Palestine and Israel Essay -- Middle East War Palestin Israel Essays

Palestine and Israel On the day of January 18th, 2004 Israeli forces rushed through the Gaza strip and attempted a dangerous raid. The effects of the raid left eight Palestinians civilians dead in cold blood. Within twenty-four hours a young Palestinian police officer by the name of Ali Jaara climbed onto a Jerusalem bus and detonated a bomb, killing him and ten Israeli passengers. This is a very sad but common example of the never ending war that takes place not only on the battlefield but now on the streets and in homes of innocents. The war between Palestine and Israel may be able to date back to Biblical times and there seems to be no end in sight for either side. (Winder) The war in the Middle East is a great one. The cause for the fighting between both sides has changed repetitively. One of the earliest problems dates back to the bible. It is said that an angel promised the exiled slave Hagar that her son Ishmael would be the father of a country and his descendants would be hated and against everyone. Ishmael’s descendants did become the Arabs and would be hated by many especially the Jews. But in fact the Jews would face much more persecution and hatred than the Arabs ever did until recent events. From 1250 BCE to 138 CE the Jews fought many wars against the Roman Empire, the Babylonians, and the strength of Alexander the great. Over this time period the Jews were exiled, revolted, and then after a Jewish revolt in 133 CE, Jerusalem was destroyed and all of its inhabitants were exiled, banished, and forced into labor and slavery. (Porat) Thousands of years later in 1897 the first Zionist congress met in Switzerland to make plans for a Jewish state. Their dream was finally realized in 1917 the British Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour agreed to establish a national home for Jews in Palestine. He informed a leading Zionist and this became known as the Balfour Declaration. This was the first action that may have led to the rekindling of the rivalry between Jews and Arabs. After The Declaration over the next 15 years many Jews began to immigrate to British Mandate Palestine. This caused a lot of unrest among the Palestinian Arabs, and caused a strike by the Arab population, this was countered by the Irgun Zvai Leumi who was a Zionist group that attacked not only Arabs but also British targets. The Zionist groups hoped to liberate themselves... ...they affect a lot of people who want nothing to do with the brutality and violence they are forced to face everyday. Some like the Father of the policeman who became a suicide bomber had to face many consequences. With the death of his son his family mourned and was unable to support itself. On top of those problems days after the suicide bombing Israeli forces stormed into his house and destroyed it leaving it lying in mere rubbles and stones. Now his family is forced to live in tents and on the streets to starve with it being no fault of there own. So many chances of peace have been ignored or just completely forgotten, it’s an eternal and never ending war. Works Cited Mallison, William Thomas. The Palestine problem in international law and world order. Essex: Longman, 1986. â€Å"The Origin of the Palestine Israeli Conflict.† THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS. 6 Jan. 2005. Jews for Justice in the Middle East. 6 Jan. 2005 . Porat, Dina. The blue and the yellow stars of David : the Zionist leadership in Palestine and the Holocaust. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990. Winder, Rob. â€Å"My son the suicide bomber.† BBC News Online. 2 Mar. 2004. 6 Jan. 2005