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Palestine Israel Relations

Benjamin D. Poole
Professor Oladimeji Aborisade
University of Charlotte North Carolina
November 14, 2014

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Abstract
This paper will cover the Palestine Israel conflict from the beginning to what is
currently happening today. Also included are major players involved in the conflict from
super powers like the United States to militant groups like Hamas will all be talked about.
The worlds role in the conflict and how different countries they view the conflict. Peace
and the strides that have been made to create it and how they have been broken or
successful are included. In the end thought, this conflict is nothing easy to talk about. It
is easy to understand but the solution is beyond most people in the world. I will not be
able to cover everything but based of the things I have included you will be able to see
the hatred created from both sides. You will come to see that he hatred is shown through
constant revenge killing only worsens the cycle. All this and more await in the further
paragraphs.

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Palestine Israel Conflict and Relations

Introduction
The Palestine Israel conflict has been going on for thousands of years. Recently
though the conflict has been heating up and beginning to take deadly turns. The main
cause of the recent intensity of the conflict dates all the way back to World War I. Britain
used the Palestinians to revolt against the Ottoman Empire, who Britain were fighting
against, in order to weaken them (Snarr, 2012). In return for starting a revolution Britain
promised them their independence. This promise though turned out to be a lie. Britain
ended up supports the Jewish homeland in Palestine. In doing this they cut their ties with
the Palestinians. Once the war was over Britain and France gained control over the
Middle East and allowed the funding of Jews moving to Israel and Palestinians land
(Snarr, 2012). As a result of this Palestinians feared losing their power as the majority
and thus the fighting began. Even after World War II the United Nations decided to send
the surviors of the Holocaust to Israel. They gave 53% of the land to Jews in Israel even
though Jews only made up 30% of the population (Snarr, 2012). The remaining 47% was
given to Palestinians who made up 70% of the population (Snarr, 2012). Palestinians who
are made up of mainly Muslims, Christians, and Druze determined that they were being
pushed off their holy land. Thus began the strong intensifying conflicts.

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Body
The first war between the two sides started in 1947 and end in 1948
(MyJewishLearning, 2014). During this time Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq and Syria invaded
attacking Israeli settlements and forces. Many Palestinians living in the area were also
forced to leave becoming refuges in the attacking states. In the end the Jewish forced won
and overcame Palestinian Arab forces. This lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Arab
society and Jewish forces acquiring more land. In 1967 Israel attacked Egypt/Jordan do to
their threatening acts and ended up gaining even more land, more importantly land with
oil (MyJewishLearning, 2014). This war only last for 6 days and allowed Israel to gain
control of the West Bank, Gaza and other areas Egypt and Jordan occupied.
These events have all lead up to the growing modern conflict which doesnt seem
to be going away anytime soon. Throughout the years peace has been tried to been made
but with extremist on both sides this has not been possible. Anyone who has tried to
make peace as been killed by these extremist groups. For example, a Jewish extremist
group assonated their own president, Yitzhak Rabin, for trying to create peace
(MyJewishLearning, 2014). The closest peace that has been made was by Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat. Egypt ended up signing the Israel-Egypt peace treaty which
opened trade and allowed military forces to be moved between Egypt and Israel. Israel
also gave back the land it captured in the 1967 war that contained oil
(MyJewishLearning, 2014). Another peace treaty that has worked is the Israel-Jordan
peace treaty which adjusted land and water disputes and restricted third parties from

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staging military strikes in their countries. A major blocking point for Israel-Palestine
peace has been illegal Jewish settlements in the West bank. Another blocking point has
been the construction of a wall that stretches all around the West Bank (440 miles long)
that is two times higher than the former Berlin Wall and four times longer (Speri, 2014).
Since this land is technically owned by Israel they have the right to build the wall but
Palestinians feel like they are being locked into a prison with it. This wall has led to
poverty for the Palestinians and separation of its people, only worsening the growing
conflict. Terrorism has also been a big factor in preventing peace. The thoughts of a
small group of people are preventing the majority from achieve their goals. There is also
the question that is peace is made where will the 3.7 million stateless Palestinian refugees
go (Speri, 2014)? Will they be allowed to return to Israel or still be locked out? The
answer to peace is one of the answers the world doesnt know yet and is still working
towards solving.
Who are the major players in Israel and Palestine today? For Palestine the major
fighters and political group is Hamas. Hamas is dedicated to the destruction of Israel and
the creation of an Islamic state in Palestine (MyJewishLearning, 2014). Hamas uses the
three no laws that were created in Khartoum, Sudan by the Arab states
(MyJewishLearning, 2014). These three laws are no recognition, no peace, and no
negotiations. Hamas are also the leading fighting force in the Palestine populated areas
and are considered terrorist by Western countries. They have led many attacks against
Israel from launching rockets to suicide bombing. Conflict between Hamas and Israel has

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been going on since its creation in 1987 and even continues today (MyJewishLearning,
2014). Hamas has recently gain control over the Gaza, along with Fatah, strip where the
fighting is now centered around today. On the other hand Fatah who is in control of the
PLO (Palestine Liberation Orgainzation) looks for peace with Israel in a no violent way
and is willing to recognize Israel as a state. Israel is the big player for Israel. But there are
radical Israeli people that assume the roles like radical militant groups in Palestine. Many
of these radical groups are in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. They tend to carry out
random acts of violence against Arabs in the region called price tag attacks. If an attack
on Jewish people occurs the radical groups will do a random act of violence against the
Arabs as a sign of revenge. Another big player is the UN. They have been trying to make
and keep peace in the region since 1947(isn/ethz, 2014). The UN has helped Israel
recognize Palestine as legit state and brokered many cease fires (isn/ethz, 2014). They
have also help create humanitarian aid for both sides. But recently the UN has not taken
any more significant steps in ending the conflict, that some may say, they started. Some
may blame the US influence for keeping the subject off the agenda (isn/ethz, 2014). No
matter what it seems that peace isnt achievable yet with the current mind set of the
people involved directly and indirectly with the conflict.
Central points in the fighting today, as I previously mentioned, are in Gaza. Gaza
is controlled by Israel in the means of they control gas, electricity, airspace and who
leaves and goes in. Israel use to have settlements in Gaza but ever since the rise of
Hamas and other militant groups they have pulled all their forces out. Israel has blocked

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off the border of the Gaza strip just like they did to the West Bank (Speri, 2014). But this
has only escalated the fighting and caused rockets to be fired into Israel and in return
rockets to be fired into the Gaza strip. Attacks from both sides lead to deaths of civilians
mainly and only enrage the other side. The West Bank hasnt had as much violence
compared to Gaza but there is growing unrest and kidnapping happening due to Israels
oppression (Speri, 2014). The problem is a matter of he said she said. Both sides like to
point figures at each other saying the other started it in order to back up their reasons for
attacking. This has only lead to constant conflict throughout the decade and countless
civilian deaths.
So how does the world view this conflict? Many western countries, like the United
States, support Israel and refuse to recognize groups in the Palestinian community has
legit powers. They supply Israel with weapons and supply in order to back them. Other
countries, like Iran and other Middle Eastern counties, support Palestine. They supply
Palestinian groups, like Hamas, with weapons and supplies (isn/ethz, 2014). The
supporting Countries of Palestine and Israel often seem to clash politically and have bad
relations. The other group of countries support both sides and only wish for peace, like
Egypt. Many people whether they live in Western states or Middle Eastern states wish for
peace and the governments decisions do not represent the overall peoples opinions.
A recent fight that has occurred is a group invasion by Israel in Gaza roughly
around July 2014 (Speri, 2014). Their goal was to cripple Hamas by destroy
underground supply lines and stop militants from firing rockets into Israel. This is all due

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to large amount of rockets being fired into Israel in the recent days by Hamas and other
militants. The operation lasted about 10 or so days and about 229 Palestinians, once again
mostly civilians, were killed (Speri, 2014). Before the operation they pounded Gaza with
rockets and airstrikes. The UN tried to invoke a humanitarian window to allow residents
to restock on food/supply and hide but it did not last long. Hamas responded to the
invasion calling it a serious escalation and saying Israel would pay dearly. Many
kidnappings by Hamas and other Palestinian groups have been fueling the conflict too.
The most recent or biggest was the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenage boys.
Israel retaliated with capturing over 700 Palestinians that are suspected to have relations
with Hamas or other militant groups (Speri, 2014). Many violent acts are still happening
even now, although the news has seemed report on the issues less and less because they
come up so often.
The future of this conflict does not look promising. Israel is winning public
support and it is looking like they will win the next election. The division of the two
factions is still on the rise. While Israel seems to be getting stronger and stronger
Palestine seems to be growing weaker. While Palestine have been taking steps in
working with UN this is predicted to back fire on them and end up weakening them more.
There is also high tensions with Israel and Iran over nuclear weapons which could lead to
another war. All these things that are happening right now do not leave a bright future for
the Israel and Palestine conflict.

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Conclusion
The fuel behind the conflict ever since it started has seemed to be hate. The never
ending cycle that only repeats and repeats. Someone from Israel kills a Palestinian and
the Palestinian wants revenge. Someone from Palestine kills an Israeli and Israel wants
revenge. This cycle of hatred is continues and continues until one side stops seeking
revenge. During the conflict we have seen attempts to break this cycle but there is always
groups who wish to continue it, only feeding the fire. Until both sides and everyone
supporting each side decides they have had enough and doesnt wish for fighting anyone
more, only then can peace be made. Based off what has happened and what is going on
now the cycle only looks to be continuing and worsening. It will take the combine forces
of the world to help pressure the conflicting countries into peace. It is something they
cannot do alone and we have only started to see outside help for peace. The day the
fighting stops will sure be a day in the history books.

Reference
Snarr, M. (2012). Introducing global issues (5th ed., p. 370). Boulder, Colo.: Lynne
Rienner.
Speri, A. (2014, July 17). Israel Has Launched a Ground Invasion of Gaza | VICE News.
Retrieved November 21, 2014, from https://news.vice.com/article/israel-haslaunched-a-ground-invasion-of-gaza

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Detail / Special Feature / Articles / Digital Library / ISN. (2013, March 21). Retrieved
November 21, 2014, from http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital-Library/Articles/SpecialFeature/Detail/?lng=en&id=160313&tabid=1454178374&contextid774=160313&
contextid775=160298
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (2014, July 23). Retrieved November 21, 2014, from
http://www.trust.org/spotlight/Israeli-Palestinian-conflict/?tab=briefing
Palestinian-Israeli Relations and the Middle East Peace Process - My Jewish Learning.
(n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2014, from
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/israel/Contemporary_Life/IsraeliPalestinian_Relations.shtml