Israel and Palestine

A History of Unrest The Ottoman Empire, a Muslim government based in Turkey, ruled the area from the 1500’s until 1922

When the Ottoman Empire fell apart after World War 1, Britain and France received land in the Eastern Mediterranean they signed the Sykes-Picot agreement, a secret agreement that divided the Middle East France took took the northern part of the region (Lebanon and Syria) Britain took the southern part (present day Israel and Jordan) The boundaries created didn’t take into account tribal allegiances or enemies

British Control of Palestine Both Jews and Palestinian Arabs consider the land its ancestral home Palestinians are Muslim In the 19th century a movement called Zionism began zionism: a movement to create and support a Jewish homeland in Israel Jewish settlers began buying land and settling in the area

In 1912, about 12% of the population in Palestine was Jewish After WW1, Britain took control of the area and continued to allow Jewish immigration to the area Arabs and Jews in the area got along As more Jews came into the area, Arabs started to resist In 1939, Britain stopped Jewish immigration to Palestine

Creating the State of Israel After WW2, Jewish survivors of the Holocaust wanted to settle in Palestine World opinion supported a nation-state for the Jews

Britain took the issue to the United Nations In 1947, the UN came up with a plan to divide Palestine into 2 states = “two state solution” 1 for Jews and 1 for Arabs neither side was satisfied Arabs wouldn’t accept any Jewish state and were upset that half the land would go to Jews who made up about ⅓ of the population Jews didn’t like that much of the land they received was desert

Creating the State of Israel Jews came to support the plan Arabs still opposed they wanted no Jewish state but a single state under the control of the Palestinian Arab majority “Palestine” came to refer to the state that Arabs hoped to control “Palestinian” came to = Arab

Nation of Israel was established on May 14, 1948 Immediately - the next day - the surrounding countries invaded Israel Jewish troops fought back and by the 1950’s Israel was an established nation There was still no Palestinian state - Egypt and Jordan controlled the land the UN had set aside for Arabs

During the 1948 War, many Palestinians fled to nearby countries Palestinians say they were forced to leave; Israel says they left voluntarily Israel took over the land the Palestinians left and refused to let them return Arabs who remained became citizens and today make up about ⅕ of the population

Continued Warfare Many have settled in refugee camps outside Israel Jordan has the largest number of Palestinian refugees In 1967, Egypt and other Arab nations invaded Israel The Egyptian President stated his goal was to destroy Israel Israel fought back within 6 days won the war = “The Six Day War”

After the Six Day War, Israel took control of much of the land in the area more than 200,000 Palestinian refugees fled to Jordan

In 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, Jews’ holiest day a ceasefire ended the fighting but no formal peace

The Struggle for Peace After the Yom Kippur war, the Egyptian President visited Israel this was the start of Israeli/Egyptian peace talks which led to the Camp David Accords Camp David Accords: a 1978 peace agreement between Egypt and Israel in which Israel returned land taken from Egypt in 1967 and Egypt recognized Israel’s right to exist other Arab countries were furious with the Egyptian President and 3 years later he was assassinated

The West Bank and Gaza strip have been set aside for Palestinians but is under Israeli control

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed in the 1960’s to regain land for Palestinian Arabs the PLO uses military and political methods to take back Arab land in Israel when is was formed, it pledged to destroy Israel 1987: First Intifada = Palestinian uprising that went on for 6 years

In 1993 Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Accords Oslo Accords: a peace agreement between the PLO and Israel the PLO agreed to recognize Israel and Israel granted Palestinian self rule to parts of the West Bank and Gaza

The Palestinian Authority was formed from the Oslo Accords Palestinian Authority: the governing authority for Palestinian self rule Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist group, has been launching terrorist attacks against Israel

In the fall of 2000, the 2nd Intifada started Israel built a wall across the West Bank this isolated Palestinian towns Israel continued to build settlements in West Bank, angering Palestinians

Israel Today The goal is still a two state solution Some issues stand in the way: Persuading Arabs who reject Israel’s existence to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state

2. Israel’s control of land taken in the 1967 war West Bank, Gaza Israel has built communities in Palestinian territory in the West Bank 3. The demand that Palestinian refugees and their families be allowed to return to land is Israel known as the “right of return”

Israel Today 4. Control of Jerusalem from 1949-1967 Jordan controlled East Jerusalem After the 6 Day War, Israel took over all of Jerusalem Israel says Jerusalem should be its capital Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be their capital

Israel considers Jerusalem to be its eternal united capital, while Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of any future state.

Religious Holy Places Temple Mount is a religious site in Jerusalem. Because of its importance for Jews and Muslims it is one of the most contested religious sites in the world. For Muslims, the Temple Mount is known as the Noble Sanctuary

Dome of the Rock Muslims believe the Dome of the Rock is the spot where Muhammad rose into heaven Jews believe it the site where Abraham was preparing to sacrifice his son to God

The Temple Mount The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism and the 3rd holiest site in Islam Muslims control the Temple Mount but Israelis control the entrances and exits Muslims are allowed to pray at the site Jews are allowed to visit but, under Israeli regulations, are not allowed to pray Some Israelis want to change this, but Israeli officials say they are committed to the current arrangement

The Western Wall- the holiest site in Judaism