IsraeliPalestinian conflict

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the ongoing struggle between Israelis and Palestinians that began in the mid-
20th century. For the conflict in 1920-1948 British Palestine, see Intercommunal conflict in
Mandatory Palestine. For the wider regional conflict, primarily from 1948-73 but extending in more
limited manner to 2006, see ArabIsraeli conflict.

[hide]This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these
issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or
guidelines. (August 2016)
This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date
information. (March 2017)
This article is incomplete. (March 2017)

IsraeliPalestinian conflict

Part of the ArabIsraeli conflict

Central Israel next to the Palestinian National Authorityin

the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 2007

Date Mid-20th century[4] present

Main phase: 19641993
Location Middle East
Primarily in Israel, West Bank, Gaza
Stripand Lebanon
Status IsraeliPalestinian peace process
low-level fighting, mainly between Israel and
Gaza
Territorial Establishment and dissolution of Palestinian
changes administration (19481959) in Gaza
Jordanian annexation of the West Bank(1948
1967)
Occupation of West Bank and Gaza by Israel
in 1967
Transition of "A" and "B" areas from Israeli
Civil Administration to the Palestinian
National Authority in 19941995
Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005

Belligerents

Israel All-Palestine (1948

1959)

Palestine Liberation

Organization (19641993)

Hamas (1987present)

Islamic Jihad (1987

present)

Palestinian National

Authority (20002004)

Gaza Strip (2006present)

Supported by:[show] Supported by:[show]

The IsraeliPalestinian conflict (Hebrew: - , translit. Ha'Sikhsukh Ha'Yisraeli-

Falestini; Arabic: -, translit. al-Niza'a al-Filastini-al-Israili) is the ongoing struggle
between Israelis and Palestinians that began in the mid-20th century.[4] The origins to the conflict can
be traced back to Jewish immigration, and sectarian conflict in Mandatory Palestine between Jews
and Arabs.[5] It has been referred to as the world's "most intractable conflict", with the ongoing Israeli
occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip reaching 50 years.[6][7][8]
Despite a long-term peace process and the general reconciliation of Israel with Egypt and Jordan,
Israelis and Palestinians have failed to reach a final peace agreement. The key issues are: mutual
recognition, borders, security, water rights, control of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements,[9] Palestinian
freedom of movement,[10] and Palestinian right of return. The violence of the conflict, in a region rich
in sites of historic, cultural and religious interest worldwide, has been the object of numerous
international conferences dealing with historic rights, security issues and human rights, and has
been a factor hampering tourism in and general access to areas that are hotly contested.[11]
Many attempts have been made to broker a two-state solution, involving the creation of an
independent Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel (after Israel's establishment in 1948). In
2007, the majority of both Israelis and Palestinians, according to a number of polls, preferred the
two-state solution over any other solution as a means of resolving the conflict.[12] Moreover, a
majority of Jews see the Palestinians' demand for an independent state as just, and thinks Israel can
agree to the establishment of such a state.[13] The majority of Palestinians and Israelis in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip have expressed a preference for a two-state solution.[14][15][unreliable source?] Mutual
distrust and significant disagreements are deep over basic issues, as is the reciprocal scepticism
about the other side's commitment to upholding obligations in an eventual agreement.[16]
Within Israeli and Palestinian society, the conflict generates a wide variety of views and opinions.
This highlights the deep divisions which exist not only between Israelis and Palestinians, but also
within each society. A hallmark of the conflict has been the level of violence witnessed for virtually its
entire duration. Fighting has been conducted by regular armies, paramilitary groups, terror cells, and
individuals. Casualties have not been restricted to the military, with a large number of fatalities in
civilian population on both sides. There are prominent international actors involved in the conflict.
The two parties engaged in direct negotiation are the Israeli government, currently led by Benjamin
Netanyahu, and the Palestine Liberation Organization(PLO), currently headed by Mahmoud Abbas.
The official negotiations are mediated by an international contingent known as the Quartet on the
Middle East(the Quartet) represented by a special envoy, that consists of the United States, Russia,
the European Union, and the United Nations. The Arab League is another important actor, which has
proposed an alternative peace plan. Egypt, a founding member of the Arab League, has historically
been a key participant. Jordan, having relinquished its claim to the West Bank in 1988 and holding a
special role in the Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem, has also been a key participant.
Since 2006, the Palestinian side has been fractured by conflict between the two major
factions: Fatah, the traditionally dominant party, and its later electoral challenger, Hamas. After
Hamas's electoral victory in 2006, the Quartet conditioned future foreign assistance to
the Palestinian National Authority (PA) on the future government's commitment to non-violence,
recognition of the State of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements. Hamas rejected these
demands,[17] which resulted in the Quartet's suspension of its foreign assistance program, and the
imposition of economic sanctions by the Israelis.[18] A year later, following Hamas's seizure of power
in the Gaza Strip in June 2007, the territory officially recognized as the PA was split between Fatah
in the West Bank, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The division of governance between the parties had
effectively resulted in the collapse of bipartisan governance of the PA. However, in 2014,
a Palestinian Unity Government, composed of both Fatah and Hamas, was formed. The latest round
of peace negotiationsbegan in July 2013 and was suspended in 2014.

Contents
[hide]

1Background
2History
3Peace process
o 3.1Oslo Accords (1993)
o 3.2Camp David Summit (2000)
o 3.3Developments following Camp David
o 3.4Taba Summit (2001)
o 3.5Road Map for Peace
o 3.6Arab Peace Initiative
o 3.7Present status
3.7.1Israel's settlement policy
3.7.2Israeli Military Police
3.7.3Incitement
3.7.4UN and the Palestinian state
3.7.5Public support
4Current issues in dispute
o 4.1Jerusalem
o 4.2Holy sites
o 4.3Palestinian refugees
o 4.4Israeli security concerns
o 4.5Palestinian violence outside Israel
o 4.6Israeli violence outside Palestine
o 4.7Palestinian violence against other Palestinians
o 4.8International status
o 4.9Water resources
4.9.1Future and financing
o 4.10Israeli military occupation of the West Bank
o 4.11Israeli settlements in the West Bank
o 4.12Gaza blockade
o 4.13Agriculture
4.13.1The West Bank barrier
4.13.2Boycotts
5Actions toward stabilizing the conflict
o 5.1Mutual recognition
o 5.2Government
o 5.3Societal attitudes
o 5.4Palestinian army
6Fatalities 19482011
o 6.1Criticism of casualty statistics
o 6.2Land mine and explosive remnants of war casualties
7See also
8Notes
9References
10External links

Background
The neutrality of this section is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found
on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so
are met. (August 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Main article: Sectarian conflict in Mandatory Palestine
The IsraeliPalestinian conflict has its roots in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the birth of
major nationalist movements among the Jews and among the Arabs, both geared towards attaining
sovereignty for their people in the Middle East.[19] The collision between those two forces in
southern Levant and the emergence of Palestinian nationalism in the 1920s eventually escalated
into the IsraeliPalestinian conflict in 1947, and expanded into the wider ArabIsraeli conflict later
on.[20]
The return of several hard-line Palestinian Arab nationalists, under the emerging leadership of Haj
Amin al-Husseini, from Damascus to Mandatory Palestine marked the beginning of Palestinian Arab
nationalist struggle towards establishment of a national home for Arabs of Palestine.[21] Amin al-
Husseini, the architect of the Palestinian Arab national movement, immediately marked Jewish
national movement and Jewish immigration to Palestine as the sole enemy to his cause,[22] initiating
large-scale riots against the Jews as early as 1920 in Jerusalem and in 1921 in Jaffa. Among the
results of the violence was the establishment of the Jewish paramilitary force Haganah. In 1929, a
series of violent anti-Jewish riots was initiated by the Arab leadership. The riots resulted in massive
Jewish casualties in Hebron and Safed, and the evacuation of Jews from Hebron and Gaza.[19]

The Arab revolt of 19361939 in Palestine, motivated by opposition to mass Jewish immigration.

In the early 1930s, the Arab national struggle in Palestine had drawn many Arab nationalist militants
from across the Middle East, most notably Sheikh Izaddin al-Qassam from Syria, who established
the Black Hand militant group and had prepared the grounds for the 1936 Arab revolt. Following the
death of al-Qassam at the hands of the British in late 1935, the tensions erupted in 1936 into the
Arab general strike and general boycott. The strike soon deteriorated into violence and the bloodily
repressed 19361939 Arab revolt in Palestine against the British and the Jews.[20] In the first wave of
organized violence, lasting until early 1937, most of the Arab groups were defeated by the British
and a forced expulsion of much of the Arab leadership was performed. The revolt led to the
establishment of the Peel Commissiontowards partitioning of Palestine, though it was subsequently
rejected by the Palestinian Arabs. The two main Jewish leaders, Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-
Gurion, accepted the recommendations but some secondary Jewish leaders did not like it.[23][24][25]
The renewed violence, which had sporadically lasted until the beginning of WWII, ended with around
5,000 casualties, mostly from the Arab side. With the eruption of World War II, the situation in
Mandatory Palestine calmed down. It allowed a shift towards a more moderate stance among
Palestinian Arabs, under the leadership of the Nashashibi clan and even the establishment of the
JewishArab Palestine Regiment under British command, fighting Germans in North Africa. The
more radical exiled faction of al-Husseini however tended to cooperation with Nazi Germany, and
participated in the establishment of a pro-Nazi propaganda machine throughout the Arab world.
Defeat of Arab nationalists in Iraq and subsequent relocation of al-Husseini to Nazi-occupied Europe
tied his hands regarding field operations in Palestine, though he regularly demanded that the Italians
and the Germans bomb Tel Aviv. By the end of World War II, a crisis over the fate of the Holocaust
survivors from Europe led to renewed tensions between the Yishuv and the Palestinian Arab
leadership. Immigration quotas were established by the British, while on the other hand illegal
immigration and Zionist insurgency against the British was increasing.[19]
Land in the lighter shade represents territory within the borders of Israel at the conclusion of the 1948 war. This
land is internationally recognized as belonging to Israel.

On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Resolution
181(II)[26] recommending the adoption and implementation of a plan to partition Palestine into an Arab
state, a Jewish state and the City of Jerusalem.[27] On the next day, Palestine was already swept by
violence, with Arab and Jewish militias executing attacks. For four months, under continuous Arab
provocation and attack, the Yishuv was usually on the defensive while occasionally
retaliating.[28] The Arab League supported the Arab struggle by forming the volunteer-based Arab
Liberation Army, supporting the Palestinian Arab Army of the Holy War, under the leadership of Abd
al-Qadir al-Husayni and Hasan Salama. On the Jewish side, the civil war was managed by the major
underground militias the Haganah, Irgun and Lehi, strengthened by numerous Jewish veterans of
World War II and foreign volunteers. By spring 1948, it was already clear that the Arab forces were
nearing a total collapse, while Yishuv forces gained more and more territory, creating a large
scale refugee problem of Palestinian Arabs.[19] Popular support for the Palestinian Arabs throughout
the Arab world led to sporadic violence against Jewish communities of the Middle East and North
Africa, creating an opposite refugee wave.
Modern evolu