Arab Israeli Conflict

Authors Avatar

The Arab Israeli Conflict

Question 2: Are any of these reasons more important that the others is causing some Palestinians to carry out acts of terrorism

The Arab – Israeli conflict has been going on for more than 50 years. It involves two groups of people called the Arabs and the Jews. The conflict is an ongoing battle between the two groups of people over an area of land called Israel at present in the Middle East. In 1948, Israel was set up as a country for Jews in 1948 by the United Nations (UN). Jews then declared independence from the Palestinians and their own Jewish state in Israel. However as the area was previously under the power of the Arabs, the Arab people did not want to give up their land for the Jews. This was because they felt that due to the fact that they were living there for the past 1000 years they should keep the land. The initial decision by the UN to split the land in 1948 meant that these two groups of people have been arguing ever since, and therefore this has resulted in constant battle between the two groups. Wars, terrorism and suicide bombings have become everyday threats to the Arab and Jewish people. The Palestinians feel that they should keep the land and will defend themselves if the Jewish people were to start settlements. There have been many terrorist attacks from the Palestinians over the past years. Examples of these attacks including a suicide bomber who killed three in the Southern Israel resort of Eilat. This happened on the 29th January 2007 at 09:40, it is very likely that a Palestinian militant group was behind this attack.

The Palestinian claim to the land that is occupied by Israel is an important reason for the Palestinian terrorism in Israel. 2000 years ago the land of Israel was Jewish, however, the Romans removed all of the Jews and over centuries the land became known as Palestine and Arabs known as Palestinians lived there instead. In the 18th and 19th century, the land was ruled by a Turkish Muslim government called the Ottoman Empire. However during this rule the Palestinian Arabs wanted independence from the Ottoman Empire. By World War 1 there were 650,000 Arabs living in Palestine and only 85,000 Jews. World War 1 was a major turning point as Palestine became under the control of Britain and the Balfour Declaration stated that Jews could have a homeland in Palestine. At the end of World War 1 in 1918, the Ottoman Empire collapsed. In the 1930’s the Jews started to emigrate from Germany to Palestine. This is because in the Balfour Declaration it had stated that Jews could have a homeland in Palestine. This led to a civil war between the Arabs and Jews. And then in 1947 a huge decision by the UN meant the Jews would get back their own state. After their regaining of the land there were several wars. This was because of the fact the Arabs and the Jews hated one another and therefore there was rivalry. Each of the groups had their own opinions and beliefs why they felt they should have control of the land.  In 1967 the 6 Day War resulted in Israel gaining half of Egypt due to President Nasser’s (of Greece) completely obvious tactics.. Not only did they gain half of Sinai but also Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights, he also gained Palestinian areas of land in Palestine. During the 1948 and 1967 wars hundreds of thousands of Palestinians left, or were forced out of their homes and moved to neighbouring countries becoming refugees. Over four million Palestinians are still living as refugees, many living in camps in countries like Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. The Palestinians and Arabs both felt that it was God who had given them the land. Because they are unable to sort this out, it makes both sides very angry. This anger then leads to frustration which then leads to the acts of terrorism.

Join now!

The people of Palestine over the past half century have been treated extremely unfairly. Over the decades, the Israelis have evermore gained control over Palestine. The wars resulting in gains for the Israelis in terms of land. After the wars, because of the Israelis determination to gain back the land which they feel is the homeland for Jewish people, the control over the Palestinians is continuing: There is constant vandalism of Palestinian cultural buildings, homes and offices. There is a sense of systematic terrorism, to eventually destroy the identity of the Palestinians. In one example from a video ...

This is a preview of the whole essay