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BACKGROUND
The
Roots | The Peace Process | In
their Own Words
The
roots
The roots of the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians
can be traced back generations. For centuries, different religious
and political groups have laid claim to what is known as the Holy
Land. In its present form, however, it is a conflict based essentially
on land, but there are elements on both sides whose quest for more
land stems directly from religious extremism. The following paragraphs
will attempt to clarify the immediate origins and the background of
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by providing a very brief summary
of the key elements of the past 100 years.
The
first Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland in 1897 marked
the beginning of the political Zionist movement, which called for
Jewish self-determination and the creation of a Jewish state in the
biblical Land of Israel as a response to growing anti-Semitic attacks
in Europe. At the same time, the increasing consciousness of Arab
people throughout the Middle East laid the foundations for the Arab
nationalism of the 20th Century.
Palestine
was one of the territories of the former Turkish Ottoman Empire. At
the end of the First World War, in 1917, it was put under British
Mandate in accordance with the mandates system set up by the League
of Nations. Unlike the other mandated territories, Palestine didn't
become a fully independent state. It was supposed to become the ground
for the application of the "Balfour Declaration", issued by the British
Government in 1917, supporting the "establishment in Palestine of
a national home for the Jewish people". In later years British policy
was less supportive of making Palestine a national home for the Jews.
Jewish
immigration to Palestine increased gradually during the first half
of the 20th Century. An unprecedented number of Jewish survivors immigrated
to Palestine after the Second World War. The British government ultimately
decided to withdraw from Palestine, and the United Nations General
Assembly (GA) adopted Resolution
181, calling for a partition of mandatory Palestine into an Arab
and a Jewish state (with Jerusalem under an international status).
UN
1947 Partition Plan Maps: Map
1, Map
2
Click
here for discussions on the relevance of Resolution 181 from Palestinian
and Israeli viewpoints.
The
War of Independence, in Israeli terms, or al-Naqba (the catastrophe),
in Palestinian terms (1948)
Although accepted by the Jewish leadership, the Arab leaders in Palestine
as well as the neighboring Arab states rejected the plan. As David
Ben-Gurion declared the independence of the new Israeli State on 14
May 1948, the surrounding Arab countries attacked, leading to
the first Arab-Israeli war (the War of Independence). Despite
heavy losses on both sides, and although it was outnumbered by its
Arab enemies, Israel managed to defeat the attack and expanded its
territory beyond the borders of the UN Partition Plan. Israel at that
point (after the war) had 77 percent of the territory of Palestine
and the larger part of Jerusalem.
Al-Naqba,
the catastrophe, in Palestinian terms, resulted in much Palestinian
loss of life, the destruction of many villages, and the loss of much
of the territory that according to the UN partition plan was to be
a Palestinian state. It also resulted in a huge refugee problem.
The
refugee problem
The war of independence consolidated Israel's existence as a sovereign
state. At the same time, however, the 1948 war directly led to one
of the most complex issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict yet
to be resolved, the refugee problem. The war of 1948 resulted
in masses of Palestinian refugees, one third of which are currently
living in camps in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza.
Some fled of their own accord; others were urged by the other Arab
states to flee (they were told that an Arab victory was imminent);
yet others were expelled from their towns and villages by Israeli
forces. In the end, an estimated 726,000 Palestinians became refugees
in 1948. Today, 56 years onwards, there are over 4.6 million Palestinian
refugees (the numbers are disputable depending on the sources). About
418
villages were destroyed or depopulated by the Israeli forces.
As today, 19% of the Palestinians (Muslims and Christians) are Israeli
citizens and constitute also 19% of the Palestinian people.
As
of June 30, 2003, the UNRWA counts
143 562 registered Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, 194 802
in Gaza, 96 521 in Lebanon, 94 973 in Syria and 317 177 in Jordan.
Today, many have emigrated and live in Europe, the Americas and Australia…
UN
General Assembly Resolution
194 of December 11, 1948 proclaims the "Palestinian refugees'
right to return." It "resolves that refugees wishing to return
to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted
to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should
be paid for the property of those choosing not to return..."
The
Palestinian people were left without a state of their own. Instead,
those parts of the Arab state envisioned by the Partition Plan not
conquered by Israel now became parts of Jordan (the West Bank and
East Jerusalem) and Egypt (the Gaza Strip). As friction between the
Arab states and Israel continued, Palestinian national movements began
to emerge. In 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was
founded, and in 1968 it elected Yasser Arafat as its chairman.
The
Six Days War(1967)
The
June 1967 war (also known as the Six Day War) stands out
as the defining moment in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In six days, Israel defeated its Arab neighbors and tripled its size,
occupying land from Egypt (Gaza and Sinai), Jordan (the West Bank,
including East Jerusalem) and Syria (the Golan Heights). Thus, since
1967, Israel has been the occupying power in the Palestinian territories.
Organizations such as the PLO gradually turned their attention to
Israel. Waves of terrorist attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets throughout
the 1970s (most notably the 1972 terrorist attack at the Munich Olympics)
resulted in heavy losses of life.
The
Yom Kippur War(1973)
In
October 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel unexpectedly during
a Jewish day of atonement (Yom Kippur) to regain the territories lost
in 1967. Israel backed by US military and economic assistance, defeated
them in three weeks time. In 1974, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
managed to conclude a military disengagement plan between Israel and
Egypt in the Sinai and between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights.
Jewish
settlements in the Palestinian territories
In
1977, the right-wing Likud party came to power in Israel for the first
time and initiated the policy of creating and maintaining Jewish settlements
within the Palestinian territories, a policy which has continued throughout
the Oslo years until today. The settlement issue remains a highly
contentious topic, and continuing Israeli settlement activity is seen
by many as highly counterproductive in the quest for peace. For recent
information about settlements within the Palestinian territories,
see our section about the Gaza
disengagement plan.
Peace
with Egypt
In
1979, Israel and Egypt concluded the first comprehensive Israeli-Arab
peace agreement in history in Camp David. Israel agreed to return
the occupied Sinai Peninsula to Egypt - however, Egypt refused to
accept the Gaza Strip. In 1988, Jordan officially waived its claim
to the West Bank and East Jerusalem in favor of a future Palestinian
state.
Invasion
of South Lebanon
In
1982, Israel invaded the south of Lebanon, with the declared intention
of eliminating the PLO. However there was a cease fire and the PLO
was transferred out of Lebanon to other neighboring countries, and
Tunisia became its headquarters. Israel created a "security zone"
controlled by Israeli forces in South Lebanon (see map underneath).
Soon after, Israeli-backed Lebanese Christian Fallangist militias
committed a large scale massacre in the Palestinian refugee camps
of Sabra and Shatila (around 2000 Palestinian victims). This incident
lead to massive protests in Israel and in the Arab world.
Map of the "security
zone"(orange color) in South Lebanon, taken from CNN.com
The
First Intifada (1987)
1987
saw the first Palestinian intifada (uprising) against the Israeli
occupation. It included demonstrations, strikes and rock throwing
attacks at Israeli soldiers. The Israeli armed forces responded with
heavy military measures.
Hope
arrived, however, in the early 1990s, with the beginning of
the Peace process.
Return to Top
The
Peace Process
Role
of the UN
The
United Nations has played an important role in the Palestinian- Israeli
Peace Process. Since 1948 a great number of UN
resolutions have been adopted on this question.
Since
the beginning of the hostilities, UN Peacekeeping forces have also
been sent to the region in order to try reducing the tension. The
Security Council set the basic principles for peace in the region
by Resolution
242 (22 November 1967). The resolution was adopted unanimously
and called for Israel to withdraw its troops from the occupied territories.
They are yet to be withdrawn. The resolution called for "respect
and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political
independence of every State in the area and their right to live in
peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or
acts of force". The SC also called for a just settlement of the refugee
problem.
Resolution
338 (22 October 1973) called for a cease fire and for the
implementation of resolution 242.
The
Madrid Conference (1991)
On
30 October 1991, a Peace Conference was convened in Madrid. Arab and
Israeli officials met and discussed the possibility of Israeli-Arab
peace based on a 'land for peace' formula (based on SC Resolutions
242 and 338 seen above). In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin was elected Prime
Minister and the Labour party regained power in Israel. Palestinian-Israeli
talks began soon thereafter.
The
Oslo Era
Rabin, Clinton and
Arafat, taken from the Jewish
Virtual Library
On
13 September, 1993, after secret negotiations in Oslo (Norway),
Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin signed the Declaration of Principles
on interim self-government arrangements in Washington assisted by
US President Bill Clinton. This day marked the beginning of the Oslo
era. Both sides recognize the legitimate existence of each other.
It included Israeli withdrawal from parts of the Palestinian territories
where authority would be transferred to the new Palestinian Authority
(PA) (see the division of the territories in three parts: A, B and
C bellow). From the other side, the Palestinian Authority had to stop
Islamist extremists from attacking Israel. It represented a historic
step for Peace (Oslo I). Both sides hoped a durable solution. Over
the next years, further agreements were signed according to the 'land
for peace' principle. Gradually, the Israeli forces retreated from
several parts of the Palestinian territories. The first step concerned
withdrawal from Gaza strip and the city of Jericho in the West Bank.
1994:
A Jordan and Israel signed a peace agreement. Additionally,
Nobel peace prize was awarded to Prime Minister Rabin, Minister
of Foreign Affairs Peres and to Arafat.
Suicide
bombings caused many deaths in Israel in 1995, and led some Israelis
to conclude that negotiating peace with the Palestinians was not possible.
February
1995: For the first time Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority
gathered for a summit for Peace in the Middle East in Cairo.
Oslo
II was the second step of the Oslo agreement: In September 24,
1995, Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed in Taba, Egypt,
on further Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank (6 cities and 400
villages) within 1996. The agreement (Oslo II) was signed in Taba
and confirmed in Washington DC on September 28. At that point, disagreement
remained on the status of the Palestinian town of Hebron, where 450
settlers wanted to stay under the protection of Israeli defense forces.
Result of Oslo II,
taken from Christain-Aid.org
The
third phase of Oslo was supposed to begin in May 1996 and to
end by the end of the 20th century, dealing with the final borders
between Israel and the Palestinian State, the fate of the settlers
and the status of Jerusalem. However, following events made the peace
process more fragile.
Assassination
of Rabin
On
4 November 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated
by a right-wing Israeli Jewish fanatic.
1996
Palestinian elections
The
first Palestinian elections are held in January 1996, with
Yasser Arafat winning by an overwhelming majority.
1996
Israeli elections
The
situation worsened between the two belligerents in 1996 as the extremist
group Hamas carried out several terrorist attacks in Israel. In the
subsequent elections of May 1996, the Likud party regained the majority
and Benjamin Netanyahu became Prime Minister. Netanyahu refused to
give up land for a Palestinian state and lifted the freezing of Israeli
settlements in Palestinian territories.
On
March 7 and 21, 1997, UN Security Council votes a resolution judging
"illegal" the Israeli new settlements. The Peace process between Netanyahu
and Arafat was frozen from February to October 1997. However, negotiations
continued and further agreements, such as the Wye Memorandum, were
signed.
Wye
memorandum (Mid October, 1998)
Wye River Signing
Ceremony, October 23, 1998, taken from Palestine
Facts
From left to right: Yasser Arafat, King Hussein of Jordan, Bill Clinton
and Benjamin Natanyahu
An
agreement was signed between Benjamin Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat
with the presence of King Hussein of Jordan and US president Bill
Clinton on a further withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank
and a serious engagement of the Palestinian Authority to combat terrorism.
1999
Israeli Elections
On
May 17, 1999, Chairman of the Labour Party since 1996 Ehud Barak was
elected Prime Minister of Israel.
Israeli
withdrawal from Lebanon(2000)
In
accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 425 (19 March 1978),
Israel withdraws its military forces from South Lebanon on May 24,
2000.
Camp
David agreement (2000)
In
the summer of 2000, Palestinian and Israeli negotiation teams, headed
by Chairman Arafat and Prime Minister Ehud Barak, respectively, came
together in Camp David to conclude a permanent agreement and put an
end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The talks at Camp David went
on for two weeks, but ultimately failed to produce concrete results.
Nevertheless, further negotiations were held until January 2001. By
that time, however, a new wave of violence had erupted in the region.
The proclamation of a Palestinian State was supposed to take place
on September 13th, 2000, however this deadline was once more missed.
The second intifada (also known as the Al Aqsa Intifada) erupted after
the provocative visit of Likud (opposition) leader Ariel Sharon to
Al- Aqsa Mosque. It brought a break to the Peace process and was succeeded
by waves of Palestinian suicide attacks targeted at civilians as well
as brute Israeli military force, house demolitions and targeted assassinations.
Since October 2000, thousands of Palestinians and Israelis have lost
their lives.
Israeli
Elections 2001:
Ariel
Sharon was elected Prime Minister of Israel on February 6, 2001 with
approximately 62.6% of the popular vote. A great number of Arab Israelis
traditionally supporters of Barak's Labor Party, abstained from voting.
According to the Israeli-Arab Center for Equality, this was a reaction
to the killing of 13 Arab Israeli protesters by Israeli police during
riots in October 2000.
Since
Sharon's election, terrorist attacks against Israelis have increased;
settlements in the Palestinian territories and around Jerusalem are
still expanding and Israeli forces continue destroying Palestinian
houses and infrastructure in addition to targeted killings. However,
both Israelis and Palestinians want changes and private initiatives
for peace such as the Geneva Accords have been held.
2002:
After a terrorist
attack in Netanya on 27 March, in which 28 people were killed and
140 injured, the most extensive Israeli military incursions in a decade-
"Operation Defensive Shield"- took place in the West Bank.
By 3 April, six of the largest cities in the West Bank, and their
surroundings were occupied by the Israeli military. It began with
a first incursion in Ramallah on 29 March, followed by an entry into
Tulkarm and Qalqilya on 1 April, Bethlehem on 2 April, and Jenin and
Nablus on 3 April.
The
humanitarian situation in the Jenin refugee camp was a concern
due to the large amount of destruction and the unknown number of deaths.
In April 2002, the UN Secretary General (UNSG), supported by the Security
Council (resolution
1405 of 19 April 2002) established a group whose mission was to
go to Jenin and report on the situation there. This group was refused
access to the camp by Israeli Forces. On this basis, the General Assembly
asked the UNSG in May (resolution
ES-10/10, adopted on 7 May 2002) to make a report based on “available
resources and information”, including those of six United Nations
Member States and Observer Missions, public documents and NGO reports.
The Palestinian Authority submitted information, but the Israeli Government
didn't.
See
the Report
of the Secretary General pursuant to GA resolution ES- 10/10
Also
look at the
UN News Center page on this issue
Nomination
of Ahmed Qorei
September
2003:
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) resigns from his position as Prime Minister
and Ahmed Qorei (Abu Ala'), the Palestinian parliamentary speaker,
is nominated to replace him.
Geneva
accords,
2003: see our current issues
section.
The
Road Map: see our current issues
section.
After
nearly four years of conflict and bloodshed, it is more evident than
ever that only a negotiated settlement can bring true peace. This
implies compromises from both sides. At the moment, issues such as
the proposed unilateral Israeli withdrawal from Gaza [link], the reformation
of the Palestinian Authority, and the separation
wall/fence [link] are receiving a great deal of media coverage.
In the end, however, there is no other solution but to return to the
negotiating table. Sooner or later, the two-state vision must become
reality - for the sake of both peoples, Palestinians and Israelis.
Both
sides in their own words: some contentious issues
Jerusalem
"As
part of the territory occupied in 1967, East Jerusalem …is part of
the territory over which the Palestinian state shall exercise sovereignty
upon its establishment. The state of Palestine shall declare Jerusalem
as its capital..."
Jerusalem
(and not merely East Jerusalem) is the subject of permanent status
negotiations...
All
of Jerusalem should be an open city. Within Jerusalem …there should
be no physical partition that would prevent the free circulation of
persons."
-From the official PLO position paper
"Jerusalem
is the great dream, for which the Jews yearned for and prayed for
in every generation. If we turn our back to it - to its symbols and
our sacred places - we will put a question mark on our very future
and destiny...Jerusalem was and will be the eternal capital of the
Jewish people.…"
-Ariel Sharon at his inaugural address, 7 March 2001
Settlements
"The
major settlement blocks adjacent to Jerusalem and in the Jerusalem
corridor would be annexed to Israel.... Isolated Jewish settlements
including the settlement in Hebron, would come under Palestinian jurisdiction
and would probably be abandoned."
- Excerpt from the Israeli proposals for a permanent solution to the
conflict at the Camp David peace talks, July 2000
"Settlements
are illegal and must be dismantled… Israeli settlements geographically
fragment the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and thus undermine the viability
of Palestinian statehood. Israeli settlements also place intolerable
burdens on Palestinian movement and development, in significant part
by depriving the Palestinian people of important land and water resources.
Israel has created two sets of law in the occupied territories-one
for settlers and one for Palestinians - thereby institutionalizing
discrimination."
-From the official PLO position paper
Refugees
"Every
Palestinian refugee has the right to return to his or her home. Every
Palestinian refugee also has the right to compensation for their losses
arising from their dispossession and displacement"
-From the official PLO position paper
"Israel
would not accept any legal or civilian responsibility for [the] displacement
[of the refugees]. Israel would allow the return of around 100,000
refugees under 'humanitarian' grounds in the form of family reunions…"
-Excerpt from the Israeli proposals for a permanent solution to
the conflict at the Camp David peace talks, July 2000
This passage
was written by an Israeli and a Palestinian who interned at the NGO
Committee during Summer/Fall 2004.
