Todays tensions between the Israelis and the Palestinians and their Arab neighbours date back to the early 20th century when Jews began migrating in significant numbers to Palestine, then under Ottoman Turkish rule. By obadix omutaka The ensuing struggle for land and self-determination by both peoples led to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, a series of Israeli-Arab wars, two lengthy Palestinian uprisings and waves of Palestinian refugees. Although modern Zionism - the idea of a Jewish national homeland in Palestine – began in the late 19th century, the land of Israel has been central to Jewish consciousness since Jewish exile in biblical times. Small Jewish communities lived peacefully in Palestine side by side with both Muslim and Christian Arabs for centuries. But centuries of anti-Semitism in Europe, culminating in the Nazi Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews during World War Two, led to growing pressure for a Jewish homeland. In November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a plan to partition Palestine, then under British mandate, into Arab and Jewish states. In May 1948, Jews living in Palestine declared the establishment of the state of Israel. Five Arab countries invaded immediately, and in the ensuing conflict some 750,000 Palestinians fled the fighting or were forced to leave their homes. A similar number of Jews migrated to Israel from their homes in Arab states amid fears of a backlash against them. Many Jews saw the creation of Israel as the embodiment of their long-held aspiration for a land of their own, but for Palestinians the loss of their homes and land in 1948 became known as al Nakba – the catastrophe. A second wave of Palestinians was displaced during the 1967 war that pitted Israel against Jordan, Egypt and Syria. In the six days of fighting, Israel captured the West Bank – including East Jerusalem – as well as the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. An estimated 500,000 Palestinians fled, according to the United Nations – mostly to Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) began operations in 1950, initially as a temporary response to the humanitarian crisis created by the new refugees. Today, the agency is the main body meeting the needs of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria with basic services such as education, healthcare and social services. The tents that made up the first refugee camps gradually gave way to the concrete buildings that make up todays camps as it became clear that no solution to their plight was in sight. Since then, Palestinian refugee camps have grown upwards rather than out, with residents building new storeys to accommodate the new generations being born. Conditions are often overcrowded, with poor sanitation. There are high levels of unemployment, and rising levels of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer. The status of the refugees is a key issue in peace talks, with many Palestinians claiming the right of return – the right to go back to their homes in what is now Israel. Some still hold keys to the family homes they lost in 1948. Israel fears that agreeing to this concession would be disastrous, largely because the higher Palestinian birth rate means the number of Palestinians would soon outstrip the Jewish population. Israels own law of return allows anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent to settle in Israel and take up citizenship. Under the citizenship rules, many Palestinians who marry Arab Israelis are denied Israeli residency. The two parts of the Palestinian territories are, in fact, two areas about 45 km (30 miles) apart. The West Bank is between Jerusalem – long claimed as a capital by both Palestinians and Israelis – and Jordan to the east, while Gaza is a tiny strip along Israels western Mediterranean coast.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 14:19:16 +0000
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