Arab-Israeli Conflict

Second Intifada

Armed conflict also erupted when Israeli soldiers were kidnapped along borders with Gaza and Lebanon. Israel launched air strikes to secure its borders.

• 2000—second intifada began

• Palestinian youths joined by Palestinian security forces with guns

• Hamas sent suicide bombers into Israel to attack civilians

• Israelis countered by sending troops backed by tanks, fighter jets, helicopter gunships into cities in West Bank, Gaza

• 2004, Arafat died, succeeded by Mahmoud Abbas

More Fighting

Continuing the Conflict

• 2004, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon withdrew Israel from Gaza, parts of West Bank

• 2005, Gaza turned over to Palestinians

• 2006, militant Hamas won control of Palestinian parliament

Hamas in Control

The Second Intifada Begins in 2000• In September 2000 after a provocative visit

by Ariel Sharon to the tunnels under the Al-Asqa Mosque serious rioting broke out that soon turned into another uprising.

• Israel again responded with massive and overpowering force.

• In the first few days of the Intifada the IDF fired about 700,000 bullets and other projectiles in the West Bank and around 300,000 in Gaza.

• One Israeli wit in central command made the quip – “A bullet for every child.”

• In the first five days of the uprising 47 Palestinians had been shot dead and 1885 injured.

• From September 2000 to the end of the year 91 Palestinian children were killed – no Israeli children died during the same period.

Second Intifada•By 2000, peace process has faded. •In 2000, Israeli political figure Ariel Sharon visits Temple Mount (Western Wall area and Al Aqsa Mosque area) in Jerusalem•Palestinian violence erupts beginning the Second Intifada •Buses, discos, hotels, fast food restaurants, etc in Israel blown up by Palestinian suicide bombers •Israel responds militarily •From 2000-June 2008

•Over 4500 Palestinians killed •Over 1000 Israelis killed

The Second Intifada

• In the west the dominant image of the Second Intifada is of suicide bombings.

• The first lethal suicide bombing came in March 2001, six months after the Intifada had begun.

• In total there were 140 suicide bombings which killed 542 people.

2001• Second Intifada (Al-aqsa Intifada) – response to failed

Oslo Accords : suspended all-out civil war returns– Triggered by a MP visiting temple mount with over a thousand

police guards, leading to violence– Response: International inquiry

• Mitchell Report of 2001 by UN, EU, US, Egypt, and Jordan

– Camp David Negotiations – US President Clinton facilitates talks with Israeli PM Ehud Barak and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat

• Tried to negotiate final status of Israel and Palestine• Israel agreed to a partial two-state solution, rejected by Palestinians• Ultimately failed – neither side reached an agreement• Israel uses the complete Palestinian rejection of this plan as an

example of unwillingness to seek peace on the part of the Palestinians

• Palestine uses the unfair ‘compromises’ presented by Israel as an example of Israeli greed; especially disliked the ‘Israeli Security provision’

West Bank Barrier---The Wall

A Controversial Construction

The West Bank Barrier

2003

The West Bank Barrier

2003

A Controversial Construction

The Separation Wall

• Length: 786 Km

• Heights: 2.5 – 9 m

• 343000 inhabitants will be between the wall and the green line

• 103320 trees already >>>>>>>>

• The wall will use 43.5% from the West Bank lands

A Controversial Construction

The West Bank Barrier

2003

Impact of Wall Impact of Wall

1. Completely surround 100,000 people in 42 towns

2. Reduce the available water supply by 1 billion gallons

3. Confiscate hundreds of thousands of acres of land

4. Severely restrict travel to jobs, hospitals and schools

5. Adversely affect 4 out of 10 Palestinians

The Separation Wall

. Israel puts up a wall around Palestinian areas to prevent terrorist from moving into Israeli areas

Israeli Perspective Palestinian Perspective

• Israel is building a barrier between it and the West Bank. Israel sees this as a way to prevent further suicide bombings.

• The barrier goes beyond the border between the West Bank and Israel. – The barrier route is 449

miles, while the “Green Line”—the “border” between the West Bank and Israel is 199 miles.

Current Issue: Security Barrier

Israeli PerspectiveThere’s been a decrease in

successful suicide bomb attacks from the West Bank. The barrier

has saved lives!

“The construction of the wall being built by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, and its associated regime, are contrary to international law.”

International Court of Justice, July 9, 2004

World Court Perspective

“This is a historic day and a historic decision…The court ruling is a major blow to those racists who built the wall with the false justification of security needs.”

Palestinian Prime MinisterAhmed Qureia, 2004

Palestinian Perspective

Palestinian Perspective

We oppose the barrier. It has separated many of us from our lands, our work places, and our schools—

our lives have been severely disrupted!

Palestinians ProtestJuly 2004

The West Bank Barrier

2003

Pope John Paul II’s Perspective

The construction of a wall between the Israeli people and the Palestinian people is seen by many as a new obstacle on the road to peaceful cohabitation.

In fact, the Holy Land does not need walls but bridges.

Prospects

For quality of life?

Prospects

For peace?

Prospects

For future generations?

Retaliation and Demolition

The Second Intifada from 2000 to 2008---Retaliation and Demolition

• What is less well known about the Intifada is that Palestinian casualties were much higher than Israeli ones.

• From the 29 September 2000 until 30 April 2008 – 1053 Israelis and 4,789 Palestinians were killed. Whilst between 2000 until 2010 127 Israeli children and 1,435 Palestinian children were killed.

• In addition tens of thousands of Palestinians were imprisoned and thousands of homes demolished.

Demolition of houses

• On 17 February 2005, the Minister of Defense announced a cessation of punitive house demolitions. From October 2001 (when house demolitions as punishment began again after a break of almost four years) to January 2005, Israel demolished 675 homes in the Occupied Territories as punishment.

Betselem

3000 houses destroyed by Israeli Army during current intifada – (Haaretz, 11 Aug, 2003)

Disengagement in 2005

• In 2005 Israel withdrew its 8,000 illegal settlers from Gaza.

• To the world this was presented as a peace move and a painful sacrifice.

• However, Israeli government adviser Dov Weisglass justified it differently as ensuring the 2002 Roadmap would not be implemented:

• “The disengagement is actually formaldehyde. It supplies the amount of formaldehyde that's necessary so that there will not be a political process with the Palestinians."

Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip

• In 2005, Israel removed its settlements from the Gaza Strip and gave much control of the area to the Palestinian government (with exceptions such as the border, airspace, coastline)

• Gaza later comes under the control of Hamas, a group considered by Israel and other countries to be a terrorist organization.

• As of June 2008, Hamas and Israel have entered into a cease fire agreement.

Gaza Controversy• Even before the disengagement Gaza

was under a partial siege, since the capture of Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit and Hamas’ winning of elections this siege became near total with only 40 products consisting of basic foodstuffs and detergents allowed in.

• The UN, the ICRC and all human rights and aid agencies have declared the siege an illegal collective punishment - it continues regardless.

• UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, John Dugard said, “Gaza is a prison and Israel appears to have thrown away the key.”

• Save The Children UK, before the attack on Gaza of December 2008 stated, “50,000 children were malnourished, and 70% had vitamin A deficiency and almost half of children under age two were anaemic due to the border blockade.”

• B’Tselem reports that 12% of child deaths in Gaza are due to diarrhea.

Gaza Violence• It is well known that since 2000

Palestinian militants have fired approximately 10,000 mortars and rockets at Israel.

• Up to 17 January 2009 Palestinian rocket fire had killed 20 Israeli civilians, two soldiers, a foreign worker and five Palestinians.

• Less well known is that Israel has fired tens of thousands of shells into Gaza. For example, well before the latest war between 27 June 2006 and August 2006 Israel fired over 3,500 shells and launched 190 air strikes.

• According to B’Tselem, between 2000 and the start of Israel’s December 2008 attack on Gaza, Israeli forces had killed 3000 people in the Gaza Strip, including 635 children.

Conflict with Hamas

Operation Cast Lead

Operation Cast Lead in 2008• In June 2008 Hamas and Israel agreed a

ceasefire.• Hamas would stop rocket fire and Israel

would lift its siege.• Rocket fire dropped off from 260 in June

to 2 in October.• Israel has confirmed Hamas was

implementing the ceasefire:– not firing rockets itself– and actively seeking to prevent other

groups from doing so. – Israel for its part did not lift the

siege.• On 4 November an Israeli raid killed 7

Hamas members after which rocket fire resumed.

• Hamas offered Israel a 10 year ceasefire in return for lifting the siege, Israel responded with Operation Cast Lead.

Operation Cast Lead: Aftermath• 1,324 Palestinians killed, including 437

children. • 1,890 Children were also wounded.• The number of Palestinian fighters

amongst the dead is estimated at between 250 and 500.

• 13 Israelis were killed, including 4 civilians.

• No Israeli children killed were killed.• In Gaza over 3,000 homes were

completely destroyed and 20,000 more damaged.

• Nearly all government buildings and ministries destroyed.

• Hospitals, clinics, schools, universities and mosques bombed.

• Between 600-700 factories, workshops and businesses destroyed or damaged.

• Between 35% and 60% of agriculture wrecked.

UN on Operation Cast Lead

• The UN Goldstone Report concluded: • “While the Israeli government has

sought to portray its operation as essentially a response to rocket attacks in exercise of its right to self-defence, the Mission considers the plan to have been directed, at least in part, at a different target: the people of Gaza as a whole.”

Ongoing Occupation Issues

Ongoing Occupation Issues

• The Right to Self-Determination;• The Illegal Settlements;• The Siege of Gaza;• The Right to Water;• The Right of Return;• The Cleansing of East Jerusalem;• The Prisoners;• The Right to Freedom of Movement;• The Right to Health;• The Wall;• House Demolition;• The Confiscation of Land.

Self-Determination• “…all peoples have the right of

self-determination. The right of self-determination is of particular importance because its realization is an essential condition for the effective guarantee and observance of individual human rights and for the promotion and strengthening of those rights. It is for that reason that States set forth the right of self-determination in a provision of positive law in both Covenants and placed this provision as article 1 apart from and before all of the other rights in the two Covenants.”

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, General Comment 12, 1984.

Right Now

• Palestinians live in OCT’s under Israeli military occupation– Human Rights Violations– Access to education, healthcare, even basic

necessities is sporadic– Some representation under PNA - Parliament

• App. 4.5 million Palestinian refugees today– Original number: 800,000 in 1947

Israel and the UN• Israel is a nation with ‘special status’ in the UN

– They are active members in the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) in NY

– Are not part of UN operations in Geneva – barred from standing in elections, participating in Geneva committee debates, etc.

• Many accusations of Anti-Semitism in the UN by Israel and US– Israel tends not to trust the UN resolutions, does not

always comply with peacekeeping forces based in Israel/Palestine Territories

• Government of Israel says that it must have equal rights to equally honor the wishes of the General Assembly

Palestine and the UN

• ‘Palestine’ is not a recognized state of the UN, but representatives from the PNA speak as guests– ‘Observer’ status in the UN – Palestinian

National Authority is responsible for providing representation for the ‘Palestinian’ peoples

– Given because there is no legitimate national government for Palestine

Israeli Perspective Palestinian Perspective

• Terrorist organizations like Hamas (which controls the Gaza Strip) and Hezbollah (based in Lebanon and who was at war with Israel in the summer of 2006) continue to fire rockets into Israel. Individuals also continue to commit other acts of terror.

• Can’t stereotype all Palestinians as terrorists as the majority are not terrorists.

• Palestinian government denounced terrorism.

Current Issue: Security and Terrorism

Israeli Perspective Palestinian Perspective

• Sees united Jerusalem as its capitol

• Sees East Jerusalem as its capitol

Current Issue: Jerusalem

Israeli Perspective Palestinian Perspective

• For religious, political, and security reasons a large number Israeli settlements exist in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.– 270,000 Israeli settlers in

the West Bank

• Israeli settlements go against the idea of a future Palestinian state.

Current Issue: Settlements

Israeli Perspective Palestinian Perspective

• Palestinians need permission to leave West Bank.

• Israelis see this as needed security to prevent terrorism.

• The restriction on movement limits jobs, health care, education, etc. contributing to standard of living in West Bank being significantly less than that of Israel.

Current Issue: Movement

Israeli Perspective Palestinian Perspective

• If Palestinians living in Arab nations or in the Occupied Territories return to Israel to reclaim land, it can mean the end of Israel as a Jewish state.

• As refugees, Palestinians believe they should be able to return to their or their families land in Israel.

Current Issue: Right of Return

Reflection

• Write for five minutes about BOTH of the following questions.– If you were Israeli, how might you feel about the

Two State Solution and the current issues in the Israel-Palestinian Conflict?

– If you were Palestinian, how might you feel about the Two State Solution and the current issues in the Israel-Palestinian Conflict?