Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Historical Background

7/27/2019 Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Historical Background

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Adapted from

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:A Lesson in Perspective

Created by: MaryLynne Fillmon

and

A Historical Perspective on the

Arab-Israeli Conflict and Peace ProcessThe Institute for Curriculum Services: National Resource Center for Accurate

Jewish Content in Schools


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Historical Background

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Zionist: Supporter of a homeland for the Jews in the

area of Palestine. Movement began late 1800s.

Many Jews began to immigrate to Palestine in the late

1800s. Pre-WWI: Area of Palestine under Ottoman Empire

After WWI: Area of Palestine under control of British

(British Mandate) until it became independent Balfour Declaration: 1917: Britain supports idea of a

Jewish homeland w/ rights of non-Jews protected

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Historical Background

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Israelis Palestinians

Ancestors lived in area

nearly 2000 years ago

Jerusalem home to

most important Jewish

siteWestern Wall

Ancestors have been

living in area nearly

2000 years

Jerusalem home to 3rd

most important Muslim

site-Dome of the

Rock/Al-Aqsa Mosque


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UN Plan for Palestine (1947) Partition (separate) the area into 2 countries

Israel (Jewish State) and Palestine (Arab State) 55% of land goes to the Jews

45% of land goes to the Arabs

Total Population: 1.8 million

1.2 million Arabs living in area 600,00 Jews living in area

Jerusalem:international city controlled by UN

Accepted by Jews

Rejected by Arabs

No Arab on committee


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1948 War May 14,1948: Israel is officially formed

May 15, 1948: Israel attacked by six Arab nations Approx. 750,000 Palestinians fled or were forced to

leave

Over approx. 800,000 Jews in Arab countries also fledor were forced to leave for Israel

Israel After War: Jordan controls West Bank and Egypt

controls Gaza Strip

Israel takes much of Palestine and West Jerusalem

East Jerusalem, including many religious sites taken by

Jordan, who denied Israelis access


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Perspectives on Partition

and 1948 WarIsraelis Palestinians

Creates state of Israel

War of Independence

Holocaust and other periods

of violence against Jews

throughout the past centuries

might not have happened ifthere was a Jewish

Homeland

They had no input

Nabka: Catastrophe

Land set aside for Palestinians

now under control of Arab

countries or Israel


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1956 Suez Canal Crisis

Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal in 1956 andclosed the Straits of Tiran to Israel, which

blocked Israeli access to the Red Sea.

Israel attacks Egypt with later reinforcementsfrom France and the United Kingdom

Ceasefire agreement and withdrawal of Israeli

troops United Nations Peacekeepers sent to maintain

peace in the area


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1967 War Israel believes neighbors are preparing for war

Egypt requests withdrawal of UN in May 1967 and deniesIsrael access to the Red Sea by closing Straits of Tiran

Jordan and Egypt sign mutual defense agreement

Continued terrorist attacks from Syrias Golan Heights region

Israeli surprise attack against Egypt on June 5, 1967

Also attacks Syria, Jordan

Within six days Israel defeats Egypt, Syria, Jordan

Takes control of West Bank and East Jerusalem (fromJordan)

Control of Sinai and the Gaza Strip (from Egypt)

Control of Golan Heights (from Syria)


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Perspectives on and Aftermath of 1967

War

Israelis PalestiniansLand gained is a buffer zone to

deter future attacks

Begin to build settlements in

West Bank, Gaza Strip andGolan Heights

Unified Jerusalem under Israeli

control

West Bank and Gaza Strip

become known as Occupied

Territories

Some will accept Israel at pre-

1967 War borders

Palestinian Liberation

Organization (PLO) later beginsto use terrorism to attract

attention to its cause of an

independent state.


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The Yom Kippur War, 1973

On Yom Kippur in 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel,

but Israel pushed back the attack For many Israelis, the war reinforced the need for buffer

zones gained in 1967

After the war, Israel retained the territories captured in1967 (West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights) but gave back

land gained in the 1973 war

Eventually, in 1979, Egypt became the first Arab country

to recognize Israel and entered into a peace treaty


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The Camp David Accords

1977: Egypt (led by Anwar Sadat) engagesIsrael in peace efforts

1978: Camp David Accords

U.S. President Carter invites Sadat and IsraeliPrime Minister Begin to Camp David

Egypt recognizes Israel as a country

Israel gives Sinai peninsula back to Egypt

First agreement between Israel and an Arab

nation


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Perspectives on Camp David Accords

Israelis Palestinians

Shows that the country is

willing to trade land it has

conquered for peace

Egypt recognizes that

Israel is a country and exists

Sadat assassinated in 1981by Muslim extremists

Jordan signs peace

agreement with Israel in1994.


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The Intifada

Palestinian uprising orIntifada against Israeli

occupation, living conditions, and to demand

independence that begins in 1987.

Includes Palestinian demonstrations, strikes,

boycotts, rock throwing and gasoline bombs.

Israeli military response

Over approx. 400 Israelis killed

Over approx. 1500 Palestinians killed, some a

result of Palestinian in-fighting


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Oslo Accords, 1993 In the 1990s several advances towards peace were

made with several meetings taking place in places suchas Egypt, Spain, the United States, and Norway.

1993 Oslo Accords: Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat and

Israels Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin met to begin to work

out a peace deal that included each side recognizing the rightof the other to exist.

Arafat and Rabin received the Nobel Peace Prize for their

efforts

In 1994, Israel and Jordan signed a peace agreement

Rabin assassinated by Jewish extremist in November of

1995


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The Camp David Summit

In 2000, President Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud

Barak, and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat met at

Camp David to negotiate a final peace agreement

Prime Minister Barak agreed to pull out from the

majority of the West Bank but President Arafat refused

The two sides were not able to bridge their differences to

reach an agreement

Though the negotiations were conducted secretly, somesay that President Arafat refused to compromise and made

no proposals


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Second Intifada By 2000, peace process has faded.

In 2000, Israeli political figure Ariel Sharon visits

Temple Mount (Western Wall area and Al Aqsa Mosquearea) in Jerusalem

Palestinian violence erupts beginning the Second Intifada

Buses, discos, hotels, fast food restaurants, etc in Israel

blown up by Palestinian suicide bombers

Israel responds militarily

From 2000-June 2008

Over 4500 Palestinians killedOver 1000 Israelis killed

In 2002, Israel begins building a security barrier in the

West Bank, to protect Israelis from terrorists


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Peace Proposals

In 2002, the prince of Saudi Arabia proposed the Arab

Pease Initiative, endorsed by all members of the Arab

league

- it calls for Israel to return to its pre-1967 territories, recognition ofPalestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a solution for Palestinian

refugees

Road Map for Peace is proposed in 2003 by the U.S.,

Russia, EU, and UN

- three phases to attain an independent Palestinian state and secure Israel- has never progressed due to the 2006 Hamas election


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The Gaza Strip

In 2005, Israel removed its settlements from the

Gaza Strip and gave much control of the area to

the Palestinian government (with exceptions

such as the border, airspace, coastline)

Gaza later comes under the control of Hamas, a

group considered by Israel and other countries to

be a terrorist organization.

As of June 2008, Hamas and Israel have enteredinto a cease fire agreement.


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Current State of Affairs With the election of a majority of Hamas to the Palestinian

Authority (PA) legislature in 2006, and their platform calling for thedestruction of Israel, violence and tension erupted once again.

Hamas is internationally recognized as a terrorist organization; thus

many countries have imposed sanctions and suspended aid to the PA.

The rise of the radical organization Hezbollah has further increasedviolence and instigated the 2006 Lebanon War.

After Hamas attacked PLO Fatah members, the PA president

dissolved Hamas. Now, Hamas controls Gaza and the PA controls

the West Bank. Suicide bombingsthrough the use of human shields(including women and children) continues to kill Israelis.

President Obama continues to try to facilitate negotiations between

Israel and the Palestinian Authority.


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Current Issue :

Is Resolution Possible?

Palestinian and Israeli leaders backed by US and othercountries are working towards the existence of Israel and

of Palestine. But the following issues remain:

Jerusalem

Settlements

Security (including barriers, terrorism,

checkpoints)

Refugees and Right of Return

Two States or One/Borders


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Challenges to Resolution

Issue Israelis Palestinians

Jerusalem See united Jerusalem as its capitol See East Jerusalem as its capitol

Settlements For religious, political, and security reasons a largenumber of Israeli settlements exist in the West Bank and

East Jerusalem.

270,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank

Israeli settlements go against the idea of a futurePalestinian state.

Security

Barriers,

Movement,

and Terrorism

Israel is building a barrier between it and the West Bank.

Israel sees this as a way to prevent further suicide

bombings.

Palestinians need permission to leave West Bank. Israelissee this as needed security to prevent terrorism.

Terrorist organizations like Hamas (which controls the

Gaza Strip) and Hezbollah (based in Lebanon and who

was at war with Israel in the summer of 2006) continue to

fire rockets into Israel. Individuals also continue to

commit other acts of terror.

The barrier goes beyond the border between the West Bank

and Israel: the barrier route is 449 miles, while the Green

Linethe border between the West Bank and Israel is

199 miles

The restriction on movement limits jobs, health care,

education, etc. contributing to standard of living in West

Bank being significantly less than that of Israel.

Cant stereotype all Palestinians as terrorists as the

majority are not terrorists.

Palestinian government denounced terrorism.

Refugees &

the Right of

Return

If Palestinians living in Arab nations or in the Occupied

Territories return to Israel to reclaim land, it can mean the

end of Israel as a Jewish state.

As refugees, Palestinians believe they should be able to

return to their or their families land in Israel and receive

reimbursement for expenses incurred as refugees.

Two States or

One/borders

Israelis do not want to give up Jerusalem to Palestinian

Authority. Many Israelis do not recognize Palestinians as

a people separate from Arabs, therefore, they are not

entitled to their own state.

Palestinians should be granted all of the West Bank and

Gaza independently and as a separate state, and that

Israelis settled there should leave.


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Economic Comparative Analysis

Sources:

United Nations 2009 Human Development Index (HDI): http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/

2009 CIA World Fact Book: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

Statistic Israel West Bank Gaza Strip 1

GDP $194 billion $12.79 billion2 See West Bank figures

Per Capita $28,400 $2,900 See West Bank figures

Annual Budget (expenditures)

Annual Budget (revenue)

$58.6 billion

$45 billion

$30.8 billion

$1.63 billion

See West Bank figures

Human Development Index3 27 out of 182 110 out of 182 (Palestinian Territories)

Unemployment Rate 7.4% 19% 40%

Population below the Poverty

Line

23.6% 46% 70%

1 The CIA Fact Book lists the West Bank and Gaza Strip settlements separately as part of the Palestine Authority due to PA and Hamas control. The

Fact Book does not report independent GDP, Per Capita, and Annual Budget figures for the Gaza Strip.

2 The West Bank experienced a revival in its economy in 2009 due to a lifting of some restrictions by the Israeli government and an increase in aid

donations.

3 The HDIhuman development index is a summary composite index that measures a country's average achievements in three basic aspects of

human development: health, knowledge, and a decent standard of living. Health is measured by life expectancy at birth; knowledge is measured by a

combination of the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrolment ratio; and standard of living by GDP per

capita (PPP US$).
http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/


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2010 World Bank GDP

Israel & Palestine Territories

World Bank Indicators: http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDI

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http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDI


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Works Cited

MaryLynne Fillmon, The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Lesson in Perspective: 2008.

http://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppt

United Nations 2009 Human Development Index (HDI): http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/

2009 CIA World Fact Book: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

World Bank Indicators: http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDI

A Historical Perspective on the Arab-Israeli Conflict and Peace Process: A Curriculum for Modern World History

Teachers. Institute for Curriculum Services, www.icsresources.org.
http://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/http://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppt

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