Transcript Date____ Page____ Crisis in the Middle East: The Israeli

Date____
Page____
Crisis in the Middle East: The
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Arab-Israeli Conflict
1. Ancient Palestine: Explain the two ancient claims to the region
2. Kingdom of Israel and the Diaspora: Explain the causes and
effects of the Diaspora
3. Zionism: Describe the roots of the Zionist movement
4. Jewish immigration into Palestine: Describe the conflict that
began due to immigration
5. The British Mandate of Palestine: Explain how the British
got control over the area and what the Balfour Declaration was
6. The British Mandate Ends: Explain how WWII changed the
nature of Zionism in Israel
Arab-Israeli Conflict: Write 5-10 facts for each event and fill in your map for each
The United Nations Plan for Palestine
Pre-1948 map of Palestine
UN partition plan 0f 1947
The 1948 War
Results of 1948 War
Arab-Israeli Conflict: Write 5-10 facts for each event and fill in your map for each
The 1967 War
Results of the 1967 War
The Intifada
Location of the Intifada
The Conflict Since the Intifada
-Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Peace
Accords in 1993 – agreed to grant Palestinians self-rule in
the Gaza Strip and West Bank
-Rabin assassinated in 1995 by right-wing Jewish extremist
who opposed concessions to Palestinians
-Second intifada launched in 2000 when Israeli political
leader Ariel Sharon visited Temple Mount in Jerusalem;
also location of the Dome of the Rock – outraged
Palestinians
-Palestinian militant groups began using suicide bombers
-2001 – Sharon elected Israeli Prime Minister; refused to
negotiate until attacks stopped
-2003 – Palestinian leaders appointed first-ever prime
minister, Mahmoud Abbas
In a meeting with George W. Bush in 2003, Abbas declared, “Our goal is two
states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.” Sharon
expressed his desire to see Palestinians “govern themselves in their own state.”
May 9, 2010
JERUSALEM — The Obama administration announced Sunday that indirect,
American-brokered talks had resumed between Israel and the Palestinians,
capping a year of efforts by Washington to revive the peace process.
The American special envoy to the region, George J. Mitchell, is expected to
shuttle between the two sides over the next four months as mediator of the socalled proximity talks. They are aimed at forging a joint vision of the outlines
of a solution based on the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The State Department spokesman, Philip J. Crowley, released a statement
warning both sides that “if either takes significant actions during the
proximity talks that we judge would seriously undermine trust, we will
respond to hold them accountable and ensure that negotiations continue.”
But he praised recent steps by both Israel and the Palestinians to help ensure
that the talks could take place. Those included a statement from the
Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, that he would work to keep factions
from trying to scuttle the talks through attacks or incitement, and from Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel that there would be no more
construction at the Ramat Shlomo settlement in East Jerusalem for two years.
“They are both trying to move forward in difficult circumstances, and we commend them
for that,” Mr. Crowley said.
Mr. Mitchell left the Middle East on Sunday after completing what the State Department
characterized as the first round of talks, and was to return next week.
Expectations of an early breakthrough are low. Mr. Netanyahu, a conservative, has
repeatedly stated his preference for direct talks, and had been hoping to limit the
proximity talks to procedural matters. The Palestinians want the indirect talks to deal
with the substantive issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and have refused to engage
in direct talks unless Israel declares a halt to all settlement construction in the West
Bank and East Jerusalem.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, a Palestine Liberation Organization official and adviser to Mr. Abbas,
said Saturday that the Palestinians had received assurances that all the core issues
would be broached in the indirect talks, including the future of Jerusalem, the fate of the
Palestinian refugees of 1948 and their descendants, borders, and security.
The talks were supposed to have started two months ago, but they were canceled after
the Israeli government announced plans for 1,600 new housing units for Jews in
contested East Jerusalem, causing a rift in Israeli-American relations.
Israel has since agreed to allow preliminary discussion of core issues in the indirect talks.
Ghassan Khatib, an analyst and spokesman for the Palestinian government in the West
Bank, said last week that Israeli internal politics were “not conducive at all” for the
prospects of an agreement. “But on the other hand,” he said, “we are encouraged by the
international community, and especially the United States, whose efforts can have an
effect on the Israeli position and on public opinion.”
Opposing Viewpoints:
Read the viewpoints on each of the
following issues:
Jerusalem’s Holy Sites
Palestinian Borders
Palestinian Refugees and the “Right of
Return”
Then, in your notebook, write your own
viewpoint for each issue. How do you
think each issue should be solved?