Should Palestine Be an Independent Nation?
The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict:
Why Palestine should be granted nationhood
Omar Azraq
World History
Mr. Nicolai
May 13th, 2013 Palestine, or is it Israel? Either way, it is a highly contested land between two major Semitic groups: the Arabs, and the Hebrews. From the late 19th century, and throughout the 20th century it has been the focal point of Arab nationalism and Jewish Zionism. Today, it has become the Jewish state of Israel with occupied Palestinian Territories called the West Bank, which lies on the West side of the Jordan River, and the Gaza Strip, which borders Israel and Egypt. But, should the Palestinians deserve a state of their own? This essay will investigate the Palestinian side of the argument, their Biblical and Quranic ties to the land, the State of Palestine should have been created under Jordanian Egyptian as well as Israeli occupation of the land, and finally Israel’s poor relations with Palestine and colonial occupation of the land has led to the formation of many radical groups. One must first understand what caused this situation in the first place. What forces could possibly have driven the Holy Land into a state of constant political turmoil? Quite simply, three major causes have led to the events that created Israel, and its relations with its neighboring Arab nations; the first being Arab Nationalism, secondly Zionism, and finally strategic Western (particularly British) interest in the region. The Middle East as we know today was owned and controlled by the Turkish, Ottoman Empire. Britain wanted the passive Ottoman Empire to join the war alongside Germany in order to gain their involvement. Britain wanted the strategic access it had to India, as well as emerging oil sources. What caused the passive Islamic empire to join the war effort was the use of espionage to spur the Arabs into rebellion, thus aiding the British effort against the Ottomans; the most prominent figure was T. E Lawrence (also known as Lawrence
Why Palestine should be granted nationhood
Omar Azraq
World History
Mr. Nicolai
May 13th, 2013 Palestine, or is it Israel? Either way, it is a highly contested land between two major Semitic groups: the Arabs, and the Hebrews. From the late 19th century, and throughout the 20th century it has been the focal point of Arab nationalism and Jewish Zionism. Today, it has become the Jewish state of Israel with occupied Palestinian Territories called the West Bank, which lies on the West side of the Jordan River, and the Gaza Strip, which borders Israel and Egypt. But, should the Palestinians deserve a state of their own? This essay will investigate the Palestinian side of the argument, their Biblical and Quranic ties to the land, the State of Palestine should have been created under Jordanian Egyptian as well as Israeli occupation of the land, and finally Israel’s poor relations with Palestine and colonial occupation of the land has led to the formation of many radical groups. One must first understand what caused this situation in the first place. What forces could possibly have driven the Holy Land into a state of constant political turmoil? Quite simply, three major causes have led to the events that created Israel, and its relations with its neighboring Arab nations; the first being Arab Nationalism, secondly Zionism, and finally strategic Western (particularly British) interest in the region. The Middle East as we know today was owned and controlled by the Turkish, Ottoman Empire. Britain wanted the passive Ottoman Empire to join the war alongside Germany in order to gain their involvement. Britain wanted the strategic access it had to India, as well as emerging oil sources. What caused the passive Islamic empire to join the war effort was the use of espionage to spur the Arabs into rebellion, thus aiding the British effort against the Ottomans; the most prominent figure was T. E Lawrence (also known as Lawrence
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