ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
CAUSES
The history of Israel is a history of wars, failed peace negotiations and agreements. To get a good idea about Israel, we do not need to resort to the Holy Bible; instead, it should be sufficient to focus on modern history alone, the period when the UK government expressed their support for the idea of establishing a state for the Jews in Palestine. I am referring to the Balfour Declaration, approved by the UK cabinet and sent to a prominent member of Jewish community, Lord Rotschild, in 1917.
30 years later the UN proposed a Partition Plan. Jewish leaders embraced it, while Palestinian Arab leaders rejected it. And so did neighbouring Arab and Muslim states. According to the UN partition resolution, the 10,000 square miles of Palestine was to be divided between Arabs and Jews, who were allotted 4,300 and 5,700 square miles, respectively. Jerusalem and Betlehem were to come under the UN control.
The Jews, as I mentioned, welcomed
the plan and occupied the alloted territories. The following year, 1948, the
independence of the Israeli state was proclaimed. This led to the first in a series
of Israeli wars, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. When
the war ended, the Palestinian territory was divided between
Dear collegues, as you can see, the root of the problem lies at the foundations of the Israeli state.
Following the 1948 war, there were several conflicts and wars between Israel and its neighbours. I am certain you know of the Suez War, you might have heard of the Yom Kipur (1973) war, there have also been clashes with Lebanon and Iraq, among others.
One war which
merits our attention was the
Six Day War, that broke
out in
CONSEQUENCES
How have the Palestinians responded to the ongoing violation of their territorial rights? The best known rebellions, uprisings, of the Palestinians were the first and the second Intifada. They were launched in 1987 and 2000, respectively.
The first tumultous period that lasted till 1991, was followed by a rather tranquil era. In the same year president Gorbachev and president Bush met with Israeli, Lebanese, Jordanian, Syrian and Palestinian leaders in Madrid. They set a goal of bringing peace to the region and their efforts eventually bore fruit - in 1993 the Declaration of Principle was signed, both by Israel and the PLO. However, this productive period came to an end with the brutal assasination of the Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin.
I would like to point out that that was not a single event in the history of the region. In 1970s, when Egypt and Israel were about to sign an agreement, the Egyptian president was assasinated and the negotiations brought to a halt.
The second intifada took place not that long ago, in 2000. It was triggered by Sharon's visit to the Mount Temple. The intifada ended with Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and disengagement from the West Bank.
THE FUTURE OF THE REGION
A common trait – surprisingly - of both the Israelis and the Palestinians is the lack of consensus among its leaders. Fatah and Hamas are far from reaching an agreement over goals for the Palestinians; the same could be said of the various Israeli political parties. Some Palestinians desire to establish a Muslim state on the entire territory of former Palestine; some opt for less - territories that were unjustifiedly taken from them; some call for the anihiliation of Israel, not recognizing Israeli existence. Taking into account internal discrepancies in politics, we can affirm that nowadays, the chances of achieving a compromise that would satisfy both Israel and the Palestinian Authority are extremely slim.
The Palestinians have been confronted with factional disputes; the situation has been deteriorating since Arafat's decease and especially since the Islamists of Hamas won a narrow victory in the parliamentary election of 2006.
In spite of the temporary deterioration, Hamas has been making steps in the right direction. Its prime minister, Haniya, signed a power-sharing deal with the rival Fatah party, headed by the PA’s president, Mahmoud Abbas. He did so under the pressur from the West and the economic and diplomatic embargo the Quartet had imposed on the Palestinians.
In short, there have been signs of improvement. Currently one of the most important players in bringing peace and stability to the region is the Quartet. Its peace proposal, the Roadmap, was officially presented in 2002. The Quartet recognizes the need to end the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. It supports efforts to end the occupation that began in 1967 and create an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state, a state that could peacefully coexist with its predominantly Jewish neighbour. In order to facilitate that, the Palestinian unity government – when formed - should fulfill the following conditions
- commit to non-violence
- recognize
- accept previous agreements and obligations, including the Road Map
CONCLUSION
Even though I did not have time to concentrate on every single problem, I would like to resume the main issues between the Palestinians and Israelis in several points:
- The status and future of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem which comprise the areas for the proposed State of Palestine.
- Israeli security and recognition of
- The nature of a future Palestinian state.
- The fate of the Palestinian refugees.
- The settlement policies of
- Sovereignty over
Dear colleagues, as you can see the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict is extremely complex. I could go on and on explaining what Israeli/ the PA have done, are doing, or should do to once and for all solve the issue. The 2006 Israeli-Gaza conflict sent a clear message to the world - the solution is not within reach; at least, not yet. However, one thing is certain, both sides will not only have to make effort but also concessions for the sake of its people. For, it is their people who deserve to live in peace.
Thank you.