One of the major wars which greatly impacted on the history of Israel is the Six Day War fought between the 5th and 10th, of 1967. As examined in this journal, it involved Israel and its Arab neighbors including Syria, Egypt and Jordan. Although Israel emerged victorious, the region has never known peace since then. There has been a very big conflict especially between Syria and Israel. Although deliberate efforts have been made by the international community to negotiate peace, not much has been accomplished since each of the wrangling parties have different and divergent stance (Gerner, D.J., 2004).
I would like to agree with this scholar for producing a very resourceful article. It is quite exhaustive on the major issues surrounding the antagonism between these states. First, it begins by analyzing the historical background of the whole issues. Secondly, he proceeds with the major causes of the conflict before analyzing the resolution efforts by the United Nations and other interested world major powers such as the United States of America (USA) and Britain. The author is precise in his explanations because he gives all the necessary information which should be known about this contentious region (Stein, J.G., 2001). It has become an interesting region which gives the contemporary society a lot of problems.
The paper reports that the conflict between Syria and Israel has been caused by the decision of Israel to assume ownership of Jerusalem, West Bank and Golan Heights. However, this was done despite the fact tat East Jerusalem and Golan Heights should be in Palestine and Syria respectively. It is the occupancy of the above regions which has become the major cause of the conflict. However, as the paper discusses, each of the involved countries is reluctant to reach a cease fire because of the historical and religious significance of these towns.
The geographical conflict has been attributed to limited resources in the region. A part from the land issue, it is notable to link it to the struggle for water between Israel and Palestine (Ian, B., 2002). Although much of the water used in the region comes from the centrally located Lake Kinneret, Israel has been accused for being the largest consumer. At the same time, it has interfered with the water supply to other regions. As a result, it has become extremely difficult for the Syrians to get adequate supply of this precious commodity to use both for domestic and agricultural purposes.
The other cause for this conflict is the Israeli laws which have made it hard for the Syrians to comfortably and peacefully live in the disputed regions. Since they were occupied by Israel, it has not been easy for the Syrians to gain citizenship and have authority to construct residential buildings. Deliberate efforts have been made to thwart their permanence residency because the Israeli government has hiked permit fees and imposed a lot of regulations which no one is willing to comply with. Meaning, although Syrians are the historical owners of the land, can not have an easy access to property building in this region. However, this has been a politically motivated position because it is exclusively targeting people from one sector (Bailey, S., 2000).
The paper reports that a lot of efforts have been put to resolve the conflict. As already highlighted, it has attracted the international organizations and foreign countries which are interested in seeing a peaceful community in this region. To begin with, there has been a lot of intervention from the United Nations Organization (UNO). A part from offering humanitarian support, it has deployed its well organized United Nations Disengagement Force (UNDOF) to keep peace and restore order in the region. They have, on several occasions, advocated for a ceasefire to ensure that the wrangling parties resolve their disputes amicably. At the same time, there has been enormous support from USA and Britain. For instance, several successive US governments have done much by providing military troops in the region to keep peace and order (Miller, B., 2007). Moreover, the Obama administration has taken the initiative to see that the dispute is ultimately resolved. This as evidenced when the immediate former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the region and advocated for an immediate ceasefire.
Conclusively, I would like to point out that this is a well researched article. It can be a very resourceful reading for anyone willing to acquaint himself with the history of the Middle East. A part from exploring the actual situation in the region, it goes ahead to analyze the historical developments which provided both the long and short term causes for the perpetual Israeli-Syrian conflict. However, I would like to recommend that the only way through which peace can be restored in this region is through dialogue. While Israel should be urged to withdraw its military from the disputed regions and review its citizenship requirements, the Syrians should be urged to accept to freely negotiate without giving tough conditions. This can ensure that they come together and deliberate over their issues without any unnecessary coercion from any external force.
References
Bailey, S. (2000). Four Arab-Israeli Wars and the Peace Process. London: The MacMillan
Press.
Gerner, D.J. (2004). One Land, Two Peoples. Westview Press.
Ian, B. (2002). Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services. Grove Press.
Miller, B. (2007). States, Nations, and the Great Powers: The Sources of Regional War and
Peace. Cambridge University Press.
Stein, J.G. (2001). The Arab-Israeli War of 1967: Inadvertent War through Miscalculated Escalation, in Avoiding War: Problems of Crisis Management, Alexander L. George, Ed.
Boulder: Westview Press.
