Israel-Palestine
Longterm conflict since the 1940s. Jews vs Palestinian Muslims and Christians, with Western intervention.
Historical origins: the ancient roots of the conflict go back to:
- 1250BC (ancient Israel);
- the division of the Middle East around 1920, and
- the persecution of the Jews in Europe 1880s-1940s.
At the end of the British Mandate in 1947-48, Palestine was divided to give Jews 56% and Arabs 44% of the land of 'historic Palestine', with Jerusalem remaining neutral. But Jewish fighters seized 75% of the land after a fierce war, followed by the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.
In the 1967 Six Day War, Israel occupied all of Palestine (the West Bank and Gaza) creating 500,000 Arab refugees. In the 1973 Yom Kippur/Ramadan war, Arab neighbours tried to regain Palestinian land but failed.
From 1977 right-wing Zionists dominated Israel, starting settlement-building in the West Bank and creating irreversible ‘facts on the ground’ to define a future Israel, disregarding international law and pressures. One longterm consequence has been the emigration of Palestinian Christians, leading to a rising proportion of Muslims in Palestine (though there are many Palestinian seculars too).
Israel and Egypt made peace in 1979. Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 to disable Palestinian fighters (PLO). In 1987-93 came the first intifada or Palestinian uprising (1,000 dead). The 1993 Oslo peace process proposed an incremental two-state solution, starting with giving Palestinians control over limited areas, while leaving many key issues unresolved (Jerusalem, refugees, Israeli settlements). Deadlock arose in late-1990s.
The second intifada, 2000-06, arose after Israeli provocations (Ariel Sharon). Israeli air strikes, assassinations, incursions and increased settlement-building. Palestinian suicide bombings in Israel. Israel reoccupied the West Bank in 2002, beginning to build a separation wall. In 2003, the ‘roadmap’ detailed a peace process which has yielded few results.
In 2006, the legitimate electoral victory of the Islamist party Hamas in Palestine was blocked by Israel and foreign powers, leading to an economic embargo on Palestine, leading to much social hardship, especially in Gaza. In 2007, a brief civil war between Fatah and Hamas led to Fatah rule in the West Bank and Hamas rule in Gaza. This internal conflict continued into 2008, together with Palestinian rocket fire on Israel from Gaza and air strikes by Israel.
Zionist elements seek full control of Palestine and ‘transfer’ of Palestinians abroad, while other Israelis want peace with minor concessions. Extremist Palestinian elements seek the elimination of Israel, while the majority seek a two-state solution based on 1967 borders (the 'green line'). The situation is greatly affected by US military and economic support of Israel and Fatah, Western complicity, poor Muslim support of the Palestinians, and international complacency.
Deaths: 1945-49, 20,000; 1960s, 22,000; 1970s, 15,000; 1987-93, 2,000; 2000-06, 6,000. Refugees: 1948, 900,000; 1967, 300,000; current total refugee population, 4m.
Links:
Wikipedia: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Reuters Alertnet: Israel-Palestine
Flashpoints: Israel-Palestine
Israeli-Palestinian Pros and Cons
Al Nakba - The Disaster
BBC: Middle East Conflict
Human Rights Watch: Middle East
B'Tselem: Israeli Information Center
History of the Middle East Conflict
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Jews for Justice in the Middle East