POSITION OF ISRAEL

Along the history, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been presented subjectively by
different sources, usually from one sides point of view. The events presented in the timelines
vary from one source to another, as well as their description, diametrically opposed to eachother.
Both Israelis and Palestinians tend to see themselves as victims, engaging in violent actions only
in retaliation.
The position of Israel mainly gravitates towards the idea that Israel is the motherland of
the Jews. According to their view, Israel represents Jews haven, a place where they are safe
from the anti-Semitism and persecution, since they constitute the majority of the population. It
all started during the World War I, with the Balfour Declaration (dated 2
nd
of November 1917), a
letter from the United Kingdoms Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Baron Rothschild
(Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild), a leader of the British Jewish community, for
transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland. The Declaration declared
that the British favored a Jewish homeland in Palestine: His Majesty's government view with
favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their
best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that
nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish
communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other
country.
1
The British believed that showing support would attract the Jews in Germany and the
United States of America and help the war.
The Israeli people see themselves as victims who do not wish to use violence, but rather
live in peace, despite the anti-Semitism they experience especially in Europe and the Arab
countries. According to the Israeli view, a reaction is required when they feel threatened by the
Palestinian violence. Several recent studies have taken this approach and argued that Israeli
killings of Palestinians fit the pattern of retaliation, increasing immediately after Palestinian
killings of Israelis, whereas Palestinian killings of Israelis do not fit the pattern of retaliation.
This finding supports the narrative that Israel merely responds to Palestinian violence, whereas

1
Yapp, M.E. (1 September 1987). The Making of the Modern Near East 17921923. Harlow, England: Longman. p.
290.
Palestinian attacks are not contingent on Israeli behavior, instead reflecting a fundamental and
nonnegotiable goal of harming Israel.
2

Another important aspect of the Israelian position in the conflict is the religious
background. Even if the conflict is mainly a political dispute over land, the religious aspects are
also present. The land they are trying to claim has a deep religious meaning - considered holy
by most Jews, Christians and Muslims. Even if Israels culture is more Westernized than
Palestinian society or Arab culture, the religious dimension is still strong. However, while
extremist religious groups try to instigate violence in the name of God, there is a positive side
too, trying to bring peace through religion and spirituality. On the Israeli side, Rabbi Michael
Melchior is well known for his efforts to show the above mentioned: The Israeli-Palestinian
conflict is a territorial dispute, not a religious or existential one (which would make any solution
impossible). But there are religious issues and overtones involved. Sadly, for the people leading
the peace process, religion is a closed book. By failing to address core issues of faith and
identity, they have allowed radical, totalitarian religious forces to dominate this crucial arena.
3

Another important factor in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict is
represented by the shared water supply,
which is another obstacle to peace
between the two sides.
The main water supply is
Mountain Aquifer, which covers the
central area of the occupied territories
of the West Bank and portions of Israel
on both sides of the mountain range and
extends near the Mediterranean in the
West to the Jordan river in the East.
Israel has drilled several wells in the Mountain Aquifer since the occupation of the West
Bank in 1967 mainly to supply water to the new Israel settlements. The Palestinians claimed that

2
Institute for Empirical Economics, University of Zrich, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Philosophy, Tel
Aviv University, Ramat Aviv,Tel Aviv 69978, Israel; Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT 06518; McGovern Institute
for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge, MA 02139
3
Yehezkel Landau, Faculty Associate in Interfaith Relations, Hartford Seminary The Religious Dimension of Israeli-
Palestinian Peacemaking,
the intense water extraction performed by Israel is illegal with every new well, even though the
usage of the new wells has never been validated from official Israeli sources. The basic Israeli
position is that it has legitimate his- torical/prior use riparian water rights to that portion of the
Mountain Aquifers natural water flow cur- rently used within the recognized international bor-
ders of Israel, based on the principle of prior or his- toric use according to international water
law. Israel rejects the claims that it has stolen the water of the Mountain Aquifer from the
Palestinians. Israel points out that major portions of that water have always flowed naturally
underground into its territory and eventually into the sea.
4

In conclusion, Israels position remains clear and unchanged along the years of the
ongoing conflict. Israel rejects the establishment of a permanent Palestinian settlement in the
West Bank, with its main concerns regarding security, control of water resources and location of
Israeli settlements, using political, religious and social reasoning to fight against Palestine.




4
Hillel Shuval, Meeting Vital Human Needs: Equitable Resolution of Conflicts over Shared Water Resources of
Israelis and Palestinians;