SlideShare ist ein Scribd-Unternehmen logo
1 von 8
Downloaden Sie, um offline zu lesen
Wailing Wall Conflict
In 1928, Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem began to clash over their
respective communal religious rights at the Wailing Wall (al-Buraq in
the Muslim tradition). The Wailing Wall, the sole remnant of the
second Jewish Temple, is one of the holiest sites for the Jewish
people. But this site is also holy to Muslims, since the Wailing Wall is
adjacent to the Temple Mount (the Noble Sanctuary in the Muslim
tradition). On the mount is the site of the al-Aqsa Mosque and the
Dome of the Rock, believed to mark the spot from which the Prophet
Muhammad ascended to heaven on a winged horse.
On August 15, 1929, members of the Betar youth movement (a pre-
state organization of the Revisionist Zionists) demonstrated and raised
a Zionist flag over the Wailing Wall. Fearing that the Noble
Sanctuary was in danger, Arabs responded by attacking Jews
throughout the country.
During the clashes, sixty-four Jews were killed in Hebron. Their
Muslim neighbors saved others. The Jewish community of Hebron
ceased to exist when its surviving members left for Jerusalem. During
a week of communal violence, 133 Jews and 115 Arabs were killed
and many wounded.
ARAB REVOLT 1936-39
The 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine was a nationalist uprising
by Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine against British colonial
rule, as a demand for independence and opposition to mass Jewish
immigration.
The revolt consisted of two distinct phases.The first phase was
directed primarily by the urban and elitist Higher Arab Committee
(HAC) and was focused mainly on strikes and other forms of political
protest. By October 1936, this phase had been defeated by the British
civil administration using a combination of political concessions,
international diplomacy (involving the rulers of Iraq, Saudi Arabia,
Transjordan and Yemen) and the threat of martial law. The second
phase, which began late in 1937, was a violent and peasant-led
resistance movement that increasingly targeted British forces. During
this phase, the rebellion was brutally suppressed by the British Army
and the Palestine Police Force using repressive measures that were
intended to intimidate the Arab population and undermine popular
support for the revolt.
According to official British figures covering the whole revolt, the
army and police killed more than 2,000 Arabs in combat, 108 were
hanged, and 961 died because of gang and terrorist activities. In an
analysis of the British statistics, Walid Khalidi estimates 19,792
casualties for the Arabs, with 5,032 dead: 3,832 killed by the British
and 1,200 dead because of terrorism, and 14,760 wounded.Over ten
percent of the adult male Palestinian Arab population between 20 and
60 was killed, wounded, imprisoned or exiled. Estimates of the
number of Palestinian Jews killed range from 91 to several hundred.
BRITISH WHITE PAPER
Palestinians resistance to British control and Zionist settlement
climaxed with the Arab revolt of 1936-39, which Britain suppressed
with the help of Zionist militias and the complicity of neighboring
Arab regimes. After crushing the Arab revolt, the British reconsidered
their governing policies in an effort to maintain order in an
increasingly tense environment. They issued a White Paper (a
statement ofpolitical policy) limiting future Jewish immigration and
land purchases. The Zionists regarded this as a betrayal of the Balfour
Declaration and a particularly egregious act in light of the desperate
situation of the Jews in Europe, who were facing extermination. The
1939 White Paper marked the end of the British-Zionist alliance. At
the same time, the defeat of the Arab revolt and the exile of the
Palestinian political leadership meant that the Palestinian Arabs were
politically disorganized during the crucial decade in which the future
of Palestine was decided.
PALESTINIAN REFUGEES
Many Palestinians have claimed that most were expelled in
accordance with a Zionist plan to rid the country of its non-Jewish
inhabitants. The official Israeli position holds that the refugees fled on
orders from Arab political and military leaders. One Israeli military
intelligence document indicates that at least 75 percent of the refugees
left due to Zionist or Israeli military actions, psychological campaigns
aimed at frightening Arabs into leaving, and direct expulsions.
Only about 5 percent left on orders from Arab authorities. There are
several well-documented cases of mass expulsions during and after
the military operationsof 1948-49 and massacres and atrocities that
led to large-scale Arab flight. The best-known instance of mass
expulsion is that of the 50,000 Arabs of the towns of Lydda and
Ramle. The most infamous atrocity occurred at Deir Yasin, a village
near Jerusalem, where estimates of the number of Arab residents
killed in cold blood by Israeli fighters range from about 125 to over
250.
About 3 million Palestinians now live within this area, which is
divided between the state of Israel, and the West Bank and Gaza;
these latter areas were captured and occupied by Israel in 1967.
Today, over 700,000 Palestinians are citizens of Israel, living inside
the country’s 1949 armistice borders. About 1.2 million live in the
West Bank (including 200,000 in East Jerusalem) and about one
million in the Gaza Strip. The remainder of the Palestinian people,
perhaps another 3 million, lives in diaspora, outside the country they
claim as their national homeland.
The largest Palestinian diaspora community, approximately 1.3
million, is in Jordan. Many of them still live in the refugee camps that
were established in 1949, although others live in cities and towns.
The situation of the refugees in Lebanon is especially dire; many
Lebanese blame Palestinians for the civil war that wracked that
country from 1975-91, and demand that they be resettled elsewhere in
order for the Lebanese to maintain peace in their country. The
Christian population of Lebanon is particularly anxious to rid the
country of the mainly Muslim Palestinians because of a fear that they
threaten the delicate balance among the country’s religious groups.
In 1948, only about 150,000 Palestinian Arabs remained in the
area that became the state of Israel. They were granted Israeli
citizenship and the right to vote. But in many respects they were and
remain second-class citizens, since Israel defines itself as the state of
the Jewish people and Palestinians are non-Jews. Until 1966 most of
them were subject to a military government that restricted their
movement and other rights (to speech, association and so on). Arabs
were not permitted to become full members of the Israeli trade union
federation, the Histadrut, until 1965. About 40 percent of their lands
were confiscated by the state and used for development projects that
benefited Jews primarily or exclusively. All of Israel’s governments
have discriminated against the Arab population by allocating far
fewer resources for education, health care, public works, municipal
government and economic development to the Arab sector.
UN RESOLUTION 242
After the 1967 war, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 242,
which notes the “inadmissability of the acquisition of territory by
force,” and calls for Israeli withdrawal from lands seized in the war
and the right of all states in the area to peaceful existence within
secure and recognized boundaries. The grammatical construction of
the French version of Resolution 242 says Israel should withdraw
from “the territories,” whereas the English version of the text calls for
withdrawal from “territories.
(Both English and French are official languages of the UN.) Israel and
the United States use the English version to argue that Israeli
withdrawal from some, but not all, the territory occupied in the 1967
war satisfies the requirements of this resolution.
For many years the Palestinians rejected Resolution 242 because it
does not acknowledge their right to national self-determination or to
return to their homeland. It calls only for a just settlement of the
refugee problem. By calling for recognition of every state in the area,
Resolution 242 entailed unilateral Palestinian recognition of Israel
without recognition of Palestinian national rights.
CAMP DAVID I
In September 1978, President Jimmy Carter invited Sadat and Israeli
Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David, a presidential
retreat in Maryland. They worked out two agreements: a framework
for peace between Egypt and Israel, and a general framework for
resolution of the Middle East crisis, i.e. the Palestinian question.
The first agreement formed the basis of the Egyptian- Israeli peace
treaty signed in 1979. The second agreement proposed to grant
autonomy to the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,
and to install a local administration for a five-year interim period,
after which the final status of the territories would be negotiated.
Only the Egyptian-Israeli part of the Camp David accords was
implemented. The Palestinians and other Arab states rejected the
autonomy concept because it did not guarantee full Israeli withdrawal
from areas captured in 1967 or the establishment of an independent
Palestinian state. In any case, Israel sabotaged negotiations by
continuing to confiscate Palestinian lands and build new settlements
in violation of the commitments Menachem Begin made to Jimmy
Carter at Camp David.
PLO EXPULSION AND CIVIL WARS
After Israel gave Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, there were large numbers
of refugees in adjoining areas. A revolt by PLO against the Jordanian
government led to their expulsion from Jordan in 1970. They moved
to Lebanon which already had significant number of Palestinian
refugees. This created tensions between religious group as Maronite
Chrisitians found their once dominant position weakening due to
increase in Muslim refugees. In 1975 an attack by Christian
Phalangist militias on bus carrying Palestinians ignited 1975-57 Civil
War. Palestinians joined Muslim forces and took control of lawless
West Beirut, which made Lebanese political and social life
descending into chaos.
Deteriorating conditions in Lebanon worsened in June 1976, when
Maronites were on the verge of defeat as a result of which president
called for Syrian intervention. Syria entered Lebanon to protect the
Christians and fragile Lebanon but there was a hidden desire to make
Lebanon a part of Greater Syria. On the other hand Israel invaded
Lebanon after an attack on bus on Haifa-Tel Aviv road by militants of
PLO, killing 30 people. It occupied most of Litani river in response to
which UN Council Resolution 425 passed calling for immediate
withdrawal of Israeli forces and creation of UN Interim force in
Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Israeli presence in the Lebanon continued until 2000, when last Israeli
troops were withdrawn. Even after ceasefire among Israel and PLO,
small attacks continued.
OSLO ACCORDS
The Declaration of Principles was based on mutual recognition of
Israel and the PLO. It established that
Israel would withdraw from the Gaza Strip and Jericho, with
additional withdrawals from further unspecified areas of the West
Bank during a five-year interim period.
During this period, the PLO formed a Palestinian Authority (PA) with
“self-governing” (i.e. municipal) powers in the areas from which
Israeli forces were redeployed.
In January 1996, elections were held for a Palestinian Legislative
Council and for the presidency of the PA, which was won handily by
Yasir Arafat.
The key issues such as the extent of the territories to be ceded by
Israel, the nature of the Palestinian entity to be established, the future
of the Israeli settlements and settlers, water rights, the resolution of
the refugee problem and the status of Jerusalem were set aside to be
discussed in final status talks.
The PLO accepted this deeply flawed agreement with Israel because it
was weak and had little diplomatic support in the Arab world. Both
Islamist radicals and local leaders in the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip challenged Arafat’s leadership.
The Oslo accords set up a negotiating process without specifying an
outcome. The process was supposed to have been completed by May
1999. There were many delays due to Israel’s reluctance to relinquish
control over the occupied territories, unwillingness to make the kinds
of concessions necessary to reach a final status agreement, and
periodic outbursts of violence by Palestinian opponents of the Oslo
process, especially HAMAS and Jihad.

Más contenido relacionado

Was ist angesagt?

Israel palestine conflict
Israel palestine conflictIsrael palestine conflict
Israel palestine conflictPrem Kumar Soni
 
Israel Palestine crisis
Israel Palestine crisis Israel Palestine crisis
Israel Palestine crisis tranceking
 
Arab israeli conflict
Arab israeli conflictArab israeli conflict
Arab israeli conflictMrG
 
Israeli Palestinian Conflict Student Version
Israeli Palestinian Conflict Student VersionIsraeli Palestinian Conflict Student Version
Israeli Palestinian Conflict Student VersionNick Allgyer
 
Palestine vs.israel ppt
Palestine vs.israel pptPalestine vs.israel ppt
Palestine vs.israel pptjohnharrell
 
My Lecture nine on Arab-Israel Crisis
My Lecture nine on Arab-Israel CrisisMy Lecture nine on Arab-Israel Crisis
My Lecture nine on Arab-Israel CrisisDr. Afroz Alam
 
Honors geo. ch 13 pt. 3
Honors geo. ch 13 pt. 3Honors geo. ch 13 pt. 3
Honors geo. ch 13 pt. 3tobin15
 
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Israeli-Palestinian ConflictIsraeli-Palestinian Conflict
Israeli-Palestinian Conflictalbaaa22
 
The creation of israel 2
The creation of israel 2The creation of israel 2
The creation of israel 2Darren Terry
 
Arab israeli conflict
Arab israeli conflictArab israeli conflict
Arab israeli conflictVeer Salaria
 
My Israel Palestinian Conlfict
My Israel Palestinian ConlfictMy Israel Palestinian Conlfict
My Israel Palestinian ConlfictSteven Kolber
 
Arab And Israel
Arab And IsraelArab And Israel
Arab And Israeljcrosby5
 
Arab Israeli War Of 1948
Arab Israeli War Of 1948Arab Israeli War Of 1948
Arab Israeli War Of 1948asilva312
 
SS7H2b Creation of Israel
SS7H2b Creation of IsraelSS7H2b Creation of Israel
SS7H2b Creation of Israelajoneswash
 
Middle East Conflict
Middle East ConflictMiddle East Conflict
Middle East ConflictGreg Sill
 

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Arab israel
Arab israelArab israel
Arab israel
 
Israel palestine conflict
Israel palestine conflictIsrael palestine conflict
Israel palestine conflict
 
Bumun
BumunBumun
Bumun
 
Israel Palestine crisis
Israel Palestine crisis Israel Palestine crisis
Israel Palestine crisis
 
Arab israeli conflict
Arab israeli conflictArab israeli conflict
Arab israeli conflict
 
Israeli Palestinian Conflict Student Version
Israeli Palestinian Conflict Student VersionIsraeli Palestinian Conflict Student Version
Israeli Palestinian Conflict Student Version
 
Arab Isreal conflicts
Arab Isreal conflictsArab Isreal conflicts
Arab Isreal conflicts
 
Palestine vs.israel ppt
Palestine vs.israel pptPalestine vs.israel ppt
Palestine vs.israel ppt
 
My Lecture nine on Arab-Israel Crisis
My Lecture nine on Arab-Israel CrisisMy Lecture nine on Arab-Israel Crisis
My Lecture nine on Arab-Israel Crisis
 
Honors geo. ch 13 pt. 3
Honors geo. ch 13 pt. 3Honors geo. ch 13 pt. 3
Honors geo. ch 13 pt. 3
 
Arab israel conflict
Arab israel conflictArab israel conflict
Arab israel conflict
 
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Israeli-Palestinian ConflictIsraeli-Palestinian Conflict
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
 
The creation of israel 2
The creation of israel 2The creation of israel 2
The creation of israel 2
 
Arab israeli conflict
Arab israeli conflictArab israeli conflict
Arab israeli conflict
 
Hebron-AContestedSpace
Hebron-AContestedSpaceHebron-AContestedSpace
Hebron-AContestedSpace
 
My Israel Palestinian Conlfict
My Israel Palestinian ConlfictMy Israel Palestinian Conlfict
My Israel Palestinian Conlfict
 
Arab And Israel
Arab And IsraelArab And Israel
Arab And Israel
 
Arab Israeli War Of 1948
Arab Israeli War Of 1948Arab Israeli War Of 1948
Arab Israeli War Of 1948
 
SS7H2b Creation of Israel
SS7H2b Creation of IsraelSS7H2b Creation of Israel
SS7H2b Creation of Israel
 
Middle East Conflict
Middle East ConflictMiddle East Conflict
Middle East Conflict
 

Ähnlich wie Israel palestine File (Supporting)

arab-israeli_conflict- its background.ppt
arab-israeli_conflict- its background.pptarab-israeli_conflict- its background.ppt
arab-israeli_conflict- its background.pptNaveedKhaskheli1
 
Essay On The Arab-Israeli Conflict
Essay On The Arab-Israeli ConflictEssay On The Arab-Israeli Conflict
Essay On The Arab-Israeli ConflictBuy A Paper UK
 
Israel palestine conflict
Israel palestine conflictIsrael palestine conflict
Israel palestine conflictRohit Sachdeva
 
Essay About The Arab-Israel Conflict
Essay About The Arab-Israel ConflictEssay About The Arab-Israel Conflict
Essay About The Arab-Israel ConflictCustomWrittenCollege
 
the_arab-israeli_conflict.ppt
the_arab-israeli_conflict.pptthe_arab-israeli_conflict.ppt
the_arab-israeli_conflict.pptWaqarShah77
 
The Sunni Shia And Arab Israeli Conflict
The Sunni Shia And Arab Israeli ConflictThe Sunni Shia And Arab Israeli Conflict
The Sunni Shia And Arab Israeli ConflictKristen Lee
 
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Israeli-Palestinian ConflictIsraeli-Palestinian Conflict
Israeli-Palestinian Conflicttheironegoodson
 
Arab Israeli Conflict Dbq
Arab Israeli Conflict DbqArab Israeli Conflict Dbq
Arab Israeli Conflict DbqAlison Reed
 

Ähnlich wie Israel palestine File (Supporting) (20)

Arab Israeli Conflict
Arab Israeli ConflictArab Israeli Conflict
Arab Israeli Conflict
 
The Arab-Israeli Conflict Essay
The Arab-Israeli Conflict EssayThe Arab-Israeli Conflict Essay
The Arab-Israeli Conflict Essay
 
Essay About The Arab Isreali Conflict
Essay About The Arab Isreali ConflictEssay About The Arab Isreali Conflict
Essay About The Arab Isreali Conflict
 
Arab Israeli Conflict Essay
Arab Israeli Conflict EssayArab Israeli Conflict Essay
Arab Israeli Conflict Essay
 
arab-israeli_conflict- its background.ppt
arab-israeli_conflict- its background.pptarab-israeli_conflict- its background.ppt
arab-israeli_conflict- its background.ppt
 
Arab-Israeli Conflict Essay Examples
Arab-Israeli Conflict Essay ExamplesArab-Israeli Conflict Essay Examples
Arab-Israeli Conflict Essay Examples
 
Arab israeli conflict
Arab israeli conflictArab israeli conflict
Arab israeli conflict
 
Arab israeli conflict
Arab israeli conflictArab israeli conflict
Arab israeli conflict
 
Essay On The Arab-Israeli Conflict
Essay On The Arab-Israeli ConflictEssay On The Arab-Israeli Conflict
Essay On The Arab-Israeli Conflict
 
Israel
IsraelIsrael
Israel
 
Israel palestine conflict
Israel palestine conflictIsrael palestine conflict
Israel palestine conflict
 
Palestine. 3
Palestine. 3Palestine. 3
Palestine. 3
 
Essay About The Arab-Israel Conflict
Essay About The Arab-Israel ConflictEssay About The Arab-Israel Conflict
Essay About The Arab-Israel Conflict
 
the_arab-israeli_conflict.ppt
the_arab-israeli_conflict.pptthe_arab-israeli_conflict.ppt
the_arab-israeli_conflict.ppt
 
the_arab-israeli_conflict.ppt
the_arab-israeli_conflict.pptthe_arab-israeli_conflict.ppt
the_arab-israeli_conflict.ppt
 
the_arab-israeli_conflict.ppt
the_arab-israeli_conflict.pptthe_arab-israeli_conflict.ppt
the_arab-israeli_conflict.ppt
 
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Essay
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict EssayThe Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Essay
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Essay
 
The Sunni Shia And Arab Israeli Conflict
The Sunni Shia And Arab Israeli ConflictThe Sunni Shia And Arab Israeli Conflict
The Sunni Shia And Arab Israeli Conflict
 
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Israeli-Palestinian ConflictIsraeli-Palestinian Conflict
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
 
Arab Israeli Conflict Dbq
Arab Israeli Conflict DbqArab Israeli Conflict Dbq
Arab Israeli Conflict Dbq
 

Último

A young black boy that lives in the ghetto
A young black boy that lives in the ghettoA young black boy that lives in the ghetto
A young black boy that lives in the ghettoterryhords56
 
Industrial Air Pollution studying Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Its impact in ecolog...
Industrial Air Pollution studying Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Its impact in ecolog...Industrial Air Pollution studying Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Its impact in ecolog...
Industrial Air Pollution studying Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Its impact in ecolog...Hem Chand
 
Pakistan Propaganda Needs Effective Rebuttal.
Pakistan Propaganda Needs Effective Rebuttal.Pakistan Propaganda Needs Effective Rebuttal.
Pakistan Propaganda Needs Effective Rebuttal.Nilendra Kumar
 
Court Denies Rust Request for an Injunction to stay on the ballot
Court Denies Rust Request for an Injunction to stay on the ballotCourt Denies Rust Request for an Injunction to stay on the ballot
Court Denies Rust Request for an Injunction to stay on the ballotAbdul-Hakim Shabazz
 
Dep.Baptista.Jr - Termo de depoimento
Dep.Baptista.Jr - Termo de depoimentoDep.Baptista.Jr - Termo de depoimento
Dep.Baptista.Jr - Termo de depoimentoEditora 247
 
Understanding of Post-Event Press Release .pdf
Understanding of Post-Event Press Release .pdfUnderstanding of Post-Event Press Release .pdf
Understanding of Post-Event Press Release .pdfprnewswireagency
 
Dep. Freire Gomes - Termo de depoimento.
Dep. Freire Gomes - Termo de depoimento.Dep. Freire Gomes - Termo de depoimento.
Dep. Freire Gomes - Termo de depoimento.Editora 247
 
10032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf
10032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf10032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf
10032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
 

Último (9)

A young black boy that lives in the ghetto
A young black boy that lives in the ghettoA young black boy that lives in the ghetto
A young black boy that lives in the ghetto
 
Industrial Air Pollution studying Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Its impact in ecolog...
Industrial Air Pollution studying Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Its impact in ecolog...Industrial Air Pollution studying Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Its impact in ecolog...
Industrial Air Pollution studying Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Its impact in ecolog...
 
Pakistan Propaganda Needs Effective Rebuttal.
Pakistan Propaganda Needs Effective Rebuttal.Pakistan Propaganda Needs Effective Rebuttal.
Pakistan Propaganda Needs Effective Rebuttal.
 
Court Denies Rust Request for an Injunction to stay on the ballot
Court Denies Rust Request for an Injunction to stay on the ballotCourt Denies Rust Request for an Injunction to stay on the ballot
Court Denies Rust Request for an Injunction to stay on the ballot
 
Dep.Baptista.Jr - Termo de depoimento
Dep.Baptista.Jr - Termo de depoimentoDep.Baptista.Jr - Termo de depoimento
Dep.Baptista.Jr - Termo de depoimento
 
Understanding of Post-Event Press Release .pdf
Understanding of Post-Event Press Release .pdfUnderstanding of Post-Event Press Release .pdf
Understanding of Post-Event Press Release .pdf
 
Why democracy dies in Trumpian boredom (by Edward Luce)
Why democracy dies in Trumpian boredom (by Edward Luce)Why democracy dies in Trumpian boredom (by Edward Luce)
Why democracy dies in Trumpian boredom (by Edward Luce)
 
Dep. Freire Gomes - Termo de depoimento.
Dep. Freire Gomes - Termo de depoimento.Dep. Freire Gomes - Termo de depoimento.
Dep. Freire Gomes - Termo de depoimento.
 
10032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf
10032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf10032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf
10032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf
 

Israel palestine File (Supporting)

  • 1. Wailing Wall Conflict In 1928, Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem began to clash over their respective communal religious rights at the Wailing Wall (al-Buraq in the Muslim tradition). The Wailing Wall, the sole remnant of the second Jewish Temple, is one of the holiest sites for the Jewish people. But this site is also holy to Muslims, since the Wailing Wall is adjacent to the Temple Mount (the Noble Sanctuary in the Muslim tradition). On the mount is the site of the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, believed to mark the spot from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven on a winged horse. On August 15, 1929, members of the Betar youth movement (a pre- state organization of the Revisionist Zionists) demonstrated and raised a Zionist flag over the Wailing Wall. Fearing that the Noble Sanctuary was in danger, Arabs responded by attacking Jews throughout the country.
  • 2. During the clashes, sixty-four Jews were killed in Hebron. Their Muslim neighbors saved others. The Jewish community of Hebron ceased to exist when its surviving members left for Jerusalem. During a week of communal violence, 133 Jews and 115 Arabs were killed and many wounded. ARAB REVOLT 1936-39 The 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine was a nationalist uprising by Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine against British colonial rule, as a demand for independence and opposition to mass Jewish immigration. The revolt consisted of two distinct phases.The first phase was directed primarily by the urban and elitist Higher Arab Committee (HAC) and was focused mainly on strikes and other forms of political protest. By October 1936, this phase had been defeated by the British civil administration using a combination of political concessions, international diplomacy (involving the rulers of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Transjordan and Yemen) and the threat of martial law. The second phase, which began late in 1937, was a violent and peasant-led resistance movement that increasingly targeted British forces. During this phase, the rebellion was brutally suppressed by the British Army and the Palestine Police Force using repressive measures that were intended to intimidate the Arab population and undermine popular support for the revolt. According to official British figures covering the whole revolt, the army and police killed more than 2,000 Arabs in combat, 108 were hanged, and 961 died because of gang and terrorist activities. In an analysis of the British statistics, Walid Khalidi estimates 19,792
  • 3. casualties for the Arabs, with 5,032 dead: 3,832 killed by the British and 1,200 dead because of terrorism, and 14,760 wounded.Over ten percent of the adult male Palestinian Arab population between 20 and 60 was killed, wounded, imprisoned or exiled. Estimates of the number of Palestinian Jews killed range from 91 to several hundred. BRITISH WHITE PAPER Palestinians resistance to British control and Zionist settlement climaxed with the Arab revolt of 1936-39, which Britain suppressed with the help of Zionist militias and the complicity of neighboring Arab regimes. After crushing the Arab revolt, the British reconsidered their governing policies in an effort to maintain order in an increasingly tense environment. They issued a White Paper (a statement ofpolitical policy) limiting future Jewish immigration and land purchases. The Zionists regarded this as a betrayal of the Balfour Declaration and a particularly egregious act in light of the desperate situation of the Jews in Europe, who were facing extermination. The 1939 White Paper marked the end of the British-Zionist alliance. At the same time, the defeat of the Arab revolt and the exile of the Palestinian political leadership meant that the Palestinian Arabs were politically disorganized during the crucial decade in which the future of Palestine was decided. PALESTINIAN REFUGEES Many Palestinians have claimed that most were expelled in accordance with a Zionist plan to rid the country of its non-Jewish inhabitants. The official Israeli position holds that the refugees fled on orders from Arab political and military leaders. One Israeli military intelligence document indicates that at least 75 percent of the refugees left due to Zionist or Israeli military actions, psychological campaigns aimed at frightening Arabs into leaving, and direct expulsions.
  • 4. Only about 5 percent left on orders from Arab authorities. There are several well-documented cases of mass expulsions during and after the military operationsof 1948-49 and massacres and atrocities that led to large-scale Arab flight. The best-known instance of mass expulsion is that of the 50,000 Arabs of the towns of Lydda and Ramle. The most infamous atrocity occurred at Deir Yasin, a village near Jerusalem, where estimates of the number of Arab residents killed in cold blood by Israeli fighters range from about 125 to over 250. About 3 million Palestinians now live within this area, which is divided between the state of Israel, and the West Bank and Gaza; these latter areas were captured and occupied by Israel in 1967. Today, over 700,000 Palestinians are citizens of Israel, living inside the country’s 1949 armistice borders. About 1.2 million live in the West Bank (including 200,000 in East Jerusalem) and about one million in the Gaza Strip. The remainder of the Palestinian people, perhaps another 3 million, lives in diaspora, outside the country they claim as their national homeland. The largest Palestinian diaspora community, approximately 1.3 million, is in Jordan. Many of them still live in the refugee camps that were established in 1949, although others live in cities and towns. The situation of the refugees in Lebanon is especially dire; many Lebanese blame Palestinians for the civil war that wracked that country from 1975-91, and demand that they be resettled elsewhere in order for the Lebanese to maintain peace in their country. The Christian population of Lebanon is particularly anxious to rid the country of the mainly Muslim Palestinians because of a fear that they threaten the delicate balance among the country’s religious groups. In 1948, only about 150,000 Palestinian Arabs remained in the area that became the state of Israel. They were granted Israeli citizenship and the right to vote. But in many respects they were and remain second-class citizens, since Israel defines itself as the state of the Jewish people and Palestinians are non-Jews. Until 1966 most of them were subject to a military government that restricted their movement and other rights (to speech, association and so on). Arabs
  • 5. were not permitted to become full members of the Israeli trade union federation, the Histadrut, until 1965. About 40 percent of their lands were confiscated by the state and used for development projects that benefited Jews primarily or exclusively. All of Israel’s governments have discriminated against the Arab population by allocating far fewer resources for education, health care, public works, municipal government and economic development to the Arab sector. UN RESOLUTION 242 After the 1967 war, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 242, which notes the “inadmissability of the acquisition of territory by force,” and calls for Israeli withdrawal from lands seized in the war and the right of all states in the area to peaceful existence within secure and recognized boundaries. The grammatical construction of the French version of Resolution 242 says Israel should withdraw from “the territories,” whereas the English version of the text calls for withdrawal from “territories. (Both English and French are official languages of the UN.) Israel and the United States use the English version to argue that Israeli withdrawal from some, but not all, the territory occupied in the 1967 war satisfies the requirements of this resolution. For many years the Palestinians rejected Resolution 242 because it does not acknowledge their right to national self-determination or to return to their homeland. It calls only for a just settlement of the refugee problem. By calling for recognition of every state in the area, Resolution 242 entailed unilateral Palestinian recognition of Israel without recognition of Palestinian national rights.
  • 6. CAMP DAVID I In September 1978, President Jimmy Carter invited Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David, a presidential retreat in Maryland. They worked out two agreements: a framework for peace between Egypt and Israel, and a general framework for resolution of the Middle East crisis, i.e. the Palestinian question. The first agreement formed the basis of the Egyptian- Israeli peace treaty signed in 1979. The second agreement proposed to grant autonomy to the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and to install a local administration for a five-year interim period, after which the final status of the territories would be negotiated. Only the Egyptian-Israeli part of the Camp David accords was implemented. The Palestinians and other Arab states rejected the autonomy concept because it did not guarantee full Israeli withdrawal from areas captured in 1967 or the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. In any case, Israel sabotaged negotiations by continuing to confiscate Palestinian lands and build new settlements in violation of the commitments Menachem Begin made to Jimmy Carter at Camp David. PLO EXPULSION AND CIVIL WARS After Israel gave Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, there were large numbers of refugees in adjoining areas. A revolt by PLO against the Jordanian government led to their expulsion from Jordan in 1970. They moved to Lebanon which already had significant number of Palestinian refugees. This created tensions between religious group as Maronite Chrisitians found their once dominant position weakening due to increase in Muslim refugees. In 1975 an attack by Christian Phalangist militias on bus carrying Palestinians ignited 1975-57 Civil War. Palestinians joined Muslim forces and took control of lawless West Beirut, which made Lebanese political and social life descending into chaos.
  • 7. Deteriorating conditions in Lebanon worsened in June 1976, when Maronites were on the verge of defeat as a result of which president called for Syrian intervention. Syria entered Lebanon to protect the Christians and fragile Lebanon but there was a hidden desire to make Lebanon a part of Greater Syria. On the other hand Israel invaded Lebanon after an attack on bus on Haifa-Tel Aviv road by militants of PLO, killing 30 people. It occupied most of Litani river in response to which UN Council Resolution 425 passed calling for immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces and creation of UN Interim force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Israeli presence in the Lebanon continued until 2000, when last Israeli troops were withdrawn. Even after ceasefire among Israel and PLO, small attacks continued. OSLO ACCORDS The Declaration of Principles was based on mutual recognition of Israel and the PLO. It established that Israel would withdraw from the Gaza Strip and Jericho, with additional withdrawals from further unspecified areas of the West Bank during a five-year interim period. During this period, the PLO formed a Palestinian Authority (PA) with “self-governing” (i.e. municipal) powers in the areas from which Israeli forces were redeployed. In January 1996, elections were held for a Palestinian Legislative Council and for the presidency of the PA, which was won handily by Yasir Arafat. The key issues such as the extent of the territories to be ceded by Israel, the nature of the Palestinian entity to be established, the future of the Israeli settlements and settlers, water rights, the resolution of the refugee problem and the status of Jerusalem were set aside to be discussed in final status talks. The PLO accepted this deeply flawed agreement with Israel because it was weak and had little diplomatic support in the Arab world. Both
  • 8. Islamist radicals and local leaders in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip challenged Arafat’s leadership. The Oslo accords set up a negotiating process without specifying an outcome. The process was supposed to have been completed by May 1999. There were many delays due to Israel’s reluctance to relinquish control over the occupied territories, unwillingness to make the kinds of concessions necessary to reach a final status agreement, and periodic outbursts of violence by Palestinian opponents of the Oslo process, especially HAMAS and Jihad.