Israeli Palestinian Conflict

Between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River in the Middle East lies the crossroads of three major world religions—the common Holy Land of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Yet a prolonged conflict of bigotry, violence, and terrorism has stained the region for over fifty years, as both Palestinians and Israelis struggle for the same homeland. A definite peace can only be accomplished through a two-state solution: the formation of a new, independent Palestine in the Gaza and West Bank and a separate Israel with the promotion of Jerusalem to the status as an international demilitarized city administered by the United Nations. It is the fairest and most rational resolution since both Israelis and Palestinians hold historic ties to the region, international cities and demilitarized zones already worked in previous situations, and both Israelis and Palestinians would be guaranteed citizenship rights and majorities within their own respective states. A two-state solution is the way for peace.

For there to be just one Israel or just one Palestine encompassing the entire region would be to violate the historic rights of either the Israelis or the Palestinians. Both trace their ancestries back to the region for thousands of years and have deep historical roots to the area. From the Jewish point of view, God promised the land to the Hebrews by the Covenant with Moses around 1800-1400 B.C. and in around 1000 B.C., Jerusalem was rightfully conquered and made the Jewish capital under the Kingdom of David. By the time of the Diaspora, when the Jews were forcefully expelled from the area by the Romans in A.D. 70 and A.D. 135, Jerusalem had been the holy city in Judaism for over a thousand years. The Romans renamed the province “Palaestina,” or Palestine, and over time, during the A.D. 600s, conquering Arabs eventually settled in Palestine and lived there ever since – now over a thousand years as well, though some scattered Jewish communities continued to exist in the northernmost region of Palestine (MidEastWeb). Thus, from the Arab point of view, Palestinians clearly have the right to live in the region. Up until the Balfour Declaration and the massive influx of European foreigners between the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries (as a result of the Nazi genocide of Jews during the Holocaust in Europe), Arabs and Jews managed to live side-by-side in relative peace for hundreds of years despite fundamental religious, linguistic, and cultural differences (ProQuest). According to a recent survey conducted in spring 2009, 74% of Palestinians and 78% of Israeli’s favored a two-state solution (Arab News). Currently, the West Bank and Gaza Strip are populated almost entirely by Arabs, while other areas have significant Jewish populations or majorities. Thus, a two-state partition along similar borders would be the best option to honor the historical claims of both the Palestinians and the Israelis.

A second step in the two-state peace process would be to endorse Jerusalem as an independent, international city of its own (belonging neither to Israel nor Palestine) to make it accessible to both Israelis and Palestinians (and foreigners), demilitarized to guarantee safety, and overseen by the United Nations as a further guarantee of security. Demilitarization and internationality are concepts which have already been applied in previous situations such as the demilitarized buffer zone between North and South Korea and the autonomous Vatican City in the Italian peninsula. While the demilitarized zone keeps the two unreceptive Koreas at a distance from each other for safety measures, the Vatican City, independent from Italy, has territory with internationally recognized boundaries, an organized economy, a government that provides public services and police force, its own sovereignty, and external recognition as an independent state. People also live there and work there on a regular basis (Rosenberg). For Jerusalem, the status as an international city overseen by the United Nations is a plausible option since the city would not have to be divided in an east and west and all parts of the city would be safe for residential Arabs, Jews, or tourists. Everyone would be able to travel or worship in the holy city without fear of violence or terrorism as guns would not be permitted within the area and the United Nations, an international peacekeeping body, would supervise the city.

In the current one-state situation, there is an overwhelming majority of Israelis over Arabs, resulting in subjugation and unequal privileges on the part of the minorities. As of December 2007, 75.4% of the people living within Israel’s borders were Jewish while only 20.3% were Arabs. Though Israel considers itself as both Jewish and democratic, many Israeli Arabs frequently feel themselves as “second-class citizens” due to this uneven distribution. The U.S. state department even recognized that Israeli Arabs face “institutional, legal, and societal discrimination” and by being minorities are “underrepresented in most fields of employment” (BBC NEWS). For instance, many Palestinians have been denied certain citizenship rights for even being remotely associated with terrorist action and are required to carry identification at all times in order to travel or get a job. Entire Palestinian communities have been put under twenty-four hour curfews by the Israeli military (True Life). Moreover, public services in many Israeli-Arab communities are often inferior to those in Jewish areas with incomplete roads and classroom shortages since they receive less than 5% of government development funding each year. Moreover, over half of Palestinian families live in poverty compared to 15% Jewish Israeli families (BBC NEWS). A one-state solution would just result in the domination of minorities and continuing conflict. However, in a two-state solution, both Israelis and Palestinians would be guaranteed citizenship rights and majorities within their own democratic states representative of their own beliefs. As a further guarantee of peace, both Israel and the newly established Palestine would become members of the United Nations so that if there were any disputes between the two in the future, the United Nations would be able to mediate peace talks to avoid the renewal of hostilities. In this way, both states would have national self-determination and overall representation in an international peacekeeping United Nations and be a part of a greater world peace.

For over half a century there has been a long and bitter conflict in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians—a half century too long. It is time for peace, and the fairest resolution is for a two-state solution: a Palestinian state established in West Bank and Gaza and a separate Israel with Jerusalem as an international city of its own like the Vatican, open to both Palestinians and Israelis, demilitarized, and to be overseen by the United Nations. It is the only guarantee of a sustainable peace as it would satiate both Israeli and Palestinian claims to the land, allow equal access to Jerusalem, and guarantee citizenship and freedoms to Israelis and Palestinians in their own states. By such a two-state solution, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s vision of peace may come true: “in this small land of ours, two peoples [can] live freely, side-by-side, in amity and mutual respect…each its own flag, its own national anthem, its own government [where] neither will threaten the security or survival of the other.”

Works Cited

“Brief History of Palestine, Israel and the Israeli Palestinian Conflict.” Middle East: MidEastWeb. MidEastWeb. Web. 09 Apr. 2010. .

“Palestinians, Israelis Favor Two-state Solution: Poll.” Arab News Newspaper. Arab News, 27 Apr. 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2010. .

“Palestinian Territories,” ProQuest PowerPoint, 2007. 09 Apr. 2010. “Q & A: Israeli Arabs.” BBC NEWS. British Broadcasting Company, 23 July 2009. Web. 05 Apr. 2010. .

Rosenberg, Matt. “The Vatican City Is a Country.” About.com. New York Times Company, 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2010. .

True Life: I Live in the Terror Zone. 2002. Videocassette.

“What Are the Solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?” ProCon.org. ProCon.org, 01 Apr. 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2010. .