Arab-Israeli Conflict - Lea's report

8/8/2019 Arab-Israeli Conflict - Lea's report

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YASIR ARAFAT


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In the first elections for the PNA in 1996,PLO chairman Yasir Arafat was chosen asits president.

F inally, the agreements stated that soonafter these elections Israel would conductfurther withdrawals from rural areas of theWest Bank, after which talks addressing

the final status of the Palestinian areaswould begin.


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ISRAEL S DI P LOM ATIC RELATIONS WITH ARAB STATES

On the heels of the 1993 agreements,Israel and Jordan took steps to negotiate acooperative relationship. Jordan and Israel

signed a peace agreement in 1994.

By the mid-1990s Israel had also achieveddiplomatic relations with Arab countries inNorth Africa and the Persian Gulf.

Despite these accomplishments towardspeace, some terrorism and bloodshedcontinued.


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ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER YITZHAK RABIN

The convicted assassin Yigal Amir .


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Under Israeli prime minister BenjaminNetanyahu, the peace process stalled in 1997.

In October 1998 Netanyahu and Arafat signedan accord by which Israel would withdrawfrom additional West Bank territory in returnfor Palestinian security measures againstterrorist attacks on Israel.

The Palestinians also agreed to remove articlesthat called for Israel's destruction in theirnational charter.

In November Israel completed the first of three scheduled withdrawals, but froze theimplementation of the accord the followingmonth. Israel claimed that the Palestinians hadnot carried out their part of the accord andplaced new conditions on further withdrawals.


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In 1999 elections Netanyahu was defeatedby Labor Party leader Ehud Barak, whovowed to move the peace process forward.

Negotiations between Barak and Arafatfoundered over expansion of Israeli

settlements in the West Bank and GazaStrip and the issue of how Israelis andPalestinians could share the city of Jerusalem.

T he failure generated bitter frustrationamong both Israelis and Palestinians.


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AL AQSA INTIFADA


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ISRAELI WEST BANK BARRIER


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Palestinian militants resumed widespreadresistance to Israel in the West Bank andGaza Strip, along with a string of devastating terrorist attacks in Israelproper.At the same time, the Israeli armyincreased its restrictions on thePalestinian population and stepped up itsmilitary tactics.During the second intifada, loss of lifewas heavy on both sides and peacenegotiations broke down.

In the absence of meaningful diplomacy,the situation was marked by increaseduse of force by the Israeli side andfrequent suicide and ambush attacks bythe Palestinian side.


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ARIEL SHARON


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Sharon disengaged from the peace processand announced that Israel would withdrawunilaterally from the Gaza Strip.

With mounting pressure from both Palestinianand Israeli extremist groups, the subsequentperiod was marked by pessimism andbitterness on both sides of the conflict.

In September 2005 Israel evacuated Jewishsettlers from the Gaza Strip after the Israeliparliament had approved Sharon s decision tounilaterally withdraw from the territory.

Although Palestinians welcomed thedeparture, the PNA still sought a negotiatedsettlement with Israel over the future of theWest Bank and Jerusalem.


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In January 2006 Sharon suffered a stroke

from which he failed to recover. He wassucceeded in Kadima and as prime ministerby Ehud Olmert.

T he peace process was thrown into turmoil

by the Hamas victory in the PalestinianLegislative Assembly elections.

Hamas refuses to recognize Israel s right toexist. As a result of the Hamas victory,international aid, upon which the PNAdepended for its economic welfare, wasrestricted.


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Kadima s victory in the Israeli electionfailed to ease the crisis. Low-levelskirmishes between Gaza-based militiasand the Israeli forces erupted into a full-scale Israeli offensive in June when Hamaskilled two Israeli soldiers and abducted athird in an incursion from the Gaza Stripinto Israeli territory. F rom June to August2006 more than 200 Palestinians werekilled in the offensive that also saw the

destruction of much of Gaza sinfrastructure, with the Olmertgovernment refusing to bargain for therelease of the soldier.


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Then in July, on the northern border of Israel,the Iranian- and Syrian-backed terrorist groupHezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers, killedseveral others, and shelled a number of communities.Israel responded by launching an attack onsouthern Lebanon, including air raids on

Hezbollah strongholds as far north as southernBeirut, leading to the deaths of about 1,200Lebanese civilians. The escalation of the crisissaw thousands of rockets launched daily intonorthern Israel by Hezbollah, causing the deathsof about 160 Israeli civilians, the disruption of Israel s economy, and the temporary flight orconfinement in bomb shelters of roughly amillion Israelis.


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T he fighting caused tremendous damageto the infrastructure of southern Lebanonand some parts of Beirut, and left 1 millionLebanese homeless or displaced. By thetime a ceasefire was agreed at the UnitedNations (UN) in August, more than 100Israeli troops and some 500 Hezbollahinsurgents had been killed in fiercefighting. T he UN ceasefire resolution calledfor the withdrawal of both antagonists and

for southern Lebanon to be occupied bythe Lebanese army augmented by a UNforce.


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What is Hezbollah?

Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim political group with a militantwing the United States defines as a terrorist organization. Thegroup, which is active in Lebanon, is a major provider of socialservices, operating schools, hospitals, and agricultural servicesfor thousands of Lebanese Shiites.Hezbollah was founded in 1982 in response to the Israeliinvasion of Lebanon, and subsumed members of the 1980scoalition of groups known as Islamic Jihad.Its base is in Lebanon's Shiite-dominated areas, including

parts of Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Inaddition, U.S. intelligence reports say that Hezbollah cellsoperate in Europe, Africa, South America, and North America.


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How big is Hezbollah?

Its core consists of several thousand militantsand activists, the U.S. government estimates.Intelligence officials estimate that Hezbollah'sweapons arsenal includes between 40,000 to80,000 ( ForeignAffairs ) short and long-rangerockets, as well as anti-aircraft, anti-tank, and

anti-ship weapons.


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What major attacks is Hezbollahresponsible for?

Hezbollah and its affiliates have planned or been linked to a lengthyseries of terrorist attacks against the United States, Israel, and otherWestern targets.While Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for any majorinternational attacks since 2006, the group's weapons stockpile hasincreased and and its capabilities have strengthened. In November2009, Israeli athorities intercepted a ship ( TIME ) carrying more thanthree thousand Iranian-made rockets and mortars which theybelieved were bound for Hezbollah. In April 2010, Israeli and U.S.officials also claimed that Syria transfered SCUD missiles ( WSJ ) toHezbollah. On July 14, 2010, Naim Qassem, Hezbollah's second-in-

command, said the group possesses an extensive list of Israelitargets (A F P) should a new conflict with Israel begin.


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What is Hamas?

Hamas is the largest and most influential Palestinianmilitant movement. In January 2006, the group won thePalestinian Authority's (PNA) general legislative elections,defeating Fatah, the party of the PNA's president,Mahmoud Abbas, and setting the stage for a power

struggle.Historically, Hamas has sponsored an extensive socialservice network. The group has also operated a terroristwing, carrying out suicide bombings and attacks usingmortars and short-range rockets. Hamas has launchedattacks both in the Palestinian territories of the West Bankand Gaza Strip, and inside the pre-1967 boundaries of Israel. In Arabic, the word "hamas" means zeal. But it's alsoan Arabic acronym for "Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya,"or Islamic Resistance Movement.


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Where does Hamas operate?

Historically, Hamas has operated as an opposition group in Gaza, the WestBank, and inside Israel. Most of the population of Gaza and the West Bankis officially ruled by the Palestinian Authority government, so Hamas newrole as the legislature s controlling party has forced the group toreconsider the function and scope of its operations. For instance,since taking power in 2006,Since coming to power in Gaza, rockets fired from the Hamas enclave haveconsistently landed on Israeli cities near the border, sometimes producingcasualties. Israel consistently alleged that Iranian and other weapons werebeing smuggled into Gaza through a series of tunnels, and with Egyptmaintained tight control on the enclaves borders. International aidagencies say this led to severe shortages. A six-month ceasefire calmed

things somewhat in 2008, but toward the end of the year, Hamas called off the truce and resumed firing rockets into Israel. The response was an airassault in late December and, in the first week of 2009, a full blown Israeliinvasion of the territory.


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In what does Hamas believe and whatare its goals?

Hamas combines Palestinian nationalism with Islamicfundamentalism. Its founding charter commits the group to thedestruction of Israel, the replacement of the PA with an Islamiststate on the West Bank and Gaza, and to raising "the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine." Its leaders have called suicide

attacks the " F -16" of the Palestinian people. In July 2009, KhaledMeshaal said Hamas was willing to cooperate with the UnitedStates ( WSJ ) on promoting a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.Hamas, he said, would accept a Palestinian state based on 1967borders provided Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to Israeland East Jerusalem be recognized as the Palestinian capital. Theproposal fell short of recognizing the state of Israel, a necessarystep for Hamas to be included in peace talks.


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Is Hamas only a terrorist group?

No. In addition to its military wing, the so-called Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigade, Hamas devotes much of its estimated $70-millionannual budget to an extensive social services network. Indeed, theextensive social and political work done by Hamas - and itsreputation among Palestinians as averse to corruption - partly

explain its defeat of the Fatah old guard in the 2006 legislative vote.Hamas funds schools, orphanages, mosques, healthcare clinics,soup kitchens, and sports leagues. "Approximately 90 percent of itswork is in social, welfare, cultural, and educational activities,"writes the Israeli scholar Reuven Paz. The Palestinian Authorityoften fails to provide such services, and Hamas's efforts in thisarea as well as a reputation for honesty, in contrast to the manyFatah officials accused of corruption help to explain the broadpopularity it summoned to defeat Fatah in the PA's recent elections.


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What were the details of the OsloAccords?

On September 13, 1993 representatives of the State of Israel and thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed the "Declaration of Principles On Interim Self-Government Arrangements", a document alsoknown as the "Oslo Accords". They were signed at a Washingtonceremony hosted by US President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1993,during which Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime MinisterYitzhak Rabin ended decades as sworn enemies with an uneasyhandshake. This agreement was the fruit of secret negotiations betweenIsrael and the Palestinians , represented by the PLO, following the MadridConference in 1991 .The Oslo Accords contain a set of mutually agreed-upon general principlesregarding a five year interim period of Palestinian self-rule. So-called

"permanent status issues" are deferred to later negotiations, to begin nolater than the third year of the interim period. The permanent statusnegotiations were intended to lead to an agreement that would beimplemented to take effect at the end of the interim period.


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The main points of the Oslo Accords(or Declaration of Principles = DOP):Transfer of Powers to the Palestinians:

The DOP features an agreement in principle regarding a transfer of power and responsibilities to the Palestinians in the WestBank and Gaza, so they may have control over their own affairs.

T he DOP does not prejudge the Permanent Status:

The DOP specifically states that permanent status issues, such as Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, security arrangements andborders are to be excluded from the interim arrangements and that the outcome of the permanent status talks should not beprejudged or preempted by the interim arrangements. During this period, the Israeli government retains sole responsibility forforeign affairs, defense and borders. Israel's position on Jerusalem remains unchanged. When the DOP was signed, PrimeMinister Rabin stated that "Jerusalem is the ancient and eternal capital of the Jewish people." An undivided Jerusalem underIsraeli sovereignty, with religious freedom for all, is and remains a fundamental Israeli position.

Security remains an Israeli responsibility:

In the DOP, Israel and the PLO agree that during the interim period, Israel will remain responsible for security along theinternational borders and the crossing points to Egypt and Jordan. Israel will also retain responsibility for and the overall securityof Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza, the Israeli settlements in those areas, and freedom of movement on roads.


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A letter on key issues of the PLO and Israel, addressed to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, was signed by Yasser Arafaton September 9, 1993. T he letter says specifically that:T he PLO recognizes the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security.

T he PLO accepts United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338

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he PLO commits itself to the Middle East peace process... all outstanding issues ... will be resolved throughnegotiations

... the PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence and will assume responsibility over all PLOelements and personnel in order to assure their compliance, prevent violations and discipline violators

... those articles of the Palestinian Covenant which deny Israel's right to exist, and the provisions of the Covenantwhich are inconsistent with the commitments of this letter are now inoperative and no longer valid

... the PLO undertakes to submit to the Palestinian National Council for formal approval the necessary changes inregard to the Palestinian Covenant.Rabin gave a letter in exchange to Arafat, also dated September 9, saying:... Israel has decided to recognize the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people and commencenegotiations with the PLO within the Middle East peace process"

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Arab-Israeli Conflict - Lea's report

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