What Are the Historic and Current Factors Contributing to the Israel-Palestinian Conflict?
The Israeli-Palestinian dispute has been ‘at the heart of Middle Eastern politics in the twentieth century.’ To examine this topic sufficiently we must first take a look at this history of the Israeli’s and the Palestinian’s and look at the events of last century to give context to their contending interpretations of history, then we can get into the issues, and points of controversy still dominate today. Many people often assume some would say wrongly that this is a religious conflict, simply because these two groups have different religions. It is not that simple, Palestinians include Christians and Druze not just Muslims. Religious differences are not the sole cause of the conflict. Fundamentally the conflict arises over the struggle over land. A piece of land that both have strong, plausible ties and claims too. Until 1948, the area that both groups claimed was known internationally as Palestine. But following the war of 1948-49, this land was divided into three parts: the state of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Jewish claims to this land are based predominantly on the biblical promise to Abraham and his descendants, as well as the fact that this was the historical site of the Jewish kingdom of Israel (destroyed by the Roman Empire), and on Jews' need for a ‘safe’ haven from European anti-Semitism that was particularly rife In the early part of the twentieth century. Palestinian Arabs' claims to the land are based on continuous residence in the country for hundreds of years and the fact that they represented the demographic majority in the area. Arabs do not believe that they should be made to forfeit their land to compensate the Jews for Europe's crimes against them that they played no part in.
In the 19th century, following a trend that started in Europe earlier on, people around the world began to categorize themselves as nations and began to demand national rights, principally the right to self-determination and national sovereignty in a
Jewish claims to this land are based predominantly on the biblical promise to Abraham and his descendants, as well as the fact that this was the historical site of the Jewish kingdom of Israel (destroyed by the Roman Empire), and on Jews' need for a ‘safe’ haven from European anti-Semitism that was particularly rife In the early part of the twentieth century. Palestinian Arabs' claims to the land are based on continuous residence in the country for hundreds of years and the fact that they represented the demographic majority in the area. Arabs do not believe that they should be made to forfeit their land to compensate the Jews for Europe's crimes against them that they played no part in.
In the 19th century, following a trend that started in Europe earlier on, people around the world began to categorize themselves as nations and began to demand national rights, principally the right to self-determination and national sovereignty in a