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A territory claimed by two peoples. The Israelis see the territory as the ancestral home of the Jews. But until the 20th century there had not been a majority population of Jews since the time of the Roman Emperor Titus (AD 70 and the Bar Cochba rebellion of AD 135) - if, indeed, there had been a majority then. The Arabs and Jews both claim to be descended from Abraham (Ibrahim in the case of the Arabs) and their languages are related. While the Jews were dispersed throughout the world the land was inhabited by Arabs (who include the descendants of some of the original inhabitants, converted to Islam or Christianity and Arabic-speaking). Their descendants claim the right to continue to live there. Religious war? Until 1917 Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire. At the peace conference following the first world war Palestine was awarded to Britain to administer as a mandated territory. Before that war Theodore Herzl had proposed that Jews should settle in Palestine as a refuge from persecution and killings in the Russian Empire. His Zionist movement then started buying land in Ottoman Palestine. Like European settlers in various countries during the Age of Hegemony, Herzl's Zionists did not see the need to consider the rights of the inhabitants. Not all the world's Jews supported him and the Zionists and many still don't. During that war the British Foreign Secretary A.J.Balfour had promised Palestine as a "Jewish national home" . This was partly to gain support of the Jews during the war. It is unclear what he meant by this Declaration as the terminology is ambiguous but probably implied a British dominion over the whole area. Jews from Russia and Germany moved to Palestine during the Ottoman and British periods and built cooperative settlements on land they bought from the Arabs. This provoked organized opposition from the Arabs and the first Intifada. By the time Jews were fleeing from Nazi Germany there were two opposing armed groups. The British administration tried to protect the rights of the Arabs and prevent Jewish refugees going to Palestine. The result was that both groups opposed the British whom the Arabs blamed for allowing settlements. First war Second war Third war Fourth war Fifth war The Palestinians now form three main groups. One group still lives in Israel and are citizens of the state of Israel. Another group lives in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, the area originally awarded to Arabs by the UN. A third group lives in refugee camps or other Arab countries, especially in Kuwait (until 1990) and elsewhere on the Gulf. Contrary to international law Israel has been allowing Israelis to build settlements in the West Bank and in the occupied part of Jerusalem. Israel has declared the annexation of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, though it has not been accepted by other countries, who still accredit ambassadors to Tel Aviv. Some Israeli political and religious groups regard the whole area defined by the Bible as a Greater Israel and claim the right to expel Arabs - a potential policy of ethnic cleansing. Israel claims the right of any Jew throughout the world to settle in Israel. After the breakup of the Soviet Union (1990-91) thousands of Russian Jews arrived, which worried the Arabs. However, there is also an outflow of Israelis leaving. As in Rhodesia before independence, the population is not as stable as it seems. Sixth war Although Syria was neutral with respect to Israel during this war, there are reports that Syria has been buying missiles since the end of the war. A Peace Conference was called to meet in Madrid in October 1991. The talks proceeded slowly with procedural objections which amounted to filibustering - a clear unwillingness to talk about substance on the part of the Israelis, who had been compelled to attend by American threats. Peace? Opposition Likud members opposed this agreement. Islamic party Hamas also opposed any agreement. It remains to see whether the agreement will bring peace. Many Palestinians regarded it as giving them less than they were entitled to, though others thought it better to have something than nothing. The right wing government of Ariel Sharon elected in Israel probably intended to allow no further autonomy to the Palestinians. A further revolt by Palestinians broke out in 2000 and led to something close to all out war by 2002 Relations with other Arab states do not seem likely to worsen, however, as all are weak and dependent on the US. Seventh War (2002-3) 2006 War The West Bank formed a government of Al Fateh, more moderate and secular than Hamas, which continues to control Gaza (but it hasn't been elected). Thus there is also a Civil War between the two Palestinian territories, with Gaza in a state of siege. Iran December 2008 It seems at least possible that the Israeli authorities were trying to suppress Hamas in Gaza before Barack Obama was inaugurated, fearing that his government will be less indulgent than the Bush presidency towards Israeli bellicosity. Bush and Cheney expressed their support for Israeli actions without any criticism at all. Two days before Obama's inauguration the Israelis declared a cease-fire. Had they gained anything? Muslim hostility to the west Is there any possible Solution to these wars? Can the State of Israel exist except by continual war on its Arab neighbours? Is any peaceful outcome possible? The methods of the Israeli government have been condemned by human rights observers. They include assassinations of dissident leaders of the Palestinians, imprisonment without trial, and probably torture. This conflict seems unlikely to end in the near future. However, to an observer who is neither Jewish nor Arab, Israel resembles the medieval Crusader states which spent their whole time under siege from the surrounding Arab rulers. They were all conquered in the end. Israel likes to invoke as a justification for its attacks on its neighbors the "war against Terror" - the current slogan adopted by the United States, just as South Africa used to claim to be fighting the Cold War against "Communism". In both cases these were slogans to attract assistance from the United States. Neither were true as the war in South Africa was against exclusive power for the settlers and so is the war in Palestine; both are against injustice. Two-state solution? There does seem to be a similarity with the old South Africa, in which the former government pretended to give power to the majority by making them citizens of what became called Bantustans - states in which the real power was held by the South African police and army. The governments of these "states" had very little autonomy and were not recognised by any other state. Thus there is now a Palestinian Authority with a President, prime minister and civil service. Israeli forces have from time to time destroyed the buildings of this authority. Its only real income is from external aid from the European Union and other, Arab, sources. The economic ability of the people in the Palestinian territory is suppressed by Israeli power. If most of the Arabs wish to see the Israeli state eliminated, how many Israelis wish to see the Arabs removed to other Arab states? This conflict is really, very intractable. President Barack Obama has appointed an American negotiator to try to encourage peace. In November 2012 major disturbances broke out. Palestinians from Gaza released a large number of rockets on Israel, killing a small number of Israelis. In return the Israeli forces bombed Gaza, attempting to assassinate leaders of militant Arabs and discourage further attacks. A larger number of Arabs were killed and many Gazan government buildings damaged. |
Middle East for Dummies |
