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Problem: There has been a constant struggle over the land by both the Israelis and the Palestinians. There are many questions that need to be answered to better understand the conflict and how the conflict should be solved. Who has rights to the land? Who originally inhabited the land? Who has inhabited the land continually? Who was the land promised to? Israel and the Palestinians both make claims, but what makes their claims valid? Background: The land of Israel and Palestine consist of approximately 10,000 square miles.
It occupies the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea with Lebanon at the northern border, Egypt at the southern border and Jordan at the eastern border. Currently, Israel controls the majority of the land. Israel’s occupation of the land infuriates the Palestinians because they feel that they have the right to the land. Both sides make claims as to who has lived there the longest, whose “holy” sites are more important and who has the right to occupy the land now. Methods: The Israeli/Palestinian Conflict is a very well known and publicized conflict.
The media coverage is very in depth and extensive. Doing research on the conflict can seem like it would be very easy due to the amount of information available on the topic. Researching the topic can however be very difficult due to the vast amount of information available and the biases that are given in the information. You must really take time to weed through the information to make sure that it is factual and not just partial to one side. Evidence: Bat-Chaim, Leah. (2004, May 18). Why Jerusalem is Not Holy to Muslims.
Retrieved November 2, 2009. Isseroff, Ami. (2009, June 10). Brief History of of Palestine, Israel and the Israeli Palestinian Conflict. Retrieved November 2, 2009. Maltz, Steve. (2002, May). Layman’s Guide to the Middle East Conflict. Retrieved November 2, 2009. Procon. org. (2009, September 24). Historical Timeline – Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Retrieved November 2, 2009. Jews for Justice in The Middle East. The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict. Retrieved November 2, 2009. Discussion: The Israeli Palestinian Conflict is very complex.
There is vast amounts of information available on the subject, but you must be able to sort through the facts because most of the information has biases from one of the two conflicting sides. It is hard to find information from neutral sources. One of the most useful resources is a timeline of the actual events. A timeline can show you who has occupied the land for the most time and who was given the land and whom it was given by. The historical timeline by Procon. org provides an accurate history of what has happened regarding the land in question and the events that have taken place from 10,000 B.
C. to present day. This timeline shows the mandates, wars, peace talks, and resolutions that have taken place. The timeline has helped me to see that the Israelis have been in occupied the land for most of history. Both sides make claims that the land in question contains their holy site or one of their holy sites. It is known throughout the world that Jerusalem contains the Israelite’s holy site. This is where their temple was located. This has been proven through the remains of the temple that are currently there and through archeological digs that have taken place.
Jerusalem is Israel’s Holy place. Muslims claim that Jerusalem is their third holiest city. They base their claim on the Koran, the Muslim’s holy book. In the Koran, Mohammed visited masjid el-aksa, which means the farthest mosque. Muslims claim that this refers to the mosque that is located on the temple mount in Israel. This mosque has the same name. It can be proven that this mosque could not be the one in the Koran due to the time frame of when the mosque was built. The mosque was built about 100 years after Mohammed had visited it as written in the Koran.
In Mohammed’s time, Jerusalem was ruled by the Byzantine Christians. At that time there were no mosques at all in Jerusalem. Conclusion: Based on the historical evidence, it is obvious that Israel has the right to the land that is in question. History shows through records kept and through archeological digs that Israel has occupied the land for most of history. They have also taken control of the land and are currently in control. Most of the people who live in the United States, and most countries for that matter, were not the original inhabitants.
Through various wars and occupations, we have come to be where we are now. Sure some may argue that we do not belong and we all need to move out and give the land back to the native Americans. We know that is not going to happen and could not happen. There are just too many people on this earth now to allow this to happen. Lands have been won and lost through wars. Lands have been confiscated through use of force. At this point, it is obvious that Israel is to be in control and the Palestinians might as well give up while they are ahead. Israel has control of the majority of the land.
They have the capabilities to takeover the rest with force. They have allies that will help them maintain the land. They have the right through history and Biblically based on the promise God gave to Abraham. Israel’s existence has been given by the promise of God in the Bible, through their uninterrupted settlement, through the Balfour Declaration of 1917, through the League of Nations Mandate, through the United Nations partition resolution of 1947, by Israel’s admission to the UN in 1949 and through the recognition of Israel by most other states.
Works Cited/ References: Bat-Chaim, Leah. (2004, May 18). Why Jerusalem is Not Holy to Muslims. Retrieved November 2, 2009. http://www. christianactionforisrael. org/notholy. html Isseroff, Ami. (2009, June 10). Brief History of of Palestine, Israel and the Israeli Palestinian Conflict. Retrieved November 2, 2009. http://mideastweb. org/briefhistory. htm Maltz, Steve. (2002, May). Layman’s Guide to the Middle East Conflict. Retrieved November 2, 2009. http://www. christianactionforisrael. org/guide. html Procon. org. (2009, September 24).
Historical Timeline – Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Retrieved November 2, 2009. http://www. jewishvirtuallibrary. org/jsource/History/The_Jewish_Claim_To_The_Land_Of_Israel. html Jews for Justice in The Middle East. The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict. Retrieved November 2, 2009. http://www. ifamericansknew. org/history/origin. html Jewish Virtual Library. (2009). The Jewish Claim To The Land Of Israel. Retrieved November 2, 2009. http://www. jewishvirtuallibrary. org/jsource/History/The_Jewish_Claim_To_The_Land_Of_Israel. html