Why has Peace Been so Difficult to Achieve in Arab-Israel Conflict - Case Study Example

A Question of Peace: The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict A Jewish in the Middle East remains a divisive and controversial 2008 is the 60year anniversary of the establishment of the modern Israeli state and while Jews around the world celebrate its birth, others not only decry the policies of the Israeli government but also challenge the very existence of the state itself. Condemned by its neighbors as an unnatural colonial implant, Israel is frequently subject to international sanction and scrutiny. The status of the Palestinian people, seemingly on the cusp of statehood not long ago, remains increasingly complex and forever unresolved. The Palestinian community has also recently been fractured by the Fatah/Hamas split, adding a new and potentially explosive dynamic to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Despite decades of attempts at resolving this conflict, we are at an impasse and without a resolution in sight. The recent Israeli invasion of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has been decried around the world and as this essay is being typed, the conflict continues unabated. Statement of the Problem The Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains one of the most enduring and complex disputes of modern times. Although many believe that current fighting began with the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, historian Benny Morris traces the origin of this conflict to early Jewish settlement in the Ottoman region of Filastin (modern day Israel/Palestine) as early as 1881 – 67 years before the state of Israel was created. As such, he describes the conflict as a Zionist-Arab dispute and not solely as a problem between modern day Israelis and Palestinians (Morris, 2001). The origins of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians are important today because two key issues between the warring parties remain largely unchanged since the late ninetieth century. For more than one hundred years these two fundamental issues have driven, contributed to, and exacerbated the protracted nature of this conflict. The first major issue is territorial and the question of land. At its very core, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a conflict over land; a tiny sliver of land, semi arid and dry, bordering the Mediterranean Sea and roughly the size of New Jersey (Central Intelligence Agency, 2008). The second major issue is the juxtaposition of Israeli and Palestinian identities; competing nationalisms which were at odds decades before the establishment of the modern state of Israel. It is these two core issues, disputed land and competing nationalisms, which are fundamental to the conflict and which must be tackled with vigor if one seeks to resolve the crisis. Historically speaking, few places on earth share the religious importance of present-day Israel. In fact, the land of Israel has tremendous historical significance for all three major monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). Jews revere the Wailing (Western) Wall, as the site of the Second Temple, and modern Israel as the land of Abraham and Moses. Christians from around the world look towards Bethlehem, in the present day West Bank, as the birthplace of Christ. For Muslims the Dome of the Rock is the third holiest site in Islam (after Mecca and Medina) and is revered as the place where Mohammed ascended to heaven. And finally, the ancient city Jerusalem has held mystic sway over the “peoples of the book” (Bible/Torah/Koran) for more than two millennia (Bloom, 2005). While the religious importance of the land of Israel is seeped in history, the land issue became increasingly complex with the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 (Brynen, 2002). And while numbers vary, it is commonly accepted that between 350,000 and 1,000,000 Palestinians fled their homes or were expelled during the war of 1948 (Brynen & El Rifai, 2007). The Palestinian refugee crisis is tied to the land and the “right of return” has been an insurmountable roadblock peace between Palestinians and Israelis for the better half of six decades. Palestinian refugees account for one of the world’s largest refugee communities in the world and compensation and/or the right to return has been demanded by Palestinian negotiators during the course of all attempts at negotiation (Brynen & El Rifai, 2007). The loss of land and the “right of return” are essential components of the Palestinian collective identity and are embedded in the national consciousness of the Palestinian people (Said, 1992). The second major issue confronting Palestinians and Israelis are competing nationalisms. Inextricably tied to the land, Palestinian and Israeli identities grew together and in juxtaposition of one another (Said, 1979). Both national identities are relatively recent creations and a direct result of the nation building dialogue of the 20th century. Zionism, the belief that Jews should return and settle the ancient land of Israel, was an outgrowth of years of mistreatment of Jews in Europe, including pogroms and outright ethnic cleansing. Palestinianism – the belief that the Arab people of Palestine constitute a unique national community deserving a state of its own – grew in response to Zionist encroachment and settlement in the late ninetieth and early twentieth century. The belief that Zionism and Palestinianism are incompatible is a persistent feature of this conflict. It has also been a major impediment to any attempts at peace. (Morris, 2001) Islamism and the Emergence of Hamas A variety of theoretical paradigms have grown out of the Middle East in recent times. Arab nationalism and Islamism are political and social theories which seek to address the particular concerns facing the Arab world. Islam is a world religion which is one of the three great monotheistic religions and has its heart in the Middle East. While each is important, Arab nationalism is waning and Islamism remains a potent force in the post-Cold War world (Khater, 2004). Islam began in the Middle East around 600 A.D. and was shepherded into this world by the Prophet Mohammad. Seeking to address the plight of the people of the Middle East around the seventh century A.D. and growing out of Judaism and Christianity, Islam has now become a world religion with more than 1 billion adherents worldwide. The three most important sites for Islam, Mecca, Medina and the Dome of the Rock, are all in the Middle East and understanding Islam is extremely important for understanding the Middle East today. There are two main streams or branches of Islam, Sunni and Shi’a, and the divisions between the two sects is centuries old. Sunni Islam is the more prominent sect while Shi’a account for between 15-20% of the total Muslim world (Gelvin, 2005; Khater, 2004). Islamism is an ideology which stresses Islam as a guiding political force. Islamism has frequently come into conflict with secular ideologies and regimes, including in Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian territories. Islamism has been tied to violence and terrorism and remains an important threat to the stability of the region. The present power in the semi-autonomous Gaza Strip Hamas, self-identifies as an Islamist organization (Khater, 2004). The Muslim resurgence in the past sixty years has been caused by persistent underdevelopment in the Middle East, a legacy of authoritarian rule and rising expectations in a global world. The West has many difficulties with Islam and many in the Western world, before 9/11 as well as after, have little understanding the faith and subsequently of its adherents. The result has been an upsurge in grievances in the Islamic world and the appropriation of terror as a tactic. Accordingly, terrorism has been used a political tool by Islamists to enact change and the use of this option predates modern incantations of terror in the Western world (Huntington, 2005). Islam is said to provide justification for terror and terrorist activities and many terrorists cite the Koran when committing acts of violence. In spite of the fact that Islam is inherently a peaceful religion which promotes the peaceful co-existence of people of different faiths (dhimmi status for example), people have manipulated Muslim doctrine and have reinterpreted the faith for their own political ambition. Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas and a variety of global organizations which espoused violence as a political tool justify their actions using Islam. The term jihad is now known universally as a call to arms to the Muslim faithful but this term has been misappropriated and corrupted by Islamic terrorists seeking to impose their will through force. Terrorism has been appropriated as a political tool and used by a variety of Islamist organizations globally and remains a potent threat to geopolitical security and world peace (Gelvin, 2005; Khater, 2004; Huntington, 2005). Options George W. Bush was the first President of the United States to explicitly call for the establishment of a Palestinian state (BBC, 2002). After years of diplomatic intervention and attempts to mediate between the two parties, a resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict seems unlikely for the near future (The Economist, 2008). There are basically three options for the forthcoming Administration. The first approach is to sit back and wait for the conflict to resolve itself. By putting faith in the will of both parties to resolve this issue, the United States can extricate itself from further negotiations and remove any further diplomatic pressure. With this option, the United Stats can hope for an internal resolution by the main actors. The second option is to continue the accepted course by convening conferences with international actors aimed at obtaining a comprehensive peace settlement. Examples of this include Madrid, Wye River, Madrid, Oslo and during President Clinton’s final days in office, Camp David (Parker, 2003). The final option for the United States is the establishment of a framework in which a settlement is imposed externally by a third party. Along this line of reasoning, the days of negotiation have come and gone and the time has come for strong and deliberate third party intervention. Recommendations I have listed what I feel are the two major causes of the current Palestinian-Israeli crisis and which must be tackled for there to be a comprehensive resolution to this conflict. As world hegemon with unparalleled diplomatic and military power, the United States must take a proactive a decisive role in ending this conflict. After decades of stalemate and relative diplomatic stagnation, the time has come for the United States to impose a solution between Israelis and Palestinians. To overcome the core concerns of land and competing nationalisms, the United States must act towards Palestinian self-determination and statehood. To this end, I propose the following: 1. The external imposition of a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict 2. The establishment of a independent, autonomous and self-governing Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip 3. An absolute end to Palestinian incitement, violence and terrorism 4. Full security guarantees to Israel through the establishment of a neutral United Nations multinational security apparatus with an offensive mandate 5. Legal recognition by the Palestinian authorities of the state of Israel and it’s right to co-exist in peace and harmony with it’s neighbors 6. Continued diplomatic isolation of the renegade Hamas movement in Gaza 7. A cash settlement to Palestinian families who left their homes or were evicted under duress during the war of 1948 8. A one-time cash payment as restitution is to be financed by an independent supranational banking authority established under UN auspices. Families who receive this payment will automatically give up previous claims to the land (known by many as the “right of return”) 9. Jerusalem under joint Israeli-Palestinian control with UN trusteeship. 10. The eventual goal is a shared capital with important religious sites monitored by a multinational force Recognition, mutual respect and redress for past injustices must factor into a settlement of this conflict. Palestinians must be given the opportunity to realize their dream of statehood and receive land of their own as well as compensation for land lost during 1948. Israel must be recognized as a legitimate political entity with legitimate rights, including the right to security and peace. Only by addressing the issues of land and competing national ideologies can a settlement be brought to fruition. As the conflict between Israel and Hamas heats up in the Gaza Strip, a resolution unfortunately seems further and further away. References Bloom, M. (2005). Dying to kill: the allure of suicide terror. New York: Columbia University Press. British Broadcasting Corporation (2002). Arafat defiant after Bush speech. Retrieved January 04, 2009, from BBC online http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2064733.stm Central Intelligence Agency (2008). Israel. Retrieved January 04, 2009, from The World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html Brynen, R. (2000). A very political economy: peacebuilding and foreign aid in the West Bank and Gaza. Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press. Brynen, R. & El Rifai, Roula. (2007). Palestinian refugees: challenges of repatriation and development. London: I.B. Taurus. Central Intelligence Agency (2008). Israel. Retrieved May 27, 2008, from The World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html Gelvin, J.L. (2005). The modern Middle East: a history. New York: Oxford University Press. Huntington, S.P. (1996). The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order. New York: Simon & Schuster. Khater, A.F. (Ed.) (2004). Sources in the history of the modern Middle East. New York: Houghton-Mifflin. Morris, B. (2001). Righteous victims: a history of the Zionist-Arab conflict. New York: Random House. Parker, R. (2003). The politics of miscalculation in the Middle East. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. The Palestinian territories: chicken and eggs. (2008, April 26-May 2). The Economist, p. 65-66. Said, E.W. (1979). Orientalism. London: Vintage. Said, E.W. (1992). The question of Palestine. New York: Vintage. Read More