Israel- Palestine Conflict UPSC 2024

Israel- Palestine Conflict UPSC 2024,

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a military and political conflict that takes place in the Levant. This is one of the longest conflicts in the world since the middle of the 20th century. As part of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, various efforts have been made to resolve the conflict, along with other efforts to resolve the broader Arab-Israeli conflict. The current Israeli-Palestinian status quo began in 1967, following Israel’s occupation of Gaza in the West Bank and the so-called Palestinian Territories during the Six-Day War. The conflict in the region, rich in historical, cultural, and religious interests around the world, has been the subject of several international conferences on historical rights, security issues, and human rights, and has become a factor limiting access. and tourism in the area is highly contested. Most peace efforts focus on a two-state solution, which includes the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Public support for the two-state solution, which previously received support from Israeli and Palestinian Jews, has waned in recent years.

What is the Levant?

“Levant” is a roughly historical geographical term that refers to a large area of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in Western Asia. It is mostly used in archeology and other cultural terms, associated with Cyprus and the part of Western Asia bordering the Mediterranean, the historical region of Syria (“Greater Syria”). This includes Israel today, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian territories, and most of Turkey southwest of the Middle Euphrates River. This represents a land bridge between Africa and Eurasia

Why is it in the news in October-November 2023?

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the oldest ongoing conflicts in the world. Today, the situation has reached a deadly level causing death and destruction in the region.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas fired an attack of at least 5,000 rockets from Gaza into Israel, killing around 1,400 Israelis. In addition to this, many Israeli soldiers, and civilians, including women and children were taken to the Gaza Strip as hostages. Israel carried out a revenge attack and declared war on Hamas a day later.
On October 15, nearly 2,700 Palestinians were killed with almost 1 million being driven from their homes. Israel cut off supplies of food, water, electricity, and fuel to Gaza, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Israel asked residents of northern Gaza to evacuate the area, while Hamas asked them to withdraw. Israel and Hezbollah also exchanged fire after Hezbollah fighters fired rockets at Israel from Lebanon, and Israel responded with airstrikes in Lebanon.

Background and History of the Conflict (Timeline)

Beginning of the Conflict- 1920s and the conflict between Arabs and Jews

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict had its roots in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the rise of major nationalist movements between Jews and Arabs, both seeking to gain sovereignty for their people in the Middle East.
The Balfour Declaration was a public announcement by the British government in 1917 during World War I that it supported the establishment of a “national home for the Jews” in Palestine.
After the Franco-Syrian War in the 1920s, the emergence of Palestinian nationalism intensified in the 1930s and 1940s, then turned into a wider Arab-Israeli conflict. The return of some Palestinian Arab nationalists marked the beginning of the Palestinian Arab nationalist struggle to build a national home for the Palestinian Arabs.
During the Jewish National Movement and Jewish Immigration to Palestine, there were large-scale anti-Jewish riots in Jerusalem in 1920 and Jaffa in 1921. Among the consequences of the violence was the creation of the Haganah, the Jewish military force.
In 1929, a series of violent riots resulted in the death of 133 Jews and 116 others, many Jewish casualties in Hebron and Safed, and the expulsion of Jews from Hebron and Gaza.4

The 1930s-40s and World War II

In the early 1930s, the Arab Nationalist struggle in Palestine attracted many Arab nationalist fighters from the Middle East and formed the Black Hand militant group, which laid the foundation for the Arab Revolt of 1936-1939 in Palestine.
In the first wave of organized violence, which lasted until early 1937, most Arab factions were defeated by the British, and most Arab leaders were forced out of the country. The uprising led to the partition of Palestine but was later rejected by the Palestinian Arabs.
The renewed violence set in with the beginning of World War II, resulting in around 5,000 victims, mostly on the Arab side. However, the situation became calm with the outbreak of World War II. This allowed the Palestinians to move to a more moderate position among the Arabs.
The more radical exile group of the Palestinian Arab nationalist Haj Amin al-Husseini tended to collaborate with Nazi Germany and was involved in the creation of a pro-Nazi propaganda machine in the Arab world. However, the defeat of Arab nationalists in Iraq and al-Husseini’s relocation to Nazi-occupied Europe tied his hands.
By the end of World War II, a crisis over the fate of the Holocaust survivors from Europe led to renewed tensions. Immigration quotas were established by the British, while on the other hand, illegal immigration and Zionist insurgency against the British were increasing.

United Nations Resolution 181 (II): Declaration of Establishment of State of Israel

What is Resolution 181 (II)?

The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations that recommended a partition of Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted the Plan as Resolution 181 (II).

The resolution recommended the establishment of a special international regime for the independent Arab and Jewish states and the city of Jerusalem. The Partition Plan, a four-part document attached to the resolution, called for the removal of the mandate, the gradual withdrawal of British troops, and the demarcation of the border between the two states and Jerusalem. The plan attempted to reconcile the conflicting goals and demands of two competing movements, Palestinian nationalism and Jewish nationalism, or Zionism. The plan also calls for economic unity among the proposed countries and religious and minority rights

Wars in Every Decade (1940s- 1980s):

Arab-Israeli War in 1948: As a result of this, Israel occupied most of the former mandate, Jordan occupied the West Bank, and Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip, where the All-Palestinian Government was declared by the Arab League on September 22, 1948.

Suez Crisis of 1956: The Palestinian Authority was abandoned by Egypt in 1959 and officially incorporated into the United Arab Republic, undermining the Palestinian national movement. The Gaza Strip was then handed over to the Egyptian military administration. In 1964, a new organization called the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was established.

Six-Day War of 1967: The Palestinian base in Jordan was destroyed in the 1970s by the Jordanian-Palestinian Civil War. The defeat of the PLO by Jordan led to the migration of many Palestinian fighters to South Lebanon, later forming what became known as “Fatahland”.

Yom Kippur War (1973): On October 6, 1973, a coalition of Arab forces made up mainly of Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. The war ended with an Israeli victory and heavy casualties on both sides.

Lebanon War of 1982: The Palestinian uprising in southern Lebanon peaked in the early 1970s, as Lebanon was used as a base for attacks on northern Israel and a global hijacking campaign, prompting Israeli retaliation. During the Lebanese Civil War, Palestinian militants fought their opponents inside Lebanon and continued their attacks against Israel. The initial results for Israel were successful. Within weeks, most of the Palestinian fighters were defeated, Beirut was captured, and the PLO headquarters was moved to Tunisia in June

Palestinian Uprisings (Intifada) and Factions Split:

1. The first Palestinian uprising began in 1987 in response to the relentless wave of attacks and occupation. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process led to the 1993 Oslo Accords, which allowed the PLO to withdraw from Tunisia and establish a presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated by an Israeli fanatic who opposed the peace initiative. This was a serious blow to the peace process. The newly elected govt of Israel backed off in 1996.

2. After several years of failed negotiations, the conflict erupted again in September 2000 as the Second Intifada. In 2005, Israeli Prime Minister Sharon ordered the withdrawal of Israeli settlers and soldiers from Gaza.

3. In 2006, Hamas won 44% of the Palestinian parliamentary elections. Israel has said it will impose economic sanctions if Hamas does not accept the previous Israeli-Palestinian agreement, use violence, and recognize Israel’s right to exist. During the Gaza War (2007), Hamas controlled the area.

4. Tensions between Israel and Hamas increased until late 2008, when Israel launched Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, killing thousands of civilians and causing billions of dollars in damage.

5. In January 2012, the Palestinian representative at the United Nations was upgraded to a non-observer status and the name of the mission was changed from “Palestine (represented by the PLO)” to “State of Palestine”. Another war broke out between Israel and Gaza in 2014, killing more than 70 Israelis and more than 2,000 Palestinians.

6. In January 2022, with the election of Israel’s 37th government, a coalition government led by Benjamin Netanyahu and including far-right politicians, the conflict escalated and military action escalated.

7. The Events such as the 2023 Neve Yaakov shooting, the 2023 Al-Aqsa clashes, the May 2023 Gaza–Israel clashes, and the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, alongside Palestinian political violencehave produced a death toll in 2023 that is the highest in any conflict since 2005.

Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

Oslo Accords (1993)

In 1993, Israeli officials and Palestinian leaders from the Palestine Liberation Organization tried to find a peaceful solution. The main reason behind the Oslo Accords was that Israel would eventually cede control of the Palestinian territories to the Palestinians in exchange for peace.

Camp David Summit 2000

In July 2000, US President Bill Clinton held a peace meeting between Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. According to Palestinian negotiators, the proposal does not remove many elements related to the occupied territories of Israel, security, settlements, and Jerusalem. Even under strong pressure from the United States, no solution was found that could satisfy the demands of Israel and Palestine.

After the failed summit, Palestinian and Israeli negotiators met in a small group between August and September 2000 to try to bridge the gap between their respective positions. Both sides accepted Clinton’s plan, and it became the basis of negotiations at the Taba Peace Summit the following January.

Taba Summit of 2001

The Israeli negotiating team presented the new map at the Taba Summit in Taba, Egypt in January 2001. This proposal excluded areas “temporarily administered by Israel” and the Palestinian side accepted this as a basis for further negotiations. The following month, Likud Party candidate Ariel Sharon defeated Ehud Barak in the Israeli elections and was elected Prime Minister of Israel on February 7, 2001. Sharon’s new government chose not to pursue high-level talks

Arab Peace Initiative

The Arab Peace Initiative, also known as the Saudi Initiative, was first proposed by Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at the Beirut Summit (2002). The peace initiative is a proposed solution to the Israeli conflict in general, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular. “Recognition of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem” in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, a “just solution” for Palestinian refugees, in exchange for the full normalization of relations with Israel, the withdrawal of troops from all areas, including the Golan Heights.

The Palestinian government led by Yasser Arafat immediately accepted the initiative. His successor, Mahmoud Abbas, also supported the plan and officially asked US President Barack Obama to adopt it as part of his Middle East policy.

The Israeli government under Ariel Sharon rejected the initiative as a “non-starter”. In 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu first announced his support for the initiative, but in 2018 he rejected the premise of future talks with the Palestinians.

The peace phase has so far been heralded as a “two-state solution”, but the two sides’ resolve to end the conflict has been questioned. In April 2021, the human rights watchdog released its report Threshold Crossed, stating that Israel’s policy against Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza is a crime of apartheid. On 1 February 2022, Amnesty International published an additional report, Israeli Apartheid Against the Palestinians: A System of Oppression and Crimes Against Humanity.

Issues and Areas in Dispute

Jerusalem: Control of Jerusalem is a sensitive issue, with each side claiming the city. Many countries do not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, except the US and Russia. Most UN member states and most international organizations do not recognize Israel’s claim to East Jerusalem.
The West Bank: Occupied Palestinian Territory is the term used by the United Nations to refer to East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, areas occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and previously administered by Egypt and Jordan. Some Palestinians say they claim the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.
Hamas: In 2017, Hamas declared its readiness to support a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders “without recognizing Israel or giving it any rights.” Hamas has previously regarded the peace process as “religiously taboo and politically incomprehensible”.
Blockade of the Gaza Strip: The Israeli government says it is justified under international law to block the enemy for security reasons. The State of Israel has been involved in an ongoing armed conflict with terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip. This armed conflict intensified after Hamas captured Gaza in June 2007.
Agriculture and Water Resources: Since Israel gets most of its water from the two aquifers that flow below the Green Line, its use has been controversial in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Also, because the root of the conflict is land, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is reflected in Palestinian agriculture.

India’s Present Stand on the Scenario

India was one of the few countries that opposed the UN partition plan in 1947, repeating what it had experienced at independence a few months earlier.
India recognized Israel in 1950 but was the first non-Arab country to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole representative of Palestine. India was also one of the first countries to recognize Palestinian statehood in 1988.
In recent years, India’s position has been considered pro-Israel.
Additionally, India believes in a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and offers both countries the right to peaceful self-determination.

Disclaimer: The article is based on the following sources of information: Newspaper Articles from ‘The Hindu’ and drafts from Wikipedia.

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Israel- Palestine Conflict UPSC 2024

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