Arab and Israel Conflict - Article Example

Arab and Israel Conflict: Chapter Introduction The Arab-Israeli conflict, which refers to the ongoing political tensions and hostilities betweentwo sides in the Middle East, has been a conflict over a land of two peoples and it is essential to realise the history of these people in order to comprehend the various aspects of the conflict. Before the independence of the land, it was known as Filastin to its Arab inhabitants and Palestine to its British rulers. The different names given to the land by the Arabs and Jews also illustrate their absolutely different views of its past, present, and future. "To the Arabs, Palestine was an Arab land whose soil they had cultivated for generations; as such, it was as entitled to independence as any other Arab country. To the Jews, Israel was a Jewish land that had been their inspiration throughout eighteen centuries of dispersion, dispossession and persecution; as such its destiny was to be the fulfilment of their dreams of statehood." (Fraser, P. 1). Although Palestine almost disappeared from the map of the Middle East when the State of Israel was announced in May 1948, the Palestinians did not disappear and the conflict between the two sides continued. The five subsequent wars between the two sides confirmed the intensity of the Arab-Israeli conflict and it is fundamental to analyse the history of the region before the independence of Israel. Thus, this chapter focuses on a reflective exploration of the colonial influence, the British Mandate period, and the period of pre-partition in order to realise the history of the conflict before the independence of Israel and the War of 1948. Arab and Israel Conflict: colonial influence There have been serious debates and analyses on the origins and causes of the Arab-Israeli conflict and an exploration of the colonial influence, the British Mandate period, and the period of pre-partition can significantly offer some pertinent hint in this regard. According to some scholars, religion has been at the heart of the conflict. They maintain that the contest for Palestine is an extension of the religious wars over Jerusalem in previous centuries and the various wars fought between the two sides are the continuation of the religious tensions. However, it is essential to realise the colonial influence on the Arab-Israeli conflict and there are critics who maintain that Western colonialism was at the heart of the conflict. Accordingly, the Arab-Israeli conflict "was the result of Western colonialism, which denied Arabs self-determination while at the same time favouring Zionism as an essentially European colonialist movement." (Best 2008, P. 107). Therefore, the influence of colonial rule on the Arab-Israeli conflict is indubitable and the religious aspect of the conflict does not tell the whole story of the conflict. According to Antony Best, the real causes of the Arab-Israeli conflict were the product of distinct historical developments of the late-nineteenth century and early twentieth century which include European anti-Semitism and the rise of Zionism, the emergence of Arab nationalism and the quest for Arab independence, the Ottoman defeat in the World War I, the British mandate in Palestine, the World War II, and the Holocaust. Therefore, religious antagonism, fanaticism, and colonial policy etc have influenced the development of the Arab-Israeli conflict. In a reflective analysis of the pre-partition period of the Palestine, it becomes lucid that the colonial influence has been a major aspect of the conflict, although there is difference of opinion about the role of colonialism in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The World War I offered an essential opportunity for the Arab nationalists to insist on the independence of the nation through a military alliance with the British, just as it provided the opportunity for the Zionists to obtain international recognition of their aspirations in Palestine. Therefore, the Western colonial rule has influenced the emergence of Arab nationalism as well as Zionism in the Middle East which ultimately contributed to the conflict between two sides. Although there were important expectations for independence among the Arabs as well as the Jews at the end of the war, their hopes were dashed when Britain became first de facto and later de jure in control of Palestine. "Indeed, the Arab territories of the Ottoman empire were divided up and placed under French and British mandates awarded at San Remo in 1920 and ratified by the League of Nations in 1922, a territorial division Yet, while Britain, on the one hand, was clearly expanding its power in the Middle East, on the other, it continued to back Arab, Jewish, and Armenian claims for independence, often as to undermine rival European Powers, particularly France." (Best 2008, P. 113). It is important to realise that the British policy was mainly driven by European factors or imperial considerations which placed the British authorities in an awkward position in Palestine when the Arab-Israeli conflict escalated. With the expansion of Jewish presence in Palestine, the Zionist demands for the land increased and worsened the struggle for work. The increased Jewish immigration into Palestine due to the development of Nazism and Fascism in Europe in the 1930s also caused the Zionist demands for the land. In a profound exploration of the origins and causes of the Arab-Israeli conflict, it becomes evident that the historical developments of the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century were most influential. Another major factor that influenced the Arab-Israeli conflict has been the western colonialism which contributed to the origin of various other issues. Thus, the emergence of modern nationalist movements based on the values of Enlightenment as well as the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire as part of the developing process of decolonization caused the quest for statehood for the Arabs as well as the Zionists. Several scholars of the Arab-Israeli conflict have maintained that western imperialism and colonialism was most influential in worsening the issues at hand, and ultimately the conflict. As Michael B. Oren maintains, "the Arab-Israeli conflict was certainly the most destabilizing of imperialism's consequences, the Zionist enterprise in Palestine having been recognised and, at least initially, facilitated by the British Mandate." (Oren 1992, P. 5). The colonial influence was also apparent in the development of nationalist feelings, Zionism, Arab nationalism etc. All these developments contributed to the demands of statehood, which ultimately resulted in the partition of the land. In the pre-partition period, both the nationalist movements in Palestine, the Arab nationalist movement and the Zionist movement, began to compete with each other which eventually clashed over claims to the same territory. As a result of this competition, a distinctly Palestine nationalism separate from Arab nationalism emerged. Significantly, "when in May 1948 the Zionists established the state of Israel in the territory allocated to the Jews by the 1947 UN partition plan, the Palestinian quest for statehood remained tied to the hope that the Arabs would liberate them" (Best, Hanhimaki, and Maiolo 2003, P. 128). Arab and Israel Conflict: the British Mandate over Palestine A profound analysis of the history of British mandate over Palestine confirms that the land came under the rule of the British at the end of 1918 when General Allenby, commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, occupied the former Ottoman province of Palestine in a severe and bloody battle against the Fourth Turkish Army. Through its victory over Turkey, Britain gained control of Palestine for the next thirty years and this control was not as a colony but as a Mandate from the newly formed League of Nations. "In 1922, at Britain's request, the League of Nations gave it a mandate to administer Palestine. The document formalising the relationship was called the Mandate for Palestine, which was a treaty between the League and Britain." (Quigley 1990, P. 16). With the introduction of British mandate in Palestine, the four hundred years of Ottoman rule and nearly a millennium of Muslim domination in the region came to an end. At the conquest of the land, the British established a military administration in Palestine. Essentially, the mandate incorporated the words of the Balfour Declaration, as it was adopted by British cabinet in 1917. Along with this, the mandate's charter also contained vague British undertaking about the establishment of a Jewish home in Palestine. According to the twenty second clause of mandate's charter, the purpose of the mandate system was "to assist the former Ottoman provinces of the Middle East to become independent states." (Papp 1994, P. 4). Significantly, the League of Nations appointed France and Britain, the victorious allies on the Middle East front, as the mandatory powers in order to achieve this end, and the newly-formed states were expected to progress towards full independence under the guidance and supervision of these nations. It is also important recognise that the British rule, from the start was handicapped by the inappropriateness of the promises made during the war and these promises were evident in the terms of the mandate approved by the League in 1922. "The problems associated with such a policy had already surfaced in the form of serious Arab disturbances in 1920 and 1921, directed both at British rule and Jewish settlement. Faced with the extent of discontent, the British sought to reassure the Arabs in a memorandum issued in 1922" (Fraser, P. 9). Therefore, the British mandate in Palestine influenced various aspects of the political and religious life in the region and it had a serious influence on the progress of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The British policy in Palestine has always been a subject of criticism both by the Jews and the Arabs and Britain's position on the conflict was greatly complicated by the divergence in views between the officials on the ground and those in London. The British officials in Palestine were, significantly, in favour of the cause of the Arabs and this tendency was strengthened by various other aspects. "British policy under the first high commissioner of Palestine was to uphold its pledge to assist the fulfilment of Zionist aims but also to ensure that the Arab population's civil and economic rights were safeguarded." (Best 2008, P. 114). Therefore, the British policy in Palestine has contributed highly to the religious, economic, and social aspects of the conflict between the two sides of the Middle East. It is also essential to realise that the British were not effective in dealing with the various challenges in their rule of the land and they were ultimately forced to change their policy on Palestine. One of the basic causes of the immediate withdrawal of the British from the region was the great changes that occurred in Palestine during the 1930s. Although Palestine was very important to the British ever since it had become a British Mandate in 1919, in 1947 "Britain suddenly announced that it would leave Palestine, and hand over control of the area to the United Nations Organisation First, the situation in Palestine had changed greatly during the 1930s." (Rea and Wright 1997, P. 18). Therefore, the British Mandate in Palestine was not very successful and the British force was required to leave the land as soon as the independence of the land was announced. During the colonial period and the British Mandate period, the basic issues of the Arab-Israeli conflict began to be complex and there were constant revolts from both the Arab nationalists and the Zionists. The 1936-1939 Arab revolt refers to the constant revolts by the Arabs since the 1920s, when the Palestinians demanded the right to form an Arab nation. The increasing number of Jewish settlers in the land also caused these revolts as the Arabs were against Jewish immigration. The strike and revolt by the Arabs started in 1936 when the Palestinian community refused to cooperate with the British or the Zionists. In response the strike by the Arabs, the British demolished Arab villagers and the Arab economy was paralysed by the strike. Taking advantage of this situation, the Jewish settlers developed their economy and the Zionist movement was in a stronger position by 1939 when the Arab revolt was finally crushed. Most of the Zionists were in favour of a Jewish state for Jews alone, although some Zionists believed that the Jews and the Arabs could live together. "After the Arab riots of 1929, the argument for a Jewish state, achieved through military force, grew more popular. During the 1930s and 1940s, the Yishuv gained more land and strengthened its economy." (Senker 2004, P. 22). All through the colonial period and the British Mandate period, the issues that contributed to the Arab-Israeli conflict were gradually emerging and the British rulers of Palestine threw up their hands in 1947 and decided the hand over the land to the UN. As an immediate step to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, the UN suggested dividing the land into two states between the Jewish people and the Palestinians and this was called the partition plan, according to which the Jews who represented only 37 percent of the population would get 55 percent of Palestine. "Violence came to Palestine within hours of the UN vote on partition" because the Arabs of Palestine would not submit to partition. (Karsh 2002, P. 29). In conclusion, the UN partition resolution in November 1947 which intended to resolve the Palestine conflict only helped intensify the controversy and the conflict between the two sides of the Middle East. Bibliography BEST, Antony. 2008. International history of the twentieth century and beyond. London: Routledge. P. 107. BEST, Antony., HANHIMAKI, Jussi M. and MAIOLO, Joseph A. International History of the Twentieth Century. Routledge. P. 128. Fraser, T G. [online]. "Introduction." The Arab-Israeli Conflict. New York: St Martin's Press. P. 1. Last Accessed 13 March 2010 at: http://insct.syr.edu/academic_programs/Arab-Israeli%20Conflict-Tal/Fraser.pdf KARSH, Efraim. 2002. The Arab-Israeli conflict: the Palestine War 1948. Osprey Publishing. P. 29. OREN, Michael B. 1992. Origins of the second Arab-Israel war: Egypt, Israel, and the great powers, 1952-56. New York: Routledge. P. 5. PAPP, Ilan. 1994. The making of the Arab-Israeli conflict, 1947-1951. I.B.Tauris. P. 4. QUIGLEY, John B. 1990. Palestine and Israel: a challenge to justice. Duke University Press. P. 16. REA, Tony. and WRIGHT, John. 1997. The Arab-Israeli conflict. Oxford: Oxford University Press. P. 18. SENKER, Cath. 2004. The Arab-Israeli Conflict. Black Rabbit Books. P. 22. Read More