1996 A Turbulent Year For Israel Essay

1996: A Turbulent Year For Israel Essay, Research Paper

1996: A Turbulent Year for Israel

1996 has been a very turbulent year for Israel. This lies in the

assassination of Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995. Rabin’s great work in the

peace process with it’s Arab neighbors has been nearly reversed by Israel’s

newly elected Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who actively opposed the peace

process in the election. Netanyahu’s term of service has not only affected

Israel politically but also socially, intellectually, religiously, and

economically.

In dealing with Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians Netanyahu was

originally quoted saying that he would only meet with Arafat under special

circumstances and that, “the era of one-sided giving was over.” Warren

Christopher, Secretary of State for the U.S., was able to arrange a peace

conference with Arafat on the Gaza border. One article called it a ,

“Psychological breakthrough” (Netanyahu meets with Clinton). The issues at hand

were Israel fulfilling it’s pledge to the Palestinians to redeploy it’s troops

stationed in the West Bank town of Hebron so that they will only guard the 440

Jews who live there, from the tens of thousands of Palestinians. Also at issue

were the exit permits given to Palestinians allowing them to go from there jobs

in Israel to there homes in Gaza and the and the West Bank. That leads to

another issue over whether or not a rail link between Gaza and the West Bank

should be formed. The major problem with that would be the cost. In the next

round of Israeli-PLO peace talks, both sides could not reach a compromise and

after four hours talks failed. To complicate matters further 3,000 houses were

approved to be built in the West Bank by the Israeli government. “Peace Now

spokesman”, Alon Arnon, called the housing, “A final burial of the hope of

peace.” (West Bank Settlement Approved) Netanyahu also ended the month by

opening a tunnel to Muslim and Jewish Holy sites that resulted in bloody riots

that killed 76 people.

The month of October cooled down a bit with an ice breaking summit in

Washington. Netanyahu returned with a change in attitude calling Arafat a

person whom he could resolve problems with. But aside from his change in

demeanor no substantial agreements were made.

In November Israel went on high alert in fear of an attack planned to

disrupt the peace process, possibly on the one year anniversary of the Jihad’s

leader Fathi Shakaki. Again the peace effort was thrown back when the Israeli

government announced plans to double the number of Jewish settlers in the West

Bank. At one point Netanyahu asked the U.S. and Germany to help use their

influence in Iran and Syria to hold the terrorists at bay. Arafat also grew

tired of what he considered to be stalling on the part of the Israeli government.

He called for plans already agreed to, to be put in motion. Netanyahu then

makes a statement that he envisions, “A Palestinian entity with broad power,”

but fell short of declaring full independence. One article called this a sign

that Netanyahu was, “moving towards the Israeli political center.”(Netanyahu

Mulls Palestine Land) Towards the end of November peace talks tookplace about

the redeployment of troops in Hebron. The main issue that stalled the talks was

Israel’s insistence on written agreements that Israeli troops could chase

Palestinian suspects into the city.

In December, peace talks continued and as of now a decision was on the

verge of being reached once final details were worked out. On January 1, 1997 a

Jewish military officer, believed to be mentally disturbed ,walked into a

Palestinian market and opened fire. Waving after being arrested he said,

“Hebron, always and forever.”

Israel also had some serious problems with it’s Arab neighboring

countries. In September Israeli forces launched air and ground attacks to

counter Lebanese guerrillas who had ambushed an Israeli patrol. The guerrillas

are part of Hezbollah, or party of god. Shortly after the attack Lebanon moved

300 commandos to the southern border to, as a Lebanese statement says, “cope

with any Israeli venture in the region.” Both Israel and Lebanon are under

investigation to find if they had broken any cease-fire agreements.

Jordan, Israel’s closest Arab ally issued a blunt statement to Israel

declaring, “Anything can happen if peace is not achieved.”(Rift widening quickly

between Israel and Jordan) Hussein attended a luncheon with Netanyahu, Clinton,

and Arafat saying, “What you need sir, is not the arrogance of power but the

vision that Rabin had… Maybe one day you will have it.”

Israeli-Syrian relations also were greatly strained. Syrian peace talks

have been greatly strained since the May terrorist attacks. As a precondition

for opening up peace talks Syria is demanding the Golan Heights, an area of