The Israeli-Palestinian Dispute: A Historical Perspective

fitting for this purpose, leading to the initial migration known as Aliyah in 1882. Four key cities - Hebron, Jerusalem, Tiberias, and Safad - were home to the main settlements of Jewish population in Palestine until the beginning of the 20th century.

The traditional religious practices were followed by the majority of individuals and they considered their connection to the land as a religious one instead of a national one. They did not support or engage with the Zionist movement introduced by European migrants in Palestine. Conversely, most European Jewish emigrants lived a more secular lifestyle and had strong dedication towards building an independent and modern Jewish state. In the early 1900s, Palestine gained political significance with various factions making territorial claims. The weakening of the Ottoman Empire during this period allowed for European powers to exert influence over regions in the eastern Mediterranean including Palestine.

Lord Balfour, the British Foreign Minister, declared his government's backing for establishing ‘a Jewish national home in Palestine’ back in 1917. Consequently, Britain obtained a mandate over present-day Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jordan regions. In 1921, the territory was divided by Britain into two areas: The Emirate of Transjordan located to the east of River Jordan and Palestine Mandate to its west. This marked an unprecedented event where Palestine emerged as a united political entity lately.

The dissatisfaction of the Arab region was due to Britain's unfulfilled promise of establishing an independent Arab state, which led to a complicated situation in Palestine. This was because Britain pledged support for the creation of a Jewish national home, resulting in Palestinian political leaders opposing increasing numbers of European Jewish immigrants

and their acquisition of land as it threatened their country's sovereignty. Palestinians also opposed the British Mandate for failing to achieve self-determination and opposed Jewish immigration. After World War II, the United Nations partitioned Palestine at Britain's request with hopes of achieving peace and appeasing both sides.

Approximately 8% of Palestine's land area, equivalent to about 20% of the arable land, was purchased by Jews. The UN partition plan aimed to give each state a majority of its own population, resulting in some Jewish settlements being included in the proposed Palestinian state and vice versa. Zionist leaders hoped to expand their state's borders and agreed to the plan. However, surrounding Arab nations and Palestinian Arabs dismissed it. Despite this opposition, Israel officially became a nation on May 15th, 1948 after an unprepared Arab military fought against a well-equipped Jewish army shortly after adopting the UN partition plan.

After Israel was established, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq intervened militarily under the pretext of rescuing Palestine from Zionists. This resulted in a 1949 war that divided Palestine into three regions with separate governance and caused displacement for many Palestinian refugees. While Palestinians living in Israel were given citizenship, there are claims that they have been treated as second-class citizens, possibly even up to the present day.

After their success in the six-day war of 1967, Israel became the dominant military force in the region. As a result of this victory, Israel gained control over territories including Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, West Bank from Jordan, and Golan Heights from Syria. The establishment of The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) followed with the aim of promoting Palestinian political and military

campaigns to recover Palestine from Israeli occupation. In response, Israel imposed a military administration on both West Bank and Gaza to exert authority over Palestinians.

During the period in question, Palestinians suffered from an absence of their basic rights and faced strict societal regulations. The UN partition plan initially identified Jerusalem as a separate area, neither part of the Jewish nor Palestinian Arab states. In the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Israel took control over western Jerusalem while Jordan claimed ownership over the east. Following its occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel immediately annexed it. To quash Palestinian nationalism, the Arab League created the PLO in 1964; nonetheless, despite various attempts by this organization to start negotiations with Israeli officials, talks have been rejected due to its classification as a terrorist group.

The Palestinian people were advised to join existing Arab countries instead of establishing their own state. UN Security Council Resolution 242 instructed Israel to withdraw from previously acquired territories and all states in the region to have secure and recognized borders after the 1967 war. Even though Palestinians initially rejected Resolution 242, which focused solely on solving the refugee crisis, as it did not acknowledge their desire for national self-determination or right of return to their homeland, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt became willing to negotiate a peace agreement with Israel when he took office in late 1970 under the condition that his country's previous territory be returned.

During October 1973, the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights were suddenly attacked by Egypt and Syria with the intention of resolving a political stalemate which had been overlooked by Israel and the US. The Yom Kippur holiday, significant to

Judaism, saw Israel taken off guard. President Jimmy Carter mediated between Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David in September 1978 resulting in two agreements: one outlining a peace framework for Egypt and Israel while the other established a general plan to address the Palestinian issue as part of resolving Middle Eastern conflicts.

Israel failed to uphold their agreement with Carter, as they occupied Palestinian territories and established settlements. This made negotiations arduous and only the Egyptian-Israeli portion of the agreement was implemented. On December 8th, 1987, a collision involving an Israeli military vehicle and Palestinian cars resulted in four fatalities and seven critical injuries. Reports proposed that this was not a fortuitous occurrence but rather a retaliatory action for the assassination of an Israeli salesperson in Gaza.

Funerals were conducted in the Gaza Strip and West Bank during the uprising, along with a significant demonstration that contributed to its expansion. Despite failing to terminate the occupation, activists demanded a genuine political scheme from PLO to ensure independence. As a result, the Palestine National Council announced autonomous Palestinian states in both regions and disavowed terrorism.

Although various conflicts of the 1990s will not be explored due to time constraints, it is clear that historical factors and events have contributed to the perpetuation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Despite shifts in dynamics, political stances, resolutions, and external actors involved, the fundamental problems persist. This piece will focus on these underlying issues which originate from two national movements competing for identical territory and differing perspectives on each nation state's optimal future. The Israelis aim for a safe homeland where they can evade past persecutions.

Israel's founding was to safeguard

the Jewish faith and ethnicity, however, this has impeded the Palestinians' pursuit of self-rule and control over their territory. The protracted hostility arises from both parties asserting their rightful claims.

The origin of the discord between Zionists and Palestinians lies in their pursuit of autonomous governance and territorial jurisdiction. The intervention of the military has exacerbated polarization, creating a sense of opposition between "us" and "them". The formation of Israel as a nation-state has accentuated divergences between Israeli and Palestinian nationalistic beliefs.

Israel's emergence as a state placed great emphasis on safeguarding their way of life and protecting their nation. This caused Palestinians to prioritize their collective identity, making national liberation their primary goal. The Israeli occupation of the Gaza strip and the West Bank in 1967 resulted in the emergence of the PLO as a vehicle for Palestinians to fight for their national aspirations. This conflict led Palestinians to prioritize national liberation and shape their thoughts about identity and community. Meanwhile, Israelis experienced a militarization of their lives, both overtly and covertly.

Both nations prioritize national security and liberation above all other issues like economic policies. Consequently, unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict creates problems in both countries. Although there are similarities in their views on national matters, their nationalism differs significantly due to varying history, culture, and social contexts of the two sides. These disparities are most apparent in the differing power and privilege structures of the countries.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a complex issue that has historical and current factors responsible for its unresolved state. To achieve peace, it is imperative for politicians to closely examine key issues affecting both parties and how perceptions have evolved over time.

Several issues such as establishing fixed borders, mutual security, determining the status of Jerusalem and Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, compensating displaced Palestinians, addressing political, civil and national status of Palestinians in Israel while promoting economic viability among states in the region are crucial to achieving a just resolution. The international community also needs to clarify their role in peacekeeping efforts. Although some progress has been made with the Oslo Accords on some issues; settlements, final borders, Palestinian refugees, and Jerusalem remain unresolved but are expected to be dealt with during concluding phases of negotiations.

The parties have significantly different official positions regarding peace talks. The Palestinians prioritize addressing the main underlying issues of the conflict, while Israelis prefer postponing these discussions until concessions are made. Israelis also fear that tackling these issues early on may cause the peace talks to fail. The unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict is attributed to various historical and current factors, with previous attempts at resolution proving unsuccessful. To attain genuine peace, a careful analysis of past and present efforts towards resolving the conflict is necessary. This assessment should consider successes or failures and how they were perceived by both communities, potentially leading to new ideas for resolution.

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