ISRAEL AND PALESTINE CONFLICT

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing dispute between Israelis and the Palestinians.[1] It forms part of the wider Arab–Israeli conflict. Though the State of Israel was established in 1948, the term is usually used also in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Zionist pioneers and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or British rule.

Many attempts have been made to broker a two-state solution, which would entail the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside an independent Jewish state (until 1948) or next to the State of Israel (after Israel's establishment in 1948). At present, a considerable majority of both Israelis and Palestinians, according to a number of polls, prefer the two-state solution over any other solution as a means of resolving the conflict.[2][3][4] Most Palestinians view the West Bank and Gaza Strip as constituting the area of their future state, which is a view also accepted by most Israelis.[5] A handful of academics advocate a one-state solution, whereby all of Israel, the Gaza Strip, and West Bank would become a bi-national state with equal rights for all.[6][7] However, there are significant areas of disagreement over the shape of any final agreement and also regarding the level of credibility each side sees in the other in upholding basic commitments.[8]

Within Israeli and Palestinian society, the conflict generates a wide variety of views and opinions. This serves to highlight the deep divisions which exist not only between Israelis and Palestinians, but also amongst themselves.

A hallmark of the conflict has been the level of violence witnessed for virtually its entire duration. Fighting has been conducted by regular armies, paramilitary groups, terror cells and individuals. Casualties have not been restricted to the military, with a large number of fatalities in civilian population on both sides, who took no part in the fighting when they were killed.

There are various prominent and international actors involved in the conflict. The direct negotiating parties are the Israeli government, currently led by Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), currently headed by Mahmoud Abbas. The official negotiations are mediated by an international contingent known as the Quartet on the Middle East (the Quartet) represented by a special envoy that consists of the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations. The Arab League is another important actor, which has proposed an alternative peace plan. Egypt, a founding member of the Arab League, has historically been a key participant.

Since 2003, the Palestinian side has been fractured by conflict between the two major factions: Fatah, the traditionally dominant party, and its more recent electoral challenger, Hamas. Following Hamas' seizure of power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007, the territory controlled by the Palestinian National Authority (the Palestinian interim government) is split between Fatah in the West Bank, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The division of governance between the parties has effectively resulted in the collapse of bipartisan governance of the Palestinian National Authority (PA).

The most recent round of peace negotiations began at Annapolis, Maryland, United States, in November 2007. These talks aimed at having a final resolution by the end of 2008.[9] The parties agree there are six core, or 'final status,' issues which need to be resolved.[10]

Periods of the conflict

On the historical timeline, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has had six distinct phases:

* The period of the Ottoman Empire rule in Palestine in which the Palestinians saw themselves as part of the overall Arab territories which were under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. During that period, the disputes were on the basis of religious background and not on national background.
* The period of the British Mandate of Palestine, in which both parties were under British rule and under a single political entity - called Palestine in English. During this period the term "The Israeli–Palestinian conflict" was not used and instead the conflict was referred to as "the Jewish-Arab conflict over the Land of Israel" (by the Jewish population), "the Jewish-Arab conflict over Palestine" (by the Arab population and the British population).
* The period of time between the declaration of the State of Israel and the Six-Day War in which the parties resided in three separate political entities: The State of Israel, the Gaza Strip (which was controlled by Egypt) and the West Bank (which was annexed to Jordan).
* The period of time between the Six-Day War and the Oslo Accords, in which the conflicted parties reside in the area of the western Palestine, which was under the control of the State of Israel.
* The period of time between the Oslo Accords and the Second Intifada, in which Israel exists alongside the semi-sovereign political entity - the Palestinian Authority.
* The period of time between the beginning of the Second Intifada up until today, in which Israel returned to perform arresting operations in Area A zones in the West Bank and Gaza and later on retreated from the Gaza Strip in 2005 which lead to the strengthening of the Hamas which in 2007 took control over the Gaza Strip.

Prominent events throughout the conflict
Map of Palestinian Authority (dark green) and Israeli (light green) administered areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip following the Oslo Accords. The agreement was that Israel would gradually cede control of territories over to the Palestinians in exchange for peace.

* King-Crane Commission (1919)
* 1920 Palestine riots
* 1921 in Jaffa
* 1929 Palestine riots
* 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine
* The approval of the UN Partition Plan according to which Palestine would be divided into two states - a Jewish state and an Arab state (1947)
* 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandate Palestine
* 1948 Arab-Israeli War, 1948 Palestinian exodus and the establishment of the state of Israel (1948)
* The creation of the Palestinian refugee problem (1948 - 1950)
* Suez Crisis (1956)
* War over Water (1964-1967)
* Six-Day War (1967) - Israel occupies the territories populated by Palestinians from Jordan and Egypt (1967)
* War of Attrition (1968–1970)
* Black September - the deportation of the PLO from Jordan to Lebanon (1970)
* Terror attacks carried out from Lebanon on Israeli targets worldwide (1972 - 1982)
* Yom Kippur War (1973)
* 1978 South Lebanon conflict
* Camp David Accords (1979)
* 1982 Lebanon War- the deportation of the PLO from Lebanon to Tunis
* 1982–2000 South Lebanon conflict
* First Intifada (1987–1991)
* Oslo Accords (1993, 1995)
* Second Intifada (began in 2000)
* Israel's unilateral disengagement plan (2005)
* 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict
Peace process
Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
and Arab–Israeli conflict series
Israeli–Palestinian
Peace Process
Israel with the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights
Israel
West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights a
Negotiating Parties
Palestinian flag
Palestinians Flag of Israel
Israel
History
Camp David Accords · Madrid Conference
Oslo Accords / Oslo II · Hebron Protocol
Wye River / Sharm el-Sheikh Memoranda
2000 Camp David Summit · Taba Summit
Road Map · Annapolis Conference
Primary Negotiation Concerns
Final borders · Israeli settlements
Palestinian refugees · Security concerns
Status of Jerusalem · Water
Secondary Negotiation Concerns
Antisemitic incitements
Israeli West Bank barrier · Jewish state
Palestinian political violence
Places of worship
Palestinian flag Current Leaders Flag of Israel
Mahmoud Abbas
Salam Fayyad Benjamin Netanyahu
Shimon Peres
International Brokers
Diplomatic Quartet · Arab League · Egypt
Flag of the United Nations Flag of Europe Flag of Russia Flag of the United States Flag of the Arab League Flag of Egypt
Other Proposals
Arab Peace Initiative · Elon Peace Plan
Lieberman Plan · Geneva Accord · Hudna
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's realignment plan
Peace-orientated projects · Peace Valley · One-state solution
a The Golan Heights are not part of the Israeli-Palestinian process.
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Main article: Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

[edit] Oslo Accords (1993)
A peace movement poster: Israeli and Palestinian flags and the words peace in Arabic and Hebrew.
Main article: Oslo Accords

In 1993, Israeli officials led by Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leaders from the Palestine Liberation Organization led by Yasser Arafat strove to find a peaceful solution through what became known as the Oslo peace process. A crucial milestone in this process was Arafat's letter of recognition of Israel's right to exist. In 1993, the Oslo Accords were finalized as a framework for future Israeli-Palestinian relations. The crux of the Oslo agreement was that Israel would gradually cede control of the Palestinian territories over to the Palestinians in exchange for peace. The Oslo process was delicate and progressed in fits and starts, the process took a turning point at the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and finally came to a close when Arafat and Ehud Barak failed to reach agreement. Robert Malley, special assistant to United States President Bill Clinton for Arab-Israeli Affairs, has confirmed that Barak made no formal written offer to Arafat.[11][12] Consequently, there are different accounts of the proposals considered.[13][14][15] However, the main obstacle to agreement appears to have been the status of Jerusalem.