The Arab-Israeli Conflict has been a major story of political tension for the past century now, intensifying after the statehood of Israel. I have always been very interested in trying to understand this diplomatic situation, and must stress how extremely complicated the whole thing is. In this post I want to give a very basic outline of the past 50 years of the conflict. I am in no means trying to favor one side over the other. I'm just trying to understand the roots of the problem, and its long history of tension.
Liberation from the Ottoman Empire
It all began in the early 1900s, with the Jewish movement of Zionism, a cultural belief that the Jews should return to their homeland of Israel. Before the outbreak of WWI, many Jews had already begun purchasing land in the Arabian territory of Palestine, that would later become Israel. At the time however, this land was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, and was populated by many Arabs and Palestinians. During WWI, the British supported an Arab Revolution against the Ottoman Empire led by TE Lawrence. Lawrence was successful in defeating the Ottomans, and achieving Arabian liberation from the Ottoman Empire. Although the Arabs were now free, their territory was under the control and influence of Britain.
After WWI and the liberation of Arabia, many Jews began migrating to the land of Palestine. By 1931, nearly 17% of the population in Palestine was inhabited by Jews. After the rise of Adolf Hitler, and his anti-Semitic views, this migration to Palestine nearly doubled in size. Of course quite naturally Palestinians grew very annoyed with this sudden influx of Jewish people taking over their land, business, and identity. Demonstrations and Protests began to fill the streets of Palestine, against the Jewish take-over. From 1936-1939 there was an Arab revolt in Palestine, that was eventually surpressed by the British Army.
Nation of Israel (1948)
By the start of WWII, Nazi Germany had begun an intense campaign to persecute the Jews. This terrible atrocity known as the Holocaust, was the final straw for Jews to flee from Europe, and partake in the Zionist Movement. Jewish refugees began swarming into the Middle East,and settling in Palestine, which of course angered the Palestinians all the more. The British Mandate tried to regulate and restrict the immigrations, yet were unable to come up with a resolution, and eventually turned to the newly established United Nations.
In 1947 the United Nations presented a "two-state solution" for both Jews and Palestinians. The Jews agreed to this, while the Arab League strongly opposed it. Britain supported the UN's legitimacy, by terminating it's mandate from the Palestinian territory, thus leaving the problem in their hands. This of course led to the first major war in the region between Arabs and Israelis known as the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Israel was attacked simultaneously by Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq from multiple fronts, and yet somehow managed to repel each attack and win the war. Israel was thus able to expand it's land, leaving the Palestinians the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In May 14th of 1948 Israel declared it's independence as a sovereign nation. Over 700,000 Palestinians became refugees and were forced to leave the new state of Israel. The head of the Zionist Movement, Ben-Gurion, became Israel's first Prime Minister.
Suez Crisis of 1956
In 1956 Egypt's newly elected president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, nationalized the Suez Canal in order to block Israeli trading in the Straits of Tiran. This was seen as an act-of-war, and Israel responded by attacking the Sinai Peninsula, with support from Britain and France. However both the United States and the Soviet Union intervened in the conflict and called for a ceasefire. (Both Super-powers at that time, had their diplomatic motives) The Israel army occupied the Sinai Peninsula until March of 1957, and the Straits of Tiran were once again re-opened. The United Nations Emergency Force was created to stabilize the border tension between Egypt and Israel.
Six Day War 1967
In 1964 the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was established to defeat the Israeli Zionist Movement. A few years later, President Nasser, expelled all UNEF officers from Egypt, once again closed the Straits of Tiran, and sent over 100,000 soldiers to defend the Sinai Peninsula. In what became known as the Six-Day War, Israel responded with a swift and successful air assault over Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. Israel was once again able to expand their territory into the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, eastern Jerusalem, Shebaa Farms, and the Golan Heights.
This swift victory for Israel, infuriated the Arab Leaders all the more, who called for a new campaign against Israel. Their resolution became known as the "Three No's". No Recognition, No Peace, and No Surrender. This led to a War of Attrition, against Israel that lasted from 1967-1970. The war came to an abrupt end following the death of Egyptian President Nasser.
Yom Kippur War 1973
On October 6th of 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel during their holy day of Yom Kippur. Both Egypt and Syria, were supplied by the Soviet Union, and pushed hard to regain the territories of the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. Israel was unprepared and suffered heavy blows in the early days of the war, yet were eventually able to launch a counter-strike with American aid. The United States and the Soviet Union nearly entered the war against one another, until they were finnally able to agree on a ceasefire.
In 1978 President Sadat of Egypt and President Begin of Israel were invited by US President Jimmy Carter, to an enclosed negotiation at Camp David. The two spent nearly two weeks working out an agreement. Finally they agreed on The Camp David Accords, which essentially gave the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt, and the Gaza Strip to Israel. This was a significant treaty between Egypt and Israel, however still would not quell the many surrounding Palestinians and Arabians.
Black September
In 1970 a period known as Black September, King Hussein of Jordan began expelling Palestinians from his country. This lead to a civil war in Jordan, which resulted in thousands of dead Palestinians. The PLO was driven out of Jordan, and took refuge in Lebanon. In Lebanon the PLO began new raids and attacks on Israeli borders, which eventually ignited the 1982 First Lebanon War. The fighting lasted nearly a year, in which Israeli forces managed to occupy southern Lebanon. This eventually led to the expulsion of Palestinians from Lebanon, and the establishment of Hezbollah. The PLO relocated to Tunisia, and eventually dispersed throughout the Middle East.
Palestinian Terrorism
Unable to match Israel's firepower, the Palestinians eventually turned to terrorist and guerrilla tactics. In the early 1970s terrorist organizations such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Palestine People (PFLP), Black September, and the Red Army Faction began new operations to get world attention. The first major terrorist attack was the Lod Airport Massacre that killed 26 people in Tel Aviv, Israel. Then came the infamous Munich Massacre, carried out by Black September that killed 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Israel responded with a top-secret underground operation to eliminate many of these terrorists. One of the most notorious of these terrorists was a Venezuelan man named Carlos the Jackal, who joined the PFLP and led various diplomatic assaults such as the OPEC headquarters.
The Oslo Accords
In 1987, during the First Intifada, Palestinians began an uprising on Israeli-occupied territory throughout the Gaza, West Bank, and East Jerusalem. This was a series of demonstrations, protests, civil disobedience, general strikes, and boycotts against Israeli products. Although the Palestinians did not achieve independence through their massive revolution, they were invited once again to the United States to work out a negotiation with Israel. In 1993 President Bill Clinton welcomed the leader of Palestine Authority, Yasser Arafat and Israeli President Yitzhak Rabin to sign the Oslo Accords. This agreement recognized the Palestinian Authority and called for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Second Intifada
Most Palestinians were still unsatisfied with the Oslo Accords, and by the early 1990s, a political-military organization known as Hamas, grew popular amongst Palestinians in Israeli-occupied territories. Hamas began new campaigns of terrorist attacks against Israelis. By early 2000, Palestinian tension once again spilled out into the streets with the start of another uprising known as the Second Intifada. This uprising was much more violent than the first. Israeli managed to quell the tension along the West Bank, however things got extremely heated over the Gaza Strip. By 2005, Hamas had taken over the Gaza Strip and Israel was forced to withdraw. The Israeli forces, however, returned in 2008, to reclaim this territory by launching an air assault during the Gaza War.
Meanwhile, in 2006 the Lebanese organization of Hezbollah, began a new campaign of raids on northern Israel, that sparked the 2006 Second Lebanon War. This conflict lasted for 34 days, and resulted in a UN resolution that called for the disarmament of Hezbollah, while Israeli forces withdrew from South Lebanon.
Recent Diplomacy
The Israeli-Palestinian tension continues to this day, with ongoing border disputes. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have tried to push for new settlements and diplomacy between the two. President Obama has made great efforts to reach out to the Arabs, by calling for a consideration of the 1967 borders. This was however, unacceptable to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. The Palestine Authority Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, has thus began a new diplomatic campaign to call for Palestinian Statehood. This recent development has caused some major division amongst the United Nations, of whether to consider their request or to encourage bilateral negotiations.
This is an extremely difficult situation for President Obama, who wants to work with the Palestinians, yet must ultimately side with Israel and encourage bilateral negotiations. However it appears, in my opinion, that Netanyahu has no desire whatsoever to recognize Palestine as a state. Meanwhile the United Nations has already begun to move forward, in approving various aspects of Palestine Statehood. Once again this puts the United States in a very awkward position, who have always sided with Israel and just recently were forced to pull their funding from UNESCO. At this point my hope is that America will not pull it's funding from the United Nations, in order to support Israeli stubbornness.
Final Opinion
The Palestinians have a right to be angry with the Israelites, who practically took away their land. It's a situation very similar to our Native Americans, who were slowly relocated and removed due to a belief known as the Manifest Destiny. However to be fair, the Zionist Movement is a little different because at least the Israelis had ancient roots in the land and therefore should not be considered conquerors. To add to the complexities, was the atrocities of WWII, the Holocaust, and a growing fervor of antisemitism. The nation of Israel finally gave Jews a place to establish their identity. Of course it was at the expense of the Palestinian people.
Throughout the past 50 years of armed struggle, Israel has managed to keep quite an impressive hold on this promise land, surrounded by Arabian opposition, much thanks to financial and military support from the United States and Britain. I feel however that both sides (the Palestinians and the Israelis) have a fair argument in this conflict, and should be handled with a balanced diplomatic approach.
Liberation from the Ottoman Empire
After WWI and the liberation of Arabia, many Jews began migrating to the land of Palestine. By 1931, nearly 17% of the population in Palestine was inhabited by Jews. After the rise of Adolf Hitler, and his anti-Semitic views, this migration to Palestine nearly doubled in size. Of course quite naturally Palestinians grew very annoyed with this sudden influx of Jewish people taking over their land, business, and identity. Demonstrations and Protests began to fill the streets of Palestine, against the Jewish take-over. From 1936-1939 there was an Arab revolt in Palestine, that was eventually surpressed by the British Army.
Nation of Israel (1948)
By the start of WWII, Nazi Germany had begun an intense campaign to persecute the Jews. This terrible atrocity known as the Holocaust, was the final straw for Jews to flee from Europe, and partake in the Zionist Movement. Jewish refugees began swarming into the Middle East,and settling in Palestine, which of course angered the Palestinians all the more. The British Mandate tried to regulate and restrict the immigrations, yet were unable to come up with a resolution, and eventually turned to the newly established United Nations.
In 1947 the United Nations presented a "two-state solution" for both Jews and Palestinians. The Jews agreed to this, while the Arab League strongly opposed it. Britain supported the UN's legitimacy, by terminating it's mandate from the Palestinian territory, thus leaving the problem in their hands. This of course led to the first major war in the region between Arabs and Israelis known as the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Israel was attacked simultaneously by Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq from multiple fronts, and yet somehow managed to repel each attack and win the war. Israel was thus able to expand it's land, leaving the Palestinians the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In May 14th of 1948 Israel declared it's independence as a sovereign nation. Over 700,000 Palestinians became refugees and were forced to leave the new state of Israel. The head of the Zionist Movement, Ben-Gurion, became Israel's first Prime Minister. Suez Crisis of 1956
In 1956 Egypt's newly elected president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, nationalized the Suez Canal in order to block Israeli trading in the Straits of Tiran. This was seen as an act-of-war, and Israel responded by attacking the Sinai Peninsula, with support from Britain and France. However both the United States and the Soviet Union intervened in the conflict and called for a ceasefire. (Both Super-powers at that time, had their diplomatic motives) The Israel army occupied the Sinai Peninsula until March of 1957, and the Straits of Tiran were once again re-opened. The United Nations Emergency Force was created to stabilize the border tension between Egypt and Israel.
Six Day War 1967
In 1964 the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was established to defeat the Israeli Zionist Movement. A few years later, President Nasser, expelled all UNEF officers from Egypt, once again closed the Straits of Tiran, and sent over 100,000 soldiers to defend the Sinai Peninsula. In what became known as the Six-Day War, Israel responded with a swift and successful air assault over Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. Israel was once again able to expand their territory into the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, eastern Jerusalem, Shebaa Farms, and the Golan Heights. This swift victory for Israel, infuriated the Arab Leaders all the more, who called for a new campaign against Israel. Their resolution became known as the "Three No's". No Recognition, No Peace, and No Surrender. This led to a War of Attrition, against Israel that lasted from 1967-1970. The war came to an abrupt end following the death of Egyptian President Nasser.
Yom Kippur War 1973
On October 6th of 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel during their holy day of Yom Kippur. Both Egypt and Syria, were supplied by the Soviet Union, and pushed hard to regain the territories of the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. Israel was unprepared and suffered heavy blows in the early days of the war, yet were eventually able to launch a counter-strike with American aid. The United States and the Soviet Union nearly entered the war against one another, until they were finnally able to agree on a ceasefire.
In 1978 President Sadat of Egypt and President Begin of Israel were invited by US President Jimmy Carter, to an enclosed negotiation at Camp David. The two spent nearly two weeks working out an agreement. Finally they agreed on The Camp David Accords, which essentially gave the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt, and the Gaza Strip to Israel. This was a significant treaty between Egypt and Israel, however still would not quell the many surrounding Palestinians and Arabians. Black September
In 1970 a period known as Black September, King Hussein of Jordan began expelling Palestinians from his country. This lead to a civil war in Jordan, which resulted in thousands of dead Palestinians. The PLO was driven out of Jordan, and took refuge in Lebanon. In Lebanon the PLO began new raids and attacks on Israeli borders, which eventually ignited the 1982 First Lebanon War. The fighting lasted nearly a year, in which Israeli forces managed to occupy southern Lebanon. This eventually led to the expulsion of Palestinians from Lebanon, and the establishment of Hezbollah. The PLO relocated to Tunisia, and eventually dispersed throughout the Middle East.
Palestinian Terrorism
Unable to match Israel's firepower, the Palestinians eventually turned to terrorist and guerrilla tactics. In the early 1970s terrorist organizations such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Palestine People (PFLP), Black September, and the Red Army Faction began new operations to get world attention. The first major terrorist attack was the Lod Airport Massacre that killed 26 people in Tel Aviv, Israel. Then came the infamous Munich Massacre, carried out by Black September that killed 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Israel responded with a top-secret underground operation to eliminate many of these terrorists. One of the most notorious of these terrorists was a Venezuelan man named Carlos the Jackal, who joined the PFLP and led various diplomatic assaults such as the OPEC headquarters.
The Oslo Accords
In 1987, during the First Intifada, Palestinians began an uprising on Israeli-occupied territory throughout the Gaza, West Bank, and East Jerusalem. This was a series of demonstrations, protests, civil disobedience, general strikes, and boycotts against Israeli products. Although the Palestinians did not achieve independence through their massive revolution, they were invited once again to the United States to work out a negotiation with Israel. In 1993 President Bill Clinton welcomed the leader of Palestine Authority, Yasser Arafat and Israeli President Yitzhak Rabin to sign the Oslo Accords. This agreement recognized the Palestinian Authority and called for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Second Intifada
Most Palestinians were still unsatisfied with the Oslo Accords, and by the early 1990s, a political-military organization known as Hamas, grew popular amongst Palestinians in Israeli-occupied territories. Hamas began new campaigns of terrorist attacks against Israelis. By early 2000, Palestinian tension once again spilled out into the streets with the start of another uprising known as the Second Intifada. This uprising was much more violent than the first. Israeli managed to quell the tension along the West Bank, however things got extremely heated over the Gaza Strip. By 2005, Hamas had taken over the Gaza Strip and Israel was forced to withdraw. The Israeli forces, however, returned in 2008, to reclaim this territory by launching an air assault during the Gaza War.
Meanwhile, in 2006 the Lebanese organization of Hezbollah, began a new campaign of raids on northern Israel, that sparked the 2006 Second Lebanon War. This conflict lasted for 34 days, and resulted in a UN resolution that called for the disarmament of Hezbollah, while Israeli forces withdrew from South Lebanon.
Recent Diplomacy
The Israeli-Palestinian tension continues to this day, with ongoing border disputes. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have tried to push for new settlements and diplomacy between the two. President Obama has made great efforts to reach out to the Arabs, by calling for a consideration of the 1967 borders. This was however, unacceptable to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. The Palestine Authority Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, has thus began a new diplomatic campaign to call for Palestinian Statehood. This recent development has caused some major division amongst the United Nations, of whether to consider their request or to encourage bilateral negotiations.This is an extremely difficult situation for President Obama, who wants to work with the Palestinians, yet must ultimately side with Israel and encourage bilateral negotiations. However it appears, in my opinion, that Netanyahu has no desire whatsoever to recognize Palestine as a state. Meanwhile the United Nations has already begun to move forward, in approving various aspects of Palestine Statehood. Once again this puts the United States in a very awkward position, who have always sided with Israel and just recently were forced to pull their funding from UNESCO. At this point my hope is that America will not pull it's funding from the United Nations, in order to support Israeli stubbornness.
Final Opinion
The Palestinians have a right to be angry with the Israelites, who practically took away their land. It's a situation very similar to our Native Americans, who were slowly relocated and removed due to a belief known as the Manifest Destiny. However to be fair, the Zionist Movement is a little different because at least the Israelis had ancient roots in the land and therefore should not be considered conquerors. To add to the complexities, was the atrocities of WWII, the Holocaust, and a growing fervor of antisemitism. The nation of Israel finally gave Jews a place to establish their identity. Of course it was at the expense of the Palestinian people.
Throughout the past 50 years of armed struggle, Israel has managed to keep quite an impressive hold on this promise land, surrounded by Arabian opposition, much thanks to financial and military support from the United States and Britain. I feel however that both sides (the Palestinians and the Israelis) have a fair argument in this conflict, and should be handled with a balanced diplomatic approach.
1 comment:
To understand you must read the Bible.
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