Institute of Foreign Languages

Department of International Study

Israel and Palestine

Conflict

LECTURER : HENG Seiha

Group members : Khun naykieng

Huot dany

Chea Chanthearith

Iv Chakriya

SAY Vortana

2011-2012
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DIS HENG Seiha

Israel and Palestine Conflict

I. Introduction

Israeli and Palestinian (Arab-Israeli) conflict is one of the most chronic, enduring,
violent and ongoing conflicts. It lies between the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea and
the Jordan River, and it deeply takes roots over historical claims to the land between
Palestinians and Jewish people of Israel. For the Palestinians, they claim Israeli territory
nowadays is their ancient time ancestors’ land. And, they lost their self-determination over
their ancestor’s lands due to Zionist’s intrusion, expulsion, British colonization and military
occupation. For Israeli, the return of the land forefathers after centuries of persecution around
the world marked the starting of this conflict what it is said “One land with two people”.

Historically, the current land is a province of Ottoman Empire, which was

preoccupied by Arab Palestinians. In the late 1800s, there was a movement of an east western
European group called Zionists. Their presence in Palestinian’s ancestor land was to create
Jewish community homeland. At first, the movement immigration of Zionists into Palestine
was nothing noticeable, but later on, many more Zionists immigration into Palestine because
of mass killing Jewish activities from Hitler’s Nazi regime in Germany, and after they came
and bought Palestinian land under the name of Jewish people and never sold back to
Palestinian people. Then, Arab community started to be aware of true intention of Zionists
and realized that Zionist immigration and land buying sooner or later will put Arab
Palestinian community into danger and alarmed. As a result, in the 1930s, Jewish land
ownership had increased from approximately 1% to over 6% of the land (Al Nakba,, 2009),
particularly, during the British colonization, the Zionist emigration dramatically increased.
Furthermore, in 1922 the Jewish population had risen to about 11% of Palestine's 750,000
inhabitants based on the British census showed. More significantly, The United Nations took
responsibility hanged over by Britain for solving the Zionist-Arab problem to the UN after
British colonization, which ruled Palestine since 1920 ended, created a UN partition plan
which was received dramatically unaccepted by Palestine side. In the plan, it was divided
Palestine territory into two: 56.47% of Palestine to the Jewish state and 43.53% to the Arab
state; however, this plan was never implemented until now (BBC, UN partition of Palestine,
2011).

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The recognition of Israel as an independent state on 15 May 1948 in Tel Aviv after
WWII fueled anger and hatred from Palestinian population and Arab community while there
were still thousands of Palestinian refugees fled and evicted from their land and never
allowed to return. Over the 60 years since Israel’s founding on May 14, 1948, this profound
injustice has continued. Palestinian refugees are the largest remaining refugee population in
the world (Al Nakba, 2009). The day after the state of Israel was declared five Arab armies
from Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq immediately invaded Israel but were repulsed,
and the Israeli army crushed pockets of resistance. Armistices established Israel's borders on
the frontier of most of the earlier British Mandate Palestine (BBC, Establishment of Israel
State, 2011). And this is considered as alternative root causes of Israeli and Palestinian
conflict.

On March 10, 1948, According to the journal article written by Ilan Pappe on “The
1948 Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine”, stated that 11 superior Israeli leaders with their armed
officers conducted final ethnic cleansing plan what is called Plan D by expelling over
750,000 Palestinian men, women and children out of their residents, demolishing their homes
and planting mines around their lands to prevent them return back (Ilan Pappe, 2006).

In short, the root causes of this conflict, the following parts of this paper will focus on
trend dynamic analysis within timeframe since 2008 up to 2011, which includes actors,
interests, and issues. More significantly, this paper try to examine the existing mechanisms
and evaluate effectiveness of those mechanisms as well as try to figure out, and propose some
feasible solutions and mechanisms to help minimizing cost of conflicts or even if possible to
end this ongoing conflicts.

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II. Conflict Analysis

The tension between Israel and Palestine conflict emerged occasionally, and it will
always exist based on the hostility and aggressively of the government from both parties.
Even though they have signed peace agreement with each other, both sides never respect and
put down their weapons. Hence, this part will examine the nature and dynamics of the
conflict from both actors’ perspectives, and will focus and based on the issues and events that
happened between from 2008 to 2011. First, we will examine the Gaza conflict from 2008 to
2009 and then we will examine the issue from 2010 to 2011 due to these two periods has
different nature.

Here, we will know about the origin and the root causes of the Gaza conflict, which is
the hot issue between Israel and Palestine, and this conflict happen since the past until
nowadays. Gaza is the small trip of land between Egypt and Israel, and it has been known as
the Arab-Israeli conflict since the 1940s. Even there was an effective peace treaty between
Egypt and Israel to cede the control of Gaza area to Israel; in the late 1980s there was the
uprising of Palestinian against Israel, which led to the peace agreement known as the Oslo
Accords treaty in 1994, and under this agreement the Palestinian authority, Fatah movement,
has authority to control Gaza strip. However, the dispute always happens between these two
states. And, in 2006 Israel started the invasion of the Gaza Strip, and the cease-fire cannot
stop this attack from using rockets regularly into Israel by Palestinian with the offensive
responding with the air and missile attacks by Israel. In the mid-2007, when Hamas was
elected by Palestinians in a democratic vote, and get the authority to control Gaza after the
civil war with Fatah, there was a blockade of the Gaza Strip because the Israel feel no
security within Gaza, and Egypt also feel that it will be the militants spill over into Egypt, as
most of the West and Israel view Hamas as a militant or the terrorist organization, not a
political party.

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Even though a ceasefire was negotiated in the mid-2008, it was not written down, so it
will be untruthful for Palestinian as it used to experience in 2005 in which Israel withdrew
from Gaza just wanted to ease the blockade while the Palestinians reducing rocket fire into
Israel. Therefore, Hamas, who has the authority to control over the militant in Palestine does
not recognize Israel’s right to exist and seeks to reclaim any land in Palestine, started the
firing the rockets into Israel after the cease fire, and for the Israel, it needed to defend itself
and also wanted to teach Hamas with the harsh lesson, but this offensive leave many civilian
casualties, which push the international community; the west that support Israel’s overall
objective to put pressure on Israel to prevent or reduce the civilian toll and humanitarian
crisis.

Thus, on December 27, 2008, Israel begin an attacking, 22 day military offensive in
the Gaza Strip in order to stop the rocket attack on southern Israel and to disrupt terrorist
infrastructure and weapons smuggling by using a major air attack on Hamas political and
military targets in Gaza, and for the force respond to this attack, Hamas using more Qassem
rocket attacks, with some newer, longer-range rockets reaching the Israeli cities of Ashkelon
and Ashdod. This invasion or offensive result much damage in Gaza, and tens thousands of
people were homeless, and most of them cannot access to the water, particularly, it resulted in
13000 civilians, 4000 children died in Palestine, and the other 5000 were injured including
1800 children and 8000 women. Also, 13 Israelis were killed including 3 civilians, when the
dispute was ended on January 17, 2009 after there were the separate ceasefires announced
from both Hamas and Israel.

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In this case, there are two main sources of conflict. The first source of conflict is
related to human nature and violence. Because of the hostility of the Palestine’s government,
Hamas, who has the authority to control over the militant in Palestine, using the direct
violence to put pressure to the Israeli people by firing the rockets into Israel because he does
not recognize Israel’s right to exist and seeks to reclaim any land in Palestine. Furthermore,
because of the aggressive offensive of the Israel, which supported by the most western state,
and its neighbor, Egypt, blockaded the Gaza Strip, and cut off the fuel energy to put pressure
to the Palestinians people. In doing so, it shows the nature of the human that going to war
because of fear, and survival. Similarly, Israel and Egypt decided to block the Gaza Strip
because they feel of insecurity as most of the western view that Hamas is a militant or the
terrorist organization, not a political party, so it will threat the world security as well as its
safety. And, the same in order to survive and avoid from the sanction, Palestine has to do so.
Second source of conflict is identity formation. Being a Christian state among the Islamic
state, Israel’s culture is difference from those Islamic states, so they always view each other
as threats.

War between Palestine and Israel lasting for hundred years and there is no positive
peace existing yet between those two countries since the conflicts still continues happen
under the form of terrorist attack, conflict of resources, and territory dispute. As in 2010, the
Palestinians aim to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as it
capital while those areas are captured by Israel government since 1967 war. Israel
government would not accept the Palestine’s independence and according to the pass
experience there is only negative peace happen between them because both government
focuses only the absence of direct violence, potentially reduce the disarmament in the future
aim struggle and prevention the outbreaks of warfare. The resolutions done through
negotiation or mediation rather than seek to root course of the conflict or restructuring the
physical force. Even it received the involvement from international community like League
of Nations, United Nations to impose the peace mechanism or used collective force to
maintain the peace but the dispute would not carried-out. In this issue, United State and Some
other countries in Arab states is the most important actor because we can Israel usually
concurred by neighboring countries since from the past because they want to wipe-out Israel
from the world map and when there is a problem happen we would see the involvement of
United State as the main mediator or help to impose the peace mechanism. By participate in
this issue United State see a lot of benefit and it also shapes the US foreign policy. For

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example, at the first stage of Palestine demand for independence, US support Palestine by
declare US support the process of independence in Palestine on order to gain the popularity
or good image in the international stage and also got good relation with Arab states because
they are the main oil supply to US. However, it change when there is a strong reaction from
the Israel government to US. Israeli people also influential in shaping the US’s decision
because they are the most important actor in providing the financial support to US, so then
US change to not support Palestine to become a member of UNGA to favor Israel; that is the
interest of US inter into this issue while the other actors, there main gold is to protect their
sovereignty, national security and maximize their national benefit. And 21 September 2011,
Obama insists at the UN General Assembly that only negotiations can lead to a Palestinian
state. The Obama administration has pledged to veto any Palestinian statehood bid, arguing
that only direct peace negotiations with Israel, not a UN vote, would allow the Palestinians to
achieve the benefits of statehood. It is however wants to avoid using its veto at the Security
Council while many other states support Palestinian become a member of UNGA. However,
when we have a state accepted as a member of the United Nations, this is not the end of the
conflict. A peace negotiation for the contemporary peace resolution before all of the parties
could reach the agreement for long term peace otherwise the situation would goes even more
serious because all of the parties try to strengthen their military capability.

After examine the conflict within these two main periods, we have analyzed the
sources of conflict, and the existing mechanisms that have been suggested and done so far. In
the next section, we will propose alternative routes to a solution of the problem.

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Reference
- Al Nakba, The Catastrophe: How Palestine Became Israel, 2009. Accessed date on 1

Dec 2011. Retrived from: http://www.ifamericaknew.org/history/ref-nakba.html

- Anneinpt, Netanyahu’s speech to the UN, 24 September 2011.

- Articlesbase, Causes of Israel Palestine Conflict. Accessed date on 1 Dec 2011.

Retrived from: http://www.articlesbase.com/destinations-articles/causes-of-israel-

palestine-conflict-431016.html

- BBC, UN partition of Palestine. Accessed date on 1 Dec 2011. Retrived from:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/v3_ip_timeline/html/1947.stm

- BBC, Establishment of Israel State. Accessed date on 1 Dec 2011. Retrived from:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/v3_ip_timeline/html/1948.stm

- If America Knew, History. Accessed date on 19 Nov 2011. Retrived from:

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/

- If America Knew, History of Origin. Accessed date on 19 Nov 2011. Retrived from:

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html

- Ilan Pappe, The 1948 Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Vol. 36, No. 1, Autumn 2006.

Accessed date on 19 Nov 2011. Retrived from:

http://www.jstor.org/pss/10.1525/jps.2006.36.1.6

- James L. Gelvin, The Israel-Palestine Conflict One Hundred Years of War, New

York, Cambridge University Press, 2007. 209 pp.

- John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign

Policy, March 2006.

- James L. Gelvin, The Israel-Palestine Conflict One Hundred Years of War, New

York, Cambridge University Press, 2007. 209 pp.

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- John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,

March 2006.

- RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sun May 9, 2010 Retrived from:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/05/09/us-palestinians-

israelidUSTRE6471AL20100509

- Seham, As talks resume, two-thirds of Israelis support settlement building, September

2, 2010. Retrived from:

http://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/as-talks-resume-two-thirds-of-israelis-support-settlement-building.html