Israeli Palestinian Conflict

-A Report on the History of the war & the current issues in dispute
By

Abhas Bhargava(204/CO/08) Anura Gupta(226/CO/08) Anurag Gulati(228/CO/08) Anushree Ghosh(231/CO/08)

Date: 30th April, 2010

To: Dr. Duru Arun Kumar

Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology Dwarka Sec-3, New Delhi

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. 2. 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3. 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 4. 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Introduction and General Overview Major Events Geography and Early History of Israel and Palestine British Mandate for Palestine Partition The Arab Invasion The War in the Modern World The 1967- 6 day War The First Intifada The Oslo Peace Process Camp David Security Barrier Arab Peace Initiative The Remaining key Issues Jerusalem Refugees Occupation, Land and Settlements Israeli Security Water Recent Events Summary Sources Acknowledgments Index Glossary 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 11 12 12 13 14

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1. Introduction and General Overview

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a part of the greater Arab Israeli conflict, is an ongoing conflict between the State of Israel and Palestinian Arabs. The Palestine problem became an international issue towards the end of the First World War with the disintegration of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. It was among the several former Ottoman Arab territories, which were placed under the administration of Great Britain under the Mandates System adopted by the League of Nations pursuant to the League's Covenant (Article 22). All but one of these Mandated Territories became fully independent States. The exception was Palestine where, instead of being limited to "the rendering of administrative assistance and advice" the Mandate had as a primary objective the implementation of the "Balfour Declaration" issued by the British Government in 1917, expressing support for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people". Many attempts have been made to broker a two-state solution, which would entail the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside an independent Jewish state or next to the State of Israel (after Israel's establishment in 1948). As recently as 2007, a majority of both Israelis and Palestinians, according to a number of polls, prefer the twostate solution over any other solution as a means of resolving the conflict. Moreover, a considerable majority of the Jewish public sees the Palestinians' demand for an independent state as just, and thinks Israel can agree to the establishment of such a state. A majority of Palestinians and Israelis view the West Bank and Gaza Strip as an acceptable location of the hypothetical Palestinian state in a two-state solution. However, there are significant areas of disagreement over the shape of any final agreement and also regarding the level of credibility each side sees in the other in upholding basic commitment. An alternative is the one-state or binational solution, whereby all of Israel, the Gaza Strip, and West Bank would become a bi-national state with equal rights for all. Within Israeli and Palestinian society, the conflict generates a wide variety of views and opinions. This highlights the deep divisions which exist not only between Israelis and Palestinians, but also within each society.

2. History
The different perceptions of history are perhaps the most important factors in the ArabIsraeli conflict. Accounts of history, interpreting history in different ways, are used to justify claims and to negate claims, to vilify the enemy and to glorify "our own" side.

2.1 Geography and Early History of Israel and Palestine

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. During its long history, its area, population and ownership varied greatly. The present state of Israel occupies all the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean ocean, bounded by Egypt in the south, Lebanon in the north, and Jordan in the East. The recognized borders of Israel constitute about 78% of the land. The remainder is divided between land occupied by Israel since the 1967 6-day war and the autonomous regions under the control of the Palestinian autonomy. The Gaza strip occupies an additional 141 square miles south of Israel, and is under the control of the Palestinian authority. In the nineteenth century, new social currents animated Jewish life. The emancipation of European Jews signalled by the French revolution, brought Jews out of the Ghetto and into the modern world, exposing them to modern ideas. The liberal concepts introduced by emancipation and modern nationalist ideas were blended with traditional Jewish ideas about Israel and Zion. The marriage of "love of Zion" with modern nationalism took place first among the Sephardic (Spanish and Eastern) Jewish community of Europe. There, the tradition of living in the land of the Jews and return to Zion had remained practical goals rather than messianic aspirations, and Hebrew was a living language. Emancipation of Jews triggered a new type of virulent anti-Jewish political and social movement in Europe.

2.2 The British Mandate for Palestine

2.2.1 The Balfour Declaration - In November 1917, before Britain had conquered Jerusalem and the area to be known as Palestine, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration. The declaration was a letter addressed to Lord Rothschild, based on a request of the Zionist organization in Great Britain. 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. After the war, the League of Nations divided much of the Ottoman Empire into mandated territories. The British and French saw the Mandates as instruments of imperial ambitions. US President Wilson insisted that the mandates must foster eventual independence. The British were anxious to keep Palestine away from the French, and decided to ask for a mandate that would implement the Jewish national home of the Balfour declaration, a project that would be supported by the Americans. The Arabs opposed the idea of a Jewish national home, considering -2

that the areas now called Palestine were their land. The Arabs felt they were in danger of dispossession by the Zionists, and did not relish living under Jewish rule. In 1920, Britain received a provisional mandate over Palestine, which would extend west and east of the River Jordan. The area of the mandate given to Britain at the San Remo conference was much larger than historic Palestine. 2.2.2 Arab Riots and Jewish immigration - In the spring of 1920, spring of 1921 and summer of 1929, Arab nationalists opposed to the Balfour declaration, the mandate and the Jewish National Home, instigated riots and pogroms against Jews in Jerusalem, Hebron, Jaffa and Haifa. The violence led to the formation of the Haganah Jewish selfdefence organization in 1920. The riots of 1920 and 1921 reflected opposition to the Balfour declaration and fears that the Arabs of Palestine would be dispossessed, and were probably attempts to show the British that Palestine as a Jewish National home would be ungovernable.

2.3 Partition

The United Nations Special Commission on Palestine (UNSCOP) recommended that Palestine be divided into an Arab state and a Jewish state. The commission called for Jerusalem to be put under international administration The UN General Assembly adopted this plan on Nov. 29, 1947 as UN Resolution (GA 181). The Jews accepted the UN decision, but the Arabs rejected it. The resolution divided the land into two approximately equal portions in a complicated scheme with zigzag borders (see map at right).

It soon became evident that the scheme could not work. Mutual antagonism would make it impossible for either community to tolerate the other.

2.4 The Arab Invasion

The governments of neighbouring Arab states were more reluctant than is generally assumed to enter the war against Israel, despite bellicose declarations. However, fear of popular pressure combined with fear that other Arab states would gain an advantage over them by fighting in Palestine, helped sway Syria, Jordan and Egypt to go to war. 3

2.4.1 The Arab defeat and the birth of the refugee problem - Despite initial setbacks, better organization and intelligence successes, as well as timely clandestine arms shipments, enabled the Jews to gain a decisive victory. The Arabs and Palestinians lost their initial advantage when they failed to organize and unite. The UN arranged a series of cease-fires between the Arabs and the Jews in 1948 and 1949. UN GA Resolution 194 called for cessation of hostilities and return of refugees who wish to live in peace. Security Council Resolution 62 called for implementation of armistice agreements that would lead to a permanent peace. The borders of Israel were established along the "green line" of the armistice agreements of 1949.

3. The War in the Modern World

3.1 The 1967 6-Day War
Tension began developing between Israel and Arab countries in the 1960s. Israel began to implement its National Water Carrier plan, which pumps water from the Sea of Galilee to irrigate south and central Israel. The project was in accordance with a plan proposed by US envoy Eric Johnston in 1955, and agreed to by Arab engineers. Arab governments refused to participate however, because of the implied recognition of Israel. The newly formed Palestinian Fatah movement seized on the Israeli diversion as an "imperialist event" that would catalyze their revolution. The Syrians, who had broken with Nasser's pan-Arabism, countered by supporting Fatah and attempted to take over the Fatah group. They recruited terrorists and attacked the water carrier on January 14 and February 28. This ferment is considered the catalyst of the events that brought about the 6-day war. In several summit conferences beginning in 1964, Arab leaders ratified the establishment of the PLO, declared their resolve to destroy Israel, and decided to divert the sources of the Jordan River that feed the Sea of Galilee, to prevent Israel from implementing the water carrier plan.

3.2 The First Intifada

While the fortunes of the PLO waned, Palestinians in the occupied territories took their fate into their own hands. Beginning in 1987, a revolt called the Intifadeh began in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The revolt was initiated by local residents and involved mostly low-level violence such as rock throwing, winning sympathy for the struggle of the Palestinians against the Israeli occupiers. By 1991 however, the Intifadeh had all but ended.

3.3 The Oslo Peace Process

Following the Gulf war, US pressure, the ongoing breakup of the USSR and favourable international opinion made it possible to convene negotiations toward settlement of the Palestinian problem. In 1993 and 1995, Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Declaration of Principles and The Oslo Interim Agreement which created the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), a supposedly temporary entity having the power to negotiate with Israel and to govern areas of the West Bank and Gaza evacuated by Israel. Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994. The peace process with the Palestinians led to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and most cities and towns of the West Bank by early 1996. In January 1996, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the Palestiniancontrolled parts of the West Bank elected a legislature controlled by the Fatah faction, with Yasser Arafat as Chairman (titled "Rais" - "President" by the Palestinians) to administer these areas. As the Israelis withdrew, Palestinians took control of these areas. About 97% of the Palestinians in these areas were nominally under Palestinian rule, but the area controlled by the Palestine National Authority amounted to about 8% of the land. Israel embarked on an accelerated settlement program, building thousands of housing units in the West Bank, and doubling the number of settlers there by 2004. Though the PLO had agreed to end forego violence in the Oslo declaration of principles, attacks on settlers continued.

3.4 Camp David Summit

Another attempt to make peace between the two countries was made in 2000 at ANSHU9Camp David Summit. However, negotiations for a final settlement ended in deadlock. Palestinians insisted that refugees should have the right to return to Israel, which would produce an Arab majority in Israel. Israel insisted on annexing key portions of the Palestinian areas and on leaving most settlements intact, and offered only a limited form of Palestinian statehood. Both sides agreed on Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Palestinian violence erupted on September 28, 2000, triggered by a visit of Ariel Sharon to the Temple mount in Jerusalem. This location, called the Haram as Sharif in Arabic, is also the site of the Al-Aqsa mosque, holy to Muslims. False rumors spread that Sharon had entered the mosque, helping to fan the unrest. The US called a summit conference in Sharm-El Sheikh in October, in order to bring about an end to the violence. Both sides vowed to put an end to the bloodshed and return to negotiations. At the conference, it was also agreed to set up a US led investigative committee that would report on the causes of the violence and make recommendations to the UN. This eventually resulted in the Mitchell Report. Shortly thereafter, however, Arab leaders and Yasser Arafat met in an extraordinary Arab League Summit in Cairo, and issued a belligerent communique praising the Intifada and calling for an international investigative commission rather than the one agreed upon in Sharm El Sheikh. About two weeks later a suicide bombing in Jerusalem put an end to the truce. 5

3.5 The Security Barrier ("Security Fence" or "Apartheid Wall")

A major issue of the 2003 Israel election campaign had been the erection of a security barrier (fence, wall) advocated by dovish Israel Labor party. The barrier was to be erected along the Green line and would help to prevent suicide attacks in Israel. A similar barrier in Gaza had reduced infiltration to zero. During 2003, PM Ariel Sharon adopted and adapted the barrier concept, changing the route to include major Israeli settlements and including a projected eastern portion that would envelope the Palestinians in two enclaves. As the barrier went up, it became evident that it would trap many Palestinians who would be cut off from their fields and places of work, some on the Israeli side of the 1948 armistice Green Line, and some on the Palestinian side. On December 8, 2003, the UN General Assembly met in Emergency session and adopted resolution ES-10/14, which asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague for an advisory opinion on the legality of the barrier. The ICJ began its hearings on February 24. Israel boycotted the hearings, but submitted a brief saying that the court should not rule on the matter. About 30 other countries ,including the United States and several EU countries, submitted briefs saying that the court should not rule on the matter because it was a political question rather than a legal one, and likewise did not attend the hearings. Most of these countries also criticized the barrier as illegal or a hindrance to peace negotiations. Zionist and Israeli groups organized demonstrations at the Hague, and Palestinians organized counter demonstrations. The Israelis brought a bombed out bus and stressed that the wall prevents suicide attacks. The Palestinians used the hearings as a platform for delegitimizing the occupation. On July 9, the International Court of Justice delivered its advisory opinion on the Israeli security barrier. The court ruled that the barrier violates human rights and that Israel must dismantle it. Israel announced that it would not abide by the court decision, but it did plan changes in the route of the barrier to satisfy requirements of the Israeli High Court. 3.5.1 Security situation in 2004 - During the spring and summer of 2004 there were no successful major terror attacks within Israel. Israelis and Palestinians attributed the relative quiet to the partially constructed separation barrier and better Israeli intelligence. Israel continued to arrest and kill Palestinians belonging to terrorist organizations, and to occupy Palestinian cities in the West Bank. In October 2004 Israel conducted operation Days of Repentance to overcome Palestinian rocket fire on Israeli towns. The operation killed many civilians.

3.6 Arab Peace Initiative

The Arab Peace Initiative was first proposed by Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in the Beirut Summit. The peace initiative is a proposed solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict 6

as a whole, and the IsraeliPalestinian conflict in particular. The initiative was initially published on March 28, 2002, at the Beirut Summit, and agreed upon again in 2007 in the Riyadh Summit. The peace initiative achieved the unanimous consent of all members of the Arab League, including both the Hamas and Fatah Palestinian factions. It spelled out final-solution borders based explicitly on the UN borders established before the 1967 SixDay War. It offered full normalization of relations with Israel, in exchange for the withdrawal of its forces from all the Occupied Territories, including the Golan Heights, to recognize "an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital" in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as a "just solution" for the Palestinian refugees. Although the proposal was rejected outright by Israel when it was first proposed in 2002, the Arab League continues to raise it as a possible solution, and meetings between the Arab League and Israel have been held. According to Haaretz, Arab leaders had threatened in February 2008 to withdraw their proposal unless Israel explicitly expressed an acceptance of the initiative.

4. The Remaining Key Issues

Many Palestinians nowadays believe that Israel is not really interested in reaching an arrangement, but rather interested in continuing to control the entire territory from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. On the other hand, many Israelis nowadays believe that the Palestinians true intentions are to conquer the Palestine region entirely and that their official claims are only a temporary strategy. Due to the large number of opinions and interpretations, the question of the true demands of the parties is a political issue by itself, about which many Israelis and Palestinians disagree.

4.1 Jerusalem
The border of Jerusalem is a particularly delicate issue, with each side asserting claims over this city. The three largest Abrahamic religionsJudaism, Christianity, and Islam include Jerusalem as an important setting for their religious and historical narratives. Israel asserts that the city should not be divided and should remain unified within Israel's political control. Palestinians claim at least the parts of the city which were not part of Israel prior to June 1967. As of 2005, there were more than 719,000 people living in Jerusalem; 465,000 were Jews (mostly living in West Jerusalem) and 232,000 were Muslims (mostly living in East Jerusalem). The Israeli government, including the Knesset and Supreme Court, is centered in the "new city" of West Jerusalem and has been since Israel's founding in 1948. After Israel captured the Jordanian-controlled East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War, it assumed complete administrative control of East Jerusalem. In 1980, Israel issued a new law stating, "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel.

Israel has grave concerns regarding the welfare of Jewish holy places under possible Palestinian control. When Jerusalem was under Jordanian control, no Jews were allowed to visit the Western Wall or other Jewish holy places, and the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives was desecrated. Palestinians have grave concerns regarding the welfare of Christian and Muslim holy places under Israeli control. They point to the several attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque since 1967, including a serious fire in 1969 which destroyed the south wing.

4.2 Refugees
Palestine refugees are persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948, who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. UNRWA's services are available to all those who meet this definition, who are registered with the Agency and who need assistance. UNRWA's definition of a refugee also covers the descendants of persons who became refugees in 1948. The number of registered Palestine refugees has subsequently grown from 914,000 in 1950 to more than 3.8 million in 2001, and continues to rise due to natural population growth. The war that ensued after the mandate expired was won by Israel, creating a large number of Arab refugees. Estimates vary from about 520,000 (Israeli sources) to 726,000 (UN sources) to over 800,000 (Arab sources) refugees, Palestinian Arabs who fled or were forced out of their homes during the fighting. This number has grown to include over 4.6 million displaced persons, about 3.7 million of whom are currently registered as refugees with the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees). Of these, somewhat over a million live in camps run by the UNRWA. Generally, refugees living in the camps live in conditions of abject poverty and overcrowding. The refugees of the 1948 Israeli war of independence and the lesser number of refugees of the 1967 war constitute a real monumental humanitarian and political problem, and no resolution of the conflict can ignore them. The refugee problem has been at the heart of peace negotiations ever since 1949. In addition to those who fled Israeli territory, about 100,000 Arabs in Israel were displaced from their own villages. Many left willingly and were assured that the eviction was a temporary security measure. In addition to refugees of 1948, several hundred thousand refugees fled in the 1967 war, and were not allowed to return. As part of the peace negotiations, a special committee was set up to deal with the issue, but the committee has made no progress.

4.3 Occupation, Land & Settlements

Israel has occupied the West bank and Gaza Strip (about 2,200 square miles) since the 1967 -6-day war, and has built settlements with a population of about 220,000, mostly in the West Bank. Palestinians demand withdrawal from all of the land conquered in the 1967 and evacuation of the settlements. Israel continued to expand settlements 8

throughout the peace process that began in 1993 and continues to do so today. In the final status negotiations at Camp David and Taba, Israel offered to turn over 97% of the land in the West Bank and all of Gaza, as well as Arab sections of Jerusalem. The Palestinians turned down this offer

4.4 Israeli Security

The area of Israel within its pre-1967 armistice borders is slightly less than 8,000 square miles. The distance from Tel Aviv to the green line border of Israel (West Bank) is about 11 miles Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other Israeli cities are within artillery range of any Palestinian state. Israel therefore insists on guarantees that a Palestinian state would be demilitarized. The West Bank has enormous strategic importance to any country wishing to invade Israel. Israel therefore insists on guarantees that the Palestinian state would not allow a foreign army to enter its borders, and has insisted on bases within the West Bank

4.5 Water
Water is a cardinal issue in the Middle East. A 1995 ENCOP survey by Stephan Libiszewski documented the distribution of water resources in the Jordan River Basin: Israel, Palestine and neighbouring countries. There is not much water, and what there is, is claimed by all countries. Attempts to use the water for different projects by different countries have resulted in constant friction. The dispute between Israel and Jordan was settled in the peace agreements, which provide for supply of water by Israel to Jordan, and joint development of water resources. Israel pumps water from the Sea of Galilee through its Movil Artzi water carrier to be used for irrigation of the Negev and other areas. There has almost always been a water crisis in the Middle East. Population growth always expanded to the limits of the scarcest available resource, which was usually water. Existing settlements throughout history were also threatened by climactic changes. The problem was met successfully by ingenuity and adaptation. Whenever other conditions permitted, the water supply has always expanded to meet population requirements. Throughout the period of the British Mandate, experts were convinced that the land between the Jordan and the sea could not comfortably support any great population increase. As the population increased, the standard of living went up however. Feasible peaceful solutions to the water problem are at hand, but political considerations and lack of investment capital prevent their implementation. Desalination programs or import of water from neighbours such as Turkey would cost a small fraction of the Gross National Product of Israel. Below is a graph of current water resources and water use .In 9

Israel and Palestine and in Jordan, as well as in Egypt, water demand is as great as supply. Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq have a supply that considerably exceeds demand. Nonetheless, Syria for example, has a water shortage in the areas where water is needed. The water is there, but it is in the wrong place, and moving it is not feasible without investment. Turkey cannot sell water easily to Israel, because the pipes would have to go through Syria. Water is a parable for all the problems of the Middle East conflicts. It is a political problem more than an objective resource problem. If there is a water war, it will not be the water that caused the war, but rather a war that was in search of an issue, and found water. The technical solutions exist, if only our hearts would accept them.

5. Recent events
In December 2009, the Israeli government ordered a 10-month lull in permits for new settlement homes in the West Bank. The restrictions, which Israeli politicians and media have referred to as a "freeze", do not apply to East Jerusalem (whose annexation by Israel is not recognised internationally), municipal buildings, schools, synagogues and other community infrastructure in the settlements. About 3,000 homes already under construction will be allowed to proceed. The Israeli government said the move was aimed at restarting peace talks, but Palestinian officials said it was insufficient. Palestinian officials have refused to rejoin peace talks unless a total building halt is imposed, including in East Jerusalem. The announcement followed calls by the US government for a total freeze in settlement building. The US government, the European Union, Russia and the UN have criticized Israel's plans to continue building in East Jerusalem but both the US and the EU have stated that neither the Palestinians nor Israel should have preconditions for resuming the suspended peace talks.

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Summary
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a part of the greater Arab Israeli conflict, is an ongoing conflict between the State of Israel and Palestinian Arabs. Many attempts have been made to broker a two-state solution, which would entail the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside an independent Jewish state or next to the State of Israel (after Israel's establishment in 1948). The present state of Israel occupies all the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean ocean. In November 1917, before Britain had conquered Jerusalem and the area to be known as Palestine, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration. The declaration stated Britain's support for the creation of a Jewish national home in Palestine but the Arabs opposed the idea Tension began developing between Israel and Arab countries in the 1960s. In 1987, a revolt called the Intifadeh began. In 1993 and 1995, Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Declaration of Principles and The Oslo Interim Agreement which created the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).Another attempt to make peace between the two countries was made in 2000 at ANSHU9 Camp David Summit. The number of registered Palestine refugees has subsequently grown from 914,000 in 1950 to more than 3.8 million in 2001, and continues to rise due to natural population growth. Israel has occupied the West bank and Gaza Strip (about 2,200 square miles) since the 1967 -6-day war, and has built settlements with a population of about 220,000, mostly in the West Bank. In December 2009, the Israeli government ordered a 10-month lull in permits for new settlement homes in the West Bank. After all these years of war, one thing is clear that violence is not the solution and if we want peace to prevail in these regions we need to adopt different methods. It is the governments or ruling parties that fight but the common people are those who suffer.

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7. Sources
1. http://www.mideastweb.com 2. http://www.wikipedia.com 3. http://www.un.org 4. http://www.unimaps.com 5. http://www.truth-and-justice.info 6. http://www.freemuslims.org

8. Acknowledgements
I would like to sincerely thank my teacher Dr. Duru Arun Kumar for her constant support, interest and help in making this project.

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INDEX A
ANSHU9Camp David Summit 5 Apartheid Wall 6 Arab Invasion 3 Arab Peace Initiative 6 Arab Riots 3

I
Israeli Security 9

J
Jerusalem 7 Jewish immigration 3

B
Balfour Declaration 2 British Mandate for Palestine 2

O
Occupation 8 Oslo Peace Process 5

C
Camp David Summit 5

P
Partition 3

D
David Summit 5

R
Refugee problem 4,8

F
First Intifada 4

S
Security Barrier 6 Settlements 8

G
Geography 2

W
Water 9

H
History 2

Z
Zion 2 1967 6-Day War 4

GLOSSARY
Haganah The underground military organization of the yishuv in Eretz Yisrael from 1920 to 1948... In June 1920, the Haganah was founded. In the spring of 1947, David Ben-Gurion took it upon himself to direct the general policy of the Haganah, especially in preparation for impending Arab attack. On May 26 1948, the Provisional Government of Israel decided to transform the Haganah into the regular army of the State, to be called 'Zeva Haganah Le-Yisrael'[Israel Defence Force] Intifada Arabic word stands for shaking off or shivering because of fear or illness. It also means abrupt and sudden waking up from sleep or unconcerned status. Politically, the word came to symbolize the Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation. Knesset The Knesset is the House of Representatives (the parliament) of the State of Israel Mandate An order or commission granted by the League of Nations to a member nation for the establishment of a responsible government over a former German colony or other conquered territory. PLO Executive Committee The "government in exile" of the State of Palestine; Executive body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), consists of eighteen members elected by the Palestine National Committee (PNC) Synagogue The synagogue is the Jewish equivalent of a church, more or less. It is the centre of the Jewish religious community: a place of prayer, study and education, social and charitable work, as well as a social centre. Zionism An international movement originated for the establishment of a Jewish national or religious community in Palestine and later for the support of modern Israel.

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