can anyone explain the Middle East crisis to me?

Question

Is there any group in particular at fault?

Answer 1

The Palestinian people believe that the West Bank ought to be a part of their sovereign nation, and that the presence of Israeli military control is a violation of their right to self-determination.

Israel argues that its presence is justified because:
Israel's eastern border has never been defined by anyone;
The disputed territories have not been part of any state.

So the fight goes on and on and on
Israel backed by the US
Palestinian people back by Syria and Iran.

The present war started when two of Israel's soldiers were kidnaped. So Israel has used it as excuse to invade.

As my mum always says "Two wrongs do not make a right!"

Answer 2

To understand what's happening, you have to study the history of the area. The "holy land" has passed hands several times. The first problems started with the Crusades. It was the "infidels" fighting the Jews and the Christians fighting them all.

Then about 700-800 years ago, the Turks started invading. That's when Islam spread through the area. It was very bloody and the Jews were pretty much driven from the area. Only they didn't get a very warm reception anywhere else and kept remember that "Israel" was their "Promised Land" and always dreamt of returning and rebuilding their Jewish nation.

In the 1400s, Queen Isabella of Spain decided that her country would become 100% Catholic. All Moors (Arabs/Muslims) and Jews either had to convert, leave, or go to prison until they changed their minds. Not so good. The Sephardic Jews from Spain decided it was time to return to the Holy Land, which they did. But they were in the same boat as their Arab neighbors, so it was a peaceful return.

Then came the terrible clashes between Orthodox, Protestants and Catholics throughout Europe that splintered the Christian faith and left many fighting over "ownership" of the Holy Land. The problem was that the land belonged to the Ottoman Turks. Christians were persecuting Catholics, Catholics and Orthodox were constantly at war, and the Jews were the only enemy they could all agree they had.

Then come the wars that destroyed the Ottoman Empire. Enter the French and the British. They took over the Near East and Middle East as part of their Empire Building. They were tyrants by every sense of the word and did nothing to warm the Arab Christians or the Arab Muslims to Europeans.

Come WWI and the land was fought over (think Lawrence of Arabia). The Jews started seeing it as an alternative to the Pogroms in Eastern Europe. The Arabs weren't happy about it, but the British wouldn't hear of it.

Follow that with WWII and the war actually was being fought in that part of the world. There were opportunists who saw it as a good time to carve out their own power and create Islamic states. The British were completely inept in the way they pulled out of the region after the war and carved up the land without regard to tribal sensitivities (ie Sunni vs Kurds) nor did they leave stable administrators in place to handle the transition.

For the first 3 years after the war, the British fought bitterly to keep the Jews out. Then in the late 40s the UN decided that the attrocities against the Jews were so horrendous that they "deserved" their own country. But they didn't take into account the thousands of Palestinians already living there. The first thing the Jews tried to do after getting the imprimatur of the UN to establish their own nation was to take everything away from the Muslims who had been living there for a thousand years. The Palestinians were immediately displaced and no one would take them in. Even Jordan isn't happy to have them there and feel that the Jews stole the land and that the US and UN propped up the Jewish invaders.

At the same time, the French were pulling (quickly and irrationally) out of Syrian areas. They left chaos in their wake which has led to the problems with Syria and Lebanon.

Since 1949, the Jews have not been good neighbors in the region. There were things that could have been done 60 years ago that would have prevented this. Instead, we took the approach that the Jews were only taking a little bit and should be OK. We just needed to protect them until they were stable.

Well, in the meantime, they went off and completely illegally started encroaching on land belonging to Jordan, Egypt and Syria. They built a very strong professional military and weren't afraid to use it. Most of all, they broke the unspoken code that you don't attack women and children. They've built a ghetto on the West Bank and don't let the Arabs get proper medical care or freely exit to Jordan.

While that's all going on, we were propping up some nasty dictators in the region, particularly the Shah of Iran (3 countries over). We've propped up the Saudi "royal" family, Jordan and Egypt. So there's a complete "us vs them" mentality that's developed. And it's there because of rampant insensitivities to innocent people who had their homes taken from them without any legitimate court giving permission. Children have been shot by Israeli soldiers and the images played over and over again on regional TV. Palestinians want their homeland back and want compensation for the 1967 incursions that left them homeless.

Arafat spent years telling the Palestinians that the US and UN were at fault and that everyone would get their homes back and would be compensated "more money than was imaginable"...and that they should settle for nothing less.

You want peace in the Middle East? Push Israel back to the 1949 borders and make them stay there. Give the Palestinians back the West Bank as an independent nation.


For a fuller understanding, do some research on the concepts of "nation building", which is fraught with turmoil and civil wars (which is what's happening in Lebanon since the 70s and is starting in Iraq). Then follow that with an understanding of "empire building" (which is where the Saudis are in their development).

Answer 3

Yes the "Middle East" is a recent invention. Look into archives and you will find that what was considered Middle East at one time was not in another. The term has been ins use only withi the last 35-40 years.

Answer 4

Bush and his daddys oil company.

There is a lot of profit in destablising the region and letting them fight amongst themselves.

The US and UK will probably wait about 3 months before going in there as both sides will be so far down the road in this war they will not be focussed an any other issues.

As for that bloke who says Americans Invented God...wtf??
America wasn;t around until the last couple of centuries!

Boths sides in a war are to blame, despite what the media is telling you to think! Wake up all of you! Islam isn;t the enemy, its ignorance of the facts. Don;t be sheep!

Answer 5

about 5600 years in the past Moses's team stole the "promised land" from the interior of sight arabs and it is been a pissing tournament ever on account that, no area wanting to cede land or skill so that they purely proceed to throw rocks at one yet another. in the course of the spectacular hundred years the rocks have change right into a lot extra complicated and devastating.

Answer 6

Basically its a breeding ground for terrorists that is suopported by the evryday people who are stupid enought to belive that their version of god is better than ours and that the more infidels(basically anyone who isn't an arab-muslim-raghead) they kill the better off in their version of heaven they willbe. But what the stupid little fuckers don't understand is that there is no god its a sham that was started by the AMERICANS....

Answer 7

a bunch of mad looneys,heat,crazed manics with alot of oil money,running around killing each outher in the name of islam,trying to drag the planet back to the middle ages and do anything but work and prosper,making sure a few or very rich and the rest are very poor.

Answer 8

Humans.

Answer 9

i feel that america is at fault for this war..because they are being bias towards israel for their own interest.They supported Israel to keep on with the bombardment yet forced and pressure Lebanon to stop and disarmed.Is that fair to you all?

Answer 10

yes theyve gone to war.