6.Palestine issue: origin, evolution and Current scenario

                                     ‘World’s most intractable conflict’ 

 1. Origins

⦁ Antisemitism movement had unfolded in Europe in the second half of 19th century and Jews became detestable people for Europeans. In 1881, a series of pogrom swept through Southern Russia, sparking a wave of emigration mainly to America ( settler colonialism—Noam Chomsky).
⦁First immigration wave (1881-1903, named Aliyah)-after Leo Pinsker published Auto-Emancipation 1882, thousands of Jews migrated to other countries. A few hundreds had settled in Palestine too.
⦁It was Theodor Herzl wrote a book Der Judenstaat (the Jewish state) in 1896 when he called for a Jewish state for Jews as the only solution to put an end to their atrocities. In 1897, he convened a meeting of Jews. Jews from all over the world were invited to deliberate on the future of Jewish community. An organization named world Zionist organization was established. And Palestine was chosen as the place for Jews because of the birth of Judaism at the place.
⦁Second wave of immigration 1904-1914: Similarly, again, scores of Jews headed for Palestine during the mentioned period of time. They were clever enough to purchase vast swathes of land in Palestine without showing any clear signs of permanent settlement. Arabs were unmindful of the deep-rooted Jewish aspirations. 
⦁During the World War 1 (1914-18), in order to secure support of Arabs against the Triple Alliance (Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, later Ottoman Empire) , British had assured Arabs through Hussein-McMahnon accord ( 24 Oct, 1915) that a country would be carved out for them. And on November 2, 1917 through Balfour declaration, Jews were given the same assurity.
⦁Deceiving the both; Britain and France decided to share the territories in the Middle East through Sykes-Picot agreement in 1916. The territory comprising Israel and Palestine,came under British control.
⦁From 1917 to 1947, many rifts and clashes were witnessed between Arabs and Jews.  Multiple  acts of violence were committed  by both Arabs (1936, 1939) and Jews (1929, 1944). Hundreds of people had perished in the bout of violence. Various commissions were formed to probe the conflicts and recommend strategies to bridge differences between the two adversaries. After a thorough assessment, Peel commission(1937) recommended partition of the land between Arabs and Jews.
⦁As the oppression on Jews increased in the wake of World War 2, migrations to Palestine also had skyrocketed to 554,000 including 115,000 illegal immigrants. Holocaust (brutal massacre of Jews by Hitler) had turned out to be a watershed moment for the establishment of a Jewish state. As many as 6 million Jews were killed by German forces. Now the whole world except Arabs had endorsed the idea of a separate Jewish State for the embattled Jews.
⦁On 14 Feb 1947, sensing ominous violence, Britain had referred  the case of Palestine to the newly established United Nations. In May 1947 UN special commission on Palestine was set up to investigate the root cause of chaos.The commission recommended partition of the land between Palestinians and Jews. Arabs categorically rejected the idea. According to the UN commission report,  the Palestinian State would consist of Gaza, Galilee in North, Nebulous, Hebron and Beersheba, while the Jewish state would consist of Tel Aviv, Haifa, Negev in South and  Jezreel and Huleh valleys. The irony of the plan was that either side was trapped in other’s territory.

UN Partition Plan 1947

                                           

2. Evolution (Wars and Ceasefires)


⦁On 14 May, 1948 the British mandate came to an end and the state of Israel was proclaimed by Jews on the territories allocated to it by the UN. On 15 May, the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria , Lebanon and Iraq attacked the new Jewish state.
⦁On 11 June , 1948 the UN-decreed ceasefire signed. After this Israel imported heavy artillery and weapons and reclaimed the areas that Arab had annexed in the beginning. Israel territory increased by 21%.  As many as  800,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes and became refugees. A UN resolution 194 in December, 1948 called for "refugees’ repatriation."
⦁In 1967, Israel launched a preemptive strike against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan and at the end of this Six-Day War. It was an important conflict because it left Israel in control of West Bank and Gaza strip and its territory increased by 200%. Israel captured:                                                                                 
                               A) West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan.
                               B) Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt.
                               C) Golan heights from Syria.
  Again the occupation was declared illegal by the UN resolution 242 (Nov 1967).
⦁In the light of Israel’s reluctance to return the captured territories, another Arab-Israeli war erupted in 1973 (Yom Kippur war) in which Israel suffered some setbacks. On 6 Oct, 1973 attack by Syria and Egypt on Israel left it helpless.UN resolution 338 on Oct 22, 1973 called for Ceasefire.

Expansion of Israel since 1947

             
⦁First Intifida: during 1980s,  increasing Israeli settlements in West Bank and Gaza Strip infuriated local Palestinians. The latter started agitation against Israel in 1987, which was later called First Intifida. A series of riots and protests followed the initial wave agitation.
⦁Second Intifada 2001-05: Following the failure of Arab Summit 2001, the Second wave of Intifida began against Israel. A prolonged period of violence characterized the relationships between Palestinians and Israelis.
⦁Since the elevation of Hamas to power in Gaza strip, the hostilities further sharpened and violence had increased to a great extent. As of now, Hamas' influence has dwindled and it is unable to offer any significant resistance to Israeli forces. Last year, it had buried the hatchet with Fatah and handed over control of Gaza Strip to it for better governance of the area.
⦁Jerusalem as Israel's capital and violence (2017): American President, Donald Trump, had recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital on December 6, 2017.  The decision triggered violence and protests in Palestine. Till now, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and many other have sustained injuries in clamp down by Israeli forces against protests.

3. Peace Initiatives 

⦁Camp David Accord: an agreement was signed then Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on 17 Sep, 1978. It was agreed that formal proceeding would begin on how to establish Palestinian government in West Bank and Gaza Strip. American president, Jimmy Carter had brokered this peace accord. This accord became the basis for the direct Egypt-Israel peace treaty in 1979 in which Israel agreed to withdraw from Sinai Peninsula.
⦁The Oslo Agreement ( 13 Sep, 1993) enshrined that Israeli troops would withdraw in stages from the West Bank and Gaza, that a “Palestinian Interim Self-Governing Authority” would be set up for a five-year transitional period, leading to a permanent settlement based on resolutions 242 and 338.
⦁Camp David Summit (July 2000): Palestine wanted reversion to the lines of 1967 and recognition of rights of refugees to return to their lands. Israel offered Gaza and large parts of West Bank and Muslim guardianship of holy sites in Jerusalem but the underlying differences could not be bridged and the Summit ended in failure.
⦁Arab Peace Initiative(Beirut Summit, March 2002): Saudi Arabia presided over the congregation and asked Israel to withdraw to Pre-1967 lines. A Palestine state would be set up in GAZA and West Bank and a just solution be suggested for refugees' return. And in exchange for that,  Arab would recognize Israel. This was reinforced in Arab summit in 2007
⦁Road Map 2003–is a plan drawn up by the “Quartet” – the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. A consensus was reached that the two sides would embark on journey towards a wide range of confidence-building measures. Once confidence is built, the plans for partition would be implemented.
⦁Annapolis 2007: US President George W Bush hosted a conference at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland aimed at relaunching the peace process. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas participated in talks along with officials from the peace-making Quartet and more than a dozen Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Syria.But Hamas,  which had won the election and took control over Gaza, refused to recognize any development.
⦁Washington 2010: US president Barack Obama tried to bring about reconciliation between Mahmud and Netanyahu. The talks, also attended by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah of Jordan, began in Washington on  September 2,  2010. Expectations were low and deadlock was reached within weeks. Another effort ended in failure.
Four Thorny issues hampering progress towards peace
⦁Status of Jerusalem:  Jerusalem is a place sacred for Muslims, Jews and Christians due to the presence of their respective holy sites. Israel regards entire Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians consider West Jerusalem as the capital for future Palestine state. Both sides have shown little flexibility on this issue. By recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, US president Donald Trump added fuel to fire. However, the fate of Jerusalem is still hanging in imbalance under UN resolutions.
⦁Refugees return: Israelis claim the refugees left Palestine on their own so they it’s not their responsibility to rehabilitate them. While Arabs claim the hapless Palestinian were expelled or at least forced to flee their homes. While UN resolution 194 in Dec 1948 called for refugees’ repatriation, Israel has refused to budge.

⦁Israeli settlements in WB: The question of Jewish settlement in Golan Heights, West Bank and East Jerusalem is still unresolved.  UN resolution 2334, Dec 23, 2016, condemned and asked for a halt on further settlement.  The resolution has failed to deter Israel.

                 

settlements in WB

⦁ Two states based on Pre-1967 border: Despite the UN resolution 242, Israel has repeatedly rejected the idea of returning to Pre-1967 borders. The obdurate attitude  of Israelis stalled the implementation of TWO-STATE solution. 

4. Solution 

Noam Chomsky unequivocally  endorsed the two-state solution based on Pre-1967 borders in his book ‘On Palestine’. Besides, a plethora of UN resolutions (242, 397 and many more) stressed the need for the same.  In June 2002, US president George W Bush also extended his support for a two-state solution. Similarly, Barack Obama said in 2007: "The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps." All in all, the entire world has a consensus on the point that the only viable solution to the problem is creation of two states based on Pre-1967 borders. Israel has to shun it obduracy for a lasting peace in the region and beyond. And on its part, Hamas should not resort to spreading violence to achieve its objective of an independent Palestinian state. Instead, it has adopt a peaceful strategy to win international support for the cause. Based on Pre-1967 borders, the two states would look like

as proposed by President Obama