Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a part of the greater Arab-Israeli conflict, is an ongoing dispute between the State of Israel and Palestinian people (or state).

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a simple two-sided discord with all Israelis (or even all Israeli Jews) sharing one point of view and all Palestinians another. In both communities, some individuals and groups advocate total territorial removal, or transfer, of the other community, some advocate a two-state solution, and some advocate a binational solution of a single secular state encompassing present-day Israel, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. There is a road that separates these two sides in Jerusalem.

1 History
- 1.1 Major issues between the two sides
2 See also
3 Notes
4 Further reading
5 External links

[edit] History

Since the Oslo Accords, finalized in 1993, the government of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) have been officially committed to an eventual two-state solution. The main unresolved issues between these two bodies are:

The status and future of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem which comprise the areas for the proposed State of Palestine.
Israeli security and recognition of Israel's right to exist.
The nature of a future Palestinian state.
The fate of the Palestinian refugees.
The settlement policies of Israel, and the ultimate fate of settlements.
Sovereignty over Jerusalem's holy sites, including the Temple Mount and Western Wall complex.

The refugee issue arose as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The issue of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem (often referred to as the occupied territories) arose as a result of the Six-Day War in 1967.

There has been both literal prolonged violent conflict, with various levels of intensity, and the underlying conflict of ideas, goals and principles. On both sides, there have at various times been parties who differ in the degree to which they advocate or use the violent tactics, active non-violence, etc. There are people who sympathize with the goals of one or the other side, without necessarily embracing the tactics that have been used on behalf of those goals; further, there are those who embrace at least some of the goals of both sides. And to refer to "both" sides is, itself, a simplification: Fatah and Hamas are far from agreement over goals for the Palestinians; the same could be said for the various Israeli political parties, even if discussion is limited to the Jewish Israeli parties.

PLO	Fatah	Hamas	PIJ	PFLP
				Image:PFLP-logo.png
The emblems of major Palestinian organizations include a map of present-day Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. (Significant populations of Palestinians and Israelis alike claim a right to the entire region).

Those qualifications mean that any rapid summary of the nature of the conflict is bound to be very partial. That said, those who advocate violent Palestinian resistance generally justify doing so as legitimate resistance to an illegitimate Israeli military occupation of Palestine supported by military and diplomatic assistance from the United States. Many tend to view the armed Palestinian resistance within the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a right granted by the Geneva conventions and the United Nations Charter, and some extend this view to justify attacks, frequently against civilians, within Israel proper. Another popular justification is based on Islamic (some call it Islamist) religious views.

Conversely, those sympathetic to Israeli military action and other Israeli measures against the Palestinians tend to view these actions as legitimate Israeli self-defense against a campaign of liberation perpetrated by Palestinian groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah and others, and supported by other states in the region and by the majority of the Palestinians, at least those Palestinians who are not Israeli citizens. Many tend to believe that the control of part or all of the territory is necessary for the security of Israel. This sharp contrast of views on the legitimacy of the actions of each party to the conflict has been a key obstacle to resolution.

One current peace proposal is the Road map for peace presented by the Quartet of the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States on September 17, 2002. Israel has also accepted the road map but with 14 "reservations". The current Palestinian government rejects the proposal. Israel is currently implementing a controversial disengagement plan proposed by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. So far, Israel has removed all of its civilian and military presence in the Gaza Strip, (namely 21 Jewish settlements there, and four in the West Bank), but continues to supervise and guard the external envelope on land excepting a border crossing with Egypt, which is jointly run by the Palestinian National Authority in conjunction with the European Union. Israel also maintains exclusive control in the air space of Gaza, and continues to conduct military activities, including incursions, in the territory. The Israeli government argues that "as a result, there will be no basis for the claim that the Gaza Strip is occupied territory", while others argue that the only effect would be that Israel "would be permitted to complete the wall [that is, the Israeli West Bank Barrier] and to maintain the situation in the West Bank as is" [1] [2]. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has stated that further unilateral withdrawals from some West Bank settlements may be undertaken if the peace process continues to be stalled.

With the unilateral disengagement plan, the Israeli government's stated intent is to allow Palestinians to create a homeland with minimal Israeli interference while extricating Israel from a situation it believes to be too costly and strategically unsound to maintain over the long run. Many Israelis, including a significant portion of Sharon's former Likud Party were worried that the lack of Israeli military presence in the Gaza Strip will lead to an increase in rocket launching activity towards Israeli towns around Gaza.

Palestinians want Gaza and the West Bank to become part of a (preferably contiguous) future state. Since the Gaza withdrawal, the future of the West Bank (known to many Israelis as historical Judea and Samaria), containing several hundred thousand Israeli settlers, is yet to be determined. Israel currently plans on expanding existing large West Bank settlement blocs, and maintains the current impasse in the peace process —negotiations toward a permanent peace treaty featuring a two-state solution— cannot be restarted until the Palestinian government dismantles what Israel describes as terrorist groups. This is further complicated by Hamas's victory in the latest Palestinian legislative elections.

Image:Palestine election map.PNG See History of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for an account of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict beginning in the 1880s and continuing to the present day.

Palestinian National Authority
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Palestinian National Authority

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Basic Laws Jerusalem Law Law of Return President Moshe Katsav Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Cabinet State Comptroller Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik Members Elections: 2003, 2006 Parties Knesset Elections Law Judicial system Supreme Court Districts Regional council Local council Foreign affairs Israel and the UN Israel and the EU Israeli-Palestinian conflict Arab-Israeli conflict International Law Arab League
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[edit] Major issues between the two sides

The formulation of the main issues in this conflict can be as controversial as one's stand on the issues themselves.

Basically, though, the root of the conflict can be summed up as the degree to which each side recognizes the other's right to exist, and the degree to which it feels the other side respects its own right to exist.

The Oslo peace process was based upon Israel ceding authority to the Palestinians to run their own political and economic affairs. In return, it was hoped that Palestinians would promote peaceful co-existence, and promote recognition of Israel among their own people.

It is widely felt among Israelis that Palestinians did not in fact promote acceptance of Israel's right to exist. There is much documentary and empirical evidence that Palestinian leaders engaged in ongoing, concerted promotion and support for terrorist activities. Furthermore, many official Palestinian media outlets aired much footage inciting hatred of Israel.<ref>Palestinian Arab Violations of President Bush's "Road Map"</ref>

Palestinians respond that their ability to spread acceptance of Israel was greatly hampered by Israeli restrictions on Palestinian political and economic freedoms. They feel that their own opposition to Israel was justified by Israel's apparent stifling of any genuine Palestinian political and economic development.<ref>Israeli Settlements on Occupied Palestinian Territories</ref>

Many Palestinians feel that Israeli expression of concern over Israel's security is merely a ploy to deprive them of their basic human rights. From this viewpoint, any Israeli concession is merely a ruse to avoid future concessions, and any expression of concerns is merely a deception to make Palestinians look bad.

Many Palestinians say that if Israel would concede enough land, power, and resources, Israel would then have peace, as this would cause Palestinians to view Israel more positively. Palestinians note, as one of their most central concerns, that their society must be given land and resources with enough contiguity to give them a viable society. Also, that they must not be forced to give up too many resources to nearby Israeli settlements, as this might cause an unsustainable drain on their resource, all with an apparent air of legality.

Israelis counter that concessions have only led to further violence, as concessions do not cause Palestinian leaders to express more positive views, but only cause them to put more focus on any further concessions which they feel they have not received. Also, the Palestinians have yet to honour a single agreement made with Israel as exemplified in the PNA's refusal to halt terrorism. Furthermore, it is difficult to achieve progress when every Israeli gesture or concern, no matter how authentic, is labelled as a mere ploy or a diversion.

All of this was made somewhat moot for the moment by the election of Hamas, an organization which openly states that it does not recognize Israel's right to exist, although they have expressed openness to a "hudna", an Islamic concept of a ceasefire suggested by the losing side and used to rearm.

[edit] See also

Ideology and ideas: Zionism — Pan-Arabism — Jewish state — Proposals for a Palestinian state
Geography: Palestine — Geography of Israel
Elements of the conflict: Allegations of Israeli apartheid — Child suicide bombers — Palestinian political violence — Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — Collaboration in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Peace Organizations: Peace Now — Seeds of Peace — Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions
Organizations and armed forces: Irgun Tsvai Leumi — Lohamei Herut Israel — Hagana — Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development — Tanzim (Linked to Fatah)

[edit] Notes

[edit] Further reading

General History

Bregman, Ahron (2002). Israel's Wars: A History Since 1947. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-28716-2
Bregman, Ahron Elusive Peace: How the Holy Land Defeated America.
Bard, Mitchell. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle East Conflict. 2nd ed. (Alpha, 2002), ISBN 0-02-864410-7
Bickerton, Ian J. and Carla L. Klausner. A Concise History of the Arab–Israeli Conﬂict. 4th ed. (Prentice Hall, 2001), ISBN 0-13-090303-5
Cohn-Sherbok, Dan. The Palestine-Israeli Conflict: A Beginner's Guide (Oneworld Publications, 2003), ISBN 1-85168-332-1
David, Ron. Arabs & Israel for Beginners (Writers and Readers Publishing, Inc. 1996), ISBN 0-86316-161-8
Dowty, Alan. Israel/Palestine (Polity, 2005), ISBN 0-7456-3202-5
Fraser, T. G. The Arab–Israeli Conﬂict. 2nd ed. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), ISBN 1-4039-1338-2
Gelvin, James L. The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War (Cambridge University Press, 2005), 0521618045
Harms, Gregory with Todd M. Ferry. The Palestine-Israel Conflict: A Basic Introduction (Pluto Press, 2005), ISBN 0-7453-2378-2
Hirst, David. The Gun and the Olive Branch. 3rd ed. (Nation Books, 2003), ISBN 1-56025-483-1
Hurewitz, J. C. The Struggle for Palestine (Shocken Books, 1976), [out of print]
Khouri, Fred J. The Arab–Israeli Dilemma. 3rd ed. (Syracuse University Press, 1985), ISBN 0-8156-2340-2
Morris, Benny. Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist–Arab Conﬂict, 1881–2001 (Vintage Books, 2001), ISBN 0-679-74475-4
Mandel, Neville J. The Arabs and Zionism Before World War I (University of California Press, 1976), [out of print]
Roraback, Amanda. Palestine in a Nutshell or Israel in a Nutshell (Enisen Publishing, 2004), ISBN 0-9702908-4-5
Safran, Nadav. Israel: The Embattled Ally (The Belknap Press, Harvard, 1978), [out of print]
Smith, Charles D. Palestine and the Arab–Israeli Conﬂict. 5th ed. (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004), ISBN 0-312-40408-5
Sykes, Christopher. Crossroads to Israel (Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1965), [out of print]
Tessler, Mark. A History of the Israeli–Palestinian Conﬂict (Indiana University Press, 1994), ISBN 0-253-20873-4
Thomas, Baylis. How Israel Was Won (Lexington Books, 1999), ISBN 0-7391-0064-5
Wasserstein, Bernard. Israelis and Palestinians (Yale University Press, 2003), ISBN 0-300-10172-4

Analytical / Focused

Carey, Roane, ed. The New Intifada: Resisting Israel's Apartheid (Verso, 2001), ISBN 1-85984-377-8
Chomsky, Noam. The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel and the Palestinians. Rev. ed. (South End Press, 1999), ISBN 0-89608-187-7.
Dershowitz, Alan. The Case for Israel (John Wiley & Sons, 2004), ISBN 0-471-67952-6
Enderlin, Charles. Shattered Dreams: The Failure of the Peace Process in the Middle East, 1995-2002 (Other Press, 2003), ISBN 1-59051-060-7
Finkelstein, Norman. Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict. 2nd ed. (Verso, 2003), ISBN 1-85984-442-1 2nd ed. introduction
Flapan, Simha. The Birth of Israel: Myth and Realities (Pantheon Books, 1987),[out of print]
Flapan, Simha. Zionism and the Palestinians (Croom Helm, 1979), [out of print]
Green, Stephen. Taking Sides: America's Secret Relations with a Militant Israel (William Morrow and Co., Inc., 1984), [out of print]
Maniscalco, Fabio. Protection, conservation and valorisation of Palestinian Cultural Patrimony (Massa Publisher, 2005), ISBN 88-87835-62-4
Pappe, Ilan, ed. The Israel/Palestine Question (Routledge, 1999), ISBN 0-415-16948-8
Pearlman, Wendy. Occupied Voices: Stories of Everyday Life from the Second Intifada (Nation Books, 2003), ISBN 1-56025-530-7
Quandt, William B. Peace Process. 3rd ed. (Brookings Institution Press, 2005), ISBN 0-520-24631-4
Reinhart, Tanya. Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948 (Seven Stories Press, 2002), ISBN 1-58322-538-2
Ross, Dennis. The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005), ISBN 0-374-19973-6
Safran, Nadav. The United States and Israel, ISBN 0-674-92490-8 [out of print]
Said, Edward W. The Question of Palestine (Vintage Books, 1992), ISBN 0-679-73988-2
Shipler, David K. Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land. Rev. ed. (Penguin Books, 2002), ISBN 0-14-200229-1
Swisher, Clayton E. The Truth About Camp David (Nation Books, 2004), ISBN 1-56025-623-0
Falk, Avner Fratricide in the Holy Land: A Psychoanalytic View of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. University of Wisconsin Press, 2004, ISBN 0-299-20250-X
Martin, Dom. COEXISTENCE: Humanity's Wailing Wall TransGalactic Publications, 2006, ISBN 0-961607882