When Peace Is Broken: A Study on the IsraeliPalestinian Conict

Maria Zurita Teacher: Mariana Alvarez Subject: MUN 9B Peterson Schools

Introduction:
The Israeli- Palestinian conflict is one of the oldest, most violent and harder to solve conflicts in history, continuing today. Its death toll is beyond counting, and still thousands of people live in fear and inhuman conditions as the conflict progresses. The media has not been exactly helpful either, with almost every source being biased. Both the Jewish and the Palestinians have committed horrors and crimes against humanity. However, why is it that the Palestinians are shown as the evil terrorists who want everyone to die, and the Jewish shown as a poor, innocent people who have always been the victim? Or the other way around: the Jewish are shown as leeches that came to Palestine and took advantage, while the Palestinians are regarded as the displaced, suffering people who have a tiny fraction of Israel to live in, after owning the whole country. THIS IS BECAUSE BIASED MEDIA. The violence may be in the Middle East, but its an International Issue, and many western countries are indirectly involved. Even after one full year of research, I am still looking for a reliable, unbiased source. In this project, I present the development of this Middle Eastern crisis in a year. This essay is divided in three parts: the history, the news and my personal opinion. These parts provide what I believe to be the necessary information to make something out of the blurry set of events, and understand why is the conflict regarded by many as unsolvable. Finally, Id like to clarify that though maintaining objectivity as far as the event go, this is a subjective piece of paper, since it includes my personal assessment of the situation.

History of the Conflict:

The conflict between Israel and Palestine can be traced back to even the Crusades. However, it formally started some time before the first world war. Jews had been prosecuted (much like the gipsies) all over the world. After facing horrors committed to the

Jewish people, the idea of Zionism was born. Zionists stated that the only place where the Jewish People can live in peace is in Israel. Great Britain offered territory in Palestine to which the Jews could migrate and establish a home. Massive migrations started to take place, and after World War II, 35,000 Jews had established in Palestine. This was something the Arabs werent exactly happy with, and having to deal with the thousands of immigrants displacing them from their territory caused hatred. Great Britain tried to maintain peace, which led to Palestinian riots and terrorism from both parties. Great Britain then limited the flow of immigrants, which only created thousands of refugees. In 1947, Britain transferred the problem to the recently created United Nations, where a resolution to maintain the Jewish flow into Palestine passed, along with a Partition Plan for Palestine. The arab party refused, but the Jewish kept arriving, and Jewish terrorists begin attacking Palestinian villages. Palestinians ended up displaced, thousands of them in refugee camps, while the Jewish established the state of Israel. Israel went into war with Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, all arab countries housing Palestinian refugees. Israel won against all odds, and reclaimed more territory from these countries, displacing even more Arabs. These countries still didnt recognize the Israeli State though. For 20 years, the situation remains the same, the USSR arming Egypt, and US, France and The UK arming Israel. When Arab countries attacked Israel again in1967, the United States and Great Britain turned their backs, but still Israel fended them off in what came to be known as the 6 day war. Later that same year, the UN proposed the Resolution 242, stating that Israel would give back Arab Lands won in the war if the peace was maintained. The Arabs refused. The Palestinian Liberation Organization was formed, led by Yasser Arafat. It used terrorism and other illicit actions to try and liberate Palestine. In 1973, Israel was attacked on the sacred day of Yom Kippur, and won against all odds. The Arabs then turned to diplomacy, Arafat approaching the UN, and Sadat (Egypt),

Israeli leaders. The negotiations with Egypt were successful, and their territory was given back in 1978. However, Sadat was murdered by extremists a year later. Meanwhile, the PLO kept on attacking Israel. In turn, the Jewish state invaded Lebanon, which housed the PLO, and they were ultimately exiled in Tunisia. Palestinians in refugee camps were brutally murdered by allies of Israel. The rebellion we live today was ignited when the Jewish began constructing in Gaza, where most of the Palestinians lived under Israels Armys Regime. The hatred boiling was too much, and after a car accident in which four Palestinians were killed by a patrol car, Palestinians went out in the streets. What started as a riot in Gaza ended up as a full blown rebellion. Further negotiations have been had, to no effect. A congress in Oslo finally proposed a realistic plan, but it was stopped by extremists. Now the terrorist attacks are getting worse, and more and more human rights are violated each day.

News Assessment:
The first news I got for this project was September 1st, 2012. A book had just been published explaining the Israeli Palestinian conflict from the two points of view, and the reason why a two state solution is not possible. It criticizes the media approach for the conflict. This book does not provide alternate solutions to the peace talks it criticizes, so I believe this was just like throwing a match into a fire. It may only make it worse. The second piece of writing, from September 4th, 2012, was a column written by an Israeli Journalist. It talks about how an Israeli illegal outpost was evacuated, and how a two state solution is not possible, based on the hate between the two parties, the lack of trust in the government, and the demographics. However, as the news before, it did not include any alternatives. It states that people are realizing that the two state solution is not possible, but they dont want to think about the alternatives.

On September 27th, the news I found was of a speech given by President of the Palestinian Authority requesting the status of state. The US and Israel opposed. However, the speech put the spotlight back on the conflict, urging countries to find a solution. Finding alternatives to the two state solution has become imperative for the worlds security. I also find the USs conviction unsettling. It has aided Israel before, and if war were to start in order to solve this conflict in a one state solution, I seriously fear nuclear war. The article I found on October 4th narrates an airstrike attack in Gaza coming from the Israeli Military. They were supposedly targeting terrorists, yet civilians were killed. I find the double morality unsettling, with Israel claiming they want peace, yet firing within the country and adding to the death toll. On October 20th, the fifth news I found spoke of a Swedish ship filled with propalestinian activists came under attack when trying to cross the Gaza blockade, and that it was redirected. However, the boat contained not only activists but also humanitarian aid. This article showed that as talks of peace continue on the UN headquarters (like the news before stated), the conflict goes on, and millions of Palestinians living in poverty are denied help. The piece of writing I got on January 20th was an enraged article published in an Israeli newspaper condemning the General Assemblys decision of recognizing the Palestinian authority as a state (as mentioned above). It states that the two state solution is now impossible because now the territories have two governmental authorities. The reporter also condemns the Western powers for not opposing to the resolution, claiming peace efforts will be impossible now. This article was clearly biased, though it provides a realistic point of view from Israel. The article published February 7th in the Arab Gazette talks about the recognition of the Palestinian Authority as a state, and how Israel has responded--by violation of the

already fragile Oslo accords. However, it also reflects on the Israelis change of government, and how a two state solution could be possible again. It explains how the political background in surrounding Arab states has changed, which again pressure the United States to organize peace talks. This article is slightly biased. On March 3rd, 2013, an article was published in The Guardian revealing petitions from Samer Issawi, a Palestinian prisoner on a hunger strike. He demands the UK to sanction Israel for violating the Oslo accords (mentioned above) since the UK has historical responsibility for creating the conflict in the first place. I find this whole issue has a disturbing lack of organization. In articles mentioned before, the United Nations and International Community are criticized for not respecting the sovereignty of Israel and Palestine, yet they ask for the USs or UKs involvement. On April 13th, an article was published as a follow up for Samer Issawis story, in a jewish paper. Israeli authors pleaded with him in order to end his hunger strike, claiming that peace negotiations could start again. They claimed that by dying in such conditions, he would only fuel more anger between the peoples, dying a martyr. The real shocker was however, how the Israeli authors said ...we are committed to tirelessly striving toward peace between the two peoples, who will live side by side forever in this country. Does that mean the two state solution is viable again? Only time will tell. The final article in my year-long study of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict was published on April 21st: a re-telling of the events in the Israeli territory. It stressed the fact that many powers have been involved in the conflict, only making things worse, and how lack of organization for even the resolutions themselves have complicated peace efforts.

My Personal Opinion:
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is undoubtedly one of the most complicated in history. After all, how is it possible to achieve peace when extremists will resort to the unspeakable in order to avoid it? I believe this conflict started because of the Western Powers games, which still continue today. In the first place, there was a huge mistake when Britain offered Palestine as a safe haven for Zionists. If any of the participating countries had offered their territory instead, things wouldve turned out very differently. Then, France made things worse, arming Israel along with the United States. Russia didnt help either, providing the Arab countries with weaponry as well. However, I believe the international community should strive towards a solution. In my opinion, further peace talks regarding the two state solution must be held, but the International Community must develop an alternative, since it has been said the two state solution is not viable. Ultimately, Nuclear War must be avoided at all costs.