Arab-Israel Conflict

The Arab-Israel conflict can be approached with two very different perspectives. One approach is that it is a political clash between rival nationalist movements. The other approach is that it is a conflict between two similar religious civilizations that compete for the same sacred and geopolitical space.

In the first approach, the two rival nationalist movements mentioned are Zionism and Arab nationalism, which both emerged at nearly the same time in the 19th century. The objective of Zionism was to reconstitute the Jewish people to their land of Israel. However, sitting on that land were non-Jews, namely, Muslims. Arab nationalism was a very complex process, originally pushed by Christians who wished to create a political standing with Muslims, so that regardless of their religious background, they would possess full rights as citizens of the Arab nation-state. However, the Muslims wanted to use the movement to reduce the oppressive yolk of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Viewing the conflict as a political clash, it is believed that it can be resolved by political means based on a formula of exchanging land for peace. This approach has seen an ongoing trend of fluctuating success and failure. Those who hold this view are encouraged by constructive events such as the 1978 Camp David Accords, signed by Egyptian President Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Begin, which also led into the Israel-Egypt Peace treaty that involved Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula. Furthermore, the 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace normalized relations between these two countries. Also, the 1991 Madrid conference allowed for Arab and Israeli representatives to discuss peace. These acts encourage people of this view because they lead them to feel that if these types of negotiations were possible, there could be accelerated peace in the future. However, they are simultaneously strongly discouraged by destructive events and movements such as the rise of Islamic revivalism and the First Intifada (Palestinian uprising), referring to a series of violent incidents. The 1993 Oslo Accords between the PLO and Israel are a prime example of cooperation and hope, only to conclude in disappointment; the pursuit of land for peace by Israeli leader Rabin ended in assassination by a right-wing activist opposed to his signing of the Oslo Accords. At present, there are also no peace treaties between Israel and Syria or Lebanon. Furthermore, Palestinians still do not recognize the existence of Israel, and daily violence is not even near ending.

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