Israel – Palestine Conflict

Introduction

Undoubtedly, the conflict between Israel and wider Arab/Palestinian nation has been the flashpoint for geopolitical events in Middle East. Over the years, the stalemate on the Israeli and Palestinian conflict have swelled in to such tangent that it becomes difficult to see where to start implementing a solution.

History:

Jews from Europe in late 1800s started buying large chunks of land in Palestinian areas; they also migrated in large numbers. The local Arabs found this a ploy and riots broke out. This led to the war in 1948 that saw the creation of Israel after UN intervention, 55% of original Palestine being granted to Israel. This war and consequent UN intervention led to millions of Palestinians becoming refugees, stoking anger among the Arabs for decades to come. The resulting hostilities led to more wars in 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s (Glassner & Fahrer, 2003). All of which led Israel to annex more Palestinian lands, occupation of West Bank and Gaza Strip, and a virtual control over the entire Palestinian resources and population.

Currently, the Palestinians are demanding return of refugees to their homes that Israel does not agree, as these refugees will tilt the population in favor of Arabs inside Israel’s expanded borders. They also demand a halt in the systematic development of Jewish settlements, which Israel is being forced to do internally from powerful religious elements. Another major issue is the dismantling of barriers on Palestinian lands, which Israel erected to defend itself from terrorist attacks.

Conclusion:

Israel declares itself home of the Jews around the world, and having declared that, we must keep in mind the fact that every nation is not lucky enough to have a state of its own and when Jews have one, giving up land will be a “big no”. Similarly, the indigenous people, that are native Arabs, evicted from their ancestral lands in ghastly fashion, would want justice in the form of self-government, a country. This places the region in competing flames of sovereignty of Israel and Palestine, making it one of the toughest conflicts remaining to get resolved.

References

Glassner, Martin Ira, Fahrer, Chuck, & Fahrer, Charles. (2003). Political Geography. Wiley John & Sons.