The Middle East has a high population of Muslims (people who practice the religion Islam). Yet Judaism, Christianity and Islam all emerged in the Middle East! In fact, after World War Two a conflict involving Jews was the MAJOR political event in the Middle East!

History of Religion The Geography of Faith and Its Wars Across History See 5,000 years of religion in 90 seconds !

After WW One – this area had become the British mandate of Palestine.

Conflict Over Palestine (pg. 889) Since Roman times, Jews had dreamed of returning to Palestine, a land which Jews called Israel. During WW One, the Allies made vague promises supporting the idea of setting up “a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. Yet non-Jewish communities already existed in Palestine. Those communities were Arabs. Although most Arabs were Muslim, some were Christian.

Both Jews & Palestinian Arabs claimed a historical right to this land. The Middle East

Jewish migration to Palestine, which began in the late 1800s, increased after WW Two (Holocaust). This created tension between the Jews and Palestinian Arabs. After Jews and Palestinian Arabs wanted individual nations and both felt they had claim to Palestine. In the U.S., the horrors of the Holocaust created strong support for a Jewish homeland.

Britain withdrew in 1948 and the United Nations proposed that the country be partitioned 50/50. The U.N. drew up a plan to separate Palestine into an Arab and a Jewish state. Plan for Palestinian Land Plan for Jewish Land

Arab-Israeli Conflict After the Holocaust, many Jews believed that they should have a homeland of their own. They concentrated on the biblical area of Israel and its capital Jerusalem. Israel includes holy places for the Jewish religion and is surrounded by Muslim countries. The United Nations agreed that the Jewish people of the world should be given land so they could live together in peace. Yet at that time, Palestinian Muslims lived on the land that the United Nations gave to the Jewish people. The Palestinians and neighboring Arabic nations did not accept the creation of Israel.

War broke out when the Jews, certain of U.S. and Soviet support, declared their independence and the creation of Israel in (Remember this was when the superpowers were trying to secure Middle Eastern nations as their new allies.) Arab states launched a military attack on the new nation. Hoping to annihilate the new Jewish state, the armies of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq invaded... thus starting the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. WAR BREAKS OUT!!!

fighting ended, Israelis conquered more territory than the U.N. plan initially stated, and the rest of the territory fell to Egypt and Jordan, rather than forming an independent Palestinian state. The Arab-Israeli War of 1948 uprooted 700,000 Arabs from Palestine. Refugees fled to Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Gaza strip. The UN set up temporary shelters for the Palestinian refugees which have since become permanent homes. Generations of Palestinian refugees have grown up determined to win a homeland of their own. The Birth of Israel (pg. 889)

The Refugee Issue (pg. 890)

Arab-Israeli Conflict After the 1948 war, Israel & its Arab neighbors fought again in: (The Six-Day War) 1973 In these conflicts, Israel defeated Arab attacks and gained territory. In between the wars, Israel faced guerrilla warfare and terrorist activity. Despite the long conflict, the UN, the United States, and others kept pushing for peace negotiations.

The Six Day War: June 1967 Equipped with Soviet tanks and aircraft, the Arabs felt ready by early 1967 to confront Israel. There was a lot of talk and threats exchanged between the Arab states and Israel. In June 1967, Israel attacked Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria. In 6 days (hence the name of the war) the war was over and Israel won. The price for peace was the annexation [takeover] by Israel of: Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, Golan Heights from Syria, and the West Bank from Jordan. Israel also occupied Jerusalem, which formerly was divided between Israel and Jordan. Jerusalem is considered holy to Jewish people and this is where their most important religious and historical sites are located. The newly obtained lands were a huge success for Israelis, but they had one problem – the population living there was predominately Palestinian!

The Yom Kippur War A fourth Arab-Israeli conflict erupted in October of The new leader of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, plotted a joint Arab attack on Israel during one of the most important Jewish holidays – Yom Kippur. This time the Israelis were caught by surprise as Arab forces killed many Israelis and recaptured some of the territories lost by Arab states in However, with massive U.S. help, the Israelis succeeded in launching a counterattack and recovered most of the lost territory. Both sides agreed to an uneasy truce after several weeks of fighting. The next armed conflict erupted in 1980 when Israel decided to invade Lebanon to kick out Palestinians who formed an organization called the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). This war ended with partial success for Israel. It was a semi- victory because the PLO forces were defeated but not destroyed.

Palestinian Resistance After the 1948 war, the number of Palestinians in refugee campus grew. Many supported the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), headed by Yasir Arafat. The stated goal of the PLO was the destruction of Israel, which the PLO claimed had not right to exist on the land they called Palestine. In 1988, the PLO declared the independence of Palestine (the West Bank and Gaza) Conflict still continues!

Palestinian View Palestinians feel that they are not a free people because Israeli soldiers stop them at checkpoints between cities. Many Palestinians, therefore, must get Israeli approval each day to go to work, return home, go to the hospital, get groceries, or visit their own families. After a terrorist attack, soldiers sometimes refuse to let Palestinians through the checkpoints to get to work or other essential places, infuriating Palestinians even more. Further, Israelis control much of the Palestinian water supply and give Palestinians less access to water than they need. Palestinians feel humiliated and abused by the Israelis. Another issue causing Palestinians great anger is that Israelis have continued to build settlements in Palestinian territory, illegally converting even more Palestinian territory into Israeli territory. Palestinians see the settlements as a sign that Israelis do not want peace.

Israeli View Israelis view Palestinian militants as terrorists who will not compromise to gain peace. Palestinian extremists have, in fact, engaged in terrorist acts against Israeli civilians when peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians seemed (to the Israelis) to be moving forward fairly. Because Palestinian terrorists attacked at key times, moderate Israeli leaders have been replaced by more extreme Israeli leaders who do not want to compromise. Israeli leaders do not trust Palestinian leaders to negotiate peace. Israelis do not feel safe enough to reduce their control of Palestinian territories. In more recent years, the Palestinians elected a Hamas government. Hamas is a "terrorist organization" according to the U.S. government, Israel, and many other nations. Hamas is on record that it wants to destroy Israel. The Israeli government does not consider Israel safe with Hamas ruling the Palestinians.

Israel After the 1948 war, Israel and its Arab neighbors fought again in 1956, 1967 and They have fought each other in 4 wars! Israel won wars in: 1956 against Egypt 1967 against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan (Six-Day War) secured much of the territory around Israel

Six Days War about 800 Israelis and 21,000 Arabs from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria were killed in the Six-Day War. the 1967 war between Israel and its Arab neighbors lasted less than a week – but its repercussions are still felt today!

Camp David Accords Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty with U.S. Pres. Jimmy Carter mediating the Camp David Accords. Israel would return the Sinai to Egypt in exchange for recognition.

Intifada-Palestinian Resistance Palestinians living in refugee camps supported the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) headed by Yasir Arafat. The PLO’s stated goal was the destruction of Israel. For years, the PLO waged guerrilla [groups of rebels] warfare against Israelis at home and abroad. In the late 1980’s and again starting in 2000, large numbers of young Palestinians mounted intifadas, or uprisings, against Israeli occupation. Demanding a Palestinian homeland of their own, they disobeyed curfew laws and stoned Israeli troops. Palestinian gunmen fired on Israeli occupying forces trying to push them off their land. The Israeli army responded with force. Thousands of Palestinians were injured or killed in bloody street fights. Israeli troops sealed off Palestinian towns and villages, crippling the already fragile Palestinian economy and intensifying Palestinian bitterness.

Palestinian View Palestinians feel that they are not a free people because Israeli soldiers stop them at checkpoints between cities. Many Palestinians must get Israeli approval each day to go to work, return home, go to the hospital, get groceries, or visit their own families. After a terrorist attack, soldiers sometimes refuse to let Palestinians through the checkpoints to get to work or other essential places Israelis control much of the Palestinian water supply and give Palestinians less access to water than they need. Israelis have continued to build settlements in Palestinian territory, illegally converting even more Palestinian territory into Israeli territory.

Israeli View Israelis view Palestinian militants as terrorists who will not compromise to gain peace. Palestinian extremists have engaged in terrorist acts against Israeli civilians when peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians seemed (to the Israelis) to be moving forward fairly. Israeli leaders do not trust Palestinian leaders to negotiate peace. Israelis do not feel safe enough to reduce their control of Palestinian territories. In more recent years, the Palestinians elected a Hamas government. Hamas is a "terrorist organization" according to the U.S. government, Israel, and many other nations. Hamas is on record that it wants to destroy Israel. The Israeli government does not consider Israel safe with Hamas ruling the Palestinians.

The Seam Line Project Because Israel is a country without established borders, they began construction of the Seam Line Project in June This is a massive security fence in the northern West Bank and around parts of Jerusalem intended to separate Israelis and Palestinians. This wall is called the Seam Line Project to suggest stitching that connects – rather than separates – two pieces of a whole. The 200 mile long concrete and barbed wire fence prevents farmers from reaching their farmland and residents from reaching their water sources. Israel argues that the barrier is justified by security concerns such as preventing suicide bombers from entering Israeli territory.

The Seam Line Project

Palestine After 1967, the refugees would form Palestinian Liberation Organizations (PLO) In 1988, the PLO declared the independence of Palestine (the West Bank and Gaza) Conflict still continues!