Case Study
Israelites and Palestinians have been in constant attacks since Biblical times. The two groups have been unable to come up with ways to stop the conflicts permanently. Due to the most recent attack on May 7, 2021, it sounds almost impossible for these attacks to stop. However, these two groups keep on signing agreements and peace treaties after every violence. These fights are primarily motivated by religious differences between these two groups. This paper is focusing on what has been the most significant cause of the conflicts between the two groups and the means which have been used in attempts to end these wars. Instruments of war and peace preservation are also critical considerations for this case study. Lastly, the paper will develop some recommendations of the means and ways that can be used to end these wars. These recommendations also will be based on the findings of the research and critical thinking.
Background of First Thoughts and Ideas
With the Israeli West Bank and Gaza Strip occupying 53 years, the Israeli-Palestinian war is one of the world’s most persistent hostilities. Different efforts were made in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process to end the dispute. With the creation of Israel in 1948, the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began (Brunner and Amrami, 2020). It resulted from the intercommunal violence between Israelis and Arabs in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and stirred up full-scale hostilities during the civil war of 1947-1948 (Brunner and Amrami, 2020). Thus, these wars have been experienced for decades, leading to the deaths of many individuals.
Context and Rationale of the Literature Review and Possible Debates Around this Research Area
Many people have analyzed the conflict between the Israelites and the Palestinians, whereby there is much literature that individuals can utilize. The available works have also focused on arranging these wars in the order of their occurrence. The conflict has its roots in pre-Biblical times. While Palestine has changed over the years, now Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank are Palestine. According to the Associated Press, the history, culture, and nationality of Israel’s Jews and Palestinian Arabs are related to Palestine and the ancient city of Jerusalem, one of the world’s most bitterly disputed cities (Kirk, 2021). Thus, learners can focus on different events associated with these disputes using the available literature. For instance, the conflict between these two groups is triggered by various things. One of the things that lead to occurrences of wars is the fight over the disputed territories (Kirk, 2021). Disputed territories include; Gaza, West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
West Bank
The West Bank’s East of Israel is minor than Delaware. There are approximately 3 million Palestinians, the majority of Muslim Arabs (Kirk, 2021). The West Bank has many Jewish sacred sites visited every year by thousands of pilgrims. Thus, these differences have contributed to the conflicts in the region.
Gaza
Also identified as the Gaza Strip, it is commonly known by many people globally. Gaza is home to about 2 million Palestinians, many of whom were moved to Israel during the War of Independence after they left or were driven out (Kirk, 2021). The area has also been experiencing fights for decades.
East Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a divided, controversial region and famous since it has been discussed in the Bible. After the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, the area was split into 2 (Finkel et al., 2021). The west side of the island was dominated by Israel and the East by Jordan. In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel seized the whole region (Finkel et al., 2021). Jewish colonists have driven the current war in their attempts to drive Palestinian families from East Jerusalem. Although the possession of Jerusalem is controversial, Israeli officials declare it to be Israel’s undivided capital. President Trump relocated in 2017 from Tel Aviv, formally recognizing Jerusalem as the capital, to the U.S. embassy in Israel (Finkel et al., 2021). As the Trump administration was moving on, even the actual city’s boundaries remained the subject of negotiations, and some of the Palestinians in the city may still have a section of their capital.
Palestinians and Israelis live in the city and have profound historical and religious connections there. Jewish-Israelis and the Israeli government are on the Western side of the city. The Western region is not disputed and should stay in peace talks with Israel (Tasseron, 2021). In 1967, Israel occupied the East, including the most important Jewish, Muslim and Catholic sites (Tasseron, 2021). The East is made up of Palestinians who are looking for its capital. Additionally, there are more Israelis, and the region is heavily disputed. Generally, the war is always Palestinians against the Israelites, but those on the ground are the Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Hamas is the Palestinians, while the Israel Defense Forces represent the Israelites.
Hamas
Hamas is a Palestinian activist organization, with rockets launched from Gaza in the fighting in Israeli cities. It was founded in 1987 during the first Palestinian rebellion against Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. Since the 2007 elections, it has controlled Gaza, and it is committed to destroying Israel. It is regarded by the United States, the United Kingdom, and other nations as a terrorist organization.
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces are the Israeli army, navy, and air force combined. It was created in 1948, two weeks after Israel declared independence.
Instruments of War Prevention and Peace Preservation
Use of Peaceful Means of Conflict Resolution
Conflict and collaboration are features of the struggle for power between nations. The national interests of both states cannot be made compatible. This is the characteristic that guarantees the continuity of international cooperation and conflict. Many conflicts in various regions have been solved using peaceful approaches. In most cases, unresolved differences set the stage for a war between the parties to the controversies, including many other countries involved in resolving disputes between the disagreeing states (Khan et al., 2019). The States must decide and use diplomatic means of conflict settlement to prevent or minimize the likelihood of the outbreak of a war frequently arising from unresolved disputes.
The two groups, Israel and Palestinian, have tried peaceful means of conflict resolution, but the disputes are still being experienced. Moreover, some conflicts are reported in different regions almost monthly. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter created and signed Camp David Agreement, a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, and Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin (Cederman and Vogt, 2017). Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed the deal, but in 1987 in Gaza, Israel, and West Bank, Palestinians performed the first of two uprisings, or intifadas, with widespread boycotting, civil disobedience, and Israelis attacks (Cederman and Vogt, 2017). The Intifada lasts for five years and ends in September 1993 (Cederman and Vogt, 2017). According to B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, the Israeli military killed 1,070 Palestinians, including 237 children (Cederman and Vogt, 2017). The United States and the United Nations criticize the use of lethal force by Israel. For instance, in 2000, the Camp David summit, to end hostilities, gathered President Bill Clinton, Israeli Premier Ehoud Barak, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (Cederman and Vogt, 2017). Thus, the use of peace treaties is an essential way of limiting conflicts.
Disarmament and Arms Control
Since military power is a central element of national power, and armaments are a huge part of military power, arms control and disarmament are seen as instruments of peace or as anti-war principles. In the internationally accepted decision, policy, and plan, arms control refers to the regulation and limits of the arms race, particularly the nuclear arms race. Disarmament means that enormous stocks of arms and weapons, which the nation-states have gained until now, are progressively or in one stroke. The Hamas group is never ready for disarmament despite being referred to as a terrorist gang by most superior nations (Khan et al., 2019). They are on a mission to destroy Israel, but Israel’s Defense Forces are far much stronger than Hamas. However, disarmament and arms control can be encouraged as a way of encouraging peace.
International Organizations
Except for the years of the Second World War, the world has lived with a world organization for decades. Since 1945, all members of the international community have been working in the United Nations as a multinational organization (Cederman and Vogt, 2017). The Charter outlines such goals to be secured by its members. It defines certain ways to resolve conflicts peacefully between the Member States. It is a global forum for the peaceful and orderly conduct of international affairs. The United Nations Charter binds nations, and their powers are only expected to be included under the Charter provisions (Michaud et al., 2019). The United Nations Charter considers war to be illicit and invites states to settle conflicts through pacific means (Cederman and Vogt, 2017). It also sets forth an international security and peace collective scheme.
In this conflict, different International organizations have tried to intervene and resolve the issue without bearing any fruits. The organizations always end up reaching agreements that are always considered precarious. The two groups break the agreements easily at even very minor provocation (Hegre et al., 2019). In the most recent attack, the war began after the Israeli police caused chaos in one of the most respected mosques by the Palestinians on their most holy day, the first day of their Ramadhan month. Palestinians considered this a lack of respect by the Israelites towards the Palestinians, and they had no option but to retaliate, which is how the fight started. The conflict has led to the deaths of many innocent people in various regions.
Several well-ordered international agencies and regional organizations that guide, direct, and monitor Member States’ activities in various spheres of operation are also present along with the Multipurpose UN. The modern nation-state is much restricted in power as it is living in this age of growing foreign interdependence, which is characterized by several strong non-state actors. A group established around 1964 in Egypt to unite Arab groups and free the Palestinian territories through armed struggle. Palestine Liberation Organization has also ensured that the conflicts are ended (Silver, 2021). From the Suez Canal dispute comes the six-day war, whereby Egypt commands the United Nations force to withdraw, closes Israel’s Tiran Straits, and prepares a covert assault on Israel.
Diplomacy
Diplomacy has been termed as the best way to promote world peace. As an internationally recognized instrument, the approach can avoid war, limits the reach of conflict, end battle, ensure peace-building after the hostilities, and resolve the dispute through diplomatic negotiations. It is also a worldwide recognized means of foreign relations. In foreign affairs, diplomacy plays a crucial role in uniting states (Galily, 2018). Many countries attempt to settle their differences or reach a consensus on different international issues and problems through diplomatic negotiations. In foreign affairs, it is an instrument of crisis management and can be used fruitfully to secure the goal of enhancing international relations’ peace opportunities against war.
Diplomacy is also another tool of war prevention and peace preservation used in various attempts to bring peace to Israeli-Palestine conflicts. Diplomatic negotiations, just like any other tool of war prevention, have not worked very to these two groups. The peace they bring is just for the short term, where the disputes resume. While the communities are fighting against each other, diplomatic negotiations have been used to stop the current clashes but no guaranteed peace after that (Braithwaite and D’Costa, 2018). These groups are always in agony and angry about every time a war comes to an end, the side that lost the battle and got most killings usually goes back to the drawing board to plan on vengeance. Thus, diplomacy has not been the solution to these conflicts, and more superior means should be developed to bring peace in this area permanently.
Aims and Objectives of the Case Study Essay and Research Questions
Aim
This case study aims to find out and establish an approach that will help maintain peace between Israel and the Palestinians. To achieve this objective, it is essential first to analyze some of the critical things that will help when accomplishing the aim of the case study. Some things that must be analyzed include; the leading causes of these constant conflicts. Some of the critical causes of the war include; religious differences and the struggle to take control of the disputed areas, which are Gaza, East Jerusalem, and West Bank. Also, the other factors that should be considered in attempts of generating a permanent solution are the instruments of war prevention and peace preservations that have already been used to try and stop these conflicts. The already used peace preservation instruments will help in this case study to ensure better ways are implemented. Moreover, the above literature review has discussed most of these considerations.
Objectives
Broader objective: To establish ways that will help maintain peace and prevent conflicts between Israel and Palestinians.
Specific objectives:
- Establishing the root cause of the fights between the two groups, the Israelites and the Palestinians.
- To establish the instruments of war prevention and peace preservations that have already been applied to solve the disagreements between these two groups.
- To establish the leading causes of the recent conflicts.
- To analyze all these objectives and generate new instruments of war prevention and peace preservation that will help maintain peace between these two rivals.
Research Questions
- Why do Israelites and Palestinians keep fighting regardless of the countless efforts from different organizations and superior nations to stop the fights?
- Why are the instruments of war prevention and peace preservation not working in the case of Israel and Palestine, although they work when used in establishing peace elsewhere? Why is this case an exception?
- What are the possible means and ways that can be used and stop occurrences of these fights for once and for good?
- What have been the leading causes of the conflicts between the rivals in the most recent fights?
Research Strategy
An online survey, journals, and books have been of great importance in this case study. An online survey has helped me to acquire adequate information about the history of these two rival groups. Their conflicts have not started soon, and their roots can be traced from pre-Biblical times. The wars have also impacted development in these regions since many investors avoid areas with insecurities (Eustachio et al., 2019). Tourism has been affected since many people are afraid of visiting sites experiencing conflicts (Serrallonga, 2020). Jews are the most wanted people in the world by most terrorist groups and non-Christ groups. Most of the Jews are found in Israel after they migrated from Europe after their existence and extinction had been confirmed. Some people believe that Israelites could have been eradicated if the Jews had not left Europe. After leaving Europe, they went to Israel and displaced the Palestinians after their numbers raised within. Nonetheless, they encountered other sources of conflict. They occupied Jerusalem, which many people claim is the most disputed and wanted city in the world. From these times, Israel has been facing many fights from the neighboring communities and, specifically, the Palestinians.
These fights have caused deaths to innocent souls and many people left injured. Destruction of property has also been experienced in various regions. The books and journals have also shown that many people have been tortured during the conflicts. Articles have also revealed that leaders in the two states have focused on ways to end the wars. However, they have not come up with an agreement that can help sort this concern. Moreover, political issues have also steered many disputes in these regions (Suárez-Collado and Sierra, 2021). With the help of books, journals, and online surveying, I have considered various factors and, through critical thinking, I can develop new ways that I think if they are applied, then these fights can be ended.
Inclusion/Exclusion
The effectiveness of a survey is critical since it can be used to solve a particular issue and limit gaps experienced in past investigations. Therefore, to ensure the validity and reliability of my research study, only peer-reviewed articles were included and used. This is important when enhancing the accuracy of the sources of information. Articles from newspapers, magazines, websites, or blog posts that are not peer-reviewed were excluded from my research. Moreover, data from personal views such as tweets and Facebook posts were excluded to guarantee that only valid information was utilized during the survey.
What the Literature Tells Concerning the Research questions
According to the available literature about the conflicts between Israelites and Palestinians, the rivalry started a long time ago, and no party is ready to admit its faults. Moreover, the issue regarding power has been a significant aspect since no side wants to surrender. The groups have been fighting for different reasons, but the dominating reasons are the fight for the control of the disputed cities. Israel wants to control all the disputed areas, and Hamas is against this move by the Israelites. Although Israel Defense Forces seem to be stronger and more powerful than the Hamas group, the Hamas are very aggressive, and they do not seem to surrender to Israel (Remez, 2021). Hamas has control of the Gaza strip already after the winning of the election by a militant Palestinian group. The assertiveness of the Hamas group is one of the main reasons why the conflicts between these two rivals are challenging to be controlled.
Regardless of how many Palestinians are killed in these fights, they will always retaliate. During the battles, Israel Defense Forces kill many Palestinians, and on the counter, Palestinians also kill Israelites through not many Israelis have been lost their lives compared to the Palestinians. Even though Israelis emerge as the winning group in these fights, they should be in the frontline of trying to develop a solution that will end these disputes.
Startling Finding From the Available Literature
One of the most surprising things that emerged while doing the case study is that the area occupied by the Israelites was once land for the Palestinians. Palestinians are the native settlers of Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and even Jerusalem. Israelites found their way into this area as they fled from persecution during World War 2 and the interwar period in eastern and central Europe. This holocaust led to many Jews losing their lives, and their community was even on the verge of being eliminated.
After they noticed they were at risk of extinction, they decided to migrate from the area and find their way into today’s Israel. As time went by, the Jewish immigrants’ population overtook the Palestinians (Epstein, 2021). The increased Israelis’ population led to the displacement of the Palestinians. These issues continued until Israelites owned the most significant part of the area and took charge of the region. By now, Israelites have control of the biggest part of Israel since the disputed cities make the smaller part. Palestinians were successfully displaced, and what they are doing is trying to prove that they are the native owners of the area. This will continue to cause conflicts between these two groups since Israel seems not ready to have the Palestinians win.
Implications and Recommendations
From the above literature, it is evident that Israel and Palestinians have been in constant fights against each other for a long time. There have been many efforts put in place to try to end this rivalry. These determinations have led to limited conflicts in some regions. However, disputes are being experienced in many areas due to the various factors that have been addressed in the research. Regardless of how many peace agreements were signed by the two groups, fights have been there. What happens is just a truce to stop the fighting just for a few days. Furthermore, a truce is a short-term solution and can never be depended upon in this case. Therefore, the need to identify a long-term solution is vital.
Recommendations for the best solution to end this rivalry are based upon the above literature and critical thinking to analyze the causes and the efforts that have already been put in place to end these wars. Most of the instruments of war prevention and peace preservation have not worked, and therefore, they can never be the remedy in this case. The leading cause of these constant conflicts is the fight to control the disputed cities, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and West Bank. Both groups are fighting for the dominance of these areas, whereby no party is willing to surrender. Israel wants to rule even the regions populated by the Palestinians, and they are against it. Moreover, Hamas does not want to be under the Israeli government.
Since many approaches have been exercised and did not solve the disputes, Israel should withdraw from these conflicts and let Palestinians take charge of their areas. The disputed areas are populated with Palestinians, and thus, it would be of no harm if the Israeli government left the Palestinians to control themselves. For instance, in the case of the Gaza strip, Israel withdrew but still wants to be the one in charge of the area. Thus, this will lead to more fighting that will never end. Moreover, in the case of East Jerusalem, the Western side is undisputed, and therefore Israelites can stay on this site. The Hamas should be left to isolate themselves, and this causes no harm to Israelites. Surprisingly, the whole of Israel was initially owned by the Palestinians, and the Israelites are the intruders of the area. Israelites should accept that Palestinians cannot be contented while being controlled by the intruders in their native land. Consequently, this would serve as the best solution for these unending conflicts.
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