Whats the real story?

Question

Why are jews and palestinians at war?

I would like to know your stories\understanding of this long standing problem

who is more ruthless?
who is responsible, religion or the people?

Be as basic or as detailed as you like
I would like to learn. Thankyou

Answer 1

Part 1: Beginnings and Declarations
The question of who owns Palestine does not have a simple answer. The struggle between Israelis and Palestinians goes back to ancient times, when the ancient Israelites lived in and around Palestine and fought many wars with their neighbors. In a sense, the current conflict is an extension of those religious wars. But the modern conflict has its roots in modern times, specifically in the disintregation of a vast empire.

The land called Palestine was occupied by the Ottoman Empire, a large group of territories ruled by an oppressive regime that found itself on the losing end of World War I. Great Britain had the most troops in Palestine when the war ended, and so Britain "won" the right to administer Palestine. Other territories became independent; Palestine did not.



One of the many actions taken by the British government and army was the announcement and enforcement of the Balfour Declaration, which stated that the British people and soldiers supported the construction of a homeland for the Jewish people—in Palestine. This was way back in 1917, long before the Holocaust.

Beginning in 1922, large numbers of Jewish people migrated to Palestine, pursuant to the Balfour Declaration. This migration continued for the rest of the decade and accelerated in the 1930s and 1940s. The people who called Palestine their homeland at this time didn't take too well to large numbers of new people moving in, especially since those "new neighbors" were Jewish and the majority of the people who were living in Palestine at the time were Muslim. In 1937, many Palestinians rebelled, calling for an independent nation, just like their neighbors were granted. Great Britain tried to find a way to satisfy both sides but gave up and, after the end of World War II, turned the problem over to the newly formed United Nations.

The U.N. proposed side-by-side Israeli and Palestinian states, with Jerusalem being part of both. Jews flocked to the area by the thousands after the Holocaust. Israel proclaimed its independence in 1948 and promptly set about occupying three-quarters of the Palestinian state, including part of Jerusalem. Jordan and Egypt occupied the other part, and most of the Palestinians fled for their lives.

Tensions flared between the neighboring nations for years. In 1967, Israel struck out against Egypt and Jordan. This was the Six-Day War, and it resulted in the expansion of Israel into all of Palestinian territory and land formerly claimed by Egypt and Jordan, including the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and (of course) all of Jerusalem.

The United Nations called on Israel to give back the territory it had seized, but the calls fell on deaf ears. Israel controls this territory to this day.
After this, Israel continued to insist that it had earned the right to occupy these territories. Palestinians, on the other hand, expressed what they saw as their right to live in a land that the U.N. recognized as theirs.

Wars of words led to wars with bullets and tanks. Both sides had "hawks" who thought that violence was the answer. One of the main hawks on the Palestinian side was Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization and of Fatah, a guerilla movement that had violence as its goal. Members of Fatah were responsible for the slaughter of Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972.

But Israelis weren't innocent, either. Israeli leaders tended to make statements and take actions that inflamed the situation. Israeli Prime Ministers refused to even address Arafat as the Palestinian leader. Arafat refused to call off the hijackings, bombings, and kidnappings.

An increase in Israeli attacks on Palestinian leaders and territory led to the declaration of an intifada ("uprising") in 1987. It lasted six years, and it led Palestinian people to question Israeli people and methods with guns and bombs and widespread distrust. Israel, of course, responded with even more determination to keep the upper hand. Often, Israeli "demonstrations of force" aimed at keeping Palestinian guerrillas in line led to civilian casualties.

Arafat, meanwhile, was trying to cement his role as a statesman, even if he wasn't the leader of a state. He addressed the U.N. again, in 1988, and renounced terrorism as a means to reclaiming land for his people. Some observers found this declaration to be quite meaningful; others dismissed it as rhetoric not to be trusted.

With the ascension of Yitzhak Rabin to the post of Prime Minister of Israel came a new era in Mideast peace talks. Rabin and Arafat negotiated in secret, resulting in the historic Oslo Accord, which gave the Palestinians living in Israel-occupied territory much more of the say in their daily affairs and also recognized Arafat as a partner in the peace process. (He had formerly been labeled a "terrorist" and someone who couldn't be trusted.) Arafat and Rabin stood on the same stage at the American White House and shook hands, with the American President, Bill Clinton, looking on, on Sept. 13, 1993. The very next year, Arafat and Rabin shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. Also in 1994, Arafat returned to the Gaza Strip after 26 years in exile.

Things looked up for the Palestinian people for a while in the late 1990s, despite the assassination of Rabin in 1995. Arafat and the Israeli government signed an agreement that provided for the removal of Israeli settlers and soldiers from most of the West Bank city of Hebron in 1997. And in 1998, another agreement was signed by both sides, furthering the peaceful settlement of the West Bank "problem."

But with the coming of the new millenium, the peace process unraveled again. Frustrated by the lack of real progress, Arafat and the PLO declared a second intifada. It is still in effect. In response, Israel moved tanks and soldiers into position around Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah, effectively putting him under siege. He was allowed to leave only when he was too ill to survive in West Bank hospitals.

For Israel, the story hasn't changed in many years. Israelis have settled in to lands that Palestinians call home, and these Israelis believe that they have the right to live there and call it home themselves. Palestinians want the Israeli "occupiers" to leave, and they desperately want a homeland of their own, a country of their own. That is something that Yasser Arafat, in the end, could not deliver. Perhaps his death will be the first step in breaking the polarization that has so gripped both sides in the past 20 years.

Answer 2

From my perspective Palestine was settled by Arabs. The only reason it came to be known as Israel is because after WW2 the European Jews who fled Hitler's Third Reich were whining and complaining about their own little home so Britain and the UN decided to steal Palestine from the Arabs and give to the worthless Jewish people in order to make the Jews happy. This started a huge conflict between Arabs/Muslims and Jews. Israel did not get recognized until 1960 something. The Jews are more ruthless in my opinion. They are attacking innocent Lebanese women and children and also attacking innocent Palestinians. They throw Palestinians in jail. They cut out Muslim women's eyes. There are tons of Arab women right now sitting in jail and the USA and UN do nothing about it because they can't bear to lose their precious country that they made. But never fear the Arabs lost it once but gained it back when they were strong and ALLAH has promised in the Qur'an that Muslims will get Palestine back again.

Answer 3

I trust anvil. the two factors are not acceptable. the two factors have screwed up. right it incredibly is my expertise of the conflict. In 1948 the UN desperate to chop up the Jews and Arabs interior the section right into a 2-usa settlement with Jerusalem being a independent territory i think. The Arab League confident Palestinians to vote against it and the Arab League waged conflict on the newly based state of Israel and Israel beat them. Now there's a Palestinian terrorist team called Hamas and hence Palestine remains a territory. and that i became dealing with some history books and maps and there became no Palestine. Ever. It became only land governed by ability of actually some empires. they only started calling themselves Palestinians. I nevertheless desire Israel and Palestine can come to a 2-usa settlement.

Answer 4

I'm not really an expert, but here's a history lesson

Jews started resettling Israel in the second half of the 19th century onward. There were always Jews living here, but not in large numbers. For a number of reasons, waves of what we call aliya, immigration to Israel, began coming. For example, Jewish Yemenites because of a hope of redemption, Jewish Russians because of a failing country and Zionism, European Jews because of the rise of the Nazi regime. Also, the Jewish dream has always been to resettle in Israel when the time comes and the Balfour Declaration (a British promise of a Jewish state) sounded perfectly fitting.

What we call today Palestinians are Arabs from neighboring Arab states. In the Turkish Ottoman empire, Israel was part of Jordan. When the British captured great parts of the Ottoman empire, they split the big Jordan into Jordan and Palestine-Israel. (They chose "Palestine" because the Emperor Hadrian changed Israel's name to the Roman "Palastina".)

As more Jewish immigrants started resettling and building the land, tensions (which barely existed before) grew. There were big massacres on Jews during 1920-21, 1929, and 1936-39. On the 29th of November, 1947, the UN decided to split the land. There would be a Palestinian state, and there would be a Jewish state. Battles broke out in Israel. Finally, when the British left and the Declaration of (Israeli) Independence was said, war broke out. Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and Arabs within the state attacked Israel. Israel fought back and won.

Before the war, neighboring Arab states told the Palestinians to move out, lest they be hurt during the battles. They told them that after they were done with the Jews, they could all return and take their homes back, including the rest of the land. It didn't happen.

And since then, Palestinians are called refugees, blaming us for whatever happens. Some went to Jordan, and started a whole terror organization called Hizbulla, which then got kicked out of Jordan and moved to Lebanon. Others started Hamas, or Fatah, which are also giving us a whole lot of terror. Most have settled back in nicely and are called Arab Jews. Unless they do us harm, or help terrorists, we're usually on good terms (ex: my mother's friends, one who invited my parents to her son's wedding).

Ah, yes, there have been a couple of wars, in which we captured Gaza. We settled there, too, but two summers ago we moved out unilaterally. A Palestinian state has been founded there, and we've been getting about 2 rockets fired our way every month on the average.

As to your questions, I think you know my opinion, and you're free to make your own. I don't know what you mean by responsible, but religion collaborates with Zionism (Jewish homeland) for Jews. Also, I know that Jerusalem is the Muslims' third holiest city.
I'm sincerely interested in getting a Palestinian's respectful view on this.

Answer 5

Throughout history, religious wars have been fought in the name of different gods. The premise of the Oslo Accords was that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not an irreconcilable religious war, but one over borders. However, the Palestinian religious leaders, all appointees of the PA political leadership, are publicly preaching that the Israel-Palestinian conflict is part of Islam's eternal religious war against the Jews. Jews are portrayed as the eternal enemies of Allah, and the killing of Jews as Allah's will. On the national level, Allah prohibits acceptance of Israel's existence and will destroy it.

This ideology is preached in sermons and religious lessons that are broadcast every Friday on official Palestinian TV and radio, and from the religious lessons appearing in PA newspapers and children's textbooks.

The Palestinians have redefined the conflict from one over borders, in which compromise may be a solution, into a religious war in which compromise is heretical. The implications for future peace are ominous.

This report is not brought as a critique of Islam's religious traditions, nor does it claim to represent authentic Islam. Rather it demonstrates the way Palestinian Authority religious leaders are selecting, interpreting and teaching Islam. Although Islam has positive references and traditions regarding Jews, the PA religious leaders have chosen to cite only negative references in their religious teaching, using the traditional sources to justify and even to demand uncompromising hatred of Jews and Israel.

Answer 6

ok, i'm no historian, but i do know a bit about it.
Jews lived in israel before islam even existed, but then when the Romans invaded israel the jews were forced to leave. They fled to europe, and the middle east. They lived there for centauries, but they were killed and tourtured in their home countries. During the black death many people blamed them for it, and put them in ghettos and killed them, same in the crusades, the most recent thing that happened was the holocoust, where six million jews were killed in germany poland, greece, and many other countrys. Before the war many jews fled to America and Israel and weren't killed. Then, after the war, the jews obviously needed a country of their own, they couldn't go on being tourtured in thier homes, so jews from all over europe settled in Israel. Then, the jews were kicked out if Iraq and Iran and all those muslim countrys, although many of them had lived their before the muslims had. They too moved to israel, this is how Israel became a jewish country again.

Answer 7

Not much to add to what Gavriell posted, but I will go further back... Thousands of years ago, Abraham had 2 sons, one from his wife, the other from a servant. His wife got angry and had the servant and her son thrown out of the household. The other son resented this, and his descendants (Arabs) still hold a grudge against Abraham and Sarah's descendants thousands of years later. They've become the latest pawns in satan's attempt at getting rid of the Jews (whom God still has plans for), there have been many in the past (i.e. Hitler and Haman).

There is definitely ruthlessness on both sides, but you may remember the Israelis at least asked civilians to evacuate before they attacked lebanon last year, that's something hamas and hezbollah wouldn't dream of doing.

Answer 8

To make the long story short, Israel want to keep occupying land that was never part of Israel. A viable Palestine means a viable Israel and no viable Palestine means no viable Israel and wars go on between the two people. No one could NOT change his mind unless he has no mind. Occupying other people by force is losing policy in the past and now and has no future.

Answer 9

because they dont love each other, hayda el point on the line, point a la line, no2ta 3al sater :D

Answer 10

Why do you bother asking? You already have an opinion, and nothing will change it.


Gavriella, don't you mean two rockets per day?