The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

The question of who owns Palestine does not have a simple answer. The struggle between Israelis and Palestinians goes back to ancient times, when the ancient Israelites lived in and around Palestine and fought many wars with their neighbors. In a sense, the current conflict is an extension of those religious wars. But the modern conflict has its roots in modern times, specifically in the disintregation of a vast empire.

The land called Palestine was occupied by the Ottoman Empire, a large group of territories ruled by an oppressive regime that found itself on the losing end of World War I. Great Britain had the most troops in Palestine when the war ended, and so Britain "won" the right to administer Palestine. Other territories became independent; Palestine did not.

One of the many actions taken by the British government and army was the announcement and enforcement of the Balfour Declaration, which stated that the British people and soldiers supported the construction of a homeland for the Jewish people—in Palestine. This was way back in 1917, long before the Holocaust.

Beginning in 1922, large numbers of Jewish people migrated to Palestine, pursuant to the Balfour Declaration. This migration continued for the rest of the decade and accelerated in the 1930s and 1940s. The people who called Palestine their homeland at this time didn't take too well to large numbers of new people moving in, especially since those "new neighbors" were Jewish and the majority of the people who were living in Palestine at the time were Muslim. In 1937, many Palestinians rebelled, calling for an independent nation, just like their neighbors were granted. Great Britain tried to find a way to satisfy both sides but gave up and, after the end of World War II, turned the problem over to the newly formed United Nations.

The U.N. proposed side-by-side Israeli and Palestinian states, with Jerusalem being part of both. Jews flocked to the area by the thousands after the Holocaust. Israel proclaimed its independence in 1948 and promptly set about occupying three-quarters of the Palestinian state, including part of Jerusalem. Jordan and Egypt occupied the other part, and most of the Palestinians fled for their lives.

Tensions flared between the neighboring nations for years. In 1967, Israel struck out against Egypt and Jordan. This was the Six-Day War, and it resulted in the expansion of Israel into all of Palestinian territory and land formerly claimed by Egypt and Jordan, including the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and (of course) all of Jerusalem.

The United Nations called on Israel to give back the territory it had seized, but the calls fell on deaf ears. Israel controls this territory to this day.

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