IsraeliPalestinian conflict The Israeli Palestinian conflict is
the ongoing struggle between Israelis and Palestinians that began
in the early 20th century. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the
term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same
conflict, between the Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living
in Palestine under Ottoman and then British rule. It forms part of
the wider Arab Israeli conflict. The remaining key issues are:
mutual recognition, borders, security, water rights, control of
Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, Palestinian freedom of movement and
finding a resolution to the refugee question. The violence
resulting from the conflict has prompted international actions, as
well as other security and human rights concerns, both within and
between both sides, and internationally. In addition, the violence
has curbed expansion of tourism in the region, which is full of
historic and religious sites that are of interest to many people
around the
world.IsraelisPalestiniansZionistyishuvPalestineOttomanArab Israeli
conflictIsraeli settlements Palestinian freedom of movement
Slide 4
Many attempts have been made to broker a two-state solution,
involving the creation of an independent Palestinian state
alongside an independent Jewish state or next to the State of
Israel (after Israel's establishment in 1948). In 2007 a majority
of both Israelis and Palestinians, according to a number of polls,
preferred the two-state solution over any other solution as a means
of resolving the conflict. Moreover, a considerable majority of the
Jewish public sees the Palestinians' demand for an independent
state as just, and thinks Israel can agree to the establishment of
such a state. A majority of Palestinians and Israelis view the West
Bank and Gaza Strip as an acceptable location of the hypothetical
Palestinian state in a two-state solution. However, there are
significant areas of disagreement over the shape of any final
agreement and also regarding the level of credibility each side
sees in the other in upholding basic commitments. two-state
solutionPalestinian stateJewish stateWest BankGaza Strip
Slide 5
W ithin Israeli and Palestinian society, the conflict generates
a wide variety of views and opinions. This highlights the deep
divisions which exist not only between Israelis and Palestinians,
but also within each society. A hallmark of the conflict has been
the level of violence witnessed for virtually its entire duration.
Fighting has been conducted by regular armies, paramilitary groups,
terror cells and individuals. Casualties have not been restricted
to the military, with a large number of fatalities in civilian
population on both sides. There are prominent international actors
involved in the conflict. The two parties engaged in direct
negotiation are the Israeli government, currently led by Benjamin
Netanyahu, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO),
currently headed by Mahmoud Abbas. The official negotiations are
mediated by an international contingent known as the Quartet on the
Middle East (the Quartet) represented by a special envoy that
consists of the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the
United Nations. The Arab League is another important actor, which
has proposed an alternative peace plan. Egypt, a founding member of
the Arab League, has historically been a key participant.wide
variety of views and opinionslevel of violence
witnessedCasualtiesIsraeli governmentBenjamin NetanyahuPalestine
Liberation OrganizationMahmoud AbbasQuartet on the Middle
EastenvoyArab Leaguealternative peace planhistorically been a key
participant Since 2003, the Palestinian side has been fractured by
conflict between the two major factions: Fatah, the traditionally
dominant party, and its later electoral challenger, Hamas.
Following Hamas' seizure of power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007,
the territory controlled by the Palestinian National Authority (the
Palestinian interim government) is split between Fatah in the West
Bank, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The division of governance
between the parties has effectively resulted in the collapse of
bipartisan governance of the Palestinian National Authority (PA). A
round of peace negotiations began at Annapolis, Maryland, United
States, in November 2007. These talks were aimed at having a final
resolution by the end of 2008. [9] Direct negotiations between the
Israeli government and Palestinian leadership began in September
2010 aimed at reaching an official final status settlement.conflict
between the two major factionsFatahHamasseizure of power in the
Gaza Strip in June 2007Palestinian National Authority round of
peace negotiationsAnnapolis [9]Direct negotiations between the
Israeli government and Palestinian leadership began in September
2010
Slide 6
The region was among the earliest in the world to see human
habitation, agricultural communities and civilization. During the
Bronze Age, independent Canaanite city-states were established, and
were influenced by the surrounding civilizations of ancient Egypt,
Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Minoan Crete, and Syria. Between 15501400
BCE, the Canaanite cities became vassals to the Egyptian New
Kingdom who held power until the 1178 BCE Battle of Djahy (Canaan)
during the wider Bronze Age collapse. The Philistines arrived and
mingled with the local population, and according to Biblical
tradition, the United Kingdom of Israel was established in 1020 BCE
and split within a century to form the northern Kingdom of Israel,
and the southern Kingdom of Judah. The region became part of the
Neo- Assyrian Empire from c.740 BCE, which was itself replaced by
the Neo-Babylonian Empire in c.627 BCE. According to the Bible, a
war with Egypt culminated in 586 BCE when Jerusalem was destroyed
by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II and the local leaders of
the region of Judea were deported to Babylonia. In 539 BCE, the
Babylonian empire was replaced by the Achaemenid Empire. According
to the bible and implications from the Cyrus Cylinder, the exiled
population of Judea was allowed to return to Jerusalem.
Slide 7
Further information: History of Zionism, British Mandate for
Palestine, History of Israel, and Sinai and Palestine Campaign 1947
UN Partition Plan for State of Palestine, founded within the
greater Palestine region The new era in Palestine. The arrival of
Sir Herbert Samuel, H.B.M. High Commissioner with Col. Lawrence,
Emir Abdullah, Air Marshal Salmond and Sir Wyndham Deedes, 1920. In
1830, on the eve of Muhammad Ali's invasion, the Ottoman Porte
transferred control of the sanjaks of Jerusalem and Nablus to
Abdullah Pasha, the governor of Acre. According to Silverburg, in
regional and cultural terms this move was important for creating an
Arab Palestine detached from Syria (bilad al- Shams). According to
Pappe, it was an attempt to reinforce the Syrian front in face of
Muhammad Ali's invasion.[41][42] Two years later, in 1832,
Palestine was conquered by Muhammad Ali's Egypt, but in 1840
Britain intervened and returned control of the Levant to the
Ottomans in return for further capitulations. The end of the 19th
century saw the beginning of Zionist immigration and the Revival of
the Hebrew language. The movement was publicly supported by Great
Britain during World War I with the Balfour Declaration of 1917.
The British began their Sinai and Palestine Campaign in 1915. The
war reached southern Palestine in 1917 progressing to Gaza and
around Jerusalem by the end of the year The British secured
Jerusalem in December 1917. The British moved into the Jordan
valley in 1918 and a campaign by the Entente into northern
Palestine led to victory at Megiddo in September. The British were
formally awarded the mandate to govern the region in 1922. The
non-Jewish Palestinians revolted in 1920, 1929 and 1936. In 1947,
following World War II and the Holocaust, the British Government
announced their desire to terminate the Mandate, and the United
Nations General Assembly voted to partition the territory into a
Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jewish leadership accepted the
proposal but the Arab Higher Committee rejected it; a civil war
began immediately, and Israel was declared in 1948. The 700,000
Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes were unable
to return following the Lausanne Conference, 1949. In the 1948
Arab-Israeli War, Israel captured and incorporated a further 26% of
the Mandate territory, Jordan captured the region today known as
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip was captured by Egypt. In the
course of the Six Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the rest of
Mandate Palestine from Jordan and Egypt, and began a policy of
Israeli settlements. From 1987 to 1993, the First Palestinian
Intifada against Israel took place, ending with the 1993 Oslo Peace
Accords. In 2000, the Second or Al-Aqsa Intifada began, and Israel
built a security barrier. Following Israel's unilateral
disengagement plan of 2004, it withdrew all settlers and most of
the military presence from the Gaza strip, but maintained control
of the air space and coast.
Slide 8
The Jewish peoples connection to Palestine. Ever ask yourself
why during the 30 year period - between 1917 to 1947 - thousands of
Jews throughout the world woke up one morning and decided to leave
their homes and go to Palestine? The majority did this because they
heard that a future national home for the Jewish people was being
established in Palestine, on the basis of the League of Nations
obligation under the Mandate for Palestine document. The Mandate
for Palestine, an historical League of Nations document, laid down
the Jewish legal right to settle anywhere in western Palestine,
between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, an entitlement
unaltered in international law. The Mandate for Palestine was not a
naive vision briefly embraced by the international community.
Fifty-one member countries the entire League of Nations unanimously
declared on July 24, 1922: Whereas recognition has been given to
the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and
to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that
country. It is important to point out that political rights to
self-determination as a polity for Arabs were guaranteed by the
same League of Nations in four other mandates in Lebanon and Syria
(The French Mandate), Iraq, and later Trans-Jordan [The British
Mandate]. Any attempt to negate the Jewish people s right to
Palestine - Eretz-Israel, and to deny them access and control in
the area designated for the Jewish people by the League of Nations
is a serious infringement of international law.
Slide 9
Zionism, or Jewish nationalism, is a modern political movement.
Its core beliefs are that all Jews constitute one nation (not
simply a religious or ethnic community) and that the only solution
to anti-Semitism is the concentration of as many Jews as possible
in Palestine/Israel and the establishment of a Jewish state there.
The World Zionist Organization, established by Theodor Herzl in
1897, declared that the aim of Zionism was to establish "a national
home for the Jewish people secured by public law."