Palestinian Authority

Israel and the Palestinian authority signed two major peace agreement. The first agreement was in 1993 (Oslo I) and the second agreement was in 1996 (Oslo II). However since then relations between the two countries have been marred by absence of progress in the implementation of the signed peace accords as well as major outbursts of violence. The major thorns of contention between the two sides are:

Disarmament of Palestinian militants – Israel has requested that all Palestinian militants halt their attacks against Israel. This is one of the preconditions for the Road map agreement between the two sides. Furthermore Israel has requested that militant groups are to be disarmed. The militants have caused numerous civilian and military deaths in Israel since the start of the second intifada in 2000. Cessation of Israeli Army incursions into Palestinian areas – The Palestinian Authority has requested a stop to Israeli incursions and assassinations of Palestinian militants. Evacuation of Israeli settlements as agreed in both Oslo agreements – The Palestinian Authority has called for the evacuation of Israeli settlements from the occupied territories of West Bank and the Gaza strip. This has not happened and in fact Israel has reoccupied some of the land handed back to Palestinians, due to the fact that Palestinian militants used the territories in question to stage attacks against Israeli citizens. Sovereignty over Jerusalem – Israel claims Jerusalem as its eternal capital. The Palestinian Authority as claims over the Eastern side of the city which it has designated as its future capital. Returning refugees – Calls have been made by Palestinian leaders for the right of return for all Palestinian refugees (estimated to number 3 million persons) who live abroad. According to unconfirmed reports in previous negotiations Israel agreed to the return of only 100,000 refugees. This is because return of all refugees (majority of whom were born outside Palestine) would lead to Palestinians outnumbering Israelis in a very short space of time. Negotiations and discussions regarding this issue is on going.

The Israeli Palestinian conflict started after the UN partition of Palestine plan which called for division of Palestine, where 48% was set aside for a Palestinians state and 48% for the creation of Israel. The other 4% (Jerusalem) was to remain international. The plan was accepted by the UN and the international community. However it was rejected outright by the Arab world, including the Palestinians. Subsequently the Arab side declared war which lasted 1.5 years. During the 1967 six days war Israel captured the West Bank and the Gaza strip from Jordan and Egypt. Parts of the Gaza strip and all of the West Bank are under still under Israeli control. Israel's justification for the occupation of the aforementioned areas is to stop them being used by Palestinian militants who in the past and present use them to launch attacks against Israeli citizens. Israel has called for the cessation of attacks by militants from such areas and their disarmament as a precondition for negotiations leading to return of occupied territories. However the Palestinians and the international community object to Israel's occupation of lands occupied after the 1967 war as they are against the judgment of the UN and thus illegal in the eyes of international law. As a result the Palestinian authority state that no peace can be reached without the full return of the land taken by Israel after 1967. It must be noted the groups such as Hamas do not recognise Israel at all and call for its total elimination.

Land vs Security is a question whose answer requires sacrifices and confidence from both sides. Meanwhile the continuation of the dispute and the inability to find a way forward has and will lead to continuation of political and military frictions. This conflict also wider regional repercussions.

Syria

Israel and Syria do not have any diplomatic relations. Both countries have been at war no less than 5 times (Independence war 1948, Six days war 1967, War of Attrition 1970, Yom Kippur war 1973, Lebanon war 1982). Syria has objected to Israel's right to exist since Israel's creation in 1948. This is because Syria considers Israel as an illegal colonialist entity occupying Arab land. Syria has shown its opposition to Israel through direct attacks against Israel's interests and territory. Damascus has also supported Arab rejectionist groups who are opposed to the existence of Israel. The Golan Heights is a former Syrian owned strategic plateau which Syria previously used as a springboard to stage attacks against Israeli towns and residents. Israel has occupied the Golan since 1967. Since the occupation of the Golan the number of direct Syrian attacks against Israeli towns has decreased significantly (in fact there have been no attacks since 1974). The Golan heights has also been used to house more than 30,000 Israeli residents. Israel's occupation of the Golan heights is an illegal act in accordance to the UN and the international community.

Syrian conditions for peace is the complete return of the Golan heights to Syria. Israeli conditions for peace partly vary in accordance to which type of government (rightist or leftist) is in government. But generally Israel's conditions for peace are: Syria's recognition of Israel's right to exist, recognition of Israel's borders, and cessation of Syrian support for anti – Israeli groups. In terms of returning the Golan heights Israel has called for the demilitarization of the area upon its return to Syria, as well as sovereignty over the road around the sea of Galilee which is at the foot of the Golan heights. There were strong prospects for peace between the two countries in the 1994 period where according to unconfirmed reports Israel and Syria both agreed to the return of all of the Golan Heights. However both sides were unable to reach an agreement regarding Israel's request for sovereignty over the road around the sea of Galilee which is at the foot of the Golan heights. Since then there have been calls by Syria for return to negotiations at the point which they were left off in 1994. Israel in return has called for complete re-start of the negotiations as precondition for talks. Due to the deadlock Syria continues to support Lebanese and Palestinian rejectionist groups who stage attacks against Israel's citizens and Army. In response Israel has attacked Syria's territory in one occasion (a Palestinian training camp was destroyed), whilst unofficially Israel's intelligence organisation the Mossad has been responsible for at least one attack against a Hamas target in Syrian territory.

Jordan

Israel and Jordan established full diplomatic relation in 1994. Since the signing of the peace agreement the level of trade between the two countries has increased incrementally. The culmination of Israeli – Jordanian trade co-operation is the establishment of the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) between the two countries which allows for quota and tariff free export of goods to the US , as long as the goods produced have a minimum of 8% input from Israel. Relations between the two countries were soured at the start of the second Intifada in September 2000. However they have improved recently with a signing of a trade co-operation agreement. Furthermore Jordan's ambassador to Israel has been returned to Tel Aviv after a four years absence. Prior to the peace agreement Israel and Jordan had been to war on two occasions (Independence war of 1948 and Six days war of 1967). Meanwhile between each conflict there were numerous cross border clashes between the two countries which left many dead and wounded (civilian and military). Jordan is home to more than one million Palestinian refugees and was the previous owner of the West Bank area. However in 1986 King Hussein passed the territory on to the Palestinians. According to reports King Hussein started secret talks with Israel as far back as in 1970. This was after Israel's intervention on behalf of the US to defend Jordan against invading Syrian forces. Jordan continues to be a moderating force in the Arab world and a champion of the Palestinian cause.

Lebanon

Israel and Lebanon do not have any diplomatic relations. The two countries have been to war on at least three occasions (Independence war of 1948, Operation River Litani of 1978, and Peace for Galilee 1982). The 1978 and 1982 conflicts were caused as a result of numerous attacks on Israeli citizens and Kibbutzim by Lebanese based terrorist groups. Israel occupied southern part of the Lebanon from 1982 to 1999 which resulted in military skirmishes and attacks between Israeli and Hezbollah forces. This occupation was illegal in accordance to UN resolution 425. However Israel deemed the occupation as necessary as means of stopping attacks by Lebanese based terrorist groups. Israel withdrew its forces from Lebanon in 2000 and its withdrawal was confirmed by the UN to be in exact accordance to UN resolution 425. However Syria who is the dominant force in Lebanon decided to donate part of its Israeli occupied territory (the Sheeba farms) to Lebanon thus giving Hezbollah further reason to continue its attacks against Israel. Since Israel's withdrawal attacks against Israeli citizens have decreased significantly. However the Hezbollah does continue to attack Israeli forces on the sheeba farms which have resulted in military exchanges between the two sides. Prospects for peace between Israel and Lebanon very much depend on the conditions of the Israeli – Syrian relations. This is due to Syria's dominance in Lebanon's political and security affairs.

Egypt

Israel and Egypt established full diplomatic relations in 1979. Described as a cold peace, relations between the two countries have suffered from a number of downturns due to events in the Middle East. Egypt which views itself as one of the champions of the Palestinian cause has on a number of occasions withdrawn its ambassador from Tel Aviv as means of protesting against Israeli actions against the Palestinians and Israel's previous actions in Lebanon. Furthermore on a number of occasions there have been attacks against Israeli soldiers and tourists on the Israeli – Egyptian border as well as inside Egyptian territory. Although such attacks were carried out by terrorist groups, they are an illustration of Anti – Israeli feelings in Egypt which are partly generated by the country's prolific anti-semitic and anti- Israeli press. In late 2004 significant improvements were noted in the economic relations as Israel and Egypt signed a preferred trading zone agreement as well as a gas supply contract. Major improvements in the diplomatic relations between the two countries wee noted in December 2004 after the release of the Israeli citizen Azzam Azzam from Egyptian jails. Prospects for further improvement in the Israeli – Egyptian relations depend on progress made in the peace process between Israel and the rest of the Arab world, especially the Palestinians.

Prior to the peace agreement in 1979, Israel and Egypt had been to war on five occasions (war of independence in 1948, Sinai war of 1956, Six days war of 1967, War of attrition in 1970 and Yom Kippur war of 1973). Egypt was opposed to UN's recognition of Israel. As a result for many years Egypt financed attacks against Israel through its support of Palestinian terrorist groups. Furthermore its forces were involved in direct attacks against Israeli military installations until 1974. Israel in turn attacked Egypt's military and economic infrastructure on many occasions causing massive damage. In 1967 Israel occupied the Sinai peninsula which belonged to Egypt. In accordance to UN resolutions this occupation was illegal. However Israel maintained that the territory was used by Egyptian forces as a springboard to attack Israel. Therefore its occupation was necessary to stop further attacks by Egypt. Egypt unsuccessfully tried to recapture the Sinai in the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Nevertheless the Sinai was returned to Egypt in 1979 after successful completion of Camp David peace agreement between the two countries.

By: Meir Javedanfar

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