Background and History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Since the second century B.C., Jewish populations inhabited the region of Babylonia. After the Arab subjugation of Palestine in the seventh century the remaining inhabitants were largely integrated into the Muslim religion and Arab tradition, although Palestine maintained Christian and Jewish minorities, mostly living in Jerusalem. Until 1516 when Palestine became part of the Ottoman Empire, Arab presence was strong in the region with the short break of the domination of the Crusaders.

The ancient land of the Jews from Biblical times is believed to be given to them by Abraham, Moses and King David. However, under the ruling of the Roman Empire, Jewish populations in the region were oppressed, Jewish temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, while a large number of Jews was massacred and forced in an exodus known as "The Diaspora" in the sixth century. Some Jews remained in the region, but a large number did not return until after the Holocaust in the World War II.

Because of their ancient rights to their ancient homeland of Israel, Jews are calling themselves Israelis. However, at the same time, the Arab population of the region, known as Palestinians after the old Roman and Greek name for the region, has become the dominant ethnic group in the years that Jewish population was killed or forced out of the region by the Romans. According to historical evidence from the Ottoman Empire, in 1900, Palestine was inhabited by 600,000 people out of whom 94 percent were Arabs.

This complex situation became even more complicated with the rise of Zionism in the late 19th century. Zionism was the national and political movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland that aimed to restore the land of Israel as a national home for the thousands of Jews that had suffered centuries of persecution and oppression. Under the guidance of Austrian journalist Theodor Herzl, who envisioned a homeland for Jewish people in his book "The Jewish State" in 1896, Zionism encompassed the religious and cultural ties of Jerusalem and ancient Israel and appealed to the strong religious beliefs of many Jews.

In 1917, the British promised the Zionists a Jewish national home in a letter from Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour, which became known as the Balfour Declaration. This led to the Palestine Mandate in 1922, which favored the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. The British domination of Palestine and the increasing Jewish population as a result of the influence of Zionism led to the Great Arab Revolt in 1936.

The supporters of the radical, Nazi collaborator Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini killed a huge number of Jews, but also of Palestinian Arabs from opposing groups. The revolt that lasted until 1939 was put down by the British rulers and Jewish militias, but it meant the beginning of great hostility between the Jews and the Palestinians. The Zionists formed military units and self-defense organizations like the Irgun and the Haganah. The Arab pressure led to the severe limitation of Jewish immigration to Palestine and in response, Jewish extremist organizations organized illegal immigration, known as Aliya Beth, and committed attacks against British institution in Palestine. In 1942, Zionist leadership demanded an independent Israel state in Palestine.

Despite the pressure from the United States, the British rulers did not allow Jewish immigrants to return to Palestine, not even after the Holocaust. Increasing objections against these policies and violent rivalries between the Zionists and the Arabs worsened the situation. The United Nations proposed a partition plan for Palestine that projected the division of the region in seven parts and the internationalization of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The Jewish state would occupy 56 percent of the new scheme including half of the Negev desert, while the Arabs would occupy 44 percent. The plan suggested an economic union between the two states, while the Jews residing in Jerusalem would be cut off from the rest of the Jewish state by a wide Arab strip. The plan was accepted by the Zionists and rejected by the Palestinians and the Arab countries.

In May 14, 1948, the Jews declared the independence of the State of Israel. The next day, Arab troops from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Iraq invaded Israel. The Israelis won this war, which led many Palestinians to become refugees in neighboring Arab countries. The Palestinian diaspora became known as 'The Cataclysm' (in Arabic, al-Nakba).

In 1949, Egypt captured the coastal area around Gaza, which became known as the Gaza strip, while Jordan took over the West Bank. During the 1950s and the 1960s numerous Arab-Israeli border wars took place as Palestinians, often with the help of Egypt, Syria and Jordan, performed cross-border attacks into Israel, mostly around Gaza strip and West Bank.

In 1959, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict attained a new level of intensity and intricacy with the foundation of Palestinian resistance groups that performed terrorist attacks in Israel like al - Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by Yasser Arafat, in 1964.

The Six Day War in 1967 led to nearly 1 million Palestinians under the Israeli rule. Initially, Egypt embargoed Israeli shipping by closing the Straits of Tiran and formed a defense union with Jordan, Syria and Iraq to establish a large armed force in the Israeli border. However, Israel attacked and captured the Gaza strip and the Sinai Desert from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria and the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan.

In effect, since 1967, the situation remains unchanged. Extremist terrorist attacks from both sides undermine any effort for peace in the region. For instance, in 2000, U.S. president Bill Clinton suggested a Palestinian state on the Gaza Strip, 97 percent of the West Bank, division of Jerusalem and no right of return to Israel for Palestinian refugees. In principle, Israel accepted the proposal but ultimately both sides disagreed in the refugee issue. Since the 1980s, extremist terrorist Palestinian groups such as Hamas carry out numerous suicide attacks inside Israel and spread the horror of terrorism aiming to regain back West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The primary cause for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be found in the claim of two national movements on the same land, and particularly the Arab refusal to accept Jewish autonomy in a part of that region. The Israelis believe they are entitled to their ancient land, while the Palestinians believe that this land belongs to them. Besides, their different beliefs become even stronger when tied with fundamental religious concepts regarding the right of either side to entire land as given by Jehovah or by Allah.

Another aspect that complicates the situation is the fact that Israelis consider most of the Arab states as undemocratic, underdeveloped, unstable, with backward cultural and social values and an aggressive religion instilling hatred and terrorism. On the other hand, the Arabs consider the Israelis as imperialistic invaders with a view to control the entire Middle East. Besides, Arab media promote anti-Semitic stereotypes and several conspiracy theories regarding the power of Zionism.

Regardless of the fundamental differences between the two sides, their persistent fighting is easy to understand considering that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is been going on for over 60 years now. Each attack, each war, each death, each terrorist horror, each massacre only deepens the hatred and the will to keep going on until a final solution is found.

Sources:

http://www.science.co.il/arab-israeli-conflict.asp

http://www.mideastweb.org/nutshell.htm

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/