The Arab-Israeli conflict stems from events leading to Israel's creation in 1948. The UN partitioned Palestine in 1947, establishing Jewish and Arab areas, but Palestinians rejected this. War broke out as neighboring Arab states attacked the new state of Israel. Over subsequent decades, more Palestinians came under Israeli control as Israel gained territory in wars. Proposed solutions like a Palestinian state or integrating Palestinians into other countries were unacceptable. The 1993 Oslo Accords established Palestinian autonomy but failed to achieve lasting peace. Ongoing violence has derailed peace efforts despite attempts at negotiations and roadmaps over the decades.

1. THE ARAB/ISRAELI CONFLICT
The root of the Arab/Israeli conflict goes back to the events leading to the creation of Israel in 1948.
Palestine, as the land that is now Israel, has historically changed hands. Until 1947, the British were in
control of Palestine.

2. Persecuted Jews had been returning to
their religious homeland since the late
19th century, and this greatly
accelerated following World War II
and the holocaust.
Britain reluctantly allowed Jewish
immigration to Palestine from the
decimated Jewish populations of
Europe.

3. The Jews want a safe and secure Jewish state
following the atrocities, and world opinion is
supportive.
As Jews flood into Palestine, problems develop
between them and the Arabs (Palestinians).
The British, exhausted and financially drained
following WWII, are caught in the middle of
the conflict.
The British decide to turn the crisis in
Palestine over to the newly-created United
Nations In 1947.

4. The issue for the United Nations is, WHO
HAS THE RIGHT TO PALESTINE?”
The UN decides to divide Palestine into
Jewish and Arab areas. Notice that the
division is not “neat.” Why do you think
the UN divided Palestine in this
manner?

5. In May, 1948, Jewish leaders proclaim the state of Israel comprising their area.
Palestinians, backed by other Arabs, attack the Jews.

6. The Jews defeat the Arabs and the state of
Israel is recognized by U.S. President Harry
Truman.

7. Results:
1. Jews have their “safe” Jewish state
2. Israel’s Arab neighbors vow to destroy it
3. The dilemma for Israel: What to do with
displaced Palestinians?

8. In 1967 Israel’s Arab neighbors make threatening moves – the Arabs want to destroy the
Jewish state.

11. Israel gains territory from 3 hostile Arab neighbors
and it triples in size.
Results of the war:
1. Israel proves military might and gains respect.
2. More Palestinians under Israeli control
3. Israel annexes the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula,
the
West Bank, and the Golan Heights.
4. The Arabs seek revenge and will attack Israel in
1973.

12. Since the creation of Israel in 1948, the fate of Palestinian Arabs left without their own nation has
been a key element in the long-running conflict between Arabs and Israelis. In recent times three
proposals have been offered by Israelis or Arabs to solve the “Palestinian Question.”
The first proposal entailed establishing a separate
Palestinian state from the West Bank and Gaza
Strip.

13. Another proposal included sending Palestinians living under Israeli control to Jordan.

14. The third proposal consisted of integrating the Palestinians living in Israel into
neighboring Arab countries.
Until 1993, none of these ideas was acceptable to all of the sides.

15. After decades of stalemate in negotiating a solution to the “Palestinian Question,” the PLO began a
bloody uprising (intifada) in 1987 to secure a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank.
Yasir Arafat

16. It lasted for 6 years and was a huge burden on Israel (human and financial).

17. In 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin agrees with PLO leader Yasir Arafat on a controversial
concept of “Land for Peace.”

18. Under the agreement, Israel would grant the PLO
temporaryautonomy in Gaza and selected cities in the
West Bank.
Israel did not make any official guarantees of eventual
statehood to the PLO, although it was understood that
this would eventually be the outcome if both sides
cooperated, and it vowed to maintain control of
Jerusalem.
THE AGREEMENT WAS CONTINGENT ON THE PLO
CONTROLLING ITS TERRORIST FACTIONS. And
the PLO has had problems governing its territory and
providing security (Palestinians are split).

19. The beginning of a second intifada in Sept. 2000 derailed and eventually killed the ’93 peace initiative. Both sides have
been mired in a destructive cycle of violence to the present.The Arab community is putting tremendous pressure on the
U.S. to mediate a Palestinian state.

20. Initially, President Bush had refused to become directly involved in the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict. He was especially critical of PLO leader Yasir Arafat and
his inability or refusal to halt the suicide bombings (9/11 was a big variable).
Since the 9/11 attack in the U.S., President Bush was generally more sympathetic toward
Israel, but he has become directly involved in the conflict as a mediator since the Iraqi
War and a Palestinian leadership change.

21. Bush was critical of his predecessor, Bill Clinton, for including Arafat in the “partnership
for peace,” so he demanded as a pre-condition for U.S. engagement a Palestinian
leadership change, which resulted in the naming of Mahmoud Abbas as the new Palestinian
prime minister.
Prime Minister Sharon
President Bush

22. A major breakthrough occurred in June
2003, when Prime Minister Sharon and the
new U.S.-backed prime minister, Mahmoud
Abbas, agreed to accept the framework of
the latest “Roadmap to Peace” initiative,
collectively endorsed by the EU, Russia,
and the U.S.

23. The cornerstone of the “Roadmap” was the
establishment of a Palestinian state by
2005.
Key issues for the Israelis are security for
Israeli settlers in the West Bank and Gaza,
and the cessation of the deadly suicide
bombings.
For the Palestinians, the key issues are the
pace of establishing a Palestinian state and
the “right of return” for Palestinians
displaced in 1948.

24. For both sides, the fate of
Jerusalem is non-negotiable.

25. The ultimate deal-breakers for both
sides are the bitter divisions dividing
both Israelis and Palestinians over
difficult concessions.
Prime Minister Sharon clashed with
Israeli settlers in the West Bank & Gaza
and contended with deep mistrust
amongst Israelis concerning Palestinian
promises.
The three main Palestinian militant
groups (Hamas; Islamic Jihad; al Aqsa
Martyrs Brigade) had declared a
temporary cease-fire in June of 2003 as
long as tangible progress was rapidly
made.

26. By Aug. 2003 the cease-fire abruptly ends and the peace process is on the verge of
collapse as suicide bombings occur, and the Israeli govt. retaliates with targeted
assassinations of Palestinian militant leaders.

34. As Israel failed to fulfill its obligations of the
U.S.-sponsored Road Map Agreement,
Palestinians increasingly vented their anger
with renewed suicide bombings.
In response to the deadly Palestinian suicide
attacks, the Israeli govt. is constructing a
barrier to separate Israel from the West
Bank.
Israeli officials contend that 75% of
Palestinian suicide bombers who have struck
inside Israel came across the northern border
of the West Bank.
The Israeli govt. threatened to disengage
from the peace process by making the barrier
boundary the political boundary between
Israel and a Palestinian state.

36. If completed as planned (at an estimated cost of $1.3 billion), the barrier would extend about 400 miles
around the heart of the West Bank, swinging miles into Palestinian territory. The 60- to 100-yard-wide
barrier consists of a combination of barbed wire and fences, ….

37. …. ditches and 25-foot-high concrete walls, including watchtowers, cameras, and electronic sensors.

38. For the ordinary Palestinian citizens caught in the middle of the violence, they suffer
severe economic hardships from being denied access to their jobs in Israel, and they
suffer daily humiliations at Israeli checkpoints.
And although they support the Palestinian cause, the tactics used by the militant groups
appear to hurt them as much as the Israelis.

39. Palestinians complain that Israel’s security
project is simply an attempt to unilaterally
re-draw the political boundary between
Israel and the West
Bank, and by extension, any Palestinian state.
The U.S. did not initially object to the
barrier on or near the West Bank boundary,
but as the barrier runs more deeply into the
West Bank, the U.S. govt. has called the
route a problem.
And, the Israelis have imposed a strangle-
hold blockade of Gaza, which causes hardship
for the residents.
The controversy and anger surrounding the
barrier and blockade have increased the
popularity and prestige of Hamas.

40. The former Palestinian Prime Minister, Ahmed Qurei,
countered Sharon’s stated “disengagement plan” by
advocating Israeli citizenship for all Palestinians, thus
creating a single Jewish-Arab state.
With citizenship, Palestinians would wield the power
of the vote, which would be a grave political threat to
Jewish supremacy in Israel.
There are approx. 5.5 million Jews living in Israel.
Approx. 3.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip, and 1.2 live inside Israel.
Higher Arab birthrates would eventually make Arabs
the majority in a single state.

41. In a flurry of goodwill gestures in response to
Abbas’ initiative, Prime Minister Sharon
released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners,
has proposed re-routing the controversial
barrier more closely along the “green line,”
and …

42. … he ordered the removal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West
Bank. This may be the most volatile gesture for the Israeli govt. because …

43. … many of the settlers are well-armed and vowing to fight their removal.

44. The 2007 “breakthrough” was the Annapolis Conference hosted by President Bush and
Secretary of State Rice, which was to “jumpstart” the “Roadmap” peace initiative. The
goal was to achieve a Palestinian state by the end of ’08. Many viewed this breakthrough
as a last opportunity to resolve this long-running conflict.

45. Prime Minister Olmert
Both Olmert and Abbas profess the will to
achieve peace, but both have opposition
President Abbas factions. For Olmert, hard-line conservatives
oppose concessions to the Palestinians. For
Abbas, his daunting obstacles include …

46. Ismail Haniyeh
… Hamas, the Islamic militant group that
controls the Gaza Strip, and which is in a
power struggle with Abbas, who heads the
secular Fatah faction in the West Bank.
Hamas is determined to destroy the Jewish
state and is willing to fight Abbas’ goal to
negotiate with Israel.

47. Since the Annapolis Conference, Hamas has
derailed the ongoing talks by firing rockets
from Gaza into Israel, thus sparking
retaliatory air strikes from Israel.
Prospects for peace are not promising with
rival Palestinian groups vying for supremacy.

48. To further complicate the peace process, a new Israeli
coalition govt. assumed power, led by Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman.
Both men head conservative political parties that are
fundamentally opposed to the “Land for Peace” initiative.

49. President Barak Obama faces the daunting challenge of picking up the pieces and attempting to mediate
the hardening positions of all sides involved.

50. RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM
Religious fundamentalism is a literal interpretation and a strict and intense adherence to
basic principles of a religion or a religious sect. Religious leaders and many of their
followers are seeking to return to the basics of their faith.
Religious fundamentalism has many driving forces, including a perceived breakdown of
society’s mores and folkways, loss of religious authority, and economic problems.

51. People in one society often fear fundamentalism in other societies without recognizing it
in their own. Fundamentalism is a facet of all major religions, but the one generating the
most high-profile exposure is Islamic fundamentalism.