The I. P. Conflict

The Middle East has been a conflict ridden area due to clashing religions, and political and territorial disputes for centuries. Although deep-seated religious and political differences can easily cause violent rivalry, territorial dispute frequently causes long lasting tension and fighting between those involved. Specifically the area occupied by modern day Israel and Palestine and due to the area being a hub for religious pilgrims of Jewish, Catholic, and Islamic faith there has been controversy for centuries. Most importantly though, is the presence of Britain having control of the land beginning in 1917 due to the growth of Zionism. Eventually the United Nations created their partition plan as a way to try to have peace between the Arabs and Jews but as time went on it seemed less and less likely for peace to prevail (Fisher 5). Similarly, this view of the conflict being impossible to solve is present in Yasmina Khadra’s writings. Khadra in his novel, The Attack, suggests that a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict is not possible through the extremist behavior of Sihem which correctly reflects that of the actual hatred of Israelis found in current

This was a result of the Balfour declaration, which promised a homeland to the Jews and vowed to protect the rights of non-Jewish people in Palestine. While Britain kept control over Palestine, remaining states such as Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria gained independence. The Balfour declaration essentially triggered a Zionist movement and encouraged Jews to migrate to Israel – altering the demographics of Palestine, as Arabs had previously been the majority population. As conflict between the Arab and Jewish population started emerging, the “Irgun” emerged as a Jewish guerrilla force. Eventually the British withdrew after World War 2 in 1948 and left Israel more land than agreed on under the UN plan and this enforced the repositioning of thousands of Palestinians. In response, the Arab nations rejected the state of Israel and its claims over Palestine and conflict was physically ignited in the 1956 Israel invasion of Sinai. This demonstrates how the violent conflict between the Arab and Jewish communities is largely caused by the political and social contentions of the

Britain began to support Jewish immigration to the area because of a few key reasons. Foremost was the destruction of enemies and gaining of allies. Britain looked to help the Arabs establish independent states as a way to gain support against the Ottomans (Immell 16). Britain also wanted to assist the Jews in their transition to Palestine because it felt Russia would be grateful for such a maneuver with its own population (17). Of course, Britain didn’t want to make new enemies in this process. They decided to stay as neutral as possible, doing so through the Balfour Declaration, issued in 1917. This document encouraged a Jewish homeland in Palestine without being a detriment to the rights of Arabs in the region – a clever but difficult balance between both sides (Immell 17). As many politicians discover, it was because of Britain’s awkward, double-edged stance that it found it to be a struggle to support both sides. Instead of focusing on both at the same time, Britain bounced from interest to interest, shifting its focus by favoring both sides at different times (Immell 19). Thus Great Britain’s investment in the affairs of Palestine declined.

The most essential reasons behind the Israel-Palestine conflict were geocultural factors. These factors contributed greatly to the contentious argument between both groups because with the geocultural perspective, the religious tensions between Muslims and Jews have resulted in the problematic issue over the holy structures in Jerusalem. The second most contributing factors in the Israel-Palestine conflict were psychological factors. These were the second greatest factors that started the dispute because with the psychological perspective, the aftereffects of the holocaust have traumatized the remaining Jews and also the Palestinian refugees losing their homeland. The conflict takes place in the Middle East, holy land of Jerusalem and officially started from 1948 and ongoing. The average person in Israel is a wealthy Jew and the typical Palestinian is an impoverished Muslim. The forced migration of Palestinian refugees and military checkpoints are disadvantages towards Palestine and are huge advantages to the Israelis.

The State of Israel formerly known as Palestine is known as one of the most conflict infected areas. Problems between the Palestinian Arab population and the Israeli one constantly happen. But how did this come to be? Palestine was an area that was home to an Arab majority prior to World War II, but do to many factors the Jewish population increased. These factors included heavy migration into Palestine after the establishment of the British mandate and the Balfour Declaration, which was signed in 1917. Migration increased as well due to anti-Semitism in Europe and the Holocaust. Due to Britain’s lack of control of migration, and problems arising in the region as well, the decision was given to the U.N. It was a partition plan in 1947 between the Arabs and the Jewish population, but soon after that Israel declared its independence.

Since biblical times Jewish communities lived in Arab lands, in Persia, India, East and North Africa and indeed in Palestine. However more modern times have seen them as a nomadic people, living in various countries but never truly finding a land to call there own. In the late 19th and early 20th century an idea began to gain solidarity and momentum, that of Zionism. The idea of Zionism, to create a Jewish state, is arguably one of modern society’s most polarizing and influential movements. Zionism has influenced political, religious, and social groups in a variety of ways that culminated in the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.(Cohen, week 10)

Based on the original concept of the Sykes-Picot Agreement, this area was artificially divided into two parts: France controls Syria, while Britain controls Iraq, Jordan and Palestine. After a few years, Iraq and Jordan became independent as Arab nations, but Palestine, which means the land west to the Jordan river, did not. Based on the Balfour Declaration, Zionists intensified their lobbying activities to the U.K. government in order to promote the immigration of Jews to the land of Palestine. This was also a good opportunity for other European countries to let Jews migrate out of them, under expanding anti-Semitic

Historically, there have been many problems in the Middle East due to foreign occupation. Middle East has always been hot and it is still hot. However, there seems to be no end to the fire. There have been a lot of peace talk in the region, but the conflicts still is still unresolved. In this paper, I will discuss the top three conflicts in the Middle East that stands as the biggest constraint to peace in the region. First conflict is the conflict between two islamistgroup Hamas and Fatah, second conflict is the Arab-Israeli conflict, and finally Syrian civil War.

Involvement of the United States in the Middle East has caused several terrorist attacks not only in the United States but, all around the world. Paradoxically, with American involvement in the Middle East, terrorism continues.

Yesterday’s event regarding the Balfour Declaration was given by Charles Smith. The 100th year anniversary of the Balfour Declaration serves as a great reminder of the cornerstone to the existence of the Israeli state today. Dr. Smith argues that, at the time, Lord Balfour’s letter was written to Rothschild favoring a national home in Palestine. Which is what many Zionists wanted; a state in all of Palestine, not just a national home. He discusses to key elements that helped the Jewish movement further push for the Balfour Declaration’s implementation. These were the European Jewish relations within Europe at the time, which marginalized the Jewish communities. Also, European imperialism, with respect to the British, is an important point

Over thousands of years Arab’s and Jewish civilizations have made deep historical roots in Palestine along with many emotional attachments. At the end of the 19th century Arab nationalism and political Zionism were starting to steak claims to the same land. These two groups would start the fire for what will become civil wars, bitter disputes, and lasting relations though the 20th century. The British wanting to break the chocolate and also pick their piece would try to settle disputes in the Middle East so that they could lay claims to the natural resources of the land. In doing this the British would double deal and both sides would be left with nothing (Khouri). The Problems in the Middle East have been going on for centuries creating a large puzzle that will never reveal a picture of harmony.

In many ways Britain was not the right country to be given responsibility for overseeing Palestine and bringing it to self-governance. Britain’s primary interest in the region was not fulfilling the wishes of the local people, but safeguarding the Suez Canal and the rout to India. Furthermore by her deeds and actions during the war, Britain had lost the trust of both the Arab and Jewish communities. Arab hopes had been raised by McMahons declaration of support for Arab independence, then dashed by his government’s failure to follow this up. The Arabs had been further annoyed by the Balfour Declaration and the apparent support for the Jewish cause among leading British politicians. The Jews too also had reason to mistrust the British. The Balfour Declaration, which directly contradicted the Sykes-picot agreement, seemed to them as a cynical bid for support at a time when British fortune was at a low. In the period of 1920-48 the fears of both Arab and Jews were fuelled by Britain’s indecisive and wavering attitude. Sometimes, as when they set limits on Jewish immigration, they appeared to support the Arabs. More often, particularly in their treatment of Arab resistance, it looked as if they were backing the Jews.

The turmoil in the Levant region is constantly viewed as an ancient conflict that has been going on for centuries, fueled by religious hatred. In reality the current conflict has less to do with religion than the conflicting claims of two groups to the same region. These claims were made in the early 20th century, anticipating the fall of the Ottoman Empire, with the backing of British promises of an independent state for both sides. These claims stoked nationalism on both sides. The regional arabs began to see themselves as Palestinian before arabs and the new jewish zionist movement called for a jewish state. From the end of the first world war to 1947 both groups claimed the land as their own. That was until the Holocaust.

This paper will focus on the armed conflict between Palestine, specifically the Hamas-backed Gaza strip and the state of Israel that has led to the loss of many lives on both sides, while at the same time, created tensions between state actors that make the idea of this conflict being eventually resolved almost impossible unless there is some major change in the internal and external environment. The armed conflict that the paper describes is between Hamas which is viewed as a Islamist terrorist group by Israel, the United States and several other countries with their ultimate goal being winning back the land that they claim to be theirs and also turning Palestine into an Islamic fundamentalist state. On the other hand, the state of Israel defines itself as a Jewish and Democratic State, with 75% of their population being Jewish which would make it a Jewish majority state. Israel also governs itself on the Basic Laws of Israel, which include the Israeli nationality law that in effect grants the right to all Jewish people the right to return to Israel and automatically be able to receive Israeli citizenship and establishes Jerusalem as the

Between 1922 the British Government used policies to tackle and deal with problems arising in the middle east after World War 1. These policies were used to take advantage points that would later help the success and growth of the British Empire and its colonial states and allied independent states. These policies were made to affect specific groups of people and different societies such as, the Jews in search of a national home, and the Arabs who believed had the claim over Palestine. The British befitted by making policies that would affect their overall strength, economy, and influence in the Middle East. Thought the policies didn’t offer either community political right, it helps the two communities (Arabs and Zionists) to organize their