Transcript Israel-Palestine

By Olivia Kerrigan and Isabelle Wozniak
By Isabelle
History of the Dispute
By Olivia
Jerusalem
Sacredsites.com
Refugees
Palestinenote.com
Obstacle 1: Jerusalem
 The status of Jerusalem as an international city is
disturbing to both Israelis and Palestinians alike because of
the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif section of the city.
 Neither group is willing to relinquish their claim to the
land, and so Jerusalem continues to impede talks of peace
between the Israelis and Palestinians.
 (Palestinian Territories: Obstacles, n.d.).
Why is Jerusalem such an issue?
Jews…
 …believe that the Temple
Mount, the site of two ancient
temples that have since been
destroyed, is the location
where a third temple will be
construction in preparation for
the return of the Messiah to
earth.
 By giving up their claim to
Jerusalem, they fear they are
telling the Messiah not to
come again.
 (Palestinian Territories:
Obstacles, n.d.).
Muslims…
 …believe that this same (1)site,
which they call the Haram alSharif, is the third holiest place
in the world. There are two
mosques, the Dome of the Rock
and al-Aqsa, located there.
 www.atlastours.net/
Obstacle 2: Palestinian (2)Refugees
 In the first Arab-Isreali War in 1948, 700,000
Palestinian Refugees (3) emigrated from their
homeland to escape violence.
 There are now 4.7 million refugees living in many
places, including the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria,
and Lebanon.
 1.4 million of them are in deplorable conditions in
refugee camps
 Israelis and Palestinians cannot agree on how to deal
with these refugees.
 (Palestinian Territories: Obstacles, n.d.).
Jenin refugee camp.
http://www.primeaucanada.com/pal-jenin.htm
What are the view points?
“No war – No Palestinian
refugee problem”
“No Zionism – No Palestinian
refugee problem”
the first Arab-Israeli war, which
began when Palestine rejected
the UN proposal to make Jewish
and Muslim sectors of Palestine.
Jews blame Palestine for the war
and the refugee problem.
 Jews also believe they cannot
handle the return of the refugees
without losing their sovereignty,
since the refugees would make
Israel more Muslim that Jewish.
 (Palestinian Territories:
Obstacles, n.d.).
return, as described in
international law, and also
believe that it’s basic fairness
that they should return.
 What international law?
 This Jewish slogan references
 Palestinians have a right to
 Article 49 of the Fourth
Geneva Convention, which
states: “Persons thus
evacuated shall be transferred
back to their homes as soon as
hostilities in the area in
question have ceased.”
Obstacle 3: (4) Settlements
 The problem of Israeli settlements is the opposite of
the problem with Palestinian refugees; refugees want
to return home but cannot, while Israeli settlers have
left home and refuse to return.
 Settlers in Palestinian territories makes the border
dispute more complicated.
 Israeli leaders have generally committed to removing
some of the settlers, but they maintain that they
cannot and will not remove all of them.
 (Palestinian Territories: Obstacles, n.d.).
There are two types of ‘settlers’
Economic Settlers
 “Jews who moved to Gaza or
the West Bank to take
advantage of government
subsidies and enjoy a higher
standard of living than would
have been available to them
in most Israeli cities”
(Palestinian Territories:
Obstacles, n.d.)
‘Religious-Nationalist’
Settlers
 “(5)Nationalistic, often highly
religious, Jews who set up
unauthorized outposts in the
West Bank to enforce Jewish
claims to the land they know
as Judea and Samaria”
(Palestinian Territories:
Obstacles, n.d.).
Obstacle 4: Separation Wall
Israeli ‘Security Fence’
‘Wall of Apartheid’
 Israel claims that the wall
 Palestinians claim that the wall is
they erected is necessary to
keep suicide bombers from
Palestine out of the country.
blatantly a land grab, since it extends
into what is Palestinian territory on
the West Bank.
 The wall creates hardships for
Palestinians who live on one side and
work on the other, since their routes to
work are complicated.
 “Cut off not only from their work but
also, probably, from extended families,
schools, farmland, wells, and social
services, some have found themselves
in the strange situation of having to
obtain permits to live in their own
homes. “(Palestinian Territories:
Obstacles, n.d.).
Palestinians and
Israelis alike have
tried to make the wall
inspirational, rather
than allowing it to
oppress their spirits.
http://www.powerofculture.n
l/en/current/2005/march/m
uur.html
“To exist is to
resist”
http://www.uruknet.net/ind
ex.php?p=m58212&hd=&size
=1&l=e
Free Palestine
http://onthescene.blogs.foxn
ews.com/2008/06/12/scalingthe-wall-in-ramallah/
Obstacle 5: Water
 Water is a scarce (6)resource in the Middle East. Israel won’t
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abandon must of the land that belongs to Palestine in Gaza and
the West Bank because they rely on the water that is underneath
it.
Two of Israel’s three main sources of water, the Sea of Galilee and
the Mediterranian Aquifer have fallen to low levels, so Israel
relies on water that belongs to Palestine.
Many Palestinians who live blocks away from Israelis have to use
less than the 26 gallons per person per day recommendation
from the WHO, while Israelis use ten times that amount!
Also, water is sold to Palestinians at extremely high prices, while
water sold to Israelis is government subsidized.
(Palestinian Territories: Obstacles, n.d.).
By Isabelle
Nuclear Weapons and Violence
 With their current weaponry, the IsraeliPalestinian conflict can only directly effect on the
inhabitants of the immediate areas targeted.
 However, the Israeli government has recently acquired a
variety of nuclear weapons, and pro-Palestinian
militants could potentially do the same; the use of such
weapons could greatly increase the size of the area
directly effected by violence.
 (Palestinian Territories: Obstacles, n.d.).
World War III
 Albeit unlikely, “a new war in the Middle East could
lead to World War III.” (Palestinian Territories:
Obstacles, n.d.).
 It would be very difficult for the UN to intervene and act as
a peace-broker in such a situation because of the variety of
stances on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within the
Security Council.
 The United States--which have historically defended Israel-could face attacks from the Middle East as they work to
protect their interests in the aforementioned region.
 (Palestinian Territories: Obstacles, n.d.).
International Relations
 “The conflict between Palestinians and Israelis is poisoning
international relationships and undermining efforts to achieve
greater international cooperation.” (World Conflicts Today)
 Although they are not necessarily correct, the Middle East frequently
points to the US as being the root cause of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, having both armed and supported Israel; they also feel that
the US should use its power over Israel to end the conflict.
 Unlike the US, the European Union has taken a much more balanced
approach to the conflict, stating that Israelis have the right to live free
of fear but nevertheless feel the government has failed to instigate a
peace process.
 Because of the differences in their stances on the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, relations between the US and other nations have been
strained.
 (Palestinian Territories: Obstacles, n.d.).
War on Terrorism
 The conflict has also added another wrinkle to the
war on terrorism, which affects highly and under
developed nations alike.
 Some Muslim extremists “believe that God has ordered
them to cleanse Muslim lands not only of the presence
but also of the contaminating influence of nonMuslims.” (Palestinian Territories: Obstacles, n.d.).
By Isabelle
Palestinian Oppression
 Palestinians’ living conditions are deplorable:
 An estimated 200 000 Palestinians living on the West Bank
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are living without clean, running water.
“A 2007 UN report revealed that roughly 46 percent of Arab
households in the West Bank and Gaza were ‘food insecure’ or
in danger of becoming so” (World Conflicts Today) and 30%
of Palestinian children are malnourished.
Palestinians are subjected to “curfews, military searches,
home demolitions, imprisonment, injury, and death” (World
Conflicts Today) by the Israeli government.
To prevent the entrance of Palestinian terrorists into Israeli
occupied zones, Palestinians are frequently forced to pass
through time consuming check points.
(Palestinian Territories: Obstacles, n.d.).
The Future of Israel
 “Israel’s future as both a Jewish and a democratic
state is under threat.” (Palestinian Territories:
Obstacles, n.d.) Due to a higher birthrate, it is
quite possible that Muslims will outnumber
Israelis by the next generation.
 As of now, the inhabitants of the Palestinian controlled
areas do not have the right to vote; were Palestinians to
successfully demand this right, power could potentially
shift from the Israelis to the Palestinians.
By Olivia
If past talks have failed, how can
Palestine & Israel reach an agreement?
 Clearly, talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders
have historically been largely unsuccessful. Thusly, the
Israeli-Palestinian crisis is one that warrants
international help.
 Much of this responsibility will ultimately fall on the
United States because, whether we relish the role or
not, we are generally utilized as the international
police force.
 (Avishai, 2011, p. [1]).
United States
‘Blueprint’
President Obama's new task in
Palestine and Israel is to create a
blueprint, to be approved by all
major world powers and
organizations, that will outline a
plan for peace. Obama
understands that when American
can act, they must act, and yet they
must not act alone. This
philosophy is key in negotiations
in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
since any attempt the United States
makes along will fail. The president
must act as he did in Libya, and
rally world leaders, Israelis, and
Palestinians behind a blueprint for
peace.
(Avishai, 2011, p. 1).
 “Sometimes, the course of
history poses challenges that
threaten our common humanity
and common security. Real
leadership creates the
conditions and coalitions for
others to step up as well; to work
with allies and partners ... to see
that the principles of justice and
human dignity are upheld by
all.” – President Barack Obama
So what exactly is this ‘blueprint’
nonsense?
 Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and
former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert had
made notable progress in resolving the conflict in 2007 and
2008. While there were still gaps in their plans, they were
smaller gaps than there had been previously, and they
mainly disagreed over settlements and refugees.
 Obama's job would be to decide what to do about these
gaps in reasoning between Israeli leaders and Palestinian
leaders. After making such a decision, Obama would need
to get strong international backing for his decision so it
could ultimately be successful.
 (Avishai, 2011, p. [1]).
I get the blueprint thing, but what’s
it actually going to do?
 The blueprint would....
 put pressure on conflicted parties to have an open discussion
and move towards peace.
 rekindle an international conversation on the issue.
 make Israel feel that they must participate in negotiations to
remain an internationally relevant and involved (7) state.
 empower the (8) globalised, moderate Israeli parties that are
willing to work on a compromise, not the radical parties.
 give hope to the Palestinian youth that change is coming and
confirm that they must fight terrorism and violence to allow
that peace to finally arrive.
 (Avishai, 2011, p. [2]).
By Olivia
The Israeli-Palestinian Crisis
connects to…
Political Geography
Physical Geography
 The Arab-Israeli crisis relates to
 The crisis also relates to
political geography because it
involves “spatially uneven
outcomes of political processes.”
(wikipedia)
 The outcome of the divide of
Palestine and Israel is spatially
uneven because Israel was given
more land than is proportional
to it’s population, while
Palestinians were forced from
their homes.
physical geography because
of the issue of water.
 The natural resources in the
conflicted regions is uneven,
so the physical geography of
the land is actually a factor in
the dispute.
Citations!
 Avishai, B. (2011, March 29). Next, and Israeli-
Palestinian Peace Plan
[Editorial]. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/
03/30/opinion/30ihtedavishai30.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&sq=israel
palestine
conflict&st=cse&scp=2
Bernard Avishai is the author of “The Hebrew
Republic: How Secular
Democracy and Global Enterprise Will Bring
Israel Peace at Last.”
Citations!
 Palestinian Territories: Obstacles. (n.d.). Retrieved
March 31, 2011, from
ProQuest database.
 Telhami, S. (2008). Does the Palestinian-Israeli
Conflict Still Matter?
Retrieved April 10, 2011, from