The journey between Arab and Israeli has been an eventful one and it will forever remain to be the burning issue at least for generations. Despite intermarriages and cohabitations between them, the two races have never read from the same script. The ongoing conflict between the Arabs and Israelis has deteriorated situation completely. The conflict can have its roots traced back to the late 19th century. By this particular time, national movements were witnessed, some of which included the Arab Nationalism and Zionism. In 1897, a political party known as the Jewish National Movement or Zionism was established. The movement was aimed at responding to anti Semitism in Europe particularly the Russians. The movement was intended to establish a Nation-State for the Jews. As a result, the movement gave birth to an unending conflict between the Jews and Arabs. In this paper, I being the chief advisor of Israel will try to put across some useful recommendations that will help solve the puzzle of the Arab-Israel conflict and the report will be submitted to the prime minister. The report is therefore meant to quell the ongoing conflict between the Arabs and the Israelis and restore the long gone peace between Arabs and Jews.
After the establishment of Zionism movements, the Jewish National Fund and the World Zionist Organization financed the purchase of Palestine land under the rule of Ottoman Bismarck. The move saw Israelis forming their own state. For decades and after 1948, most of Arab Nations refused to recognize Israel as a nation. In 1964, the political movement known as the Palestine Liberation Movement (PLO) was founded purposely to formalize and send the message to Israel that the Palestine homeland was indivisible. Israel refused to acknowledge Palestine Liberation Organization as one of the negotiating partners. In 1967, war broke out between Israel and Arab countries. The war favored Israel and as a result, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were captured by Israel. The holy cities and sites were also annexed by Israel. As a result, the move triggered the conflict between Arab and Israel. For more information, read Senker especially the 1st four chapters.
Israel has a significant history ever since the creation of the world and, it is referred to by Christians as the blessed nation. Israel is regarded as the very embodiment of the continuity of the Jewish legacy. Israel is the only nation in the history of the world that has inhabited the same land, bore the same name, spoken the same language and most importantly, worshiped the same God since the creation of the world. Israel officially became a nation about one thousand three hundred years BCE, 2000 years before the emergency and rise of Islam. The modern day Israelis share the same language and culture that was nurtured and shaped by the Jewish religion. The same has passed through generations from their founding father Abraham up to the modern day Israel. Jerusalem is the capital of the Jews and for over 3300 years now, it has never served as the capital of any Muslim or Arab entity. Read Worth, page 1- 34.
Since political wrangles had taken control of activities, the Palestinians wanted the Jews out of the picture so that they could take control of what they termed as their land. Several strategies applied for the sake of the cohabitation of both parties failed. The partition plan by the United Nations (UN) in 1947 was met by a hostile reception from the Arab countries. As a result, the leadership of Arab all over Israel and the countries that neighbors Israel organized (a Jihad holy war) against Israel and instructed all the Arabs who lived in Israel to vacate and return after the land of Jews would be purged. Majority of Arabs left departed with intentions of never seeing any Israeli soldier again. From1940-1950, the Jews fled from Arab countries so as to avoid pogroms persecutions by Israelis. Approximately 1,000,000 Jewish refugees had fled from Arab countries. At the same time, approximately 343,000 Arab refugees had fled from Israel. Despite the fact that Israel is a tiny country, Jewish refugees who had fled from Arab countries quickly integrated into the current Israel society.
The Arab refugee problem came as a result of Israel attack by 7 Arab countries in 1948. It was so absurd that Arab refugees were deliberately not integrated into the land of their Arab brothers. The fact is that even though the Jewish refugees from Arab land were easily integrated, the total amount of land that belonged to the Arab world was 700 times larger than that of Israel. Out of a hundred million refugees since the Second World War, they remain to be the only refugee group that has been rejected from joining their own land. Critics have argued that the money spent by Arab countries on buying valuable ornaments could be sufficient to build houses for the so called refugees. Arab countries have never cared for their brothers and sisters in the camp but instead, they spend their big monies and rich resources buying precious ornaments and developing terror groups. After three generations since 1948, those Arab refugees are still called the “Refugees” and they only depend on the “United Nation’s Refugee Funds”.
However, one can argue that there can’t be any solution to this conflict but I believe that there must be an amicable and durable solution that is equitable to solve the conflict between the Arab and Israeli. Such a solution can only be successfully implemented and through unusual process of negotiations. The only potential obstacle is that the both the Arabs in general and the Israelis still consider the struggle that exists between them, as a conflict that is existential over the political and physical identities. The United States Diplomacy must realize soonest that in order to bring the Arab-Israeli conflict to an end, it has an obligation as the world superpower and it must also realize that the so called Arab-Israeli conflict is a generational proposition. The fundamental asymmetrical beef between the Arab and Israeli weakens the prospect of implementing the Oslo peace process. To my understanding, President Abbas hopes to finish Oslo peace process but he seems to be suffering from lack of legitimacy. America should enhance her authoritative powers and facilitate over the peace deal. All the concerned parties must put other issues aside and get back to the discussion table. As the philosophers say, when diplomacy fails, you apply violence, but when violence fails, you go back to diplomacy.
Firstly Mr. President, I believe that there is a durable and equitable solution to all problems and therefore, Arab-Israeli Conflict is not an exception. I decide to use the terms equitable and durable carefully since I strongly believe Mr. President that there is no accurate or perfect justice under the sun and there never was. Although my theory is not necessarily applicable to all forms of conflicts, the single line that require to be emblazoned concerning the portal of all negotiating rooms worldwide, is that conflicts are amicably resolved when both parties understand and acknowledge that there is an issue at hand. Therefore my intention is to get both parties on board as soon as possible and get the negotiations underway.
Secondly, the only way through which the Arab-Israeli conflict can be resolved amicably is through the implementation of the flawed process. I beg to call it that way because all the agreements reached in negotiation tables are based on human weakness and frailty, under the influence of domesticated politics and therefore requiring difficult decisions, especially when the conflicts and the parties responsible for waging them, believe that they are both naturally existential. This is the precise perceptions of both the Arab and Israelis. Finally, I strongly accentuate the fact that the United States of America has a significant role to play in this struggling process. My understanding is very clear and I believe that in all existential conflicts, there are no great powers that are distant to regions that are capable of imposing or willing a solution. Mr. President, the Middle East is littered with leftovers of super powers who believe that they can forcefully impose their will on minor nations. The United States of America should cease acting that role if something is to be achieved. Most importantly, I believe that America has played well her role by carrying out effective diplomacies, and is capable of repeating it again only when some primary assumptions and concepts are taken into account Read Ross, the first twenty five pages.
A Generational View
In any negotiation proceedings, the most critical variable time factor. A negotiator who misjudges the element of time as a variable is doomed to failure. Arguably, that was one of the gravest mistakes that were committed by the Clinton Administration. According to diplomats, any policy is viewed from the presidential administration point of view. However, I believe that there is another crucial view and that is a generational view. The Arab-Israeli conflict has graduated to a generational preposition. The facts are open in the table the same conflict has been evolving in phases as time goes by, therefore, changing slowly with generations. (Bickerton et al, pgs 23-78)
When Washington is dealing with this matter, there seem to be another conflict especially when it reaches a point where decisions have to be made. In some of the matters where America show a lot of relent is when dealing with democratization, Iraq and finally, when dealing with war against terror. America has been blamed for her partisan decisions and therefore I suggest that it must sober up and engage into a transparent and realistic assessment of events and time read Oren Chapter one to four.
Asymmetry of power
For most believers, the so called Oslo peace was essentially regarded to as a religion. The process frequently blinded most of its devotees to some imperfections and flaws. The Oslo process blinded its proponents including myself. Presently the so called “Oslo peace process” has evolved from a religion for proponents into business oriented propositions for the pragmatics. The Oslo Peace process has not brought any peace. As a matter of fact, the number of Israelis that have been killed by Arabs through various forms including terror bombings has been escalating right after the signing of the so called peace accord. In fact, the numbers have rapidly grown and exceeded the ones before the signing of the accord.
Another hiccup is that all aspects of the accord have been violated by one Arabs. Most recently, armed violence by Arafat’s army have confirmed the preemptive assumptions that were foretold and predicted immediately after the signing of the Oslo accord. The assumptions by critics were that the accord could do no good to both parties, but escalate the conflict. To my view, the Oslo peace process was, and still is; implementable as long as both parties respect it. There are many examples of international “peace accords” that have been signed and implemented and therefore, the Oslo Process is not an exception. A good example is the one reached by Hitler and Chamberlain in 1938, which Adolf Hitler revoked as Germany had invaded Czechoslovakia in the year 1939. Read Bickerton sixth edition especially chapter three to six.
Permanent Solutions of Ending the Arab-Israeli Conflict Completely
According to Pijpers and Allan, Arabs are known to be violent and hostile. They commit crimes in the name of religion. According to reliable sources, they finance suicide bombings by training young children how they will suicide bomb the Israelis when they grow up. Instead educating children, they teach them military techniques on how to deal with Israel. The largest terrorist groups in the world including the Al Qaeda get their financial supports from their Arab colleagues. Therefore, action must be taken as soon as possible before things get worst.
The Israeli government should be in front to help end the conflict and it should not necessarily wait for the Americans to intervene and help them. Arabs especially the Palestine should be disciplined and the following measures should be taken immediately:
Israel should militarily conquer the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with immediate effect. Action must be taken against Arafat and other Arab countries that sympathize with Palestine. His senior henchmen who misadvise him must be executed, incarcerated or deported without civilian trials.
Israel must make sure that the De Nazification regime of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is implemented. Under the De Nazification programs.
The West bank must be sealed off permanently especially to journalists and the media as a whole.
Any person especially journalists who have at one time expressed approval of terrorism activities carried out by the Arabs must be immediately be stripped off his/her journalism license and certificates. His/her credentials must be retained by the authorities. Foreign journalists who are guilty of the same offence must be stripped off their credentials and then deported immediately.
All the Palestinian neighborhoods where acts of violence take place must have their utilities turned on and they must only be allowed to move freely in other non-violent places of the West Bank and Gaza. They might only be allowed to form their own municipal governments but they shall not be granted permission of entering the pre-1967 Israel.
All the property of the suspected suicide bombers must be forfeited and their adult family members will be either killed or deported.
We the Israelis must adopt some strategies and policies applied by the United States. This means that the Palestinians, who turn in their guns and also wanted terrorists, can be traded for food and money.
Capital condemnations for terrorists must be implemented with immediate effect. Terrorists who fall victim of this act to be buried in significant graves. Israel must try to solve the problem of congestion in parking especially in Hezbollah, Southern Lebanon.
Israel must administer the all the Mosques. Jews must be allowed to pray on the temple mount but not in Mosques. All the Palestinians who come from areas with tranquility especially places where rock throwing is not present will be allowed to pray the Mosque of al-Aqsa. Read Pijpers, et al, chapter 7 and 9.
Conclusion:
The Arab-Israeli conflict has been a significant one. The peace accords signed have not been implemented properly. For instance, the Oslo peace process has been violated with the Palestine themselves in several occasions. The world out there should speak in one voice and impose sanctions against the Arab world. All the supports of terrorism must be identified and brought to book. All the parties that violate international peace accords must be punished through active international bodies like the United Nations and the Arab League. America is the world’s supervisor and should act as one. It should act transparently and without any intimidation from any country (Mahler et al, Page 1- 89)
The Arab world should know that those refugees, who have known only refugee camps to be their only homes for generations, are their own and they must integrate them just as the Israelis did. Arab countries that are rich in oil and other minerals should stop wasting their riches buying valuables like ornaments and instead, come to the rescue of their own people. Arabs should act responsibly and they should correct their people whenever they go wrong. For instance, they should show Palestine the way out diplomatically instead of supporting their violent and terror activities against Israel. Finally, the Palestine should recognize and respect Israel if peace is to prevail because they are at the receiving end in case of any attack. Failures to reach a peace agreement, the Palestinians stand to lose their territories to Israel and it will be impossible for them to recover.
Works Cited
Bickerton, Ian J. and Carla L. Klausner, A Concise History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2010 (6th Edition) Print.
Mahler, W. R. & Mahler, S. G. The Arab-Israeli conflict: an introduction and documentary reader. New York: Routledge, 2009. Print
Oren, Michael B. Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East. New York: Ballantine Books, 2003. Print.
Pijpers, A. & Allen, D. European Foreign Policy-Making and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. United Kingdom: Routledge, Print.
Ross, Dennis. The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004. Print.
Senker, Cath. The Arab-Israeli Conflict. Minnesota: Smart Apple Media, 2005. Print.
Worth, Richard. The Arab-Israeli Conflict. New York: Marshal Cavendish, 2006. Print
