Palestinian Arabs example essay topic

The issue in Israel is the fight for land between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The main factor that triggers the conflict is what is called 'the occupation'. And it grew out of the Jewish longing for a safe home. Around 400,000 Israeli settlers sit on land occupied by the Israeli military during the six day war in 1967. This small percent of the population have the best of the land and very important water resources. For example in Gaza around 7000 settlers control 20% of the land.

Leaving over a million crowded in the other 80%. The Israelis who believe the biblical land belongs to them have not figured out what to do with the people who already live there. They do not want them to be citizens and live among them, as they want a 'Jewish' Israel. And the Palestinians want the Israelis gone and their own state once again. In protection of their settlements the Israelis have military roadblocks, army bases, border controls, 300 miles of Israeli only by-pass roads (paid by the US). These separate Palestinian territory into many small settlements, where you can barely move from any major Palestinian centre without having to pass through an Israeli checkpoint.

It as now become a struggle between wealth and poverty with the average income in Israel about $17000, but with the Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank, less than 1700. There are now 170 Israeli settlements on Palestinian land with 213,672 settlers. They represent only 10% of the population on the West Bank but use about 37% of the water, leaving 63% to the 1.9 Palestinians. The current unemployment rate for Israelis is 10.2% whereas in Palestine the rate is 60%. And about 62% of the Palestinian Arab workers are in manual labour compared with 19% of Jewish workers. On the West Bank Israeli settlers pay an average of three times less for domestic consumption than Palestinians.

It is these types of social conditions that cause conflict and extremist edges. Jewish people were landless for almost 2000 years after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Remains. They lived around the Mediterranean until the middle ages where they slowly moved north, mainly to Eastern Europe. Because of anti-semitism (Christians seeing them as killers of Christ), they lived isolated and increased the anti-Jewish feeling. By the nineteenth century European attitudes began to change towards the Jews. But once they began to move into modern national states aggressive movements against them began to emerge.

Four million Jews fled to Western Europe and America. It was now that a new movement was made, called Zionism, which promised them a homeland. Under this biblical dream, tens of thousands of Zionist pioneers left where they were and went to Palestine. Most of the people were so absorbed in their Zionist dream they barely realised the fact that there were already people living in Palestine and believed the new homeland was simply bare desert.

However there were half a million Arabs there. Some felt they should go and find another homeland land and others felt they could simply absorb them into their culture. Many Arabs welcomed them at first and helped them on the land, but as more Zionists arrived, pressure on land increased. The Zionist aim of independence cut them off from the Arab societies and this is where it went wrong.

It began a process of self-segregation against which the Arabs were forced to defend for themselves. It was this stage that the British began to move in. it provided a main sea route and was a land route to India, there was also oil supplies in Iraq so they established themselves in Egypt. The end of World War One destroyed the Ottoman Empire, which had been ruling for centuries. The region was divided for Britain and France. In the period between World War One and Two new Arab states were founded and gradually gained their independence. From the 1920's Arabs began to show anger with a declaration stating Palestine the 'national home' for Jews, and allowed the give away of Palestinian land.

Violence began by the Arabs against the Jews and the British funded by other Arab countries but still Jews kept coming. By the end of the Second World War after the Nazis slaughtered six million Jews, many survivors tried to come to Palestine to escape the outside world, but under the pressure from the Arabs the British stopped them. Jewish were now attacking the British and by 1947 there was a United Nations proposition of the parting of the country into an Arab and a Jewish state. But the Palestinian Arabs refused. Jewish attacks on British increased as well did the battles between Arabs and Jews.

The British withdrew and on May 15, 1948 an independent Jewish state was established, Israel. Now a third of the population had taken over two thirds of the land. Armies from five Arab states invaded to help the Palestinians but the Israelis won and a ceasefire was called from the United Nations. By now around 725000 Palestinians fled to the two parts controlled by Palestinians, Gaza strip and West Bank. Another one and a half million Jews came in the next few years and developed the state of Israel. But in the 1950's and 1960's Israel became an important ally for the West, especially the US being on the border of the Soviet Union and being oil-rich.

However the Soviet Union supported the Arab states with arms and economical and political aid. During the six day war in 1967 Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza strip, taking control of about one and a half million Arabs. In 1978 Egypt (the strongest of all Arab states) signed a peace treaty with Israel leaving the Palestinians feeling totally isolated. Today the pressure for land in Israel is more than ever, with the Palestinian population growing.

The refugees began to realise that no one would help them unless they helped themselves. This as well as frustration and poor social conditions has led top the intifada. This has put Israeli army under pressure and it no longer has control over West Bank and Gaza strip.