One of the most controversial and divisive conflicts of our time is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This complex conflict started before the creation of modern-day Israel and continues to this day. Throughout the last 70 years, there were times where peace seemed very close with people on both sides very optimistic, and there have been very violent times where people have felt hopeless. When the Oslo Accords were signed, people really started to feel like peace was in the foreseeable future. When the peace talks failed, a Palestinian uprising known as the Second Intifada began. The Second Intifada was one of the bloodiest times in Israeli-Palestinian history and the effects of it and Oslo have played a huge role in the dynamic of the conflict today.
There is no set date when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began, however most agree that it started between the late 19th and early 20th century. Up until the early 20th century, the Ottoman empire controlled the area until the British took over mandatory Palestine. Prior to this point, Jews were a minority in the region but an absolute majority in Jerusalem, making up approximately 64.4% by 1910. When the British took over mandatory Palestine in 1917, massive waves of Jewish migration occurred. The majority of these immigrants came from Europe following the Holocaust, and from the Middle East, either fleeing persecution or expelled entirely from their countries. In 1917, the Balfour declaration was issued by the British government, promising a Jewish national homeland in Palestine. This along with a rise in the Jewish population led to increasing tensions, and violence soon followed. Eventually the tensions became too much to handle and the British handed mandatory Palestine to the U.N. to figure out a solution.
Under the U.N., a partition plan emerged which was meant to separate the land into two states, one Palestinian state and one Israeli state. The Zionists accepted this plan and the Palestinians rejected it. On May 14, 1948, Israel declared its independence and the next day five Arab armies invaded and attacked Israel with the aim of destroying the newly founded state. Israel won, and subsequently gained more land. The West Bank came under Jordanian control and Gaza under Egyptian control.
In 1964 the Palestine Liberation Organization was formed. The PLO became the organization where most nationalist activity occurred. In 1967, Egypt formed an alliance with Jordan and Syria and begun to mass its troops at its border with Israel and made it clear Israel was to be attacked. Israel preemptively attacked Egypt, Syria and Jordan and the war lasted six days with an Israeli victory. This resulted in Israeli control over the West Bank, Gaza Strip,
Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, however Israel returned the Sinai in exchange for a peace treaty with Egypt.
Another major war occurred in 1973 during Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest holiday. Egypt launched a surprise attack on Israel through the south while Syria simultaneously launched an attack through the Golan Heights. Initially the Arab armies were winning, but Israel regained the upper hand and this war also ended in an Israeli victory.
Up until this point, tensions were rising as well as Palestinian grievances and frustration with the conflict. On December 9, 1987 an incident in Gaza led to an uprising against Israel, known as the First Intifada. During this intifada, a nationalist-militant organization called Hamas was formed. Hamas’s charter called for the destruction of Israel and a Palestinian state from the Jordanian river to the sea. Hamas advocates armed resistance to the occupation and is classified as a terrorist organization by many Western countries. Since its founding, Hamas has been responsible for numerous suicide attacks on Israeli civilians.
After the first intifada, there was a lot of pressure to come to some sort of agreement between the two sides. This is how the Oslo Accords came into place. The Oslo Accords are a set of agreements between the Israelis and Palestinians trying to achieve peace and a final status agreement.
There were two parts to the Oslo Accords. On September 13, 1993, a Declaration of agreements were signed between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) Negotiator Mahmoud Abbas at the White House. This came to be known as Oslo I. With this agreement, the PLO denounced terrorism and recognized Israel’s right to live in peace and Israel recognized PLO as the sole representative for Palestinians.
Oslo I included establishing a Palestinian Authority (PA) to govern the West Bank and Gaza for a 5-year period. After 5 years, permanent talks were to be held regarding the issue of the right of return, Jerusalem, and permanent borders. A very famous moment in history is of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin and PLO president Yasser Arafat shaking hands in front of US President Bill Clinton on the White House lawns. Both Rabin and Arafat received a Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East.
Oslo II took place 2 years later, on September 28, 1995 in Washington D.C. Oslo II was the follow-up where additional agreements were made. The issues of Jerusalem, Israeli settlers, borders and security were discussed and some of the most notable agreements were made during this period. Oslo II gave the Palestinian Authority limited control over the West Bank and Gaza, with the West Bank being divided into three areas, A, B, and C. The call was made for free elections to be held for Palestinian Authority leadership roles as well. Both sides were also prohibited from inciting violence against the other.
Initially, the Oslo Accords provided tremendous hope and optimism from not only Israelis and Palestinians, but the whole world. Israel was gradually pulling troops from parts of the West Bank such as Jericho and territories from the Gaza Strip while transferring a higher percentage of land under Area A. The Palestinian Authority had been established and were gaining more power and autonomy.
As time went on, both sides failed to fulfill their agreements. Israeli settlements continued to expand, and the Palestinian Authority was confined to rule over 50% of the West Bank which was much less than they expected. The Israeli military had also established roadblocks between major Palestinian cities due to security concerns, but Palestinians felt this was a way of lowering the chances of creating a Palestinian state. On the other hand, Israelis expected the Palestinian Authority to crackdown on terrorist attacks and terror groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. But, the amount of weapons being transferred to the Palestinian Authority were exceeding the limits agreed upon and terrorist attacks on Israelis were also on the rise.
These unmet expectations lead to rising tensions and a general dissatisfaction with the Oslo Accords. In 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barack, PA President Arafat and US President Bill Clinton met at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland in what came to be known as the Camp David Summit. This summit was their attempt to save the Oslo Accords with a follow up agreement and possible a peace deal. The talks collapsed, and Clinton blamed Arafat for its failure.
On September 28, 2000, Israeli politician Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount with armed security and this was seen as a highly provocative move. Riots and clashed soon erupted and came to be known as the Second Intifada. This intifada was far bloodier then the first one, marked by numerous Palestinian suicide attacks and bus bombings on Israeli civilians and heavy retaliation from Israel. The Second Intifada lasted until 2005 and resulted in 1,000 Israeli and 3,200 Palestinian deaths.
The Second Intifada had a drastic impact on Israel-Palestinian relations. A shift began to occur in Israeli politics where right-wing parties and prime ministers were elected at a high rate due to the violence they had witnessed and the mistrust for each side was deeper than ever before. During the intifada, a security wall was built to separate the West Bank from Israel. This successfully lowered the amount of suicide attacks over 90%. However, this wall is also seen as controversial because it does not always follow the Green Line. Much of the wall falls within the West Bank and in some cases even divides Palestinian cities, making it harder for Palestinians to travel freely.
Since the intifada, there hasn’t been a realistic chance at peace. Any attempts have failed, and more wars have ensued. When Hamas won the Palestinian elections in 2006, a violent conflict ensued between Hamas and Fatah in a battle for leadership. After numerous fatalities, Fatah regained control of the West Bank and Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip. In 2007, Israel and Egypt imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Gaza in an attempt to reduce terrorist activity such as rocket and mortar attacks. However, even with the blockade Hamas has acquired thousands of missiles and there have been multiple wars and operations in Gaza.
Today we see a sharp division between Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank in addition to the bitter tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Unfortunately there is no solution in sight, and until the PA and Hamas come to a peaceful agreement, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will stay stagnant.