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Lexi Smith
Mrs. Williams
English 112
25 March 2015
Israel vs. Palestine
If a group of people have biblical rights to an area of land, shouldnt they be allowed to
peacefully inhabit their homeland? The Israelis, or Jews, have endured countless hardships over
the course of time. Their struggle to regain possession of their ancestral homeland has been a
long and trying prospect. The main antagonists, or protesters, against the Israelis having their
own state are the Palestinians.Wars have been waged between these two peoples since Bible
times. However, in order to resolve the long-term fighting both the Palestinian and Israeli people
have to agree on who dominates which areas of land and how they are controlled.
Even though you may have heard of the fighting in the Middle East, or more specifically
east of the Mediterranean Sea, the main cause of violence is hard to pinpoint. There are many
reasons that can explain why there is fighting. After the Holocaust in World War II many Jews
felt they needed a place to call their own. Some land of Israel was given to them. However, the
Palestinians who already inhabited the area did not want to give up, or share, their territory. As a
result, there was tension, disagreement, hatred, and fighting. Both Jews and Arab Muslims date
their claims to the land back a couple thousand years(Beauchamp).
This is a huge part of why
both groups are very unwilling to back down. It is not only the Palestinians who oppress the
Israelis but also the country of Iran. There are some theories on how to solve the situation. All of

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them have either worked for a brief period of time or failed completely. The United States is
working on a treaty with Iran to eliminate their nuclear bomb project. Sadly, this has not been
put into motion yet.
Iran is a huge supporter of terrorist groups everywhere. Israel is under the threat of a
nuclear bomb from Iran capable of wiping Israel off the face of the planet. Iran owns a huge
nuclear power plant and is unwilling to give it up. In modern news there is a treaty developing
which will eliminate the sanctions ("actions by one or more states toward another state calculated
to force it to comply with legal obligations" (dictionary.com definition for sanctions).) posed on
Iran in exchange for the slowing down of the development of their nuclear bombs. The prime
minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, knows that this will only further support their need to
eradicate the Israeli population. This situation is ongoing with new developments daily. Israel is
in a continuous battle for its survival.
In additions to the bomb threats, the Israelis live in constant fear of terrorist attacks. Due
to merciless hatred towards the Israelis there have been random acts of violence which spiral the
country into war. An example of this is the Israel-Hamas War in 2014. What triggered this war
was the shooting of three girls who were Jewish students. Another example of this is the random
missile attacks that occur without warning, launched by the Palestinians into Israel. However, the
missiles are provided by Iran. The missiles have taken countless innocent lives over time. Israel
is not completely defenseless as they have responded to some of the acts by dropping bombs in
Gaza, home to many Palestinians. In return, the outraged people fired their weapons on Israel
again. This conflict is an extremely long and complicated trial for the Israeli population.

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For there to be a chance of peace on this topic, each side has to be reasonable and agree
on a way to compromise. The future is very uncertain for the Israelis. In their centuries old
struggle both sides are equally passionate about their right to live on this sought after land.

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Works Cited Page

"Hamas has not so far achieved its purpose of replacing Israel with Palestine, but at least it has
thrown the European Union into confusion and double-think."National Review 26 Jan.
2015: 8. Global Issues in Context. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.
Lefkovitz, Elliot B. "Jews." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.
Ip, Michael. "No End of Dying." Newsweek 5 Dec. 2014. Opposing Viewpoints In Context.
Web.
23 Mar. 2015.
Petrou, Michael. "This means war: why recent terror attacks in Jerusalem are sparking fears of a
new
intifada." Maclean's 8 Dec. 2014: 22+. Global Issues in Context. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.
Vogele, William B. "Arab-Israeli conflict." Academic World Book. World Book, 2015. Web. 23
Mar. 2015.
Beauchamp, Zach. "What Are Israel and Palestine? Why Are They Fighting?" Everything You
Need to Know About Israel-Palestine. Vox, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.