Arab–Israeli conflict

The Arab-Israeli conflict is a long-running dispute in the Middle East mostly hinging the status of Israel and its relations with Arab peoples and nations. It is a small part of the greater series of wars and military actions that have taken place in the Middle East in the last 60 years, which have seen over two dozen wars, most of which have been by one Arab nation against another.

History

The Arab-Israeli conflict dates back to the beginning of the 20th Century. It arose after the Ottoman Empire in 1917 lost power in the Middle East, and in various forms it goes on until this very day. The Arab-Israeli conflict was the source of at least five wars and a large number of "minor conflicts". The former are:

• 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Began after the declaration of the State of Israel on May 15, 1948, because of the Arab unacceptance of the United Nations Partition Plan of November 1947 (in which Israel was formed out of part of Palestine).

• 1956 Suez War. Began as a joint Israeli-British-French operation to stop terrorist attacks upon Israeli civilians and recapture the Suez Canal. Ended in a truce in which Israel reached its objective, but the Suez Canal was left in Egyptian hands.

• Six-Day War, 1967. Began as a preemptive strike by Israel against Egypt following the Egyptian closure of the Tyran straits and deportation of U.N. peacekeepers. Four day later, Jordan was attacked to take Jerusalem and give Israel some strategic depths. A day later, Syria was attacked as well because of the continuous Syrian shellings of Israeli communities in the Hula area. The war resulted in the capture by Israel of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights.

• Yom Kippur War, 1973. Began as a simultaneous coordinated attack of Egypt and Syria in Sinai and Golan Heights, respectively. Although the initial attack was very heavy, Israel was not defeated, and after several days of fighting it was able to recover all the lands lost in the attack and to defeat the invading armies. The war resulted in a ceasefire at the same borders where it began.

• Lebanon War, 1982. Began as an attempt to remove the Palestinian Fatah terrorists led by Yasser Arafat from South Lebanon. Although initially the attack succeeded and Arafat was exiled to Tunisia, Israel became entangled with various local Muslim militias (particularly the Hizballah). By 1985, Israel retreated from all Lebanese territory but a narrow stretch of land called the Israeli Security Zone. In 2000, Israeli forces left that as well; however, the Hizballah still periodically launch attacks and keep Israeli prisoners as hostages, some of whom are civilians.

Reasons for the conflict

The opinions stated here are only some of the many existing in this region (about 10% of Israeli Jews, for example, are closer to the Arab point of view than to the Israeli one). Note, however, that they represent what a great majority of both the Israeli and the Arab publics think. The views have been generally irreconcilable.

Israeli views

Israelis name various reasons for the conflict. While it is difficult to make generalizations, Israelis blame the conflict primarily on aggression toward Israel on the part of Arabs.

On the Israeli view, various Arab organizations have traditionally been against the very idea of an Israel state, or the Israeli state in Palestine. (To be clear, this is how some Israelis would characterize Arab attitudes; Arabs might represent their own attitudes differently, or deny that they have these attitudes.) Israelis generally believe the Arab states view the economic, military, and political achievements of the state of Israel as an affront to their own soverignty; they are embittered because of past defeats and attacks by Israel. Most Arabs believe that the Palestinian refugees who were created as a result of the war have not been treated fairly by the state of Israel.

This is made all the more stinging for them since (on this view) Islamic law forbids Jews or Christians from being considered equal to Muslims. They must accept the status of dhimmis (second class citizens), and Islamic law allows Muslims to go to war against any Jew or Christian who refuses to accept this status. Moreover, on this view, it is important to point out that Islamic law requires that Muslims forever retain control over all land that was ever in Muslim control. Since the British mandate of Palestine once was primarily Muslim, the overwhelming majority of Islamic clerics believe that it is unlawful and unacceptable for a portion of it to be in the hands of non-Muslims.

Israelis generally admit that, while they are cast in the role of the attacked rather than the aggressors, the conflict is not entirely one-sided: when nations declare war against Israel, Israel by definition is then at war with them. Moreover, Israelies fear Muslim and Arab anti-semitism as well as Arab terrorism. Israelis are aware that many Arab leaders teach that the peace treaty with Israel is a temporary measure, and, in the opinion of some Israelis, the only long-term Arab goal is the complete destruction of the Jewish state.

Part of the Israeli case for their role in the conflict involves the justification of the existence of the state of Isreal, particularly against Arab criticisms. Zionists (supporters of the right of the state of Israel to exist) believe that the destruction of the state of Israel is too high a price to pay for the suffering of the Palestinian refugees, and it would not necessarily solve their problems. It would also create hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees.

Zionism is merely the desire of Jewish people to live as a free people in the land of Israel, and, Isrealis hold, is not exclusive. It does not prohibit Arabs or Druzes from living on the land as well. On this view, people of all races, colors and ethnic backgrounds have always been welcome in Israel; therefore, by definition, Zionism is not racism. Similarly, on this view, Zionism is not colonialism, since it does not wish to enslave any other peoples or lands, nor to exploit them. To the objection that the Palestinians were being exploited simply by the Israelis living on what used to be their land, Israelis reply that the Palestinians were, up until recently, on a path to their own independence from Israel. Immediately after the Six-Day war, Israel offered the occupied territories to the Arab nations in exchange for recognition of its existence. The Arab nations refused.

The Israelis generally do not view the building of house and stores in Israeli settlements as any sort of threat to the Arab population. Zionists (and the U.S. State department) believe that disputes about this land does not justify terorrism and mass-murder. Disputes need to have politically negotiated settlements. Although there is room for improvement, Israelis believe they treat their minorities in a just way. They are given freedom of religion, culture and political organization. They are not forced into the Israeli military, so that they will never have to fight their peoples. And, Israelis point out, no Arab state gives similar freedom to Jews.

Arab view

Replace this by the Arab view on the Arab-Israel conflict -- there isn't any single Arab view. There are rather many different Arab views, which differ widely in their content. The views below need to reflect what is actually taught in Arab schools, and is published by Arab governments and newspapers, and not an idealized American view of they what wish Arab states would teach.

The entire idea of Zionism (the creation of a majority Jewish state) is seen by many Arabs as racist. They argue that this is no less racist than an intention to create a majority white, black, or Georgian state. Some Israelis reply that this is inconsistent, since Arabs teach that Arabs may create majority Arab states (almost twenty such states now exist).

Arabs also deny that there is any justification for a Jewish state on historical grounds. Some Arabs teach that the fact that two thousand years ago the distant ancestors of today's Jews lived in Palestine gives them no more right to live there today than anyone else has. Moreover, the Palestinian Authority and many other Arab governments and universities teach that Jews never did live in Israel, and that all archaeological proof to the contrary is part of an international western anti-Arab conspiracy. On this view, no Jews ever lived in Israel, and the Bible's claims are (deliberate) fictions, and the ancient Jews actually came from near Yemen. (This is a mainstream Arab view, taught in Arab schools across the Middle East including by many in the Palestinian Authority. OK, let's have some evidence for these claim (that this is a mainstream Arab view.) On the Arab view, Zionism is the most extreme form of irredentism ever conceived, and irredentism has throughout history lead to war, conflict and hatred.

Zionism, according to many Arab publications, is worse than German Naziism. Many Arabs believe Israel practices a form of apartheid against the Palestinian people, worse than that practiced by South Africa, and that Zionism is a form of colonialism. Most of the civilized world has rejected colonial domination as a form of racism and a offence against humanity; yet many of them refuse to apply to Zionism the same standards they apply to colonialism in general. In most Arab nations, it is taught that western powers are working in a cabal to colonize Arab lands.

• There is nothing wrong with Jewish immigration into Palestine, in itself, any more than there is with Jewish immigration into any other part of the world. But most of the Jews arriving in Palestine did so with the intention of taking it over and establishing a racist Jewish majority state. Only Arabs may decide which Jews may immigrate into the land.

• Israel's settlement policy is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and constitutes a crime against international law. Israel, because of its expansion of settlements, has the lion's share of responsibility for the failure of the peace process.

• Although Israel is a racist and criminal state, terrorist killings of Israeli civilians are both counterproductive, and more importantly, wrong. Individual Israelis cannot be held responsible for the crimes of their government, even when they support it in doing so.

• The only long term solution to the Middle East problem is the elimination of the State of Israel. Those Jews currently living in Palestine might be allowed to remain there unmolested, and as free and equal citizens of the State of Palestine (in some views) or as dhmimmis (second class citizens, along with Cruze and Christians). All descendents of Palestinian refugees should be allowed to return. All anti-Palestinian laws should be abolished. Further Jewish immigration should be controlled solely by an Arab government.

• The creation of a separate state of Palestine alongside the presently existing state of Israel, although not an ideal solution, is a stepping stone towards the ideal solution and the best hope of achieving that ideal solution at present. Once a separate Palestinian state is established and strong, then the Palestinians would have a secure base from which to seek the elimination of Israel as a state.

• It is widely believed, moreover, by some in the Muslim world that Israel is part of a Zionist conspiracy to rule the world, or that Israel is not a Jewish state per se but is actually a part of a colonial plot by Western nations against Arab nations.

See also: Israeli Defence Force, peace process

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