This angered the Israelis and increased their hatred of the Arabs because they were ridiculing them. The war started because Israel claimed that Nasser, president of Egypt at the time, would invade.
The Six Day War also helped fuel hatred towards the Israelis from the Palestinians. As a result of the war, the Arabs lost even more land. The Sinai, the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and the West Bank all became occupied territories. This resulted in problems within these areas, particularly in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank. Some of these problems included restrictions within the refugee camps and heavy policing as it had become an occupied territory. The war also increased the refugee problem, and it also started the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Even today, the Palestinians want to recover the West Bank and Gaza Strip from Israel and they still want the Israelis to leave these two areas. The outcome of this war affected the Arab attitude too. They saw it as a shameful and humiliating defeat and the Arabs blamed the Israelis for this. Even now, many trace the decline of the Palestinians from the 1967 war onwards to the Six Day War. Also, as a result of the war, the Palestinians came to rely on Fatah, a terrorist organisation headed by Yasser Arafat. This helped to increase the hatred of the Israelis towards the Arabs, because more terrorist attacks were launched in an attempt for the Arabs to achieve what they want.
There have also been certain individuals who have added to the suspicion and mistrust. Yasser Arafat, former leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and founder of Fatah, is now President of the Palestinian state. Because of his background many Israelis still regard him as a terrorist and believe that he will be a terrorist no matter what;
“‘Arafat is a terrorist,’ says Avi Suliemani, an Israeli from Sederot a town that borders Gaza.” (The Guardian, Sat. 30th March 2002)
Different events, the majority being terrorist attacks, have affected views like this. One such attack is the incident at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972. Eleven Israeli athletes were kidnapped and all were killed. By now, most Israelis were linking terrorism to Yasser Arafat, as leader of the PLO at the time. This opinion has remained in their minds and thus, their views now are affected by it. Another individual is Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel. The majority of Palestinians do not trust him, mainly because of the Sabra-Chatila massacre in 1982 and the ‘massacre’ at Jenin in 2002, which is a short-term cause. In Beirut, where the massacre took place, a large number of civilians were killed. The estimates vary a lot, from under 500 to over 3000. At the time, Ariel Sharon was the Israeli Defence Minister. In 2002, Ariel Sharon was Prime Minister. Many Palestinians in Jenin claim that there was a massacre at Jenin in 2002, but Sharon claims that only “a few dozen Palestinians were killed.” However, the Israelis refused to let the UN send an investigative team to find out what had happened, which made the situation very suspicious. Many Palestinians and Arabs believe that there was a massacre, and therefore, mistrust towards Sharon increased, as they feel that Sharon is still capable of acts such as these, and that history would repeat itself.
Yitzhak Rabin is another figure that has influenced attitudes. He was the head of the new government in 1992 after 15 years of Likud rule. He wanted peace, but many right wing and religious Israelis didn’t want to return the West Bank and Gaza to the Palestinians. They didn’t want to part with the land because a lot of biblical events had happened there. In November 1995, Yigal Amir, a 27-year-old Jew, assassinated Rabin. This shows that within a country, there can be a minority that opposes the general opinion of the people. . Another example of this is the attitude of Gilad Ben Nun, an Israeli peace activist. He believes that “we must enable the Palestinians to achieve their national aspirations”. His attitude towards the Palestinians differs a lot from the attitude which many Israelis feel towards the Palestinians, hatred and mistrust. After Rabin was assassinated, the Likud party, which doesn’t favour peace, came into power again. This caused despair among peace activists who had backed Rabin, and various other leaders for peace, for his death came as another blow to the peace, and many peace activists became disillusioned with the thought of peace, because of the many failed attempts.
Another war that has contributed to the attitude of mistrust is the Yom Kippur War of 1973. This war started as a result of the Six Day War. Syria and Egypt wanted to regain their lost land and this was made possible by the money given to Egypt from Saudi Arabia, and the weapons Russia supplied. This war furthered the hatred of the Israelis towards the Palestinians because they had attacked Israel on their holiest day. The Arab states also used the ‘oil weapon’ where they refused to export oil to the Western countries, thus gaining international ‘sympathy’ because the Western countries needed the oil. Israel didn’t like this, as it meant that they wouldn’t have the full support of countries such as USA.
Having reviewed these events, I think that the most important cause is the massacre at Deir Yassin. I think this because it was this massacre that started the refugee problem and this is the most prominent problem that still exists today. I also think that this event has affected a lot of the views and attitudes the Palestinians have for the Israelis, and that the Palestinians will blame the Israelis for their uncomfortable life in the refugee camps for a long time. I also think that the Six Day War was important in influencing attitudes towards the Israelis, because it has also strongly influenced the views today. Many Palestinians still want to reclaim the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and they still feel resentful towards Israel for taking away their land. Although I feel that some causes are distinctly more important than others, all the events are important as a whole. Without all the events put together, the overall attitude would not be as strong and long lasting. I think that together, all the causes, both short-term and long-term have caused an attitude of mistrust, suspicion and hatred that will be very hard to erase. Many events which have contributed to this feeling are long term causes, and although these attitudes were first acquired by the older generation of Palestinians, they have passed their view to their children, the younger generation, and they, in turn, will do the same.
The conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis is present today, even if news coverage on the issue is sparse. This conflict is based on the fear, hatred and suspicion that each have for one another. The Israelis believe that the land belongs to them because of the biblical references that Israel had belonged to the Jews a long time ago. The Israelis first started to move back to Palestine under this belief in 1882 as Zionists. However, the beginning of the Palestine refugee problem started with the Deir Yassin massacre when, in April 1948, the Haganah launched Operation Dalet in order to capture Jaffa and Jerusalem. During the fighting 250 men, women and children were massacred. This also creates the refugee problem. The first war between the Israelis and the Palestinians followed quickly, resulting in a victory for the Israelis, and forcing 700,000 Palestinian Arabs to move into refugee camps. The Israelis continued to win war after war, including the six day war in 1967 and the war of Yom Kippur in 1973. The six day war expanded the refugee problem and also started the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. The Yom Kippur war affected the Israelis, because Yom Kippur is a holy day and important to the Jews. This hurt them doubly because the Palestinians had taken advantage of Judaism in that the military would be more relaxed on this day than any other because of Yom Kippur. A massacre in Chatile in June 1982 also caused distrust. The Christian militia, the Phalange, attacked civilians for many hours, killing women, children and the elderly. The Israeli army could see what was happening from a distance but did nothing to stop them. Certain figures also helped create the hate and suspicion between the Israelis and the Palestinians. One such figure is Yasser Arafat. He was the former leader of the PLO and a reformed terrorist. Because of his background, the Israelis were wary of him, even though he claimed to have left that and gone into politics legally. Another important figure is Ariel Sharon. The mistrust of the Palestinians toward Sharon was increased because of the ‘massacre’ at Jenin. The actual number of those massacred is still unclear, and a UN investigative team was not allowed access by the Israelis. This made the whole incident even more suspicious. All these points helped to fuel the fear, hatred and suspicion of the Israelis against the Palestinians and vice versa. These views are, and still will be, passed from one generation to the next, and until these views can be at least confined, no amount of peace treaties will remedy this conflict.
The conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis is present today, even if news coverage on the issue is sparse. This conflict is based on the fear, hatred and suspicion that each have for one another. The Israelis believe that the land belongs to them because of the biblical references that Israel had belonged to the Jews a long time ago. The first Israelis started to move back to Palestine under this belief in 1882 as Zionists. However, the beginning of the Palestine refugee problem started with the Deir Yassin massacre when, in April 1948, the Haganah launched Operation Dalet in order to capture Jaffa and Jerusalem. During the fighting 250 men, women and children were massacred. This also creates the refugee problem. The first war between the Israelis and the Palestinians followed quickly in 1948, resulting in a victory for the Israelis, and forcing 700,000 Palestinian Arabs to move into refugee camps, thus starting the refugee problem. The Israelis continued to win war after war, including the Six Day War in 1967 and the War of Yom Kippur in 1973. The Six Day War expanded the Palestinian refugee problem and also started the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. The Yom Kippur War, however, affected the Israelis, because Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish calender and therefore very important to the Jews. This hurt them doubly because the Palestinians had taken advantage of Judaism because they knew that their defences would be more relaxed on this day than any other because of the importance of this day. A massacre in Chatile in June 1982 also caused distrust. The Christian militia, the Phalange, allegedly massacred many civilians, including women, children and the elderly. The Israeli army could see what was happening from a distance but did nothing to stop them. This created a new wave of unease and wariness. Certain figures also helped create the hate and suspicion between the Israelis and the Palestinians. One such figure is Yasser Arafat. He was the former leader of the PLO and, before entering politics, had been a terrorist. Because of his background, the Israelis were didn't trust him at all, even though he claimed to have left that all behind him. Another important figure is Ariel Sharon. The mistrust of the Palestinians toward Sharon was increased because of the ‘massacre’ at Jenin. At that time, Sharon was the Prime Minister. In 1982, he had been the Defence Minister when the Sabre-Chatila massacre had taken place. These two incidents also increased the Palestinians' distrust of him. The actual number of those massacred in both cases is still unclear, but at the Jenin massacre, a UN investigative team was not allowed access by the Israelis. This made the whole incident even more suspicious. All these points helped to fuel the fear, hatred and suspicion of the Israelis against the Palestinians and vice versa. These views are, and still will be, passed from one generation to the next, and until these views can be at least overcome, if not completely erased, no amount of peace treaties will remedy this conflict.
