Palestine-Israel Conflict: History, Wars, and

Solution

Outline:

1. The History of Israel-Palestine Conflict

2. Arab’s fight against the Israel (1948-49)
3. Israel’s fight against the Arab countries (1967)

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4. UN Charter and return of the Sinai Peninsula

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5. Hamas and Fatah
6. Intifada (uprising) against Israel occupancy

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7. Tensions between Hamas and Fatah
8. Palestine-Israel conflict and US

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9. What does Palestine want?
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10. What does Israel want?
11. What is so special about Jerusalem?
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12. The solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict

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The History of Palestine-Israel- Conflict:

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 ➢ Jews have been persecuted throughout history due to their religious
beliefs and foreign culture.
➢ In 1897, Jews started a movement called a Zionist movement, to
escape persecution and establish their own state in their ancestral
homeland, Israel. The World Zionist Organisation was created to
advocate for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
➢ As a result, a large number of Jews started flowing into Palestine and

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they bought land and started settling down there.
➢ By 1916, Palestine came under British control after the Sykes-Picot

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Agreement (a secret agreement between Great Britain and France).

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This led to the division of the old Ottoman Turkish Empire.
➢ Later through the Balfour Declaration, the British foreign secretary

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James Balfour agreed to the establishment of a Jewish homeland.
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➢ After the Nazis gained power in Germany in the 1930s, the Jews influx
to Palestine took a major turn with hundreds of thousands of them
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resettled from Europe to Palestine. Arabs saw this as a threat to their

homeland and they fought bitterly with them. As the British
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Government remained as a mute spectator, violence reached its peak.

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➢ In 1947, the British Government referred the question of the future of

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Palestine to the United Nations. UN voted to split the land into two
countries. Jewish people accepted the agreement and declared the
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independence of Israel.
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Arab’s fight against the Israel (1948-49)

● Arabs saw the creation of Israel as a part of a conspiracy to move them
out of their land. Consequently, in 1948, the Arab states of Egypt,
Jordan, Iraq, and Syria declared war on Israel.
 ● At the end of the war between Israel and Arab countries, Israel emerge
victoriously. Moreover, it could increase its territory to a larger extent
and it marked the beginning of the expansionist policy of Israel.
● As a consequence of the war, a large number of Palestinians either fled
or were forced to move out of Israel and settle in refugee camps near
Israel’s border. It was the beginning of the Palestine refugee crisis
which ultimately led to the creation of a organization PLO (Palestine

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Liberation Organization) in 1964.

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Israel’s fight against the Arab countries (1967):

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In 1967, Israel launched a preemptive strike against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan and at
the end of this Six-Day War, Israel captured:
 1. Golan Heights from Syria.
2. West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan.
3. Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt. (Refer to the map above)
➢ The 1967 war is particularly important for today’s conflict, as it left Israel in
control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, two territories home to a large
number of Palestinians.
➢ Gaza and Westbank are together known as ‘Occupied Territories’, after the
1967 war.

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UN Charter and return of the Sinai Peninsula

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Under the UN Charter, there can lawfully be no territorial gains from war, even by a
state acting in self-defence.
 ● Therefore, in response to the Six-Day War, the UN Security Council adopted a
resolution for ‘Land for peace’ and it mandated that Israel should return the
captured areas back to the defeated nations.
● In the light of Israel’s reluctance to return the captured territories, another
Arab-Israeli war erupted in 1973 (Yom Kippur war) in which Israel suffered
some setbacks.
● In 1979, Israel-Egypt signed a peace treaty, accordingly Israel returned the
Sinai Peninsula to Egypt (1982). Egypt became the first Arab nation to

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officially recognize Israel as a state.

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Hamas and Fatah

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● In 1987, Hamas for the liberation of Palestine through Jihad came into
existence. It refused to recognize Israel as a country. It has received support
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from Iran and Syria.
● On the other hand, Fatah, a faction of the PLO under Yasser Arafat, received
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support from Western nations.

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Intifada (uprising) against Israel occupancy

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● First Intifada: The tension between Israel and Palestine escalated with Israel’s
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increased settlement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinians living in the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip fomented the riots begun in 1987, known as the
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first intifada.
● Oslo Peace Accord: With the mediation of US and Russia in 1993, Israel and
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PLO signed the Oslo Peace accord which was based on the concept of
two-state solution. Palestine and Israel signed the Declaration of Principles – in
which both nations seek recognition as autonomous governing bodies. PLO
recognized Israel. Israel agreed to give independence to the ‘occupied
territories. However, territories remained under Israel possession.
 ● Camp David Summit (2000): It aimed to help the two sides finally agree on a
settlement, but the talks eventually failed. The violence led to the Second
Intifada.
● Second Intifada (2000-05): In 2000, a more Palestine Uprising started and a
large number of civilians died on both sides. This is known as the second
intifada. Israel constructed a West Bank Barrier along the West Bank to
separate Israel and Palestine settlements.
● Gaza Expulsion plan: This is a unilateral disarmament plan by Israel by which

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Israel’s defence forces leave the Gaza strip and four settlements in the northern
West Bank (2005)

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Tensions between Hamas and Fatah

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● After the Oslo accord, a Palestinian Authority (PA) was created with a limited
self-rule power in the occupied territories.
● But this led to disputes between Hamas and Fatah for political power.
 ● Hamas – do not accept the Oslo peace accord or 2 state peace resolution. They
want the whole state. They control Gaza. Hamas is supported by Iran.
● Fatah – accepts the Oslo peace accord and negotiates for peace. They control
the West Bank.
● In 2006, Hamas won the Palestine election and it intensified the tensions
between Fatah and Hamas for power. After a long-armed struggle, in 2011
Palestinian Rivals Fatah and Hamas signed a Reconciliation Pact.
● Currently, Gaza is controlled by Hamas and Palestine West bank region by

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Fatah with known presence of Israeli settlements.
● Operation Protective Edge: By Israel to punish Hamas for abducting and

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killing Israeli settlers.

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Palestine-Israel conflict and US
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● The US has been playing a significant role as the mediator in the
Israel-Palestine. However, its credibility as a mediator had long been
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questioned by Palestinians. The United States has been criticised by the OIC
(Organization of Islamic cooperation) and other Arab organizations, for
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vetoing most Security Council decisions critical of Israel.

● Note: The USA has more Jews than Israel. Jews have significant control over
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US media and the economy.

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● Also, Israel receives about $3 billion in direct foreign assistance each year,
which is roughly one-fifth of America’s entire foreign aid budget.
● On the other side, United States has been vocal about its intention to veto any
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Palestinian bid for statehood. Due to which Palestine had to be satisfied with a
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‘non-member observer status in UN.

● However, the second term of the Obama administration saw a degrading
US-Israel relationship. The Iran Nuclear deal of 2015 irritated Israel and it
criticized the US for the deal.
● The Obama administration allowed the United Nations to pass a resolution that
declared Israel’s growing settlements in the occupied territories illegal. Until
that vote, the Obama administration had blocked resolutions criticizing Israel
by using its veto power in the UN Security Council.
 ● With the presidential regime under Trump, who was more inclined to Israel, the
illegal settlements by Israel in the West Bank and Gaza saw a rise.

What does Palestine want?

● They want Israel to withdraw from pre-1967 borders and establish an
independent Palestine state in the West Bank and Gaza.
● Israel should stop all expansion of settlements before coming to peace talks.

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● Palestine wants Palestine refugees who lost their homes in 1948 to be able to

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come back.

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● Palestine wants East Jerusalem as the capital of the Independent Palestine
state.

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What does Israel want?
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● Sovereignty over Jerusalem.

● Recognition of Israel as a Jewish State.
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● The right of return of Palestine refugees only to Palestine and not to Israel.
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What is so special about Jerusalem?

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Jerusalem is a city that straddles the border between Israel and the West Bank. It’s home to
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some of the holiest sites in both Judaism and Islam, and so both Israel and Palestine want to
make it their cap the solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
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The solution for the Palestine-Israel conflict:

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● One state solution (only Palestine or only Israel) is not a viable option.
● Road Map for Peace: The European Union, UN, US, and Russia had released a
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road map in 2003, which outlined a clear timetable towards a Palestinian state.
● The need of the hour is to treat this conflict as an Israeli-Arab conflict rather
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than Palestine-Israel. As we have seen, conflict is not only between Israel and
Palestine but also with other Arab countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Syria
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etc. All of them should participate in the negotiations and the final agreement
should be recognized formally by each one of them along with the UN general
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assembly and security council.

● It is time for the international community to find a just and lasting peaceful
solution to the World’s most intractable conflict soon.
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