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Adapted from
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:A Lesson in Perspective
Created by: MaryLynne Fillmon
and
A Historical Perspective on the
Arab-Israeli Conflict and Peace ProcessThe Institute for Curriculum Services: National Resource Center for Accurate
Jewish Content in Schools
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Historical Background
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Zionist: Supporter of a homeland for the Jews in the
area of Palestine. Movement began late 1800s.
Many Jews began to immigrate to Palestine in the late
1800s. Pre-WWI: Area of Palestine under Ottoman Empire
After WWI: Area of Palestine under control of British
(British Mandate) until it became independent Balfour Declaration: 1917: Britain supports idea of a
Jewish homeland w/ rights of non-Jews protected
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Historical Background
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Israelis Palestinians
Ancestors lived in area
nearly 2000 years ago
Jerusalem home to
most important Jewish
siteWestern Wall
Ancestors have been
living in area nearly
2000 years
Jerusalem home to 3rd
most important Muslim
site-Dome of the
Rock/Al-Aqsa Mosque
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UN Plan for Palestine (1947) Partition (separate) the area into 2 countries
Israel (Jewish State) and Palestine (Arab State) 55% of land goes to the Jews
45% of land goes to the Arabs
Total Population: 1.8 million
1.2 million Arabs living in area 600,00 Jews living in area
Jerusalem:international city controlled by UN
Accepted by Jews
Rejected by Arabs
No Arab on committee
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1948 War May 14,1948: Israel is officially formed
May 15, 1948: Israel attacked by six Arab nations Approx. 750,000 Palestinians fled or were forced to
leave
Over approx. 800,000 Jews in Arab countries also fledor were forced to leave for Israel
Israel After War: Jordan controls West Bank and Egypt
controls Gaza Strip
Israel takes much of Palestine and West Jerusalem
East Jerusalem, including many religious sites taken by
Jordan, who denied Israelis access
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Perspectives on Partition
and 1948 WarIsraelis Palestinians
Creates state of Israel
War of Independence
Holocaust and other periods
of violence against Jews
throughout the past centuries
might not have happened ifthere was a Jewish
Homeland
They had no input
Nabka: Catastrophe
Land set aside for Palestinians
now under control of Arab
countries or Israel
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1956 Suez Canal Crisis
Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal in 1956 andclosed the Straits of Tiran to Israel, which
blocked Israeli access to the Red Sea.
Israel attacks Egypt with later reinforcementsfrom France and the United Kingdom
Ceasefire agreement and withdrawal of Israeli
troops United Nations Peacekeepers sent to maintain
peace in the area
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1967 War Israel believes neighbors are preparing for war
Egypt requests withdrawal of UN in May 1967 and deniesIsrael access to the Red Sea by closing Straits of Tiran
Jordan and Egypt sign mutual defense agreement
Continued terrorist attacks from Syrias Golan Heights region
Israeli surprise attack against Egypt on June 5, 1967
Also attacks Syria, Jordan
Within six days Israel defeats Egypt, Syria, Jordan
Takes control of West Bank and East Jerusalem (fromJordan)
Control of Sinai and the Gaza Strip (from Egypt)
Control of Golan Heights (from Syria)
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Perspectives on and Aftermath of 1967
War
Israelis PalestiniansLand gained is a buffer zone to
deter future attacks
Begin to build settlements in
West Bank, Gaza Strip andGolan Heights
Unified Jerusalem under Israeli
control
West Bank and Gaza Strip
become known as Occupied
Territories
Some will accept Israel at pre-
1967 War borders
Palestinian Liberation
Organization (PLO) later beginsto use terrorism to attract
attention to its cause of an
independent state.
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The Yom Kippur War, 1973
On Yom Kippur in 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel,
but Israel pushed back the attack For many Israelis, the war reinforced the need for buffer
zones gained in 1967
After the war, Israel retained the territories captured in1967 (West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights) but gave back
land gained in the 1973 war
Eventually, in 1979, Egypt became the first Arab country
to recognize Israel and entered into a peace treaty
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The Camp David Accords
1977: Egypt (led by Anwar Sadat) engagesIsrael in peace efforts
1978: Camp David Accords
U.S. President Carter invites Sadat and IsraeliPrime Minister Begin to Camp David
Egypt recognizes Israel as a country
Israel gives Sinai peninsula back to Egypt
First agreement between Israel and an Arab
nation
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Perspectives on Camp David Accords
Israelis Palestinians
Shows that the country is
willing to trade land it has
conquered for peace
Egypt recognizes that
Israel is a country and exists
Sadat assassinated in 1981by Muslim extremists
Jordan signs peace
agreement with Israel in1994.
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The Intifada
Palestinian uprising orIntifada against Israeli
occupation, living conditions, and to demand
independence that begins in 1987.
Includes Palestinian demonstrations, strikes,
boycotts, rock throwing and gasoline bombs.
Israeli military response
Over approx. 400 Israelis killed
Over approx. 1500 Palestinians killed, some a
result of Palestinian in-fighting
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Oslo Accords, 1993 In the 1990s several advances towards peace were
made with several meetings taking place in places suchas Egypt, Spain, the United States, and Norway.
1993 Oslo Accords: Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat and
Israels Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin met to begin to work
out a peace deal that included each side recognizing the rightof the other to exist.
Arafat and Rabin received the Nobel Peace Prize for their
efforts
In 1994, Israel and Jordan signed a peace agreement
Rabin assassinated by Jewish extremist in November of
1995
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The Camp David Summit
In 2000, President Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Barak, and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat met at
Camp David to negotiate a final peace agreement
Prime Minister Barak agreed to pull out from the
majority of the West Bank but President Arafat refused
The two sides were not able to bridge their differences to
reach an agreement
Though the negotiations were conducted secretly, somesay that President Arafat refused to compromise and made
no proposals
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Second Intifada By 2000, peace process has faded.
In 2000, Israeli political figure Ariel Sharon visits
Temple Mount (Western Wall area and Al Aqsa Mosquearea) in Jerusalem
Palestinian violence erupts beginning the Second Intifada
Buses, discos, hotels, fast food restaurants, etc in Israel
blown up by Palestinian suicide bombers
Israel responds militarily
From 2000-June 2008
Over 4500 Palestinians killedOver 1000 Israelis killed
In 2002, Israel begins building a security barrier in the
West Bank, to protect Israelis from terrorists
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Peace Proposals
In 2002, the prince of Saudi Arabia proposed the Arab
Pease Initiative, endorsed by all members of the Arab
league
- it calls for Israel to return to its pre-1967 territories, recognition ofPalestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a solution for Palestinian
refugees
Road Map for Peace is proposed in 2003 by the U.S.,
Russia, EU, and UN
- three phases to attain an independent Palestinian state and secure Israel- has never progressed due to the 2006 Hamas election
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The Gaza Strip
In 2005, Israel removed its settlements from the
Gaza Strip and gave much control of the area to
the Palestinian government (with exceptions
such as the border, airspace, coastline)
Gaza later comes under the control of Hamas, a
group considered by Israel and other countries to
be a terrorist organization.
As of June 2008, Hamas and Israel have enteredinto a cease fire agreement.
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Current State of Affairs With the election of a majority of Hamas to the Palestinian
Authority (PA) legislature in 2006, and their platform calling for thedestruction of Israel, violence and tension erupted once again.
Hamas is internationally recognized as a terrorist organization; thus
many countries have imposed sanctions and suspended aid to the PA.
The rise of the radical organization Hezbollah has further increasedviolence and instigated the 2006 Lebanon War.
After Hamas attacked PLO Fatah members, the PA president
dissolved Hamas. Now, Hamas controls Gaza and the PA controls
the West Bank. Suicide bombingsthrough the use of human shields(including women and children) continues to kill Israelis.
President Obama continues to try to facilitate negotiations between
Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
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Current Issue :
Is Resolution Possible?
Palestinian and Israeli leaders backed by US and othercountries are working towards the existence of Israel and
of Palestine. But the following issues remain:
Jerusalem
Settlements
Security (including barriers, terrorism,
checkpoints)
Refugees and Right of Return
Two States or One/Borders
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Challenges to Resolution
Issue Israelis Palestinians
Jerusalem See united Jerusalem as its capitol See East Jerusalem as its capitol
Settlements For religious, political, and security reasons a largenumber of Israeli settlements exist in the West Bank and
East Jerusalem.
270,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank
Israeli settlements go against the idea of a futurePalestinian state.
Security
Barriers,
Movement,
and Terrorism
Israel is building a barrier between it and the West Bank.
Israel sees this as a way to prevent further suicide
bombings.
Palestinians need permission to leave West Bank. Israelissee this as needed security to prevent terrorism.
Terrorist organizations like Hamas (which controls the
Gaza Strip) and Hezbollah (based in Lebanon and who
was at war with Israel in the summer of 2006) continue to
fire rockets into Israel. Individuals also continue to
commit other acts of terror.
The barrier goes beyond the border between the West Bank
and Israel: the barrier route is 449 miles, while the Green
Linethe border between the West Bank and Israel is
199 miles
The restriction on movement limits jobs, health care,
education, etc. contributing to standard of living in West
Bank being significantly less than that of Israel.
Cant stereotype all Palestinians as terrorists as the
majority are not terrorists.
Palestinian government denounced terrorism.
Refugees &
the Right of
Return
If Palestinians living in Arab nations or in the Occupied
Territories return to Israel to reclaim land, it can mean the
end of Israel as a Jewish state.
As refugees, Palestinians believe they should be able to
return to their or their families land in Israel and receive
reimbursement for expenses incurred as refugees.
Two States or
One/borders
Israelis do not want to give up Jerusalem to Palestinian
Authority. Many Israelis do not recognize Palestinians as
a people separate from Arabs, therefore, they are not
entitled to their own state.
Palestinians should be granted all of the West Bank and
Gaza independently and as a separate state, and that
Israelis settled there should leave.
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Economic Comparative Analysis
Sources:
United Nations 2009 Human Development Index (HDI): http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/
2009 CIA World Fact Book: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
Statistic Israel West Bank Gaza Strip 1
GDP $194 billion $12.79 billion2 See West Bank figures
Per Capita $28,400 $2,900 See West Bank figures
Annual Budget (expenditures)
Annual Budget (revenue)
$58.6 billion
$45 billion
$30.8 billion
$1.63 billion
See West Bank figures
Human Development Index3 27 out of 182 110 out of 182 (Palestinian Territories)
Unemployment Rate 7.4% 19% 40%
Population below the Poverty
Line
23.6% 46% 70%
1 The CIA Fact Book lists the West Bank and Gaza Strip settlements separately as part of the Palestine Authority due to PA and Hamas control. The
Fact Book does not report independent GDP, Per Capita, and Annual Budget figures for the Gaza Strip.
2 The West Bank experienced a revival in its economy in 2009 due to a lifting of some restrictions by the Israeli government and an increase in aid
donations.
3 The HDIhuman development index is a summary composite index that measures a country's average achievements in three basic aspects of
human development: health, knowledge, and a decent standard of living. Health is measured by life expectancy at birth; knowledge is measured by a
combination of the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrolment ratio; and standard of living by GDP per
capita (PPP US$).
http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/7/27/2019 Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Historical Background
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2010 World Bank GDP
Israel & Palestine Territories
World Bank Indicators: http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDI
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http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDI7/27/2019 Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Historical Background
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Works Cited
MaryLynne Fillmon, The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Lesson in Perspective: 2008.
http://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppt
United Nations 2009 Human Development Index (HDI): http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/
2009 CIA World Fact Book: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
World Bank Indicators: http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDI
A Historical Perspective on the Arab-Israeli Conflict and Peace Process: A Curriculum for Modern World History
Teachers. Institute for Curriculum Services, www.icsresources.org.
http://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators?cid=GPD_WDIhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/http://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.ppthttp://www.cmes.arizona.edu/outreach/files/Sec.%20Lesson%20-%20%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20-%20Perspective/The%20Israeli-Palestinian%20Conflict%20A%20Lesson%20in%20Perspective.pptTop Related