Why might many Palestinian youths of your own age want to join terrorist organisations such as Hamas or Islamic Jihad, despite the danger of capture, retaliation and assassination?

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Why might many Palestinian youths of your own age want to join terrorist organisations such as Hamas or Islamic Jihad, despite the danger of capture, retaliation and assassination?         What choices would these youths have to consider in deciding to join such an organisation?

        The conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis has lasted since before 100BC. The conflict is over which people really should own the state of Israel. Should it be split 50% 50% or should the Palestinians be made to leave. Israel is the link between the different continents of Europe, Africa and Asia. Without this connection trade may not take place as easily. The country’ gets most of its money comes from the oil trade. Oil is one of the world’s most important resources and so, Israel is needed to keep many other countries running. This means that Europeans Africans and Asians will always be there. Israel is also in various different industries such as cars, wines, farming and the chemical industry.

        Over the next few hundred years, the Jewish race emigrated throughout the world. They were a dispersed race who no longer could claim to have a homeland of their own. However, many remained resolute as to the fact that they were Jewish and were proud of it. The Jews, nonetheless, experienced a great deal of persecution over the years, throughout the world. After this, it was decided that the Jews should have their own homeland. It was proclaimed that the Jews now had one long-term aspiration. This was to return to their homeland of Israel. They were adamant on returning to this homeland as can be seen in their final prayer which is used to conclude the annual Jewish festival, the ‘Day of Atonement’. The prayer reads “Next year in Jerusalem”. This proved their aspirations of a return to their homeland.

        However, the Jews were faced with a very demanding problem.  When the final trace of Roman control in Israel collapsed in Byzantium during the 7th century, the Arabic race claimed control of the country and renamed it Palestine.  They proclaimed the new Palestine as their own homeland.  They worked to spread their Islamic ideas throughout the middle-east and the Asian world.

        An Austrian Jew know as Theodor Herzl was witnessed such tragic pogroms as the ‘Dreyfus affair’ in France.  It was his knowledge of such incidents as these that persuaded him that the western world were never going to accept this persecuted Jewish race.  It was this belief that started his project to form the first Zionist movement.  The aim of his new movement was to establish a mass Jewish settlement in Palestine.  However, he was to fail to meet this requirement.  He became the president of this new world congress of Zionists.  His work was mainly based on persuading the likes of Turkey and Britain to support his cause.  

Theodor Herzl was successful in gaining the trust of the Turks who eventually sided with the Germans against the Arabs in World War One.  However, the British preferred to support the Arabs, who wanted to reduce the support for the countries opposing them.  However, the British soon became liable to persuasion.  This was due to the money the Jewish race, particularly based in America at the time, had to offer.  They had inherited this from previous generations.  This would have been of great benefit to the British because the American-based Jews could have persuaded the Americans into the war.  As a result of these issues, three agreements were made.

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The McMahon agreement- this promised the support of Lawrence of Arabia in helping the Arabs to revolt against and overthrow the Turks.  As a result, they would be given their own, undisputed homeland.

The Sykes Picot agreement- this was a secret agreement that was written up between Britain and France in which it was agreed that the they would share the land gained when they overthrew the Turkish army.

Balfour Declaration- this promised the Jews that their ‘promised land’ of Israel would be returned to them on two conditions.  These were that they persuaded America to join the war and ...

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