Israeli - Palestinian Conflicts

This report covers the modern history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but since ancient times conflict in the Middle East between Jews and Muslims has been geographically as well as religiously rooted. The land called either Israel or Palestine is only 10,000 square miles in size, a small piece of land that nevertheless is of supreme importance to Israelis and Palestinians (Isseroff 1). Judea, home of the Jews in ancient times, was conquered by the Romans, who renamed it Palestine (Isseroff 1). The Zionist movement arose to restore Israel to the Jews, and Palestine was granted to Great Britain by the League of Nations to build the State of Israel in 1917 in what was known as the Balfour Declaration (Isseroff 1). Conflict increased between Israelis and Palestinians, with Palestinians resenting what they viewed as the theft of their lands.

In 1947 the United Nations partitioned the disputed land into Arab and Jewish States but war erupted when Arabs rejected the partition. Israel fought against Palestine's five neighboring states (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq), but won a decisive victory, "expanded their state and created several hundred thousand Palestinian refugees" (Isseroff 1). This analysis will discuss the conflict that has characterized the history of Arabs and Jews since.

The full-scale war between Israel and Palestine erupted in 1948 after the Britain "terminated its mandate over Palestine and the Zionists announced the

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heir own, especially in light of the Holocaust and historical persecution of Jews as a people. The second primary reason for the conflict is that Arabs feel wronged by the partition of the territory to create the State of Israel, and they still resent Israel's expansion in the region in the aftermath of the Six Day War. It is not difficult to understand Israel's desire to have a safe State for its people. This is particularly true living in a region where one's neighbors often resort to religious extremism and terrorism to wipe out what they view as their mortal enemy. Historically, Islam has exhibited a high tolerance for other belief systems. This is not the case with the Jews today. Fundamentalists and violent extremists continue to attack Israel and prompt retaliation strikes. As Bowen and Early (255) note of this challenge to peace in the region, "The fundamentalist crisis lies in the need to encourage more Muslims to shun the extremism of the few and get back to the true fundamentalism of their faith-including a commitment to tolerance and civility." Short of this reality emerging, it is unlikely Israel will ever be safe from terrorist attacks perpetuated by fundamentalist or extremist groups. It i

Category: History - I