Why the conflict between Palestine and Israel started (Research Paper Sample)

RESEARCH PAPER:
"Why the conflict between Palestine and Israel started."
Generic Student Smith
Class 123 – Analytics II
March 2, 2012
Introduction
Since the Israelis and Palestinians believe that they have equal rights to the land that they live in, violence keeps erupting between the two groups. This is because the Palestinians argue that the Israelis chased them from their land while the Jews argue that the land belongs to them based on historical terms (Gunderson 2004, 82). Various analysts argue that the historical perception involving the breakout of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the critical factors that have made the conflict to be more severe and uncontrollable. The various historical experiences that the two states have gone through have influenced them to make claims as well as justify their own side on why they should be at war with their neighbor (Matthews 2011, 43). Though the two states have shown their desire to reach a peaceful resolution, a permanent solution has not been attained. The two states practice different cultures and their official languages also differ. This condition has made it difficult for the two states to reach a peaceful agreement (Fraser 2008, 76). Many people have written different accounts regarding the causes of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. However, most of the information that has been given out by people especially in the internet have only convinced people about the causes of the conflict rather than giving people the right information regarding the real causes of the war (Matthews 2011, 26).
Since there are very many people who have written different accounts about the exact causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there are those people who say that it is not possible for a single person to write a summary that details all the causes of the conflict. As a result, the various summaries that have been written regarding the causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are not fully accepted by everyone who reads them. However, the various factors that have been attributed to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict include; historical encounter between the Jews and Arabs, occupation and settlements, influence of the Palestinian State, the issue of Palestine refugees, Palestinian Terror groups, repression of the Israelis, and the security of Israel (Abunimah 2007, 98). The goal of this study therefore is to conduct a detailed analysis about the various factors that started the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Thesis Statement
The conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is attributed to the cultural differences that the two societies have with each other. In addition, the two societies fight for the same resources thereby making it difficult for them to come into a peaceful resolution with each other. The violence in the country has also interfered with the positive relations that Israel and Palestine have with other nations. Any efforts that have been applied to end the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians have only made the conflict to be more severe (Gelvin 2007, 35).
Description of the Problem
The conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians has been a subject of discussion by many international organizations. This issue has attracted the attention of various superpowers such as the United States. The US is concerned about ending this conflict because it has made the standards of living of the residents in the region to be unpleasant. Various International Organizations such as the UN believe that there are certain people who are legitimate and who would be willing to do anything so that the violence between the two societies comes to an end (Ross 2005, 78). The conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is a big problem because it has negatively affected the economic performance of the two states. No investor would be willing to invest in a region that is politically, socially and economically unstable. In addition, very many people live very desperate lives in their country because of the instability that is present in the region ( Nitzan and Bichler 2002, 102). The international community is concerned about the welfare of the innocent people in the two states. In order to ensure that the lives of such people are not put at stake, the international community is intervening by facilitating peaceful agreements between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of this study is to analyze the various reasons that led to the conflicts between the Israelis and the Palestinians and the various consequences that the residents of these two states have had to cope with as a result of the conflict. It seeks to identify the critical issues that have made it difficult to end the conflict between the two states. It will also provide possible solutions that can help end the conflict that has made the standards of living between the two states to deteriorate.
Research Questions
This study seeks to answer the following questions
Is the cultural difference between the Israelis and Palestinians responsible for the conflict that exists between the two states?
Is there any relationship between the conflict and the attitudes of the two states?
What role does the history of Israelis and Palestinians play in worsening the conflict between the two states?
What measures can be implemented in order to facilitate the attainment of peace between the two states?
Are there any measures that can be implemented in order to positively impact on the attitudes of the Israelis and Palestinians?
What role do the terror groups play in promoting violent behavior between the two states?
Theoretical Framework
Culture plays a very important role in influencing how nations relate with each other. It serves as a very important variable for determining why clashes between states occur. Different societies clash because of greed for power and to satisfy their own self-interests. There are those societies which believe that being powerful makes a society to be stable. However recent studies have shown that culture is an important variable in terms of facilitating or retarding peaceful reconciliations between societies. It has been observed that the only way in which stability between nations can be achieved is when societies understand each other’s’ culture and appreciate it (Milton-Edwards 2009, 34). Culture also has a great influence in politics. The political stand of a particular society is governed by the culture of that society. It is because of this that different societies have different political stands regarding how they wish their countries to be governed ( Nitzan and Bichler 2002, 106). For example, a Muslim dominated society is not ruled in the same way a Christian dominated society is ruled. This indicates that religion also has a strong role to play in influencing the way a society is governed.
Inter-personal and Inter-group interactions also influence the manner in which a society is governed. If the members of a society do not relate positively, it is difficult to attain stability in such a society. The inter-group interactions between the Israelis and Palestinians can therefore be said to play an important role in promoting the violence that is prevalent between the two states. In order for a community to be stable, it needs to ensure that the mode of social communication between the members of the society is positive (Gunderson 2004, 67). This ensures that the members of the society relate with each other peacefully. A society therefore needs to focus on the quality of its interpersonal communication.
In order for a society to ensure that its members communicate effectively, all the members should be given equal status in order to ensure that they cooperate in all of their daily activities (Caplan 2011, 78). In a society where people believe that they are superior to the others, it is not possible to reach an agreement thereby making it difficult to achieve peace. Since this is the case between Israelis and Palestinians, it is therefore difficult for the two societies to live peacefully.
Background/ Literature Review
The historical issues that that have prevailed between Israel and Palestine have played a major role in aggravating the conflict between the two states. For example, it is said that Judea used to be the home of the Jews initially. The Romans then inhabited the region and called it Palestine. The Arabs later conquered Palestine and declared it as their home for many years. A movement referred to as the Zionist movement was later introduced by the Jews whose goal was to enable the Jews return to their homeland. This movement did not put into consideration the large Arab population which had occupied the region at the time. In 1917, the British government required the Arabs to ensure that the Jews who had been chased out of the land found a place to live ( Nitzan and Bichler 2002, 107).
However, the Jews did not take this issue lightly and they were not willing to welcome the Jews into the land. The Arabs therefore engaged in riots with the Jews thereby making the two nations to become enemies. Because of the severe enmity that emerged as a result of the immigration of the Jews into Palestine, the British decided to stop the immigration process in order to stop the conflict that resulted from the immigration ( Nitzan and Bichler 2002, 108). However, the conflict between the Jews and the Arabs did not stop and the number of Jews who were killed in the conflict reached approximately 6 million. This made the British government to increase pressure and allow the Jews to migrate into Palestine forcefully. To end the conflict between the Arabs and the Jews, the United Nations decided to divide the land into Jewish and Arab lands in 1947 ( Kershner 2004, 47). However, this move only made the situation wors...