An Introduction to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

 

Introductory Note:

It is unlikely that anyone has written or will write an "objective" and definitive summary that would be accepted by everyone.

 

Geography

The land variously called Israel and Palestine is a small, (10,000 square miles at present) land at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea.

 

Brief History

  • Moses led the Israelites, or a portion of them, out of Egypt (1800 and 1500 B.C.E.)
  • King David conquered Jerusalem about 1000 B.C. and established an Israelite kingdom
  • The Assyrians   conquered Israel in 722 or 721 B.C
  • The Babylonians conquered Judah in 587 or 586 B.C
  • About 50 years later, the Persian king Cyrus conquered Babylonia. Cyrus allowed a group of Jews from Babylonia to rebuild and settle in Jerusalem
  • Rule changes hands lots over the next 400 years (Alexander the Great, Seleucids, Judah Maccabee)
  • The land came under Roman control. The Romans called the area Judea.
  • In 135 CE, the Romans drove the Jews out of Jerusalem
  • The Romans named the area Palaestina - Palestine in English is derived from Herodotus, who used the term Palaistine Syria to refer to the entire southern part of Syria, meaning "Philistine Syria."
  • However, Jewish communities continued to exist in Galilee,
  • Muslim Arab armies moved north from Arabia to conquer most of the Middle East (600s CE), including Palestine. Muslim powers controlled the region until the early 1900's
  • Jerusalem became holy to Muslims as the site where, according to the Qur'an, Muhammed ascended to heaven after a miraculous overnight ride on his horse Al-Buraq. The al-Aqsa mosque was built on the site generally regarded as the area of the Jewish temples
  • Christian crusaders from Europe captured Jerusalem in 1099. A great slaughter of the Jewish and Muslim defenders followed, and no Jews were allowed to live in Jerusalem
  • In 1798, Napoleon entered the land. Arabs and Jews fled to safer and more prosperous lands.
  • During World War I, large number of Jews were forced to flee Palestine
  • Balfour Declaration placed “Palestine” under British Mandate

 

The British Mandate (1917 – 1948)

  • The declaration stated Britain's support for the creation of a Jewish national home in Palestine, without violating the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities. (See Map 1.1)
  • Paradoxically, perhaps, a major motivation for the declaration may have been the belief, inspired by anti-Semitism, that international Jewry would come to the aid of the British if they declared themselves in favor of a Jewish homeland, and the fear that the Germans were about to issue such a declaration.
  • Jewish immigration swelled in the 1930s, driven by persecution in Eastern Europe and Nazi Germany.
  • The British found Palestine to be ungovernable and returned the mandate to the United Nations – largely due to the Zionists (See Map 1.2)
  • The United Nations Special Commission on Palestine (UNSCOP) recommended that Palestine be divided into an Arab state and a Jewish state. In 1923, the British divided Palestine into two administrative districts (See Map 1.3).  Jews would be permitted only west of the Jordan river.  In effect, the British had "chopped off" 75% of the originally proposed Jewish/Palestinian homeland to form an Arab/Palestinian nation called Trans-Jordan (meaning "across the Jordan River"). Trans-Jordan would be renamed "Jordan" in 1946. The Palestinian Arabs had their"Arab Palestinian" homeland.
  • The Jews accepted the UN decision, but the Arabs rejected it and violence incurred

 

1948 – 2000

  • On May 14, 1948, the Jews proclaimed the independent State of Israel.
  • The next day, seven neighboring Arab armies - Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen - invaded Israel – most “regular” Palestinians did not fight
  • When the 19 month war ended, Israel had lost 1% of its population and Israel held territories beyond the boundaries set by the UN plan - a total of 78% of the area west of the Jordan river. (See Map 1.4)
  • What remained of that almost-created second  Arab Palestinian State was gobbled up by (1) Egypt (occupying the Gaza Strip) and by (2) Trans-Jordan (occupying Judea-Samaria (a.k.a. the "West Bank" of the Jordan River) and Jerusalem. In the next year (1950) Trans-Jordan formally merged this West Bank territory into itself and granted all those "Palestinian" Arabs living there Jordanian citizenship.  Since Trans-Jordan was then no longer confined to one side of the  Jordan River, it renamed itself simply "Jordan." 
  • 1967, the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian army’s mobilized along Israel's narrow borders in preparation for a massive invasion (On May 31, the Iraqi President Rahman Aref announced, "This is our opportunity to wipe out the ignominy which has been with us since 1948. Our goal is clear--to wipe Israel off the map.")
  • Israel attacks Egypt along with Britain - the Egyptians are wiped out. (See Map 1.5)
  • Israel Takes over all of Sinai Desert but later returns it in 1982.  (See Map 1.6)

 

Recent Events: 2000 – Present

  • Negotiations for a final settlement ended in deadlock July, 2000 – Bill Clinton Talks at Camp David
  • On March, 12, 2002  the UN Security Council passed resolution 1397, calling on the sides to stop the violence once again, mentioning the peace place plan of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, and for the first time calling for creation of a Palestinian State alongside Israel.  Yasser Arafat declared a cessation of violence several times, but this did not seem to affect the frequency or severity of suicide bombings and ambushes. The Israelis, for their part, continued with their policy of assassinating wanted men in the Palestinian areas.

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