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The conflict between Palestinian Arabs and Jews (Israeli-Palestinian) has been an ongoing dispute, which began around the turn of the 20th century. Although these two groups have different religions, religious differences are not the cause of the conflict. It is essentially a struggle over land. Until 1948, the area that both groups claimed was known internationally as Palestine. But following the war of 1948-49, this land was divided into three parts: the state of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River) and the Gaza Strip.
The Arabs possessed the majority of the mandate. The British decided to withdraw from the area thereafter, the United Nations partitioned it creating Arab and Jewish states. This arrangement was rejected by the Arabs causing tension within the region. This Review will attempt to answer the question: How and why did the Palestine and Israeli dispute start. Hypothesis Statement: The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority was caused by border disagreements and the right to reside in the same land.
Case Study/Findings: Jewish claims to this land are based on the biblical promise to Abraham and his descendants. Palestinian Arabs’ claims to the land are based on continuous residence in the country for hundreds of years and the fact that they represented the demographic majority. They reject the notion that a biblical-era kingdom constitutes the basis for a valid modern claim. In 1947 the United Nations attempted to resolve the issues between these two religious groups. The UN divided Palestine into two states, one Jewish, one Arab.
The region of Jerusalem and Bethlehem would be left an international zone as this area was claimed by both regions (Judaism and Muslim). The division of land was attempted evenly, but the Jewish state acquired a larger portion of land. The split also left Jews living in the Arab state and Arabs living in the Jewish state. The division left Palestinians very upset with the arrangement; they had to give up something that was already 100% theirs. As part of the UN resolution Britain was given oversight of the two states. In May 1948 Britain evacuated Palestine.
Once the British gave up their reign, Zionist leaders stepped forward and declared the state of Israel. This infuriated the Palestinians even more. From 1948-1949 he Israel and Arab state went to war. The end result was Palestine being separated into 3 separate states each with their own political rule: Israel, the West Bank controlled by Jordan, and Gaza strip controlled by Egypt. The Palestine that was envisioned by the UN never came to exist. Ironically, the state of Israel was now made of 77% of the land that was once Palestine.
Today this conflict is still ongoing; a hallmark of the conflict has been the level of violence witnessed for virtually its entire duration. Fighting has been conducted by regular armies, parliamentary groups and terror cells. Casualties have not been restricted to the military, with a large loss of civilian life on both sides. The case study findings support the hypothesis that the Israel and Palestinian dispute was caused by border disputes and the right to occupy the same land.