Nationalism Is The Source Of Conflict Between

Palestine And Israel Essay, Research Paper

Nationalism is the source of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The conflict has gone on for many years. There is a lot of religious history behind the problems they have had. The Middle East has been affected politically, economically, and socially by these conflicts. Many peace agreements have been signed to solve these conflicts, however the tensions between the two are too great to stop.

The history between Israel and Palestine dates back to the second millennium B.C. This is when the Jews migrated to Palestine and established their capital in Jerusalem. The region of Palestine is sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It is sacred to Christians because they believe in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross in the city of Jerusalem. Muslims also find the land sacred because it was in Jerusalem where Mohammed the Prophet of Islam is believed to have ascended into heaven. Both Arabs and Jews consider it a homeland. As a result of religious beliefs, Jerusalem is an important city to many different groups of people.. (Worth, 3-4)

Zionism is the desire for a Jewish national homeland. In 1897, Theodor Herzl convened the First Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland. Herzl convinced Baron Edmond de Rothschild about the need for a Jewish Homeland. Rothschild was a member of a famous family of international bankers. Rothschild purchased land in Palestine for Jewish Settlers. When the Jewish settlers arrived in Palestine, there were Arab peasant farmers living there and had been in Palestine for centuries. Most of the Arabs refused to share their land with the Jewish settlers, which caused much conflict. Jewish immigration continued and by 1914, forty thousand Jewish settlers traveled to Palestine, therefore further increasing the friction between the Jews and Arabs. (Worth, 6-9)

In 1917, the Balfour Declaration was formed. Lord Balfour, the British foreign secretary sent a letter to the Zionist leader, Lord Rothschild. He stated that Britain would do its best to create an establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. At this point the population of Palestine was 700,000. 547,000 were Muslims, 74,000 were Christian, and only 56,000 were Jews. Palestinians strongly disagreed with the Balfour Declaration and showed their disapproval through protests. (http://www.pna.net/facts/pal_hist.htm)

In 1947, the first Arab Israeli war began. This war was a result of Arabs refusal to accept the partition of Palestine. They believed it went against 1,800 years of Palestine.s history. The partition gave the territory of the ancient Jewish states to the Arabs while the Jews received territory that was non-Jewish. In early December of 1947, fights broke out between Arabs and Jews throughout Palestine. Israelis fought back with a series of carefully planned offensives. As a result, Israel gained twenty-one percent more land than it originally had under the 1947 partition plan. (Ovendale, 133-138)

.On April 7th 1967, Israel attacked Syrian artillery positions in the Golan Heights that were shelling northern Israeli settlements. Israel shot down six Syrian MIG fighters. Nasser then moved his army into the Sinai Peninsula up to the border with Israel. This led up to the Six-Day War. On June 5th 1967, Israel.s air force staged a massive raid on Egyptian airfields and later in the day also destroyed air bases in Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. Over 400 Israeli planes were destroyed, while only 19 Israeli planes were destroyed.

By the third day of the Six-Day War, Israel had captured Gaza and all of Sinai up to the banks of the Suez Canal. Israel.s strategic position was greatly enhanced with the control of Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula, all of Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.. (Peretz, 61-68)

In 1969, another war broke out. This war was a continuation of the 1967 war. This war was called the War of Attrition. Once again Egypt and Israel went to war over the Suez Canal. Once the cease-fire was no longer valid, Egyptian artillery began to damage Israeli outposts along the canal. Nasser wanted to destroy Israel to the point that it would have no choice but to withdraw from the canal. After Israel destroyed Egypt.s air defense system, they used massive air attacks on Egyptian artillery, airfields and deep-penetration raids striking at industrial and civilian targets hundreds of miles into Northern Egypt. Hundreds of civilians were murdered as a result. On August 7th 1970 a cease-fire went into effect. (Peretz, 68-69)

.In 1973, eight Egyptians and six Syrian officers met in Alexandria to finalize the plan for a simultaneous attack on Israeli forces in Sinai and the Golan heights. The attack was planned to take place on October 6th at 2 p.m. because the weather conditions, moonrise, and tides would all be favorable then for the crossing of the canal. It was also Yom Kippur, although this was not a primary consideration. On the date of the attack Israel was almost taken by surprise. Dayan was notified 4 a.m. that Syria and Egypt were going to attack later that day. Reserves were mobilized immediately and a pre-emptive strike by the air force was considered. On October 18th, Israeli forces were driving back the Arab armies and Moscow promoted a cease-fire resolution.. (Ovendale, 218-221)

.In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon with the intent of destroying the