Israel: The Background

ERETZ-ISRAELwas the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.
(From Israeli Declaration of Independence)

To Jews all over the world, 15 May 1948 is the Israeli Day of Independence. To the Palestinians, it is the Day of Catastrophe (Nakba). The State of Israeli was born, realising the Zionist dream of a national home for the Jewish people in Land of Palestine, the Promised Land, the "Land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 33:3), the land that God had assigned for the Israelites. Though sporadic immigration of Jews to Palestine had begun in the late 19th Century, the Balfour Declaration of 1917 signalled the that the British:

" favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country".

Diaspora Jewish communities sent large amounts of money and resources in preparation of the establishment of a Jewish State, as more and more immigrants returned to the Promised Land of their forefathers (and foremothers). On the same small stretch of land claimed by the Jewish people, Arabs made their home there for already centuries. At the first the influx of Jewish settlers caused sporadic tensions between the new immigrants and resident Arabs, and this cumulated in serious incidents of violence between the two communities, who contended for the land and valuable water and other resources. The situation was further exacerbated with influx of refugees as a result of the "Calamity" (Shoah, or Holocaust) in Europe.

As with so many other post-colonial tragedies, the ailing British Empire crumbled and simply departed, leaving the the aftermaths for the nascent UN to deal with. The solution, or to some the cause of the problems today, was the Partition Plan for Palestine (UNGA resolution 181), which effectively allocated merely 43% of the Mandated Palestine to the creation of an Arab State, though Arab Palestinians comprised some two-thirds of the population at the time, while the one-third of Jews would be allocated some 56% of the territory for the creation of a Jewish State. The area of Greater Jerusalem would become an international zone (see Report of UN Special Commission on Palestine (UNSCOP 1947)).

This was the plan strongly opposed by Arab states, which were wary of some 33% of Arabs inside the Jewish state. But on the very day that the Partition Plan would go into effect, the State of Israel proclaimed its independence. As recognition trickled in, the Arab States of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq invaded the new state and started the War of Independence. The Israeli Defence Forces fought back the invading armies, and actually expanded its territory to beyond the Partition Plan. The Armistice Agreements of 1949 gave the new Israel a disproportionate portion of Mandatory Palestine, some 78%. Arabs living in now Israeli controlled territory left, while others were expelled, fuelling what would now be called the Palestinian refugee situation, which would worsen with each successive conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbourg.

The Six Day War in 1967 was when Israel struck to pre-emptively disable Egyptian preparations for another plan to destroy Israel. Again, Israel's territory expanded greatly, reaching the Sinai Desert, the whole of the West Bank and Gaza. The Yom Kippur War in 1973 provided the impetus for Israel to agree to a ceasefire with Egypt and Jordan, and eventually paved the way for peace, with the pre-1967 borders as the prerequisite for peace.

Throughout all this, the Arab Palestinians found themselves increasingly isolated within their homes, and abandoned by some of their Arab neighbours. With a large refugee population in neighbouring Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, pan-Arabism rallied under the (supposed) united flag of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in the 1960s. Through what some would term as terror tactics, the PLO championed the cause and plight of the Palestinians, and eventually gained international recognition as the Palestinian Authorities responsible for administering the West Bank and Gaza. Even so, there are political elements within and without Palestine which advocate a extremist approach to dealing with Israel in the face of what is commonly viewed as the oppression and occupation of the Palestinian people. The First Intifada (Uprising, 1987-1993), gave expression to the frustration and anger of Palestinians in the light of continuing demolition of homes to make way for Jewish settlements within Palestinian territories, as well as continuing deportations, extra-judicial killings and restrictions on basic daily needs. The proclamation of Palestinian Independence in 1988 achieved little to quell this popular “War of Stones”, as the Palestinian Authorities did not have any effective control over the territories it claimed to govern.

A Second Intifada, starting in 2000, began with protests and strikes, and cumulated in increasing suicide bombings and launching of Qassam rockets into Israeli areas by the likes of extremist organisations as Hamas, and Hezbollah in Lebanon. To stifle the waves of violence, Israel in return erected checkpoints and barriers to hem in and hinder the free movement and activities of Palestinians in their own territories. The construction of a 'Security Barrier' around the West Bank, which is now approximately 60% complete and is supposed to prevent terrorist attacks, and cordons off Palestinians in their own lands. This Wall (for lack of a better term) effectively cut the West Bank into sniplets of Palestinian-controlled enclaves, which are like artificial islands surrounded by Israeli territory and controls.

Who would have thought that of all people, we would be 'privileged' enough to see former US-President Jimmy Carter deliver a press conference on his recent visits and talks with Syrian officials and Hamas. It was his labouring efforts that gave birth to the Camp David Accords in 1973. He recently aroused controversy with his new book "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid", which premises the root of the inability to reach a breakthrough in the current conflict on two origins:

- Some Israelis believe they have the right to confiscate and colonize Palestinian land and try to justify the sustained subjugation and persecution of increasingly hopeless and aggravated Palestinians; and

- Some Palestinians react by honoring suicide bombers as martyrs to be rewarded in heaven and consider the killing of Israelis as victories.

Though not officially endorsed by the Bush administration or by Israel, Carter's 'mission' to meet with players in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has aroused suspicion. Though claiming not to shoulder the responsibility (or burden) of the "mediator", his city-hopping in the Middle East aimed to bridge dialogue and communication on different sides of the divide has brought criticism, especially as he is probably the first high-profile American to speak with the leader of Hamas, which the US and EU have branded as a terrorist organisation. Carter spoke so hopefully of "peace in our time", and spoke of Hamas' aspirations to "live as a neighbour next door in peace" with Israel. Yet, in typically politician-speak, Carter seemed to forget the continuing use of terrorist tactics by Hamas and continuing intimidation of the Israeli as well as dissenting Palestinian public. Listening to him speak of his tour of the Middle East, talk about plans for prisoner exchange, about how difficult the situation is, and how much need there is for dialogue, you cannot but feel like such words as "peace" and "dialogue" have been too often repeated and regurgitated, but to the detriment of any real progress in true peace and dialogue. The applause seemed luke-warm, and within minutes of the press conference ending, the horde of reporters and swarm of cameras that had gathered in the back of the hall at King David Hotel had disappeared. And so had Carter.

But the conflict, non-recognition and tensions rage on and on, as they have for decades, and as they will continue to do so for the foreseeable future to come.