator in the negotiations is called the Quartet via a special envoy, and consists of the, EU, US, Russia, and the United Nations (Shafir, 2017). The Quartet is involved in the process of finding the truce in the conflict.  

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the Israei-Palestine Conflict was necessitated by an array of issues. The declaration of Israel State led to Israel-Arab War, and the need for these two factions to have control of places like Gaza and the West Bank. Other important issues that fuel the conflict include the need to have control over the city of Jerusalem, which is a historical and religious place. Similarly, both countries express concern over holy shrines that are under the control of the rival. Israel’s security concerns, especially attacks on civilians have made Palestine attacks to be viewed as terrorist attacks, and this has made the feud to continue to persist.

References

Chapman, C., & Benson, K. (2015). Whose Promised Land: The Continuing Conflict Over Israel and Palestine. Dixon St: Lion Books.

Gerner, D. J. (2018). One land, two peoples: The conflict over Palestine. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Harms, G., & Ferry, T. M. (2017). Palestine-Israel Conflict. London, UK: Pluto Press.

Shafir, G. (2017). A Half Century of Occupation: Israel, Palestine, and the World’s Most Intractable Conflict. Berkeley, CA: Univ of California Press.

Spangler, E. (2015). Understanding Israel/Palestine: Race, nation, and human rights in the conflict. Netherlands: Brill Sense.

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