Essay Example - Israeli-Palestine Relations

Israeli-Palestine relations state the security, economic, political and other various relations between the two states. This paper will discuss the various aspects of the relations between the two states.

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The history of the conflicts between the two states

Israeli's conflict with the Palestinian Arabs dates back to the end of the nineteenth century. Their conflict arose as a result of the struggle for land. Palestine had taken control of the land in question, from the end of World War I until 1948 (Beinin & Hajjar, 1). According to the Zionist Jews (presently known as Israeli), God had promised the land to Abraham and his descendants, which automatically makes them the owner of the land because they are his descendants. The Palestinians on the other hand, claimed ownership of the land because they had resided the country for a long and therefore had a major demographic representation, until 1948.

Partition of Palestine, by the United Nations

In the period of World War I, Jews had moved to Palestine where they settled. By the beginning of World War II, the population of Jews had grown massively in Palestine and conflict emerged between them and the Arabs. Britain requested the United Nations to come in between and determine the fate of the country. The UN, through a committee of representatives from different countries, made a decision of dividing the country into two (Beinin & Hajjar, 2). This decision would fairly meet the needs of the Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs. The state designated for Jews was slightly larger as compared to that given to the Arabs because the UN assumed there would be an increase in the Jewish population.

Co-existence between citizens of the two states

Between 1948 and 1949, Israelis and Palestinians divided the land in question, as a way of solving their conflicts. The land was divided into three parts, which are the State of Israeli, Gaza Strip and the West Bank. During the time of the division, about 150,000 Palestinians remained in the State of Israel (Persson, 318). Presently, Israel consists of about 1.4 million Palestinians, who have gained Israeli citizenship, including the right to vote. In the years preceding 1967, the Palestinians who reside in Israeli faced discrimination from Arabs, who referred to them as traitors. Currently, the Palestinians living in Israel have learned to uphold their traditions as well as coexist peacefully with the Jews.

Failed Arab-Israeli peace plan

In 2002, the Arabian countries, apart from Libya, came together and initiated a peace initiative, suggested by Saudi Arabia. The initiative aimed at ending the Arab-Israeli war and the inclusion of Israel's recognition. The initiative required Israel to withdraw from the territories it had occupied since 1967 (Persson, 319). This move would end the Palestinian refugee problem. The Arabian initiative and UN resolution needed Israel to allow Palestinians to leave peacefully. However, Sharon snubbed the initiative. In 2006, Benjamin Netanyahu became the prime minister of Israel and he rejected the initiative in 2007. President Barack Obama announced in 2009 that he would include the initiative's plan in his Middle East policy, but he did not keep his word.

Economic Cooperation

The GDP per capita and employment rate in Israel is higher than that of Palestine. Palestine gets its main economic income from Palestinians who work in Israel and other states. Israelis and Palestinians have joint economic cooperation, which started in 2008 (Beinin & Hajjar, 9). The cooperation has experienced growth within the past years, and Palestine has benefited greatly. Cisco Systems initiated an effort to improve the Palestinian IT sector through capacity building, private equity, and direct outsourcing to the companies in Palestine. The company's major investment attracted other established international investors like Microsoft and Google. The IT sector in Palestine grew as well as the GDP.

Relations between the water resources

Israel took over the West Bank and had control over the usage of water in the region. Israel was considered the most powerful and was, therefore, able to win the 1967 war. No one could dig a well without Israeli's permission. Israeli granted permission to the digging of 23 wells only between 1967 and 2010. Palestinians made efforts of achieving their self-determination. One way of making these efforts was through the Oslo process, in 1993 (Persson, 320). The Oslo I agreement, initiated in 1995, gave rights to the Palestinian Water Authority to allocate and manage water allocated by Israel to Palestine. The Oslo process initiated the Joint Water Committee, as a way of getting both sides to work together. This committee aimed at protecting water supplies of both Palestinians and Israeli, from pollution.

Trade relations

Fights between the two states date back to the early centuries. Many efforts to enhance peace between the two have failed. However, citizens from both states have found a way of coexisting. One such way is through trade. People from Palestine move to Israel to look for goods or markets for their products. The same case is with the Israeli citizens. As much as there is tension between the officials of the two states, trade continues smoothly between their citizens. The trade relation has resulted in some Palestinians migrating to Israel and vice versa.

Intermarriages between Palestinians and Israelites

In the early years, Palestinians remained in Israel as some Jews settled in Palestine. Intermarriage occurred because citizens from both states interacted on the ground level. The intermarriages helped in reducing the hatred between the two states (Persson, 318). Palestine Arabs referred to their fellow Arabs who settled in Israel as traitors. The ancient Arabs and Jews had a great hatred for one another, because of conflict over the land, which was later divided into three parts. In the following years, the great discrimination and hatred reduced, because of intermarriages.

Security coordination between the two states

The Palestinian security forces have ensured minimal relations with those of Israeli. However, both parties joined hand in 2005, to prevent the Islamic and Hamas, because they are their common enemy. This move shows that the two states could come together in such scenarios. However, in 2015, the PLO Central Council requested the president of Palestine to end his cooperation with the Israeli security forces (Persson, 317). Later on in the year, the Israeli security forces attacked the al-Aqsa mosque, and this resulted in the death of seven Israelis and thirty-two Palestinians.

New Era

The growing civilization and globalization have brought about major issues, which do not have a connection with historical relations. The young generation in Palestine and Israel do not have an idea of why the two states keep fighting. These young people deem the fights as primitive because they are baseless. This new era will bring many changes in the two states and might end the constant fights. Young Palestinians and Israelites interact in schools where they learn of more civilized things. This new knowledge will enable them to reason in civilized ways, unlike their ancestors.

Works Cited

Beinin, J & Hajjar, L. Palestine, Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Primer. (2014): 1-16. Retrived from http://merip.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Primer_on_Palestine-IsraelMERIP_February2014final.pdf

Persson, Anders. "Introduction: The Occupation at 50: EU-Israel/Palestine Relations Since 1967." (2018): 317-320.