Few are issues more divisive than the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Continuing in some form or another for the past 60 years, it is one of the many still-open wounds the British Empire left on the world, and yet the conflict is misunderstood by many here in the U.S.
Depending on where one stands, both Hamas, the ruling party in the Gaza Strip, and the Israel Defense Forces can be labeled as terrorists, occupiers and heathens. But as far as I’m concerned, none of these terms are applicable to either side of the wall.
Although I am neither Jewish nor Muslim, the issue is close to my heart, and I have spent much time researching the issues and historical context of the conflict. Still, I am not without my own biases in terms of what I believe is best for the two peoples and, more importantly, the region as a whole.
First, a bit of historical context. According to the Old Testament, Moses led the Jews to Israel, the Jewish Promised Land. The Jews inhabited this land from 1250 BCE (the conquests of Joshua) to 587 BCE, when they were exiled to (now) Iraq by the Babylonians.@@http://www.science.co.il/Israel-history.php@@ From then on, the land was occupied by a series of empires: Babylonian, Persian, Greek Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic and Christian crusaders, Ottoman and, finally, the British Empire until 1948 — when modern Israel gained statehood.@@I hate you for making me factcheck this, but I made sure they were all there http://israelipalestinian.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000635@@
Due to Theodor Herzl’s Zionist movement, by 1914 more than 65,000 Jews had immigrated to the region, which was inhabited by around half a million Arabs.@@http://books.google.com/books?id=d3BEKtPoX9oC&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=Theodor+Herzl%E2%80%99s+Zionist+%2265,000%22&source=bl&ots=LGDRhGGvaZ&sig=aORxWd_s_ks0Ys2531Cn4okS_Zg&hl=en&ei=N6OLTtSmDoHIsQKsq9zYBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false@@ It was not a state, but a part of the Ottoman Empire. After World War I, the British, who had gained control of the region, committed to the Balfour Declaration,@@http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/The%20Balfour%20Declaration@@ which aimed to create a homeland for the Jewish people. Over the next 15 years, hundreds of thousands of Jews would immigrate to Palestine.
By 1947, militias on both sides were independently vying for control of the region, with Jewish forces eventually winning out with American support. For much of the 1950s and ’60s, Israel was under constant attack by its neighbors, solidifying its regional isolationist stance that has continued in one way or another up until now. There is much more to this issue, but for brevity’s sake, I am going to skip to the current day.
Last week, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, applied for Palestinian statehood at the annual U.N. General Assembly.@@http://maxsiollun.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/mahmoud-abbas-applies-to-un-for-palestinian-statehood/@@ Media frenzy and an assured U.S. veto in the U.N. Security Council accompanied this pronouncement. It seems that, as in 1990, the aim of the application was to restart talks between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel to work on a two-state solution. On the other side, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a speech as well, detailing Israel’s defiance to such a move.@@http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/State/Benjamin+Netanyahu.htm@@
Both speeches pandered to their bases without making any concessions that could move the peace process forward. The only forward progress seemed to occur in the Gaza Strip, where support for the Palestinian Authority (over Hamas) has been steadily climbing, and even that could be a momentary spike in popularity if the process doesn’t gain momentum. In effect, both speeches were publicity stunts that gave lip service to the peace process, but did nothing in reality.
The problem is that there are myriad reasons why neither side is willing to cooperate. Israel is seen by much of the Middle East as a U.S. puppet state that wastes any shred of goodwill by invading neighboring states with disproportionate uses of force. For instance, homemade rockets launched into Israel that killed four Israelis provoked the Gaza War in 2008, which saw 1,000 civilian deaths. The Israeli war with Lebanon in 2006 was very similar in outcome. In addition to military action, Israel is building numerous settlements in East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in the 1967 war with Jordan and is still recognized as part of Palestine by regional powers.@@http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3581.htm@@
On the opposite side, militant leaders in the Gaza Strip have tried to shift public opinion to the extreme right, calling for Israel’s destruction. This has led to numerous attacks on Israeli civilians, the latest of which was the drive-by shooting of a school bus that resulted in the death of an Israeli child. So in a nutshell, there are no moderate voices on either side of the fence, which is literally a massive concrete wall.
The question is where to go from here. A good start would be the removal of the Gaza blockade, which has stifled the economy, leading to mass unemployment and revitalized hatred for Israel. In addition, Israel needs to stop building settlements in contested territory. Both of these moves would go a long way in swaying public opinion. One of the biggest issues on both sides is about the right to return or the right to live where one’s ancestors lived. This is not feasible on either side, but I believe that pre-1967 borders are a good start on this front.
I hate to say it, but the United States needs to get involved in this issue. The President needs to be firm with Israel on a two-state solution that mandates pre-1967 borders as a prerequisite but also maintains Israel’s sovereignty. In addition, there needs to be a firm timetable that will produce results. If the President means what he says when he tells Congress to put politics aside, then he will do the same in the interest of peace.@@http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903596904576519881157116532.html@@
McKivor: Israel-Palestine negotiations should include a two-state solution
Daily Emerald
October 2, 2011
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