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Arab–Israeli conflict

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Israel (in blue color) and the Arab League states (in green, Comoros is not shown). Some members of the Arab League have never been militarily involved in the conflict.

The Arab-Israeli conflict is a long-running conflict in the Middle East concerning Zionist and subsequent immigration of non-local Jews, joining the existing Jewish population in the British Mandate of Palestine, their claim to self-determination in the Land of Israel and, after the establishment of the State of Israel, the country's relations with the Arab states and the Palestinian population (see Israeli-Palestinian conflict). Some uses of the term Middle East conflict referring to this matter, but the region has been host to other disputes and wars not directly involving Israel (see List of conflicts in the Middle East).

Despite involving a relatively small land area and number of casualties, the conflict has been the focus of worldwide media and diplomatic attention for decades. Some groups consider the Arab-Israeli conflict as a part of (or precursor to) a wider clash of civilizations between the Western World and the Arab or Muslim world. Animosity emanating from this conflict has caused numerous attacks on supporters (or perceived supporters) of one side by supporters of the other side in many countries around the world. Many more people in other countries feel involvement in the conflict, for reasons such as cultural and religious ties with Islam and/or Arab culture, Christianity, Judaism, or for ideological, human rights, or strategic reasons; these include countries such as the Russian Federation and the former Soviet Union, the European Union, Iran and the United States.

See also: History of the Middle East
Israel's existence as a Jewish state; the future of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights; and the viability of a Palestinian state are at the center of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

History

Main article: History of the Arab-Israeli conflict

The Arab-Israeli conflict is a modern phenomenon, which dates back to the end of the 19th century. The conflict became a major international issue after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1917, and in various forms it continues to this day. The conflict spans at least five major wars, a number of "minor conflicts", controversies over Israeli settlements, and refugees. It has also been the source of two major Palestinian intifadas (uprisings) and is cited by al-Qaeda, a largely Arab organization, as one of the reasons for its conflict with the Western world.

Reasons for the conflict

Main article: Views of the Arab-Israeli conflict

The Arab-Israeli conflict is the result of numerous factors. Reasons cited for the conflict therefore vary from participant to participant and observer to observer. A powerful example of this divide can be found in opinion surveys of Palestinians and Israelis. In a March, 2005 poll 63% of the Israelis blamed the failure of the Oslo Peace Process on Palestinian violence, but only 5% of the Palestinians agreed. 54% of Palestinians put the blame on continuing Israeli settlement activity, but only 20% of the Israelis agreed . It is therefore difficult to develop a single, objective reason for the conflict, so this article will present some of the arguments made by each side, in turn.

Comparative statistics

Comparative statistics Israel and Arab countries, Netherlands as comparable index.
Country, Freedom House rating (2006) Area, 1000s km² Popula-
tion, Millions (2005 est.) 		GDP per capita Infant mor-
tality rate 		Ferti-
lity rate 		HDI Mili-
tary expen-
ditures, $ Billions (FY03) 		Palestinian
refugees (2005) 		Jews in Arab lands
(1948 / 2001)
 Netherlands 41.53 16.32 $24,400 4.37 1.65 0.93 9.41 N/A N/A
 Israel 20.77 7.01 $22,200 7.03 2.57 0.89 9.11 276,000 N/A
West Bank ? 2.80 $1,500 21.78 4.90 N/A N/A 665,000 N/A
Gaza Strip 0.36 1.38 $1,000 25.37 6.42 N/A N/A 923,000 N/A
 Jordan 92.30 5.73 $3,500 20.36 3.29 0.71 1.46 2,540,000 N/A
 Lebanon 10.45 3.83 $5,000 28.35 2.05 0.76 0.54 695,000 5,000
/ 100
 Egypt 1,001.45 77.51 $3,600 60.46 3.07 0.64 2.44 70,000 75,000
/ 100
 Syria 185.18 18.45 $3,100 33.80 3.95 0.70 0.86 584,000 15-30,000
/ 100
 Iraq 437.07 26.08 $2,500 60.05 4.75 N/A N/A N/A 135,000
/ 200
 Yemen 527.97 20.73 $820 68.53 6.97 0.47 0.89 N/A 53,000
/ 200
 Libya 1,759.54 5.77 $8,900 28.99 3.64 0.77 1.30 N/A 35,000
/ 0
 Algeria 2,381.74 32.53 $5,500 40.56 2.72 0.69 2.48 N/A 140,000
/ 0
 Morocco 446.55 32.73 $3,500 48.11 3.05 0.60 2.30 N/A 250,000
/ 5,230
 Kuwait 17.82 2.87 $15,500 11.18 3.20 0.82 2.58 N/A N/A
 Bahrain 0.67 0.69 $13,000 19.18 3.00 0.83 0.63 N/A N/A
 Comoros 2.17 0.60 $710 81.79 5.26 0.51 0.01 N/A N/A
 Djibouti 23.00 0.48 $1,400 99.79 6.00 N/A 0.03 N/A N/A
 Mauritania 1,030.70 3.09 $1,800 75.25 6.00 0.44 0.02 N/A N/A
 Oman 212.46 3.00 $8,200 21.77 6.00 0.75 0.25 N/A N/A
 Qatar 10.36 0.86 $21,200 20.73 3.00 0.80 0.72 N/A N/A
 Somalia 637.66 8.59 $550 122.15 7.00 N/A 0.02 N/A N/A
 United Arab Emirates 83.60 4.30 $21,100 16.12 3.00 0.81 1.60 N/A N/A
 Sudan 2,505.81 40.19 $1,360 67.14 5.00 0.50 0.59 N/A N/A
 Tunisia 163.61 10.08 $6,500 29.04 1.99 0.71 0.36 N/A 50-105,000
/ 1,000
 Saudi Arabia 1,960.60 26.42 $10,500 51.25 6.25 0.75 18.00 240,000 N/A
Notes
  1. Freedom House rating: Free , Partly Free , Not Free .
  2. The UNRWA defines Palestinian refugee as a person "whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948 and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict" and includes their descendants in the male line, as well as persons in need of support who first became refugees as a result of the 1967 conflict. According to the UN Conciliation Commission, the number of Palestinian refugees in 1949 was 711,000 (see also Estimates of the Palestinian Refugee flight of 1948). As of 31 March 2005, there were 4,255,120 Palestinian refugees registered with the UNRWA.
  3. Approximately two-thirds of 758,000—866,000 of the Jews expelled or who fled from Arab lands after 1948 were absorbed and naturalized by the State of Israel.
  4. After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, most of the Jewish population in Arab countries fled, were expelled, were coerced by Arab governments, or voluntarily left their homes because of an increasing climate of hostility, with nearly 66% absorbed by Israel (within 1949 armistice lines).
  5. Internally Displaced Persons: "Arab villagers displaced from homes in northern Israel" .
  6. Kuwait expelled most of its 400,000 Palestinian refugees after the 1991 Gulf War.
  7. 2003 est.
Sources
  • CIA World Factbook
  • Freedom House
  • UNRWA ,
  • Human Development Index - available statistics in 2002
  • Avneri, Arieh (1984). Claim of Dispossession: Jewish Land-Settlement and the Arabs, 1878-1948. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0878559647 (p. 276)
  • Stearns, Peter N. (2001). The Encyclopedia of World History. Houghton Mifflin Books. ISBN 0395652375 (p. 966)

See also

References

  • Bregman, Ahron Elusive Peace: How the Holy Land Defeated America.
  • Bregman, Ahron Israel's Wars: A History since 1947.
  • Cramer, Richard Ben How Israel Lost: The Four Questions, Simon and Schuster, May, 2004, hardcover, 288 pages, ISBN 0743250281
  • Gold, Dore, Tower Of Babble: How The United Nations Has Fueled Global Chaos, Random House (November, 2004), hardcover, 304 pages, ISBN 1400054753
  • Hamidullah, M. (1986), "Relations of Muslims with non-Muslims," Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, vol. 7, no. 1, January 1986
  • Khouri, Fred (1985). The Arab-Israeli Dilemma (3rd edition). Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0815623402.
  • Lewis, Bernard. "The Jews of Islam," Princeton University Press, 1984, ISBN 0691008078
  • Morris, B. (2001), Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001, 1st ed. 1999; 2nd ed. Vintage Books, 2001, ISBN 0679744754

External links

General Sources

Government and Official Sources

Regional Media

Israeli

Arab

Arab: Translations into English and other languages

Think Tanks and Strategic Analysis

Peace Proposals

See main article: List of Middle East peace proposals

Maps

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