What is the modern history of the israeli and palestinian conflict?

Question

I don't want the ancient history of the conflict ,just the last century or so,thank you.

Answer 1

The short version?

British Mandate of Palestine

With the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the region called 'Palestine' (which includes all of current Israel, and a fair portion of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), was placed under a protectorship by the League of Nations in the form of the 'British Mandate of Palestine'. This was from the end of WW1 to after WW2. During this time there were no 'Palestinians' per se.....there were Palestinian Arabs, Palestinian Jews, Palestinian Christians. Palestinian Arabs were by far the majority with Palestinian Jews and Christians making up a comparatively small minority. They lived together rather peacefully under the British as they had for centuries under the Ottoman Empire (there were definitely conflicts, but that's the LONG version).

Founding of Israel

When the British proposed a partitioning of the British mandate after WW2..into specifically Palestinian Jew and Palestinian Arab controlled territory, a conflict arose. Who started it is debated, but who won the conflict is not. The Palestinian Jews, having secretly prepared for a possible conflict in the years after ww2, took control of a huge portion of the former British Mandate, and declared this land 'Israel'..a homeland for the Jews so harshly treated by the Nazi only a few years earlier. With US support, the UN voted to accept Israel as a new country in 1947 (possibly 48), by a very narrow vote. Millions of Palestinian Arabs were expelled from this new country, which was to be pristinely Jewish in theory. This 'exile' was and is a tremendous source of conflict, as many of these people left behind property, businesses and land. Still, there were no 'Palestinians' as we know them today.

Many of the exiles settled in tiny sections of land unclaimed by Israel in its 1947 petition to the UN....clustering in a small coastal region called Gaza, highlands to the northeast called the 'Golan Heights' and in the largest settlements, around Jerusalem in a region eventually called the West Bank (as it laid on the western bank of the Jordan river). The Palestinian Arab refugees initially inundated the neighboring country of Tran Jordan (which would later be called simply Jordan), which eventually resulted in violent conflicts between the exiled Palestinian Arabs and the Jordanians. Tens of thousand of Palestinian Arabs were killed along with a much lower number of Jordanians. These conflicts largely petered out in the mid 60s, with the Jordan River becoming the unofficial boundary between the Jordanians and the exiled Palestinian Arabs.

Conflict with Jordan, Egypt and Syria

The creation of the new country Israel in the heart of the region of Palestine did not sit well with many Arab neighbors. Egypt in particular, would not abide the country's existence. In a series of wars from the 1950s to the 1970s, three counties (Jordan, Syria and Egypt), lead by Egypt attacked Israel in an attempt to 'liberate' the territory. All three attempts were unsuccessful. The most important of the three was the conflict in 1967.

During the 67 conflict, Egypt attacked through a narrow coastal region of Gaza into the heart of Israel. The Jordanians attacked across the large settlements of the West Bank, while the Syrians shelled Israel from the well defended cliffs of the Golan Heights. Over 6 days, Israel managed to defeat each army in turn, pushing them out of their national boundaries and actually took control of new land including the Sinai peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights and the West Bank. To protect against future attacks (per the Israelis at the time), the Israeli military maintained a presence there long after the conflict was over. With rare exceptions, they do to this day.

PLO and modern day 'Palestinians'

With the conflicts against Tranjordanians being disastrous for the exiled Palestinian Arabs, many turned their attention to Israel. In 1964, a group called the Palestinian Liberation Organization was formally established for the purpose of destroying the nation state of Israel (not necessarily the people, but most definitely the territorial country), and liberating the territory for the exiled Palestinian Arabs (who at this point had been living as refugees for over 15 years).

This organization, led by a young Christian from Egypt called Yassar Arafat, popularized the concept of 'Palestinians' as we know them today....specifically, exiled Palestinian Arabs living in the regions of Gaza, Golan and the West Bank. This was the beginning of a much more formal conflict between the newly christened Palestinians and the Israelis. When the Israelis actually took military control of what was considered Palestinian territory in 1967, the conflict became even more intense.


Zionism and the 'Occupied Territories'

Many Israelis believed in a 'biblical' Israel, specifically, the Israel under its widest borders under King Solomon...before its split into Israel and Judea. This biblical Israel included boundaries that encompassed modern day Gaza, the Golan Heights, and most importantly by far, the West bank. The west bank was key as the holy city of Jerusalem lied inside it.

Within Jerusalem is the last remaining ruin of the great temple (sometimes called the 'Temple of Herod', the remant called the 'Wailing Wall'), considered by Jews to be the single most sacred site in their religion. Unfortunately for them, in the millennia since the razing of the temple by the Romans in the mid 1st century AD, Muslims had built the 'Dome of the Rock', considered the single most holy religious site in Islam after Mecca itself.

With religion and national security as motivations, the Israelis actually began to settle the three territories of Gaza, Golan and the West bank, creating villages and entire cities. Hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers, many fiercely religious, volunteered to live in these new settlements. Real Estate being very scarce in the region (you can walk across Israel at its narrowest point in an afternoon), many of these new settlements were literally built over refugee camps and homes of Palestinians already living there. These Palestinian villages, homes and camps (especially those built on vital waterways) were typically demolished and rebuilt as Israeli settlements. Obviously, this did not go over well with the Palestinians, and only further fueled the conflict. They considered this land their home and the Israeli military and settlers 'occupiers'. Thus the term 'occupied territories'.

Palestinian Authority and the Two State plan

With military conflicts between Israel, Egypt and Jordan largely resolved in 1979 during the Camp David accords in the US, Israel's greatest national security threat became conflicts with the Palestinians. In bombings, pitched battles, and wide spread skirmishes, this conflict was bloody and costly for an entire generation of Israelites and Palestinians. Finally, after literally decades of brutal conflict (with atrocities committed by both sides, with the majority of casualties being Palestinian), the two sides secretly sent negotiators to discuss a possible peace agreement. These meetings took place in Oslo Norway, and were remarkably successful considering the history of violence between the two sides. In 1991, the 'Oslo Accords' were announced, with a bilateral cease fire declared, and a new organization, the Palestinian Authority, established. The PA would officially police Palestinian territories, and deal directly with Israel. It also suggested the creation of a Palestinian state that would include most of the territories occupied in the 1967 war.

The plan worked reasonably well until 2000. Yassar Arafat, having rejected agreements that would formally establish Palestine as a country....but required significant concessions of land and water rights, left negotiations with Israel and the US. With the provocative visit of a hard line right wing politician named Ariel Sharon to a sacred mosque in Palestinian territory, a new conflict exploded. This conflict rapidly spun out of control of either side, until the bloody days before the Oslo Accords returned in full. Suicide bombings of both military and civilian soft targets were routinely conducted by the Palestinians, killing hundreds of Israelies. Raids and conflicts with Palestinian militants and refugees killed thousands of lesser armed Palestinians. With terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, the US who had typically played a more conciliatory role as mediator largely left Israel to deal with the Palestinians as they saw fit.

Violence subsided significantly with the creation of a large, concrete barrier between Israel and the occupied territories by the Israelis that began 2002 (construction continues to this day). This barrier is hugely controversial, as it unofficially annexes large tracks of land claimed by the Palestinians, and outside the scope of Israel’s original 1947 petition to the UN, or the Oslo Accords. It also makes it very difficult for Palestinian civilians to move back and forth from the occupied territories to Israel, where hundreds of thousands were actually employed. The wall however did dramatically decrease the number of suicide bombing attacks by Palestinian militant groups in Israel, until such attacks today occur annually, instead of weekly. With the violence subsiding, negotiations seemed more likely. Israel also unilaterally withdrew from most of its positions in the Gaza strip, which was seen by many as a promising sign. Many militant groups had called cease fires.

Recently however, things have taken a darker turn. The Palestinians, angered by years of conflict with Israel, elected one of the more violent militant groups that oppose Israel to lead the Palestinian governments. This group, known as Hamas, refuses to acknowledge Israel's right to even exist, making negotiations problematic. Hamas remains hugely popular with many Palestinians, especially in the West Bank, due to its significant humanitarian efforts among the Palestinians via its civil wing , and its extreme rhetoric and attacks against Israel via its military wing. Per most recent polls, the anti Israeli rhetoric of Hamas largely mirrors the actual sentiment of the Palestinian people.

And that, in a nut shell, is the conflict. Hope that helps.

Answer 2

The modern history is tied in with the ancient, so it's hard to separate the two.

To be politically incorrect but truthful, the Jewish people took over Palestine in 1948 and created the nation of Israel. (This was largely because of their treatment at the hands of the Nazis, and the fact that God had "promised" them the land in the Bible). True, they needed a place where they could be safe. But what they did afterward wasn't right.

The Jewish people "own" Israel. The government is theirs, the land is theirs. They make up the rules, and the Palestinians (ie, Arabs) are now second-class citizens in the very land their ancestors have lived in for milennia. The Palestinians have been pushed into certain areas of the country and are pushing back.

Meanwhile, the Israel's do their best to keep the Arab's under control, and even impose curfews and martial law on them at their own whim.

I would fight back too -- wouldn't you?

Answer 3

It goes way back to World War One. The Allies courted the Middle Eastern people, specifically the people of what is now Syria, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia to fight for the Allies against Turkey and the Central Powers.
The agreement basically said that the people of that region would get their own countries when the war was over if they helped. Well, they helped the Allies and the when the war was over they did not get their own countries, instead they became mandates of Great Britain and France. Then the Balfour Letter from
Britain stated that the British were thinking of taking land from the Palestinian Mandate and giving it to European Jews to create their own country.

Then after World War II, Israel was created from that land and many Arabs, including Palestinians felt betrayed and cheated by the Western democracies and they resented Israeli militarism and imperialism on their land. Since the US and Great Britain were staunch supporters of this new "Israel," the US and Great Britain also became "devils" in the eyes of many palestinians. Not to mention, the acts of the US and Great Britain in trying to manipulate middle east politicas from 1950-today.

hope this was helpful,
have a good day.

Answer 4

Are you kidding? You MUST be. There is NO WAY you could get a succinct answer to that question simply BECAUSE the modern history is a DIRECT result of the ANCIENT history.

Suffice to say, it is long drawn out anf scary.

TFTP

Answer 5

Actually, it very simple.

I will fast forward to the last 10-15yrs.

Isreal does not want to fully give up the west bank which is in violation of UN resolutions.

Palestinians want their own state in the entirety of the west bank and also in Gaza strip(which Israel does not want).

FYI, the west bank is very small.

Answer 6

Try http://www.palestinefacts.org

Pay attention to the maps and you'll see that Palestine is currently divided among the states of Jordan, Israel, parts of Lebanon and Syria, and the disputed territories of Judea/Samaria and Gaza.

Answer 7

One side will blow some members of the other side up; then, in retalliation that side will launch a missile attack against the other side; then, the other side will strap a bomb to himself and take a bus ride that never makes it to its destination; then the other side will back out of some futile treaty. And so on and so on.

Answer 8

It all boils down to the same as any conflict RELIGION

Answer 9

the isreali war of independance in 1948

Answer 10

I found the BBC site to be the most objective.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/v3_ip_timeline/html/default.stm

Answer 11

Hello diarmo13,

You seek to restrict the answers to the modern period, however on this subject that will not do, because thereby you seek to deny roots of the Jewish People to their ancestral homeland of Israel.

Therefore I hope the following (which does also cover the modern period) will better assist you:

Hello,

The last "indigenous" state (meaning run by the natives rather than by a foreign power) that comprised the area now called Israel and also referred to as “Palestine”, before the re-creation of the Jewish state as the State of Israel, was the Jewish Hasmonean Kingdom of Judea with its capital at Jerusalem (now referred to as “East Jerusalem” also “the Old City”).

You can read about the Jewish Hasmonean dynasty here:
http://www.britannica.com/topic/Hasmonean-dynasty

You can view the geographical position of the Jewish Hasmonean Kingdom of Judea, here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasmonean_dynasty

You can read how the Jewish Hasmonean Kingdom of Judea
re-gained its independence from the Greek Seleucid empire, by viewing the following two sources (for best viewing use the download option):

Extract from “Josephus - “Antiquities of the Jews”, Book 13, part of Paragraph 11 of Chapter 5, to end of Chapter 7.
(PDF file comprising introduction and then one paragraph to each page, total 16 pages):

https://www.mediafire.com/?kgex1rg9z4ha62f

Extract from “1 Maccabees”, Chapters 14 to 16 inclusive.
(PDF file comprising introduction and then 10 verses to each page, total 13 pages):

https://www.mediafire.com/?cbexfh6uewax5a9

You can view coins from the Jewish Hasmonean Kingdom of Judea, here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasmonean_coinage

Their independence came to an end because of a Roman invasion and many, but not all, Jews were expelled to many places including Europe.
Apparently the Palestinians deal with this by denying that there ever was a Kingdom of Judea.

Referring to the Bible where the Bible talks about the Jewish People being given the land of Canaan, the Holy Quran says:
Sura (chapter) “Al-Maaida” ["The Table" or "The Table Spread with Food"] 5:21:
"O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah hath assigned unto you,
and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin."
http://www.searchtruth.com/chapter_display.php?chapter=5&translator=2&mac=
However, Islamic commentators seem not to recognise that this passage applies to the land of Canaan.

The Holocaust speeded up the Return by the Jewish People to their homeland, which had already been underway before the second world war.

"The Jewish people have maintained a well-documented, unbroken presence in Israel for well over 3,000 years" (http://arabisraeliconflict.info/arab-israel-facts/fact-1-jewish-history-israel), from before the Arab invasion and occupation. Why then do we refer to a “Return” of the Jewish People? This is because although there was an unbroken Jewish presence in the land going back to biblical times, many of the Jewish communities remaining in exile wished to Return to their homeland.

The Quran refers to the Jews of the Judean kingdom as “the People of the Book"; "Book" meaning the Bible. However, today, the Arab peoples deal with the Return of the Jewish exiles, by denying that the Jewish people are “the People of the Book" of the Quran. They do this by falsely claiming the Jewish People are all descendants of converts. So while millions of Jewish men, women, and children, were murdered by the Nazis for being ethnically-Jewish, the Palestinians deny falsely the Judean-heritage of Jewish People, to perpetrate a hoax that Jewish Israelis are foreign invaders!

Consequently, the Jewish People are the only people in this world who are falsely and perversely accused of having "stolen" their own ancestral homeland of Israel.

Further, pro-Palestinians often falsely allege that the Palestinians are the “real-Jews”, but while never providing any evidence to support such a fantasy. Such a scenario might put the Palestinians in some difficulty, for their “Palestinian National Charter” seeks to expel all current Jewish People from Israel !

The Palestinians come from the peoples who invaded and occupied the Jewish land of Judea, and they also take their name from the name given to the land by the Roman occupiers, when the Romans renamed as “Palæstina”, the Jewish / Israelite land called Judea / Israel. “Palestine” has never been a sovereign country, but applies to an administrative area, that originally comprised today’s Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian Territories.

When the Jewish People restored their state as the "State of Israel" in 1948 (being a small area about the size that Wales is in the U.K.), this was authorised under the United Nations “Partition Plan” which separated the land between Jewish and Arab areas. The surrounding Arab countries immediately attacked the newly re-established State of Israel with the intention of ethnically-cleansing the Jewish Community from the land, but lost the war.

You can read about the United Nations Partition Plan, here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine

Arab people were living in Palestine when the Jewish state was restored as the State of Israel, and many Palestinians became war refugees (as did many Jews from Arab countries). These refugees had owned homes there, but home ownership is not proof of entitlement to the sovereignty of the land in which you live.

The Palestinians claim Israel expelled them. Not only is this untrue, but Palestinians live in Israel, and also Israel offers them citizenship. Most Palestinians refuse this citizenship because they believe Israel should not exist.

The Palestinians have expelled the Jewish people from all areas under Palestinian control.

In 1948 the Arab countries attacked the newly re-established State of Israel with the intention of ethnically-cleansing the Jewish Community from Israel, but lost the war. Jordan occupied the West Bank, and Egypt occupied the Gaza strip; neither offered these areas to the Palestinians:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordanian_occupation_of_the_West_Bank

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Gaza_Strip_by_Egypt

In 1967 Israel gained control of these areas and as an attempt by Israel at “land for peace”, the Palestinians were later given autonomy for the West Bank and Gaza strip by Israel as part of a peace process which anticipated further negotiations for a peace treaty. Since then, the Palestinians:

> Refuse to negotiate any peace treaty.

> Claim the whole of Israel.

> Consider themselves at war with Israel.

> Attack Israeli Jewish civilians as policy.

Although the Palestinians believe they have the right to a homeland, yet at the same time they also wish to deny that same right to the Jewish People.

Israel is often accused of being in breach of United Nations resolutions. While there is just one Israel, there are 21 Arab plus more Muslim countries; plus Arab oil influence. So, with each member country having one vote you may not find it surprising that there have been many anti-Israel United Nations resolutions passed, including:
> Absurdly singling- out Jewish nationalism (Zionism) comparing it with racism (indeed a racist resolution, since repealed),
> Falsely and illogically alleging “occupation” and “illegal settlements”;
all the areas being on land which was of the Jewish Kingdoms of Judea / Israel.

Consequently, Palestinians describe the Palestinian-controlled areas as "occupied" by Israel. However, Palestinians do also describe the State of Israel itself as "occupied", because they also claim the whole of the land of Israel.

The Palestinians are in breach of the United Nations resolution 181 authorising the re-establishment of Israel, since the Palestinians refuse Israel’s right to exist.

The two-state solution would in my personal view seem appropriate. Two peoples living as good neighbours, peacefully co-operating, giving and learning from each other; making certain the children of both peoples should never know the horror of conflict.

If you look back in history England and France used to be enemies at one time, and it went on for very many years, until at last they realised the stupidity of it, and no doubt of all those lost years when they missed out on being friends.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Robert.