Arab-Israeli Conflict: The Role of International Actors - Research Proposal Example

Arab and Israel Conflict Chapter 3: Role of international actors As the Arab-Israeli conflict has been at the centre of regional and international attention for the last eight decades or more, it is essential to realize the significant role of international actors. The international actors have made several attempts at resolution in the conflict, both military and diplomatic. The ongoing dispute between Israelis and Palestinians on various essential issues such as borders, security, reciprocal recognition, land rights, water rights, control of Jerusalem, and legalities relating to refugees has often invited international intervention and various international organizations and nations have played significant role to establish long-lasting peace and stability in the region. In a reflective exploration of the role of international actors in the Arab-Israeli conflict, prominent international actors have involved in the conflict for a long time now. Significantly, the two parties engaged directly in the conflict are the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and various other international actors have taken part in the conflict. The international contingent known as the Quartet on the Middle East (the Quartet) has been concerned with the official negotiations in the conflict and special envoy representing this international body include the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations. Another important actor in the conflict has been the Arab League which has proposed an alternative peace plan for the resolution of the various issues in the region. Similarly, Egypt, which was a founding member of the Arab League, has played an essential role in the settlement of the various issues in the region. Therefore, this paper undertakes a profound analysis of the role of international actors the Arab-Israeli conflict during the Colonial period as well as Post -Independence period. Whereas the Arab-Israeli conflict has several different dimensions relating to the various aspects of the political controversy, the role of international actors should be realized as an important area of discussion. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which is called the War of Independence by Israelis and al Nakba or the catastrophe by Arabs, was an important event in the course of the various international interventions in the region. This war was the first in a series of wars in the Arab-Israeli conflict and it established the state of Israel as an independent state. In the post-independence period, the United Nations has been one of the chief international actors which have played a vital role in the peace process in the region. In fact, the history of the United Nations is greatly connected to the Arab-Israel conflict. With the establishment of the UN, new methods of mediation and the first Peace Operations were adopted in the Middle East after World War II. It is important to realize that the United Nations adopted numerous actions to control the conflict and to establish new mechanisms when the Palestine issue exploded. "From 1946 to 2002, UN activity in the Middle East went through different phases. After the first Arab-Israel conflict in 1948, the Organization tried to obtain a lasting peace solution in the region. In the following crises, UN activity progressively lost the role of guide in the peace process. In 1956, 1973 and 1982, the Organization was the instrument with which the two Superpowers stopped the increase of violence and came to an understanding. From the Six Days War to the Yom Kippur War and in the Lebanese Civil War, the balance of powers in the region was upset by Israeli attacks preventing a lasting solution." (Mauro 2004). Significantly, the UN was unable to take control of the situation after the end of the Cold War. Similarly, the Organization was not able to contrast the fundamentalist forces opposed to the peace process in the region and it failed to enforce the observance of the Agreements of 1993-1995. Therefore, the United Nations has been a central international actor in the Arab-Israeli conflict since its establishment following the World War II. In a reflective exploration of the Arab-Israeli conflict, it becomes lucid that the Arab nations initiated four wars against Israel which include the War of Independence in 1948, the Sinai War of 1956, the Six Day War of 1967, and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Started as a political and nationalist clash over competing territorial ambitions following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Arab-Israeli conflict soon became an international issue of dispute and several international powers such as the United States, Russia, the European Union, the United Nations, and the Arab League have played vital role in the course of the conflict. "With the parties to the conflict locked into mutually unacceptable positions, the chance for diplomatic movement seemed to depend on others, especially the United States. Because of the close U.S.-Israeli relationship, many Arab looked to Washington to press Israel for consensus If a deal were to be struck, it would be through the efforts of the two superpowers - the United States and the Soviet Union - and the United Nations." (Quandt 2005, P. 4-5). Therefore, the role of various international actors in the Arab-Israeli conflict has been a fundamental reality from the early days of the conflict. After the War of Independence in 1948, the role of international actors in the Arab-Israeli conflict became greatly important as it became an international issue concerning the stability in the region. Significantly, the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 has been important for the peace process in the region and various international actors, particularly the U.S., has played vital role in the peace processes ever since. "The search for peace in the Middle East dates back to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, a war following the invasion of the Jewish state by Arab countries, and the subsequent displacement of many Palestinian Arabs. The breakthrough for peace came in 1993 when Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat agreed to a framework for Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza in the Oslo accords." (Struggle for Peace). Analysing the role of international actors the Arab-Israeli conflict, it becomes lucid that the European Union is a major international organization which has vital influence on the peace process in the region. Undeniably, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been a source of instability in the whole region, occupies one of the high-ranking positions in the agenda of the European officials. Significantly, Europe has been historically and morally responsible for the emergence of the Israeli State and the Palestinian question and the union can never permit itself to stay in the margins of the Middle Eastern affairs. It has been a major agenda of the European Union to develop the economic, commercial, social, political and religious ties between the two shores of the Mediterranean Sea. "The study of Europe's action towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict highlights two pertinent observations: the affirmation of the European edifice as an international actor and its contribution to the conflict as a political actor. Throughout the years Europe has managed to successfully develop a European policy vis--vis the conflict, notably via the progressive elaboration of a set of basic principles, expressed within the framework of EPC/CFSP, and later on applied on the ground through concrete and tangible actions." (Gianniou). It is important to realize that the European Union considers a lasting peace in the Middle East as its central aim as an international actor in the Arab-Israeli conflict. There has been an important evolution of the European Union towards becoming an international actor that wants to be taken seriously for the last one decade and today it shows an increased willingness and capability to implicate itself in international conflicts. However, there is a serious criticism against the European Union that it does not play a very formative role in the settlement of the issues in the region. "The EU could play a major role in the Israel-Palestinian conflict by applying diplomatic, economic and political pressure on Israel. Currently, however, the EU has mostly either stood on the sideline or sided with the US The implication of this is that no real pressure has been applied on the stronger part in the conflict As for the interests of the EU in solving the Israel-Palestinian conflict, this is a more complicated matter. Palestine in itself is not a place filled with resources, nor is it of major strategic importance. However, since the plight of the Palestinian people is one which garners great sympathy in the Muslim world, there are clear interests by implication." (Jensehaugen). Therefore, the role of the European Union as an important international actor in the Arab - Israeli conflict is topic of debate. Bibliography Gianniou, Maria. [online]. "The European Union's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: an active paradigm of European foreign policy" Last Accessed 15 February 2010 at: http://www.jhubc.it/ecpr-istanbul/virtualpaperroom/045.pdf Jensehaugen, Jrgen. [online]. "The EU could play a major role in the Israel-Palestinian conflict." Last Accessed 15 February 2010 at: http://www.theeuros.eu/IMG/article_PDF/Jorgen-Jensehaugen-The-EU-could,2028.pdf Mauro, Danilo Di. 2004. [online]. "The Role of the UN in the Arab-Israel Conflict: a Quantitative Analysis." JMWP. 54. Last Accessed 15 February 2010 at: http://www.fscpo.unict.it/EuroMed/jmwp54.htm Quandt, William B. 2005. Peace process: American diplomacy and the Arab-Israeli conflict since 1967. Brookings Institution Press. Pp. 4-5. "Struggle for Peace." [online]. CNN.com. Last Accessed 15 February 2010 at: http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/struggle_for_peace/ Read More