The Middle East Conflict

A Short History of Israeli and Palestinian at the Middle East Conflict
After World War II, the United Nations gave land to the Jewish people of the world so they could live together in peace. This land, Israel, includes holy places for the Jewish religion and is surrounded by Muslim countries. Palestinian Muslims lived on the land at the time that the United Nations gave it to the Jewish people.

Portions of the land given to the Jewish people, or taken over by them when they won wars against Arab states, are also holy for Muslims. Certain portions of Jerusalem controlled by Israel, called "East Jerusalem," are very important to Muslims. For religious reasons, Palestinian Muslims believe that they must gain control of East Jerusalem as part of any lasting peace settlement.

Further, Palestinians view themselves as living in an occupied nation, where invaders (Israelis) have placed them under military rule. To fight back, Palestinians have built a terrorist network to attack innocent Israeli civilians. Israelis feel they must continue to control Palestinians with military force to protect themselves against more terrorist attacks.

Palestinian Demands
Palestinians want Israel to comply with international law and retreat to the borders that existed in 1967.

Palestinians express this demand as four key conditions for peace, including:
1. A separate Palestinian state (with the same borders as were in 1967),
2. Palestinian control of East Jerusaleum,
3. Ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian terroritory, and
4. Freedom of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland.

Israeli Demands
Israelis want the Palestinians to stop the terrorist attacks.

Israelis have four key conditions for peace, including:
1. Palestinian borders that ensure continuing Israeli security from Palestinian attacks, not the 1967 borders,
2. Israeli control of all of Jerusalem,
3. Enough Israeli control within Palestinian territories to allow Israel to destroy terrorist networks, and
4. Prevention of Palestinian refugees from returning to their homelands

But The Fact Is:
The Arabs invented a special national entity in the 1960s (rather than a geographic delineation) called the Palestinians, specifically for political gain. They brand Israelis as invaders and claim the geographic area called Palestine belongs exclusively to the Arabs.

The word Palestine is not even Arabic. It is a word coined by the Romans around 135 CE from the name of a seagoing Aegean people who settled on the coast of Canaan in antiquity the Philistines. The name was chosen to replace Judea, as a sign that Jewish sovereignty had been eradicated following the Jewish Revolts against Rome.

The Palestinians want their own country. There's just one thing about that: There are no Palestinians. It's a made up word. Israel was called Palestine for two thousand years. Like Wiccan,Palestinian sounds ancient but is really a modern invention.

"Peace for us means the destruction of Israel.
We are preparing for an all-out war, a war which will last for generations".
~Yasser Arafat~