Institute of Foreign Languages Department of International Study Israel and Palestine Conflict

LECTURER Group members

: :

HENG Seiha Khun naykieng Huot dany Chea Chanthearith Iv Chakriya SAY Vortana

2011-2012

Institute of Foreign Languages DIS

Peace Study HENG Seiha

Israel and Palestine Conflict

I. Introduction
Israeli and Palestinian (Arab-Israeli) conflict is one of the most chronic, enduring, violent and ongoing conflicts. It lies between the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and it deeply takes roots over historical claims to the land between Palestinians and Jewish people of Israel. For the Palestinians, they claim Israeli territory nowadays is their ancient time ancestors land. And, they lost their self-determination over their ancestors lands due to Zionists intrusion, expulsion, British colonization and military occupation. For Israeli, the return of the land forefathers after centuries of persecution around the world marked the starting of this conflict what it is said One land with two people. Historically, the current land is a province of Ottoman Empire, which was preoccupied by Arab Palestinians. In the late 1800s, there was a movement of an east western European group called Zionists. Their presence in Palestinians ancestor land was to create Jewish community homeland. At first, the movement immigration of Zionists into Palestine was nothing noticeable, but later on, many more Zionists immigration into Palestine because of mass killing Jewish activities from Hitlers Nazi regime in Germany, and after they came and bought Palestinian land under the name of Jewish people and never sold back to Palestinian people. Then, Arab community started to be aware of true intention of Zionists and realized that Zionist immigration and land buying sooner or later will put Arab Palestinian community into danger and alarmed. As a result, in the 1930s, Jewish land ownership had increased from approximately 1% to over 6% of the land (Al Nakba,, 2009), particularly, during the British colonization, the Zionist emigration dramatically increased. Furthermore, in 1922 the Jewish population had risen to about 11% of Palestine's 750,000 inhabitants based on the British census showed. More significantly, The United Nations took responsibility hanged over by Britain for solving the Zionist-Arab problem to the UN after British colonization, which ruled Palestine since 1920 ended, created a UN partition plan which was received dramatically unaccepted by Palestine side. In the plan, it was divided Palestine territory into two: 56.47% of Palestine to the Jewish state and 43.53% to the Arab state; however, this plan was never implemented until now (BBC, UN partition of Palestine, 2011).

Institute of Foreign Languages DIS

Peace Study HENG Seiha

The recognition of Israel as an independent state on 15 May 1948 in Tel Aviv after WWII fueled anger and hatred from Palestinian population and Arab community while there were still thousands of Palestinian refugees fled and evicted from their land and never allowed to return. Over the 60 years since Israels founding on May 14, 1948, this profound injustice has continued. Palestinian refugees are the largest remaining refugee population in the world (Al Nakba, 2009). The day after the state of Israel was declared five Arab armies from Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq immediately invaded Israel but were repulsed, and the Israeli army crushed pockets of resistance. Armistices established Israel's borders on the frontier of most of the earlier British Mandate Palestine (BBC, Establishment of Israel State, 2011). And this is considered as alternative root causes of Israeli and Palestinian conflict. On March 10, 1948, According to the journal article written by Ilan Pappe on The 1948 Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, stated that 11 superior Israeli leaders with their armed officers conducted final ethnic cleansing plan what is called Plan D by expelling over 750,000 Palestinian men, women and children out of their residents, demolishing their homes and planting mines around their lands to prevent them return back (Ilan Pappe, 2006). In short, the root causes of this conflict, the following parts of this paper will focus on trend dynamic analysis within timeframe since 2008 up to 2011, which includes actors, interests, and issues. More significantly, this paper try to examine the existing mechanisms and evaluate effectiveness of those mechanisms as well as try to figure out, and propose some feasible solutions and mechanisms to help minimizing cost of conflicts or even if possible to end this ongoing conflicts.

Institute of Foreign Languages DIS

Peace Study HENG Seiha

II. Conflict Analysis

The tension between Israel and Palestine conflict emerged occasionally, and it will always exist based on the hostility and aggressively of the government from both parties. Even though they have signed peace agreement with each other, both sides never respect and put down their weapons. Hence, this part will examine the nature and dynamics of the conflict from both actors perspectives, and will focus and based on the issues and events that happened between from 2008 to 2011. First, we will examine the Gaza conflict from 2008 to 2009 and then we will examine the issue from 2010 to 2011 due to these two periods has different nature. Here, we will know about the origin and the root causes of the Gaza conflict, which is the hot issue between Israel and Palestine, and this conflict happen since the past until nowadays. Gaza is the small trip of land between Egypt and Israel, and it has been known as the Arab-Israeli conflict since the 1940s. Even there was an effective peace treaty between Egypt and Israel to cede the control of Gaza area to Israel; in the late 1980s there was the uprising of Palestinian against Israel, which led to the peace agreement known as the Oslo Accords treaty in 1994, and under this agreement the Palestinian authority, Fatah movement, has authority to control Gaza strip. However, the dispute always happens between these two states. And, in 2006 Israel started the invasion of the Gaza Strip, and the cease-fire cannot stop this attack from using rockets regularly into Israel by Palestinian with the offensive responding with the air and missile attacks by Israel. In the mid-2007, when Hamas was elected by Palestinians in a democratic vote, and get the authority to control Gaza after the civil war with Fatah, there was a blockade of the Gaza Strip because the Israel feel no security within Gaza, and Egypt also feel that it will be the militants spill over into Egypt, as most of the West and Israel view Hamas as a militant or the terrorist organization, not a political party.

Institute of Foreign Languages DIS

Peace Study HENG Seiha

Even though a ceasefire was negotiated in the mid-2008, it was not written down, so it will be untruthful for Palestinian as it used to experience in 2005 in which Israel withdrew from Gaza just wanted to ease the blockade while the Palestinians reducing rocket fire into Israel. Therefore, Hamas, who has the authority to control over the militant in Palestine does not recognize Israels right to exist and seeks to reclaim any land in Palestine, started the firing the rockets into Israel after the cease fire, and for the Israel, it needed to defend itself and also wanted to teach Hamas with the harsh lesson, but this offensive leave many civilian casualties, which push the international community; the west that support Israels overall objective to put pressure on Israel to prevent or reduce the civilian toll and humanitarian crisis. Thus, on December 27, 2008, Israel begin an attacking, 22 day military offensive in the Gaza Strip in order to stop the rocket attack on southern Israel and to disrupt terrorist infrastructure and weapons smuggling by using a major air attack on Hamas political and military targets in Gaza, and for the force respond to this attack, Hamas using more Qassem rocket attacks, with some newer, longer-range rockets reaching the Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod. This invasion or offensive result much damage in Gaza, and tens thousands of people were homeless, and most of them cannot access to the water, particularly, it resulted in 13000 civilians, 4000 children died in Palestine, and the other 5000 were injured including 1800 children and 8000 women. Also, 13 Israelis were killed including 3 civilians, when the dispute was ended on January 17, 2009 after there were the separate ceasefires announced from both Hamas and Israel.

Institute of Foreign Languages DIS

Peace Study HENG Seiha

In this case, there are two main sources of conflict. The first source of conflict is related to human nature and violence. Because of the hostility of the Palestines government, Hamas, who has the authority to control over the militant in Palestine, using the direct violence to put pressure to the Israeli people by firing the rockets into Israel because he does not recognize Israels right to exist and seeks to reclaim any land in Palestine. Furthermore, because of the aggressive offensive of the Israel, which supported by the most western state, and its neighbor, Egypt, blockaded the Gaza Strip, and cut off the fuel energy to put pressure to the Palestinians people. In doing so, it shows the nature of the human that going to war because of fear, and survival. Similarly, Israel and Egypt decided to block the Gaza Strip because they feel of insecurity as most of the western view that Hamas is a militant or the terrorist organization, not a political party, so it will threat the world security as well as its safety. And, the same in order to survive and avoid from the sanction, Palestine has to do so. Second source of conflict is identity formation. Being a Christian state among the Islamic state, Israels culture is difference from those Islamic states, so they always view each other as threats. War between Palestine and Israel lasting for hundred years and there is no positive peace existing yet between those two countries since the conflicts still continues happen under the form of terrorist attack, conflict of resources, and territory dispute. As in 2010, the Palestinians aim to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as it capital while those areas are captured by Israel government since 1967 war. Israel government would not accept the Palestines independence and according to the pass experience there is only negative peace happen between them because both government focuses only the absence of direct violence, potentially reduce the disarmament in the future aim struggle and prevention the outbreaks of warfare. The resolutions done through negotiation or mediation rather than seek to root course of the conflict or restructuring the physical force. Even it received the involvement from international community like League of Nations, United Nations to impose the peace mechanism or used collective force to maintain the peace but the dispute would not carried-out. In this issue, United State and Some other countries in Arab states is the most important actor because we can Israel usually concurred by neighboring countries since from the past because they want to wipe-out Israel from the world map and when there is a problem happen we would see the involvement of United State as the main mediator or help to impose the peace mechanism. By participate in this issue United State see a lot of benefit and it also shapes the US foreign policy. For
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Peace Study HENG Seiha

example, at the first stage of Palestine demand for independence, US support Palestine by declare US support the process of independence in Palestine on order to gain the popularity or good image in the international stage and also got good relation with Arab states because they are the main oil supply to US. However, it change when there is a strong reaction from the Israel government to US. Israeli people also influential in shaping the USs decision because they are the most important actor in providing the financial support to US, so then US change to not support Palestine to become a member of UNGA to favor Israel; that is the interest of US inter into this issue while the other actors, there main gold is to protect their sovereignty, national security and maximize their national benefit. And 21 September 2011, Obama insists at the UN General Assembly that only negotiations can lead to a Palestinian state. The Obama administration has pledged to veto any Palestinian statehood bid, arguing that only direct peace negotiations with Israel, not a UN vote, would allow the Palestinians to achieve the benefits of statehood. It is however wants to avoid using its veto at the Security Council while many other states support Palestinian become a member of UNGA. However, when we have a state accepted as a member of the United Nations, this is not the end of the conflict. A peace negotiation for the contemporary peace resolution before all of the parties could reach the agreement for long term peace otherwise the situation would goes even more serious because all of the parties try to strengthen their military capability.

After examine the conflict within these two main periods, we have analyzed the sources of conflict, and the existing mechanisms that have been suggested and done so far. In the next section, we will propose alternative routes to a solution of the problem.

Institute of Foreign Languages DIS

Peace Study HENG Seiha

Reference
Al Nakba, The Catastrophe: How Palestine Became Israel, 2009. Accessed date on 1 Dec 2011. Retrived from: http://www.ifamericaknew.org/history/ref-nakba.html Anneinpt, Netanyahus speech to the UN, 24 September 2011. Articlesbase, Causes of Israel Palestine Conflict. Accessed date on 1 Dec 2011. Retrived from: http://www.articlesbase.com/destinations-articles/causes-of-israel-

palestine-conflict-431016.html BBC, UN partition of Palestine. Accessed date on 1 Dec 2011. Retrived from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/v3_ip_timeline/html/1947.stm BBC, Establishment of Israel State. Accessed date on 1 Dec 2011. Retrived from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/v3_ip_timeline/html/1948.stm If America Knew, History. Accessed date on 19 Nov 2011. Retrived from: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/ If America Knew, History of Origin. Accessed date on 19 Nov 2011. Retrived from: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html Ilan Pappe, The 1948 Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Vol. 36, No. 1, Autumn 2006. Accessed date on 19 Nov 2011. Retrived from:

http://www.jstor.org/pss/10.1525/jps.2006.36.1.6 James L. Gelvin, The Israel-Palestine Conflict One Hundred Years of War, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2007. 209 pp. John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, March 2006. James L. Gelvin, The Israel-Palestine Conflict One Hundred Years of War, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2007. 209 pp.

Institute of Foreign Languages DIS

Peace Study HENG Seiha

John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, March 2006.

RAMALLAH,

West

Bank,

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May

9,

2010

Retrived

from:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/05/09/us-palestiniansisraelidUSTRE6471AL20100509
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Seham, As talks resume, two-thirds of Israelis support settlement building, September 2, 2010. Retrived from:
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/as-talks-resume-two-thirds-of-israelis-support-settlement-building.html