Palestine was a country with borders reaching Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. However after defeating the Ottomans Winston Churchill the then British Minister for the Near East divided almost 60% of the county and gave it to the Hashemites. The Hashemites who were driven out of Saudi Arabia by King Abdul Aziz moved into the new territory and formed a country called Jordan. What was left of Palestine was ruled by the British as a colonising power. Meanwhile the Jewish minority of Palestine were calling for independence. The Palestinian leadership rejected the calls for independence. Their rejection was based on the fact that majority of the Palestinian population was against the establishment of another country on their land. Furthermore the Palestinian leadership and the Arab world in general viewed Jewish calls for independence as another colonization scheme by foreign powers. This is because the Jewish population of Palestine were receiving financial and manpower assistance from Jews of Europe and US. Meanwhile the dispute turned violent which the colonizing British power found difficult to contain. What angered the Jews was the Pro Arab line taken by the British government in many areas including the right of more Jews (especially those fleeing the Holocaust) to emigrate to Palestine.
Meanwhile the Palestinians and the Arab world in general were angered by what they viewed as unjustified concessions to the Jews by the British government. This argument intensified after the Balfour declaration of 1917 in which the British government officially recognised the Jewish right to a homeland in Palestine. The disputes between the two groups turned into open conflict . Unable to contain both sides the colonising British power turned to the UN for assistance.
The question was put to the international community and after much discussion the UN issued the Palestine partition plan under resolution 181. According to the resolution Palestine was to be divided into 3 entities. One was an independent country called Palestine which was based on 48% of the total land area. The other country called Israel was also to be based on 48% of the total land area. The 4% remaining which included Jerusalem was to remain international. The Palestinian people and the Arab world rejected the resolution outright as they saw it as a grand colonization scheme by foreign powers. In accordance to Arab countries Palestine was Arab land and as the majority the Arab people were the ones who could truly decide who can and can't live on their land. On the other hand the Jewish population who were under increasing armed attack from their Arab neighbours claimed the right to a state as minorities elsewhere had done before them. Unable to solve their differences politically, war broke out between the two sides on the day the colonising British powers left Palestine. The Palestinians alongside five other Arab armies attacked Israel in order to take back what they saw as colonised Arab land by people whom they considered as foreigners. The war lasted a year and half during which Israel and the Arab armies fought over Israel's right to exist.
One of the biggest hallmarks of the war was the large number of displaced Palestinians. According to Palestinian sources many Palestinians were forced out of their homes by the Israeli army. According to Israeli sources many Palestinians escaped from their homes or left on orders from Arab leaders who wanted to gain international sympathy by showing waves of Arab refugees supposedly created by the Israelis. Estimates of displaced persons vary, however majority of the refugees found homes in Jordan. Others went to Syria, Lebanon , Egypt (mainly the Gaza strip) and other Arab countries. A small number also stayed in Israel. The years that followed were difficult years for the Palestinian people, as most had to live in squalid camp conditions. A number of Arab regimes took up the Palestinian cause through armed attacks against Israel. One of the biggest liabilities of the Arab front was their constant calls for the elimination of the Jews and Israel. In terms of international image and international sympathy this cost the Arab front dearly because after the atrocities of the Holocaust the world was not willing to consider such calls for genocide. Therefore despite the fact that the Palestinian people had a genuine political grievance, the calls for elimination by their leaders reduced their appeals for help in the international arena.
Facing international apathy for their cause the Palestinians took up arms as they saw force as the only way to take back what in their view was taken away from them by force. Attacks and counter attacks continued between Israel and Palestinians based in Arab countries who were assisted by other Arab armies. Meanwhile a number of Palestinian political and military groups were created. The biggest political and military force between them was the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) which was created in the 1960s by a group of Palestinian students in Cairo. The PLO headed by Yasser Arafat had the goal of establishing a Palestinian state where the Jews had the right to live as a minority. However PLO's calls for the destruction of the state of Israel and its complete replacement created a huge resistance in Israel and in the western world against the organisation. Activities against the PLO intensified when it started terrorist activities against Israeli citizens and Jews abroad. However its popularity in the Arab world soared due to its secular Arabist socialist image which appealed to both Nasserists and Baathists. The organisation's strength was concentrated mainly in Jordan until September 1970 when it was expelled by King Hussein. Known as Black September the PLO was castigated for carrying out military activities in Jordan against the consent of King Hussein. Upon expulsion the PLO moved to Lebanon where it continued its political and military activities. Despite harsh conditions Arafat intensified his political and military activities against Israel.
In 1982 the Israeli army invaded Lebanon with the goal of securing Israel's northern border against attacks by the PLO. However the operation extended into Beirut where after a lengthy siege the PLO was expelled and subsequently moved to Tunis to set up its new political and military headquarters. Although militarily defeated the Lebanon war increased international sympathy for the Palestinian cause. Especially after the atrocities in Sabra and Shatilla where more than one thousand Palestinian women and children were massacred by Lebanese Christian Phalangists. As the area in question was under Israeli military occupation Israel's defence minister Ariel Sharon was also held indirectly responsible and thus resigned from his post.
Further political gains were made by the PLO in 1988 when Yasser Arafat renounced terrorism and called for talks with Israel. Such gains were supplemented by further international sympathy for the Palestinian cause created by pictures of stone throwing Palestinians being physically beaten by Israeli soldiers during the first intifada. The first political breakthrough for the PLO came during the Madrid peace conference where Palestinian representatives and Israeli government participated for talks. Although it failed to produce any tangible results the Madrid talks paved the way for the Oslo talks in 1993 when agreement was inked between Israelis and Palestinians for the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, Jericho and a number of other Palestinian areas under Israeli control.
The Oslo II agreement in 1996 entailed more territory being transferred from Israeli control to Palestinian jurisdiction. Meanwhile the PLO's political support in Palestinian areas was being challenged by other more militant groups such as Islamic Jihad and Hamas who were gaining popularity through their deadly attacks inside Israel and their corruption free image. Arafat was under pressure to control such groups as their attacks against Israeli civilians caused more violence and also loss of popularity for the Palestinian cause abroad. However unwilling to start a civil war Arafat refused to take on Hamas and Islamic jihad. According to other analysts Arafat's refusal to tackle the extremists was based on their usefulness to the PLO as a bargaining chip during negotiations with Israel. A period of relative calm ensued until the next round of negotiations between Israeli and Palestinians in Camp David in 2000. According to reports Israel offered 95% of the West Bank and Gaza to the PLO and parts of Jerusalem. Arafat refused as he saw the deal as insufficient to Palestinians aspirations.
Following his return the second intifada broke out which left 1000 Israelis and 3000 Palestinians dead and thousands more injured. The intifada reduced the Palestinian economy to pre-1993 levels of unemployment whilst Arafat was confined to his headquarters by the Israeli army for his alleged involvement in financing terror activities. The PLO also lost ownership of the politically significant Orient House in Jerusalem which served as the de-facto Palestinian Foreign ministry. Despite the intervention of major powers and introduction of schemes such as the Road Map, violence continued until the death of Arafat in 2004.
Upon the election of the new Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas (considered as a moderate) negotiations restarted between Israeli and the PLO. Election of Mahmud Abbas was expected to be marked by a period marked by absence of violence due to his promises for increased security. In reality this has proved to be a difficult task.
Subsequent to the withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza strip in August 2005, the Palestinian started to run the economic affairs of the strip. The opening of the Rafah crossing and the removal of all Israeli control from this important crossing point was a positive achievement for Palestine's economic and political independence. However the opening of the port and the airport in Gaza is still some way off, as agreement with the Israelis regarding security has not been reached.
Election of Hamas
Islamic militant Hamas' landslide victory in Palestinian elections held on January 25 th 2006 unnerved the world, darkening prospects for Mideast peace and ending four decades of rule by the corruption-riddled Fatah Party. According to the Associated Press (AP), the parliamentary victory stunned even Hamas leaders, who mounted a well-organized campaign but have no experience in government. Abbas, who was elected in 2005 to a four-year term as president of the Palestinian Authority, has his work cut out for him. He will have to decide how to run the Palestinian Authority with a major opposition force such as Hamas.
Hamas won a clear majority capturing 76 of the 132 seats in parliament. Four independent candidates backed by Hamas also won seats. Fatah, which has dominated Palestinian political life since the 1960s but alienated voters because of rampant corruption, got 43 seats. The remaining went to smaller parties. The Palestinian Authority faces major challenge under Hamas as the US and EU have said that they will not deal with Hamas as they consider it as a terrorist organization.
By: Meir Javedanfar- www.meepas.com
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