Security Problem of Israel - Essay Example

International Security Israel has been marred by a security problem with the internal and external fights for yearsthat have halted its growth and affected its relations with other countries. The country has been in the center of major struggles both in the Middle East and the rest of Europe. The latest security concern has been the Israeli-Palestine war that has lasted for years and the role played by other countries in the war. The United States for instance has been in the fore front-though not publicly-funded and ensured that Israel is supplied with the best and most updated warfare that has been used in the war against Palestine and also in the Middle East. The conflict between Israel and Palestine is mainly facilitated by the religious disparity seen in the region with the Palestine being Arabs and the Israeli people being Jewish Christians. This essay will look at the international security situation in Israel while referring to the information from the various wars and conflicts between the country and other nations, the internal conflicts that have lasted for years and the role played by various countries in either assisting or resisting its attacks on other countries (Slater, 2006). Israel has been in conflict with Egypt, Jordan and also with Palestine with the peace talks and reconciliation process yielding little despite the effort that has been put by the international bodies to end the conflicts. The conflicts have been due to border issues and the control of fertile areas, the failure to recognize some people and regions and the control of Jerusalem and certain Israeli settlements. Israeli Conflicts One of the most enduring conflicts in the history of Israel is the one with Palestine. This can be dated back to about one hundred years ago with the same arising from the right to own the land between the Eastern Shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan. The Palestinians who are few and less armed when it comes to military empowerment have witnessed about one hundred years of suppression and occupation of the land which they considered as theirs by the Israelis. The suffering and loss that has been caused by the occupation of the land has led to their fight to be recognized as a state with their struggles having little fruits to be seen. The Jews on the other hand refer to the land they have been fighting for as the land of their fore fathers and so it is their rightful inheritance that should be given to them without much fighting or conflict. Having a two state solution has been one of the options that has been proposed to broker a deal between the regions and end the recurring fights that have marred development in both regions for years. However, to come up with such a deal or solution there so many factors that need to be considered to avoid similar wars in the future. The West Bank and the Gaza strip are the main regions that have seen the security concerns and the rampant bombings especially by suicide bombers. The inhabitants in the region have expressed their wish to have a two state solution as that seems to be the only pertinent solution to their problem (Kriesberg, 2001). One of the measures that were put to address the problem is the Oslo Accord that failed to yield the expected results and bring an end to the ongoing conflict. The attempts in 1993 saw the meeting between the Government of Israel and the opposing movement-the Palestine Liberators. The negotiations were done in Oslo Norway hence the name. In the Accord, Palestine was to be given the right to make an interim self-government and lead its way into freedom. On top of that, this would be followed by the formation of the Palestinian national Authority that would be mandated with the role of administrating and overseeing the running of the territory that would be under its rule. Another important thing that was to be done was the withdrawal of the Israel Defense forces from the Palestine Territory once the latter were accorded with the freedom to run it on their own. This interim set up was supposed to be a prerequisite for the formation of a stronger and a lasting solution for the impeding struggles. This would last for five years. The permanent status negotiations that would still go on in the interim period were supposed to address and be part of the long lasting deal. The treaty was signed in secrecy in 1993 between Arafat and Peres. However, the first and the second accords did not promise the statehood of Palestine as was expected. Later in Paris, an agreement was reached by Arafat and Rabin. However, the accords were not to be honored and this just worked to facilitate the fights after Israel failed to withdraw its defense forces from the Gaza strip and the recognition of Palestine. The honoring of the accord would have seen the formation of the interim and later the state of Palestine that would have brought an end to the long lasting disputes over the Jericho and Gaza region. Role of the International Community in the Security Concerns in Israel The international community has been at the fore front trying to impose ways that can be followed to end the Israeli-Palestine conflict. However, analysts have argued that the involvement of the international bodies have been less vigorous than would have been expected. One of the major concerns that have rose to bar the solution in the region is the United States domination in the international forums and the voting processes. U.S. has been supporting the requests of the Israelis in addressing the problem and so the voting though based on noble grounds seems to be flawed and biased. The Arab League countries have not been of much help in the struggle. To address the problem, the passive role of the United States as a major decision maker in the struggle has been questioned. According to Gallo & Marzano (2009), with a more defined participation of the country in defining its international policies and engagement in the peacemaking process, a long lasting solution can be reached easily. The conflict has been hard to address since it involves a long period of misdemeanors done on the Palestine as they were displaced from their region and betrayal when they were ready to come up with potential ways to end the feuds. However, the international community has been proposing that the Palestine regions that were occupied after 1967 should be vacated and reduce the viciousness of the attacks. Before the Six-Day-War of 1967, there were well defined Israeli-Arab borders that have since been bypassed by the military. The fate of Palestinian refugees who were evicted from their region still remains to be a hotly debated issue pending to be solved before a long lasting solution is achieved. There seems to be no hopes of peace if Palestine is not allowed to become a sovereign state. There exists little if any left trust between the Israeli and the Palestinians after the period of betrayal and lack of fulfilment for the set accords and treaties (Hisham et al, 2014). The role of the NATO is also in question as it is supposed to be in the forefront in ensuring that there is peace in the region. NATO being an international body can be entrusted with offering impartial peace in the region unlike the Israeli Army that is interested in securing their region. As the international community puts it, having peace talks and coming up with a pertinent solution would have been very easy before 1967. However, after that time, Israel has worked towards inflicting more pain on its neighbors with its defense seizing more land from Egypt i.e. in the Sinai Peninsula, and also from Syria. The refusal to withdraw its military from the Gaza region has also come as a catalyzing factor in increasing the conflict. The lasting solution therefore seems to be far from what people think as no none of the conflicting parties is ready to compromise their requests for the sake of peace. Conclusion In conclusion, the state of security in Israel has moved from bad to worse in the last century and the condition keeps on deteriorating with each coming day (Shah, 2000). The international community has failed to draft a long lasting solution with the closest they came in the signing of the Oslo Accord going to the drains courtesy of Netanyahu’s refusal to honor the promises. In the meantime Israel continues to intensify its manifestation on the regions that are under conflict especially the Gaza strip. The only pertinent solution that seems to work at the moment is having a two state treaty that will see the withdrawal of the Israeli troops from Gaza and the declaration of Palestine as a sovereign state with an internal government and the powers to control the region under its control. However, this does not seem to happen in the near future and so the situation remains at a stardom with no solution seeming to bring a lasting peace deal. Cited Works Hisham, Awartani. et al. Natural Resources and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. The Palestine-Israeli Journal of Politics, Economics and Culture. 19(4). 2014. Print. Slater, Jerome. Muting the Alarm over the Israeli-Palestine Conflict. The New York Times versus Haaretz, 2000-2006. Journal of International Security, 32(2). p. 84-120. 2006. Print. Shah, Anup. Palestine and Israel. Global Issues, Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues that affect us all. 2000. Gallo, Giorgio. & Marzano, Arturo. The Dynamics of Asymetric Conflicts: The Israeli- Palestinian Case. Journal of Conflict studies. 29(2009). 2009. Available at. Kriesberg, Louis. Mediation and the Transformation of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Journal of peace Research. SAGE Publications.38 (373). 2001. DOI: 10.1177/0022343301038003006. Read More