Since its beginning in the end of the 19th century, the Palestine-Israel Conflict has become one of the most prominent issues of the Middle East. The conflict is mainly a multi-layered battle for the territory in Israel, which holds the holiest sites for the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.) Over the years, there has been several plans made by the U.N. to try and resolve this issue, but as we can see today, there has yet to be a suitable solution and conflict continues. The main core issues that prevent peace in the region are regarding borders, refugees, security, settlements, water, and Jerusalem.
The issues that I think are the hardest to resolve are those regarding security. Although there was violence before their power, the the leaders of Israel and Palestine from the 1950s to the 2000s deepened the security issues in the region, perhaps to a point of no return. These leaders were Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Yasir Arafat, who had a deep rivalry that showed through their politics. On Palestine’s side, Arafat was scrutinized for his inability and/or unwillingness to restrain militant groups opposed to peace. For Israel, Sharon had a tendency to make unilateral decisions that instigated violent events like the Second Intifada and the Gaza wars. Although both Israel and Palestine hold some responsibility, the most prominent stunt to peace is Hamas. Hamas is a Palestinian militant/social organization that arose from the First Intifada (uprising) in 1987. In 2004, Sharon removed its power from Gaza to concede to Hamas, who used its social org status to allude that they would help the Gaza region. However, instead of their occupation improving Gaza like they had promised, a power vacuum formed. With Hamas in power, political and economic development never materialized, proving Hamas to be nothing more than a terrorist organization. Later, Hamas made an agreement with Fatah (Palestinian nationalist and social democratic political party) but was reluctant to renounce terrorism. These actions reinforce that Hamas is not a social organization and that its main cause is really violence. This means that peace would end their justification to exist, so Hamas will most likely remain militant and worsen security issues in the region.
Another difficult issue to confront is the status of Jerusalem. Jerusalem has massive religious significance to Israel and Palestine, which is why both believe that it cannot be shared and use the excuse that it is indivisible so neither has to make concessions. However, in 2000, the Clinton parameters were introduced that proposed a shared capital. Unfortunately, they were introduced too late, but they still had high approval ratings with both Israel and Palestine. Also, the Trump administration’s 2017 recognition of Jerusalem as solely Israel’s capital stunted the development of a shared entity. However, because timing seemed to be the only thing wrong with the Clinton parameters, a solution for Jerusalem still seems very plausible.
Although this barely scratched the surface on the issues that prevent peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict, it should explain the levels of values and repercussions that must be considered when attempting to solve one of the many problems in the region. Hopefully in the future different circumstances will allow policymakers to have more open minds, and there can be a way for both Palestinians and Israelis to live in harmony.
Hi Ellie! The Palestine-Israel conflict is incredibly fascinating and also very upsetting to see due to the many deaths it has caused. The question of who owns the Holy Land has existed for centuries, and its development has reached far. I think that it will always be hard for us as Americans to completely understand the historical and political sentiments behind the conflict, but hopefully there will be a day where these groups can co-exist without conflict, just as they had centuries ago.