Issues that continue to block peace between Palestinians and Israelis

The issue of Palestine and Israel is one that has been hotly contested for over a thousand years. The last fifty years have been especially important in the history of the Jewish people and Palestinians. Since the death of Yasser Arafat on the 11th of November 2004, and the election of Mahmoud Abbas as his successor as leader of the Palestinian Authority, significant steps have been taken towards a lasting peace. This will hopefully lead to a conclusion of the second Palestinian intifada, which began in late September 2000, and to an end of the oppression of the Palestinian people by the Israeli Defense Forces. Both Jews and Arabs have suffered heavily from the conflict, thousands of innocent civilians have died on both sides, and peace is in the interests of all.

History of the Conflict
The disputed territory that has been alternately referred to as Palestine and Israel is relatively small, the total area is only roughly 22 000 square kilometers. It is bordered by Jordan on the East, Lebanon on the North, Egypt and the Mediterranean Ocean on the West, and shares 76 kilometers of border with Syria in the North East. The two disputed territories that are occupied by the Israeli Army but under the autonomous control of the Palestinian Authority are the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. These two territories amount to roughly 6400 square kilometers, the West Bank makes up the majority of this area – it amounts to 6000 square kilometers in the Eastern part of the country and borders the nation of Jordan.

Jews have long considered Israel to be their national home. They consider it to be a Holy Land, or a Promised Land – they believe it to be their right from God to live in the region. The area is also considered the birthplace of Christianity, Bethlehem the city where Jesus Christ was supposedly born is located in the region. It is also regarded as one of the most sacred sites for Islam. The fact that all three of these major religions claim the area as their own is one that makes conflict almost inevitable.

The Zionist movement was formally started at the end of 19th century it was started by Theodor Herzl and called for the creation of a Jewish homeland in the Middle East. In 1917 the British passed the Balfour Declaration, which called for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” After the Agreement, immigration by Jews to Palestine increased substantially but Arabs still made up the vast majority of the population. The Zionist movement did not attract the attention of most of the international community until after the Second World War. The Holocaust, led by Nazi Germany, resulted in the deaths of over six million Jews and after the end of the war the world realized the desire of the Jewish people for a historic homeland of their own where they would be free from discrimination and persecution. The end of World War Two saw a dramatic increase in levels of violence carried out by both Jewish and Arab militant groups intent on the creation of a Jewish state and the removal of Jews from the area respectively.

On May 14, 1948 the State of Israel was proclaimed as a result of a United Nations Partition Plan. The Arab-Israeli war of 1948 – referred to as the ‘War of Independence’ by Israelis and ‘The Catastrophe’ by Arabs broke out immediately with Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi, Egyptian, Jordanian, Saudi, and Yemeni troops invading the fledgling Israeli state. The Israelis successfully thwarted the Arab invasion and gained territories that remained Israeli until the new borders were drawn up in 1967. The war resulted in the creation of 600,000 Jewish refugees from Arab states, the majority of whom fled to Israel, and 750,000 Arab Palestinian refugees. Many of these Arab refugees were denied citizenship in neighboring nations and to this day many still remain in ‘temporary’ refugee camps where they have started families and created a second, and even third generation who have known nothing but life inside a refugee camp. Only around 20% of the existing Arab population remained within the new state of Israel. The population of Israel doubled within the first year of formation as a result of Holocaust survivors who no longer felt comfortable living in their existing homelands, and Jewish immigrants from Arab countries.

War broke out between Israel and its Arab neighbors (Egypt, Syria and Jordan) on June 5th 1967. Israel successfully defeated the Arab forces after just six days and as a result of the short-lived war, Israel gained control of the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. The newly conquered territory increased the size of Israel by a factor of four and placed one million more Arabs under the control of Israel. In addition to the Arabs under Israeli control, one million Arab refugees were created to join the refugee camps in neighboring countries. The 1967 war had huge political significance. Israel showed the world that it was able to defend its territory and that it was able, and prepared to launch strategic strikes that could result in gaining territory and upsetting the balance in the region. The Arab nations did not appear to learn strategic lessons. They launched a third war in 1973 in the hope of regaining their territory lost to Israel, but they were able to adjust their military techniques, and so were hopeful that they would be more successful in future conflicts against the Jewish state.

On holiest day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, of 1973 Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack together the aim of which was to regain the territory that they had lost in the Six Day war of 1967. This war was supported by a number of other Arab nations in the region. After the 1967 war, Israel had spent hundreds of millions building up her military and fortifying her borders with her neighbors. Because of this intensive defense work Israel was again able to hold back the Arab armies and eventually managed to push back her enemies to beyond the original lines established after the Six Day War. This war was especially controversial because of the timing of the Arab invasion – Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement, it is regarded as the holiest and most serious day for all who follow Judaism. Jews are forbidden to work on Yom Kippur and so an attack on this day was seen as being incredibly disrespectful by most of the international community.

Peace Processes and Intifadas
Since the end of the Yom Kippur War there have been numerous attempts to achieve peace, many of these were bilateral agreements between Israel and leaders of the Arab world, but the more effective efforts were multilateral attempts involving other nations. The first significant attempts at peace were the Camp David Accords in September of 1978. These were signed by President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and the Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The agreements were moderated by President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, and were held at the White House. The agreements dealt with the future of the Sinai Peninsula and establishing autonomous regions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The conclusions achieved at the Camp David Accords were highly unpopular in the Arab world as they resulted in an Arab state officially acknowledging the right of Israel to exist, and eventually led to the assassination of Sadat in 1981. Unfortunately, concessions promised by both sides failed to materialize and led to the “spontaneous outbreak of demonstrations in 1987”. These demonstrations rapidly escalated and evolved into the first Palestinian intifada (the Arabic word for uprising). It was the start of a bloody campaign led and carried out mainly by armed Palestinian militant groups calling for an end of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and with a larger goal of removing the Zionist presence in the Middle East. The levels of extreme violence died down in 1991 and eventually came to an end in 1993 with the signing of the Oslo Accords.

The Oslo Accords were a peace effort that was more focused on the needs and wants of the Palestinian people than previous efforts. The counter part of the Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin was not a leader from one of Israel’s Arab neighbors but was the head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat. These talks were initiated by the Norwegian government as they were seen as being impartial – it is unlikely that Norway had any ulterior motives in the Middle East, they were about as far removed from the situation as is possible. The Oslo Accords called for a removal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and for the two areas to be placed under Palestinian government through the creation of the Palestinian Authority – under the leadership of Yasser Arafat. This new Authority would be in power for half a decade before the possibility of permanent independence for the Palestinian people would be discussed. The Accords were praised by the international community and Arafat, Rabin, and Israeli Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres were all awarded Nobel Peace Prizes.

Unfortunately, the proceedings that were supposed to come into effect as a result of the Oslo Accords failed to become actualized and the peace process stalled. President Bill Clinton attempted to keep the process moving forward. In 2000, the conference referred to as the Camp David 2000 Summit took place. The Summit ended in failure with both sides refusing to come to any conclusions and the Second Intifada known as the al-Asqa Intifada sprung up. This uprising saw a huge increase in the number of Palestinian suicide bombers targeting Israeli citizens. The level of violence peaked in 2003. Suicide bombings were happening on an almost weekly basis, and the Israeli Army moved back to reoccupy the West Bank.

The Effect of Israel’s Occupation on Palestinian Agriculture and Labor
The seizure of Palestinian lands has allowed Israel to develop settlements in the West Bank in what would otherwise be considered wilderness zones used for raising livestock. Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip are located in the most fertile land in the area depriving Palestinians of prime agricultural land and denying access to wells by Palestinians. Israeli settlements do not have adequate sewage facilities and sewage is allowed to drain out into areas adjacent to Palestinian villages without treatment. The seizure of Palestinian agricultural lands has resulted in a significant decrease of Palestinian Gross Domestic Product and a huge increase in unemployment.

However, the greatest obstacle to Palestinian agricultural development is not scarcity of land due to the land-grab carried out by Israel, but rather access to water. Almost the entire Israeli increase in the demand for fresh water since 1967 has been met by pumping in water from the Occupied Territories. Israel has only permitted Palestinians to increase their water use by 20% since 1967 – and this increase is only for personal use not agricultural and economic development . This is restraining the Palestinian economy from reaching its full potential. Environmental regulations for Israeli firms located in the Occupied Territories are much laxer than the rest of Israel resulting in increased pollution that affects mainly the Palestinian people.

An example of the abuse of lax environmental regulations within the Occupied Territories is that of Geshurei Industries, a manufacturer of pesticides and fertilizers. The main factory belonging to Geshurei Industries was originally located in the Israeli town of Kfar Saba. However, anxiety over the quality and quantity of air and water emissions in addition to the waste produced by the factory, forced the Israeli courts to issue an order for the closure of the plant in 1982. However, a mere five years later, the plant reopened across the Green Line in the town of Tulkarem located in the West Bank. There are in effect no controls on either air pollution or waste disposal here and the factory has been operating since 1987 with pollution levels exceeding previously existing standards. Palestinian civilians complain that the presence of this factory is having detrimental effects on their health and quality of life but the Israeli governments refuse to issue a court order calling for either the closure of the plant or for it to follow stricter environmental regulations.

In 1987, 35% of the Palestinian workforce from the West Bank, and 45% of the Gaza Strip’s were employed in Israel. The majority of these Palestinian workers performed menial jobs. The total number of Palestinian workers in Israel fell from an average of 116 000 at the start of the 1990s to under 28 000 by 1996 . After the start of the Second Intifada Israel began using access to work as a form of collective punishment towards Palestinians. Every suicide bombing resulted in a closure of check points and a denial of Palestinian access to employment. This resulted in a surge of unemployment levels among Palestinian communities and thousands of families found themselves without a major breadwinner. Palestinians that were still allowed access to work in Israel were forced to pay income tax to the Israeli government. Before the al-Aqsa Intifada these income tax revenues were returned to the Palestinian Authority, however, when the Second Intifada began, Israel began withholding these tax revenues as an “incentive” to Yasser Arafat to stop the violence. As well as denying Palestinians labor, the Israeli government controlled Palestinians’ access to important commodities such as cement, flour, cigarettes and gasoline. This led to a huge increase in the quantities of commodities dealt with on the black market. Many of these products were smuggled into the Occupied Territories from neighboring nations, the revenues from these operations went towards financing illegal activities, including but not limited to supporting groups with links to terrorist organizations.

The Israeli government has began construction of a giant barrier surrounding many Palestinian settlements on the reasoning that it helps prevent Israel from acts of terrorism. While there is evidence that the wall has indeed helped decrease the number of attacks on Israel, it has been condemned by the majority of the international community as being little more than a land grab. The United Nations General Assembly requested that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) determine the legal status of the wall. The ICJ found the existence of the wall to be breaking international law and called for it to be dismantled; they reported that it was “tantamount to de facto annexation”. The construction of the wall has resulted in the destruction in hundreds of olive trees that provided employment to thousands of Palestinians. The wall has made it much harder for Palestinians to move freely and so has forced many previously employed Palestinians to join the ranks of the unemployed.

The Current Situation

Both Israelis and Palestinians have grown extremely tired of fighting and many have realized that there is no viable solution that can be solved by violence. There is no doubt that the current situation is resulting in thousands of lost lives and the loss of millions of dollars through lost productivity. The newly elected Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon recently held yet another round of peace talks known as the Sharm al-Sheikh Summit. Abbas has argued that diplomacy and talks are a better solution than violence as a means to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The latest round of peace talks has been regarded by many as one of the most productive yet. Sharon agreed to release Palestinian militants that were held in Israeli prisons; end the IDF’s practice of demolishing the houses of families of suspected suicide bombers; stop any and all offensive operations targeting Palestinians, the release of 500 Palestinian prisoners; and perhaps most importantly, it has agreed to remove settlements from the West Bank, starting with the removal of Israeli settlements in five major cities, and to hand control of the area back to the Palestinian Authority.

The Future

The removal of Israeli checkpoints and settlements, and the dismantling of the wall will allow the Palestinian economy to resume growth provided Israel is willing to allow aid to Palestinians and not place unfair restrictions on Palestinians. Removing restrictions on Palestinians will also help the Israeli economy as it will give them increased access to relatively cheap labor. There is little doubt that if a separate Palestinian state emerges, the Palestinians will need a great deal of aid and assistance to boost their economy to sustainable, functional levels. If Israel were to provide legitimate assistance, and the Palestinians were to accept this aid graciously it would show the world that peace really is on top of the agenda for the two nations and that they are willing to exist peacefully side by side. The majority of Israelis and Palestinians have now accepted that a two state system is the only viable solution to end the conflict and right wing parties on both sides need to stop dragging their feet and accept that they will both have to make serious concessions peace is possible. However, the actions of primary importance that need to take place are an end to the violence on both sides. Abbas must do his best to prevent terrorist activities and condemn with utmost force any terrorist actions taken by groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and al-Asqa Martyr’s Brigade. At the same time Sharon must ensure that no Palestinian civilians are targeted by the IDF, and that any suspected militants are arrested and tried under the guidelines set out by the United Nations. Any soldiers who break this agreement and shoot at innocent Palestinians who are not posing a threat must be arrested and court-martialed – something that the IDF and Israeli government are loath to do at the moment. Whilst the two groups will always have their differences the world hopes that they can live side-by-side in peace and allow everyone to travel across the beautiful region regardless of their religion.

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