Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict

Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict Palestine In fact, the roots of the new movement of Zionism go back to the nineteenth century. The reasons for the foundation of such movement are secular nationalism as well as actions of persecution done against Jews in Europe especially in Germany (because of Hitler and the Jewish holocausts). Despite the fact that Zionism was a great step, at the beginning, for Jews to gain their freedom and civil rights, it hid another truth. In fact, there was a desire to create a whole new entity and settlement for the Jewish population in Palestine since it is considered the old chosen land by God. On the other side, a lot of people confuse between Zionism and Jewish religion. However, there is a difference: while Zionism looks forward to getting back to Zion, known as the land of Israel, Jews believed that only God can take a decision in this issue. Because many Jews believed that God punished their ancestors in the past because of their violation of His laws and committing sins, they have faith that their return back to Palestine would be a proof on Gods forgiveness towards their actions. On the contrary, Zionists refused to be part of the European community hence persecution against them continued in spite of issuing laws that prohibited Jewish violence. Thats why persecuted Jewish began to think of a new idea to have their own land where they can live freely and thats why they stated to take actions to achieve such dream. Ottoman Society, Palestine, and the Origins of Zionism (n.d.). . In Jews in Europe (p. 26) The following papers will discuss why Palestine managed to attract the attention of the whole world especially countries like Britain, France and the United States. They will also talk about strategies adopted by these countries to form settlements in Israel and why Jews succeeded in achieving their target of gaining back the lost land. Strategies implemented by countries to create Israel: As for Britain, it started to take Palestine and the Zionism movement into consideration since 1916. After the fall of the government of the British Prime Minister Asquith, David Lloyd George took over the position. In fact, George was really interested in Zionism and sensitive to this issue. In addition, he was very enthusiastic about including his government in any matter related to foreign policy. Moreover, the year of 1917 in Russia witnessed the arousal of a revolution which contributed in causing the fall of the tsarist government. Furthermore, such uprising helped Bolsheviks to take over the country and gain dominion. There were risks about the fact that Russia could abandon the idea of war leading to the obligation of the German policies to focus all their efforts and powers against British and French armies. Actually, these risks managed to spread awareness about the Zionism movement as a way through which Jews, who hold the Russian nationality, could be convinced to have a role in this revolution in order to enhance and foster the efforts implemented by their country in the war. Thats why Zionists who used to stay in London adopted this opinion so that they could be able to support the British tendency towards a declaration that agrees with Zionism. However, those Zionists believed that Jews who lived in Russia wouldnt support any kind of war effort. At the end, the British government was searching for getting aids and supplies from Americans. Therefore, British thought that their positive tendency towards Zionism would lead to forcing the American president Wilson to take part in the war on the British ally. Thus, all these reasons, along with the belief of Jews in their fate, have resulted in the Balfour Declaration announced on the second of November 1917. This declaration, in fact, granted Jews the right to stay and live in Palestine as if it is their home. Despite the fact that Balfour Declaration didnt achieve all the dreams of Zionists all over the world, it was considered as a first step towards forming a stable Jewish state in the chosen land and as recognition of the existence of a Jewish entity by the whole globe. Britain, Palestine, and the Balfour Declaration (n.d.). . In Jews in Europe (pp. 63-64) As for the United States, its interest in Palestine has increased after the Camp David accords between Israel and Egypt in 1978 in which the American president Jimmy Carter announced the outcomes of this agreement. According to this treaty, Egypt was able to oblige Israel to get all of its followers and citizens out of Sinai. However, some issues regarding Gaza and the West Bank werent solved resulting in the occurrence of a lot of conflicts between both countries. Regarding the resolution no. 242 stated by the United Nations, the American government believes that its pledge to foster such resolution wasnt changed. According to this resolution, Americans thought that founding settlements in Palestinian, Syrian and Jordanian lands by Israel is considered as a violation to Camp David treaty and an obstacle in the path of accomplishing peace in the Middle East. Despite the fact that Prime Minister Begin declared that Israel would no more found any settlements in Palestine after signing peace agreements, he announced later his abandon of this opinion after being pushed and driven by Likud. The role of the United States in the Arab-Israeli conflict appears in the fact that it supports the Israeli policy used to create settlements in Palestine although it is illegal and against the stipulated laws in the entire world. The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict THIRD EDITION (including Intifada 2000). (n.d.). Retrieved 13 February 2017, from http://www.deiryassin.org/pdf/origin_booklet.pdf As for France, it all started in the campaign led by Napoleon in 1799 towards the Palestinian lands. In fact, he had the urge to attract the attention of Jews all over the world in order to be his allies to win the war. Thats why he began to declare his thoughts about reconstructing the Jewish Temple and encouraging Jews to go back to their original land. All of his thoughts were due to his desire to achieve certain political objectives. Such campaign managed to attract the attention of the British government since it started to feel threatened because of its routes towards Indian lands. Since then, France began to have interest in Palestine. Kayyali, A.-W. (2014). Zionism and Imperialism: The Historical Origins. Retrieved February 13, 2017, from http://www.palestine-studies.org/sites/default/files/jps-articles/Zionism%20and%20Imperialism-%20The%20Historical%20Origins.pdf Reasons for creating Israel: There are many reasons that contributed in the foundation of the Israeli state. One of them is that Arab countries didnt have the right leadership skills. As a matter of fact, Palestine was full of different groups which thought they would be able to prevent the settlement of Israeli citizens in their land by refusing to negotiate with them. However, after the failure of such point of view at the United Nations, they started to resort to another strategy which is force. They believed that cooperation between Arab armies would accomplish their target. Despite the fact that Arab countries had had many weapons and arms, they werent able to win the war. This is due to the lack of experience and sufficient training as well as the inability to test the skills of troops in reality. In addition, the war between Israel and Arab attracted the attention of the globe to an important flaw of Arabs which is their huge self-confidence. On the contrary, they didnt trust each other. For example, ther e were concerns and doubts about the interest of King Abdullah in the Palestinian cause. All of this has contributed in the failure of Palestinians to maintain their land more than the success of Israel to form settlements there. The Birth of the state (n.d.). . In WW2 and the Creation of Israel Reasons for choosing Palestine: According to Zionists, Palestine is the chosen land granted by God to their ancestors. Thats why no place could be better to gain back their glory and form their lost kingdom like Palestine. Furthermore, international organizations which supported Zionism called Lovers of Zion encouraged a lot of persecuted Europeans and Russians to resort to Palestine to find freedom and peace. Since then, the whole world began to form the idea of creating the Jewish kingdom. Despite the fact that Russians refused this solution, these opinions had contributed in increasing the interest towards Palestine and taking it into consideration as an important terrain. The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict THIRD EDITION (including Intifada 2000). (n.d.). Retrieved 13 February 2017, from http://www.deiryassin.org/pdf/origin_booklet.pdf To conclude, Zionism movement was created because it managed to gain support and enhancement from different countries all over the world. These countries such as Britain, the United States and France figured out that in order to achieve their political interests and goals, they have to support this movement against the Palestinian cause. Despite the fact that all these countries had a huge role in the Israeli settlement, I believe that Britain is one of the main reasons that contributed in doing so. According to my opinion, Britain succeeded in officially proving that Israelis had the right to stay in Palestine because of Balfour declaration. Without such declaration, Israelis wouldnt have the audacity or the power to enter the Palestinian lands and the whole world, even the United States, wouldnt have been encouraged to support Jewish who wanted to go there. Thats why Arabs must drive the attention of international organizations interested in civil rights to give Palestinians back t heir lost land and freedom. References: Ottoman Society, Palestine, and the Origins of Zionism (n.d.). . In Jews in Europe (p. 26) The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict THIRD EDITION (including Intifada 2000). (n.d.). Retrieved 13 February 2017, from http://www.deiryassin.org/pdf/origin_booklet.pdf The Birth of the state (n.d.). . In WW2 and the Creation of Israel Kayyali, A.-W. (2014). Zionism and Imperialism: The Historical Origins. Retrieved February 13, 2017, from http://www.palestine-studies.org/sites/default/files/jps-articles/Zionism%20and%20Imperialism-%20The%20Historical%20Origins.pdf Britain, Palestine, and the Balfour Declaration (n.d.). . In Jews in Europe (pp. 63-64)