The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Orlando Rojas
10^th grade
School of Information Technology @ Eastside High school

           Before the 19^th Century the land of Palestine was inhabited by a multicultural group with different faiths and beliefs and no one group interfered or created chaos because of it. This all changed when a group of Europeans, also known as Zionists, first began their settlements on the coasts of Palestine. This colonization of a previously peaceful land soon brought in violence, prejudice, and hate on a scale previously unseen in the area. Soon the Muslim and Christians saw the wave of Jewish immigration as a problem and inevitable hate brewed within the area. The following years saw battles, raids, and wars fought all for the claim to the land known as Palestine. The following years saw foreign powers intervene in the division of these lands by medieval methods. These partitions would eventually prove to be ineffective and lead to only more conflict. These series of conflicts would widely be known around the Western world as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

           The United Nations gave Britain the right to determine the area’s fate and decide if the area would be known as Palestine or Israel. In 1937 instead of giving the people living there the option to choose the fate of their country, they opted for a two state solution in which the feuding Jewish and Arabic people would receive their own respective countries[1]. This proposal was rejected by the Muslim nations living in the Middle East as they were unwilling to relinquish this land to the Jews. The issue was once again revisited by the United Nations after World War II in 1947. Once again a partition was created and passed with the support of the United Nations[2].

           The Jewish population was a minority and only represented 30% of the population and Jewish settlers only owned about 7% of the land. Despite this they were given 55% of the land of Palestine by the United Nations. Israeli statehood was declared shortly after in 1948[3].

           Almost immediately after Israeli statehood was declared the surrounding Arabic nations were determined to see this intrusive nation fail and declared war[4]. This would be known as the Israeli War of Independence. Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria would all be involved in this war, fighting against the partition that gave the Israelites this land. Sporadic truces and cease fires were signed but peace was not forthcoming. The war forced over 750,000 Palestinians out of their original homes and as a result Israel had increased its original territory greatly. Anger was still extremely present between the Arabic nations and Israel and the rivalry between these countries and Israel would only escalate. Countless wars and skirmishes were fought between Muslim majority nations and Israel in the years to come; none were successful in restoring Palestine to its former self and removing the Jewish state out of Arabia.

           In the last few decades both sides have taken it upon themselves to launch rockets at each other to retaliate for crimes people and governments from both sides have committed. Recently boys from both sides have been captured, tortured, and murdered and both Israel and Hamas used this as an excuse to commit various acts of violence against each other such as launching rockets in highly populated civilian areas. The severely outmatched Hamas and the Palestinians of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have taken the most casualties, destruction of property, and rocket fire[5]. This is largely due to the fact that Israel is receiving an extremely large amount of money from the U.S (over 8 million dollars a day) and has even received the Iron Dome, an anti-rocket weapon that destroys incoming Hamas fire before it even comes close to any major Israeli cities. Despite this, Israel is unresentful and has continually bombed civilian hospitals, schools (even UN run schools), and parks. This has also led to an Israeli land invasion of Gaza fostered by the Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[6]

           The issue Israel and Palestinians find themselves in is an extremely difficult one to resolve. The Palestinians feel they have a right to the land because their ancestors have been living on the land for over 3000 years. Israelis believe they have the right to live on the land because of the political sovereignty granted to them by the United Nations, their own ancient history in the area and the promise God gave to their patriarch Abraham. Peace has been difficult to achieve for various reasons. Prime Minister Netanyahu has expressed how he does not want a two state solution[7] and the political party ruling over Palestine, Hamas, is considered a terrorist organization by countries like the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Iran, Russia, and Egypt and continually shows its hatred for Israel. Hamas has agreed to a two state solution but does not discontinue its violence towards Israel and its suicide bombings. Both Israel and Palestinians consider themselves victims. Israel and its large Jewish population say they have been through enough suffering throughout history and the Palestinians feel they have been through enough suffering under Israeli oppression, so neither is willing to concede.

           I believe that the issue can be resolved, but only with considerable pressure from the United States and the EU. If money from foreign countries (especially the United States) continues to flow into the country, behavior such as displayed by Israel will seem acceptable and they will not feel the pressure to stop the crimes they are committing against the Palestinian people. Israel obtains military aid and funds from the United States. This cannot be allowed to continue. Ironically, the U.S has called for peace in the area yet continues to fund Israel’s military with the means to continue the violence. Hamas also commits acts of violence against Israel and its people. To have them discontinue the constant rocket fire and suicide bombings in Israel, the United States and the EU must make it clear to them that a resolution cannot be found if they continue their acts of violence.

           The discontinuation of money flowing into Israel’s treasury will make Israel think twice about how they treat Palestinians in the coming years. This combined with a promise to Hamas that, if threats; bombings; and rocket fire cease to hit Israel from Hamas, a resolution will be possible and peace can be achieved. The United States cannot continue to support Israel considering our stance on human rights. We cannot condone the actions of Israel and their violation of human rights just to punish another country that commits acts of violence on their people and/or people from other countries. If we plan to maintain our legitimacy and continue to police the world like we have been doing, we should at least be setting an example for other countries to follow. We should not only slap a country on the wrist for their wrong doings, but actively push for change and set up sanctions and embargoes if we have to.

           The Palestinian people that have abandoned their homeland because of the actions of Israel must be allowed to return without being harassed. Some of the money the United States gives to Israel should be spent on the reconstruction of buildings in both Israel and the Gaza strip to build housing for the 750,000 Palestinians that had to leave their homes because of the confiscation of their land. One stipulation of the plan would be that since so much American money is given to Israel, American companies and material providers would be hired to rebuild what was damaged. This would keep money flowing into American businesses and it would rebuild the various buildings that have been destroyed. We should make the cost of continued conflict more expensive than what Israel will gain from the United States and other country so they feel some economic pressure to end the hostilities. The same should be done for Hamas. The United States wants to maintain positive relations with Israel because we need a strong ally or country that we can depend on in the area. If we come to an understanding with both the Palestinians and Israel we may have brought more stability to an area riddled with anti-American sentiment and violence.