Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
By Mr. Eisenman
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict Geography Israel Palestine Christian Ancient timeline UN Partition Plan 1967 War 1973 War Camp David Accords Rise of the PLO First Intifadah Oslo Accords Second Intifadah The Issues Links
The Geography
Israel is at the crossroads between Asia, Africa, and Europe. Today, it is in the heart of the Arab Middle East The areas small size limits its capacity to be a homeland for all the people who want to live there.
Timeline of Events: A short history which doesnt mention all 28 nations that occupied Palestine
1250 BC: Israelites began to conquer and settle the land of Canaan 961-922 BC: Reign of King Solomon and construction of the first Temple in Jerusalem. Solomon's reign was followed by the division of the land into two kingdoms. 586 BC: The southern kingdom, Judah, was conquered by the Babylonians, who drove its people, the Jews, into exile and destroyed Solomon's Temple. After 70 years the Jews began to return and Jerusalem and the temple were gradually rebuilt. 333 BC: Alexander the Great's conquest brought the area under Greek rule. 165 BC: A revolt in Judea established the last independent Jewish state of ancient times. 63 BC: The Jewish state, Judea, was incorporated into the Roman province of Palestine. It remains under Roman rule until 638 A.D. 70 AD: A revolt against Roman rule was put down by the Emperor Titus and the Second Temple was destroyed. This marks the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora, or dispersion. 118-138 AD: During the Roman Emperor Hadrian's rule, Jews were initially allowed to return to Jerusalem, but after another Jewish revolt in 133 - the city was completely destroyed and its people banished and sold into slavery. 313-638 AD: The Byzantine Christian Era. Palestine was ruled by the Byzantine Emperors in Byzantium. 638 AD: Conquest by Arab Muslims ended Byzantine rule (the successor to Roman rule in the East). The second caliph of Islam, Omar, built a mosque at the site of what is now the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in the early years of the 8th Century. Apart from the age of the Crusaders (1099-1187), the region remained under Muslim rule until the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the 20th Century. 1897: First Zionist Conference agreed to work toward establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Jewish immigration to Palestine picks up pace. 1920-1947: British Mandate period. Britain administered the area and promised a homeland to both Jews and Palestinians 1947-48: United Nations controlled 1948: Israel is given its independence. Arab nations attack. At the end of the war, territory that would have gone to Palestinians is claimed by Egypt and Jordan.
1973 War
Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan attacked Israel to regain lands lost in the 6 day war. The Arab nations were initially successful as the Israelis were celebrating Yom Kippur and had not anticipated an attack. After several weeks, Israel recovered its occupied lands and a cease fire was reached. Both Arabs and Jews gained confidence as a result of the war
Oslo Accords
In 1993, the PLO and Israel signed a peace agreement to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The agreement included the following: Withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank Palestinian right to self-government through the creation of the Palestinian Authority. The parties agreed to negotiate a final and permanent peace settlement in the near future. Permanent issues such as Jerusalem, refugees, Israeli settlements in the area, security and borders were deliberately excluded from the Accords and determined as not prejudged. The Israeli government recognized the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people The PLO recognized the right of the state of Israel to exist and renounced terrorism, violence and its desire for the destruction of Israel.
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Intifadah, 2000-Present
The Oslo Peace Accord failed to achieve a final settlement despite great efforts by Bill Clinton in the last months of his presidency. Israel and the US claimed that Israel made historic offers for peace which Yassir Arafat rejected. Palestinians claimed that they could never sign an agreement that didnt give complete Palestinian control over the Temple Mount and holy sites in Jerusalem. The Second Intifadah, or uprising, began in September 2000 following the visit of Israeli politician Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount. The second Intifadah has been far bloodier than the first as suicide bombing has become a common tactic. Israel has responded by assassinating leaders that order the suicide attacks and entering Palestinian towns with tanks and strong force to search for terrorists. Death tolls are estimated at 4,000 Israel believes that Yassir Arafat was not a true partner for peace as it has gathered evidence that he has been involved in terrorist activity. His forces have refused to arrest Islamist militants like Hamas members. Palestinians have grown frustrated by the lack of progress and continuing brutal occupation.
The Issues
The right of Israel to exist as a nation on land previously occupied by Moslems Refugees and the right of return The building of settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip Status of Jerusalem Terrorism Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights and the West Bank. Water rights Defensible and safe borders. Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails International and Arab recognition of Israel and normalized relations
Links
An excellent site on the Arab Israeli conflict. This contains primary documents and a wealth of excellent resources and links. A diversity of perspectives is represented. http://www.historyteacher.net/Arab-Israeli_Conflict.htm#Docs http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/middle_east/2001/israel_and_th e_palestinians/default.stm BBC site http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/conflict/index.html PBS special
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/israel_hist_1973.jpg http://www.teacheroz.com/Non_Western.htm http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1896herzl.html http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1896herzl-b.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/israel_at_50/internet_links/82045.stm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/zion.html http://www.mideastweb.org/timeline.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/israel_and_palestinians/timeline/1947. stm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab-Israeli_conflict