Middle East Crisis: Part 1
This article will be covering the Israel Palestinian crisis in the Middle East. The topic is covered in five parts. Beginning with a brief introduction about the origin of the crisis it progresses towards the significant events and developments pertaining to the issue. It also looks at the various attempts to find a lasting solution to the crisis and concludes with the current ground situation and the way forward.
Israel Palestine conflict pertains to claim over territory. A rectangular patch of land located east of Mediterranean Sea is the bone of contention between Jewish Hebrews and Muslim Arabs. Jews refer to the land as Israel and Arab Muslims call as Palestine.
Jews consider it as their ancestral promised homeland given to them by Jehovah. Palestinians consider that the land was given to them by Allah. Both firmly believe that giving up claim on the land is sinful and an insult to god.
In 1900’s, a strong Zionist movement arose in Europe. The Zionist movement was in part a reaction to rising anti-Semitism (hatred of Jews). Zionists considered Judaism as not only religion but also as a basis for nationality. They invoked the historic linkages to ancestral promised homeland in the Middle East. The region was under the control of Ottoman Empire. Jews had fled this region due to Roman oppression in a movement referred to as “The Diaspora”.
British actions during WORLD WAR I laid the foundations that were to permanently change the discourse in the Middle East. WORLD WAR I was fought between Triple Entente which comprised of Britain, France and Russia on the one side and Central Powers comprising of Germany, Austria–Hungary and Ottoman Empire on the other. Britain made three contradictory propositions regarding the Middle Eastern region during this period.
In order to secure the support of Arabs in First World War the British promised them independence from Ottoman and creation of Greater Syria.
In 1916, Britain and France entered in to a secret agreement which came to be known as Sykes-Picot agreement. Later, Russia too assented to this agreement. The agreement discussed how the territories should be split post their victor in WORLD WAR I. Majority of Isro-Palestinian region including Jerusalem was proposed to be under internationally administered region categorized as brown areas.
Later in 1917, Britain made a public pledge declaring support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people”. This internationally vague use of “national home” had no precedence in international law. The use of the “national home” instead of nation state created ambiguity in the minds of Arabs as well as Jews. Post World War I, the victorious Triple Entente grouping split territories among themselves. These territories were referred to as mandates. It was a veiled from of colonialism, under the pretext of administering the territories to return them to normalcy. The mandate system was an attempt to stop the cycle of war and fighting over conquered land of the collapsed Ottoman Empire and the colonies of Germany.
In 1920, Palestinian region identified as brown area under Sykes-Picot agreement too came under British control to from British Mandate Palestine. The region comprised of majority 86% Arabs and minority Christians (10 %) and Jews (4%).
Britain had special strategic imperial interest on the region. It provided access to the Mediterranean Sea and was vital for the control of Suez Canal and Egypt. Due to rising anti-Semitism, immigration of Jews into British Palestinian Mandate witnessed a rapid surge. There was an increase in tensions which resulted in an increase in violence. In 1930’s Britain restricted the migration. Armed militias were formed to resist British authority. Gradually, the minority Jewish population gained superiority in the region. The Jewish population grew from 10% of total population is 1920’s to around 27%.