Arab-Israeli Conflict

Many different ideas and views have been expressed about the Arab-Israeli conflict. The conflict began when Jews started the Zionist movement, wanting to move back to their homeland, the area we now know as Israel. The Palestinians had been living there since around 12 B.C. Seeking a safe homeland the Jews fled to Palestine after the holocaust in Europe. The British mandate of Palestine ended and the United Nations then decided to partition Palestine into a Jewish state, an Arab state and an international zone (around Jerusalem). These rulings didn’t last long before the Jewish states began to take over Arab areas. Now, some people want the land of Israel to be split so that both groups have separate designated regions, though no one can agree on a way to do this. Meanwhile, extremists on both sides of the conflict refuse to yield anything they see as theirs. The fairest resolution would to split the land equally. There will be unhappy people, but any solution cannot please everyone.

As stated above, the only way to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict is to divide Israel. After considering the possible ways to do this, the simplest approach seems best; dividing Israel in half from Jerusalem straight to the Mediterranean Sea. In past negotiations all the borders have become blurred because there was no definite beginning and ending to each of the group’s territory. For instance Palestinians had the territories of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights which were all spread out, with Israeli territories in between. In the war of 1967 Israel took the Palestinian territories, which then became known as ‘the occupied territories,’ because Israelis set up settlements in these areas. With a clear border it will be easier for the Palestinians to be united and hold their own country. The Israelis would also not have to worry about terrorist attacks coming from within, because they would only share one border. This is one of the main concerns for the Israelis that could be solved by splitting the land with clear borders.

With the solution to split the land, an important job would then be to relocate many people. Even though this would be a large process the end result would be worth it. With so many relocations there would have to be new housing for the people to live in. For most people in Israel these new houses would be a major improvement from what they are living in now. For Palestinians living in refugee camps they will be able to move into a new home, community, and free state.

Jerusalem is a major issue in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is very important to both groups of people for religious reasons. To people of the