Israel-Palestine conflict

Around the 20th century BC, Sumerian Canaanites in Arabian Peninsula settled in Palestine and became the earliest residents in the region. At the end of 13 BC, the Hebrews also came here and established the Hebrew kingdom in 1 1 century BC. Since then, Palestine has been occupied and ruled by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and Romans. In 1 century BC, after the Roman Empire ruled the area, Jews were expelled from the area and scattered around the world. In the 7th century, Palestine became a part of the Arab Empire. After defeating the Roman Empire and taking over Palestine, Arabs moved in and were assimilated by local aborigines, gradually forming modern Palestinian Arabs. /kloc-In the 5th century, the Ottoman Turkish Empire began to rule Palestine.

Palestine, located on the Mediterranean coast of West Asia, was called Canaan in ancient times, including Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan. Historically, Jews and Arabs once lived here. Around the 20th century BC, Sumerian Canaanites settled in the coastal and plain areas of Palestine and became the earliest inhabitants of Palestine. At the end of the 3rd century BC/KLOC-0, Hebrew tribes moved to Palestine, and successively established the Kingdom of Hebrew and the Kingdom of Israel. Since then, Palestine has been occupied and ruled by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and Romans. In the 7th century AD, Arabs moved in after conquering the Roman Empire and taking over Palestine, and were assimilated by local aborigines, gradually forming modern Palestinian Arabs. /kloc-at the end of 0/9, the Zionist movement rose all over the world, and Jews from all over the world moved into Palestine in large numbers.

During the First World War, Palestine became a "mandated territory" of Britain. Britain divides Palestine into two parts, east and west, with the Jordan River as the boundary. The east is called Outer Jordan (now the Kingdom of Jordan), and the west is still called Palestine (now Israel, the West Bank and Gaza). Since then, Jews from all over the world have begun to migrate to Palestinian areas. During the influx of Jews into Palestine, there were many bloody conflicts between Jews and local Palestinian Arabs. 1947165438+10 In October, the United Nations adopted resolution 18 1 on the partition of Palestine. The resolution stipulates that a Jewish state and an Arab state will be established on the 27,000 square kilometers of Palestinian territory, and Jerusalem will be internationalized. On May 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed. Because this resolution was strongly opposed by Palestinians and Arabs, the Palestinian state was not born.

After Israel declared its founding, five large-scale wars broke out between Arab and Israel. Israel has occupied a large number of Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, through war, and millions of Palestinian Arabs have been driven out of their homes and become refugees. For a long time, Israel has implemented the Jewish immigration policy in the occupied Arab territories, built a large number of Jewish immigrant settlements, and tried to establish a big Israeli state by changing the population structure of the occupied territories.

In order to restore national rights and return to their homeland, the Palestinians began an armed struggle. 1964 In May, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was established with the goal of "eliminating Zionism in Palestinian territory". Since then, Palestine has started an armed struggle against Israeli invasion. Years of war have made both sides realize that no one can destroy anyone and that war cannot solve the problem. Under the mediation of the international community, Palestine and Israel began to seek a political solution.

1 991June1,the Madrid middle east peace conference was held, and the difficult peace talks between Arab and Israeli countries began. Among the Arab-Israeli peace talks, the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks are the key to the Middle East peace process. From September 65438 to September 0993, since the signing of the first peace agreement-the Declaration of Principles on Palestinian Self-government, the two sides have also signed a series of agreements, but these agreements have not been fully implemented due to the deliberate delay of successive governments. Although according to the relevant agreement, Palestine began to govern itself in May 1994, there were too many differences in the final stage of the Palestinian negotiations due to thorny issues such as the ownership of Jerusalem, Jewish settlements, the return of Palestinian refugees and the demarcation of the Palestinian-Israeli border. So far, the two sides have not reached a permanent peace agreement.

In September 2000, Israeli hardline leader Sharon forcibly entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Islamic holy place, which triggered a long-lasting bloody conflict between Palestine and Israel. Especially after Sharon's government came to power in March, 200012000, some radical Palestinian organizations created a series of "terrorist activities" against Israelis, which led to Israel's strong retaliation, and both Palestine and Israel fell into a vicious circle of retaliation and counter-retaliation.

The peace process in the Middle East

In order to restore national rights and return to their homeland, the Palestinians began an armed struggle. 1964 In May, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was proclaimed and began an armed struggle against the Israeli invasion. Since then, the PLO has changed the way of struggle for the founding of the country and started the long process of realizing the founding of the country through peaceful negotiations.

1988165438+1October15th, the plo national Committee adopted the declaration of independence at its19th special meeting, announcing the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Since then, 130 countries have successively recognized the Palestinian state. Because it has no territory of its own, the Palestinian state is not a real state.

1 991June1,the Madrid middle east peace conference was held, and the difficult peace talks between Arab and Israeli countries began. This is the first time that Arab countries and Israel have sat together to try to solve the conflict that has lasted for more than 40 years. The meeting established the basic framework of the Middle East peace talks, divided into bilateral talks and multilateral talks, and established the basic principle of "land for peace". 1993 September 13, the first peace agreement between Palestine and Israel-the declaration of principles of Palestinian autonomy was signed in Washington. According to the agreement, the Palestinians will first exercise autonomy in the Gaza-Jericho area for a transitional period of five years.

According to the final agreement on the implementation of the Gaza-Jericho Declaration of Principles signed by Palestine and Israel in May 1994, Palestine began to govern itself on May 4th. 1In September 1995, Palestine and Israel signed the Taba Agreement, and Israeli troops withdrew from seven major cities in the West Bank one after another, and the Palestinians ruled themselves. 1On May 4, 1996, Palestine and Israel held the first round of talks on the final stage of Palestinian negotiations.

However, after Netanyahu came to power in June 1996, Israel abandoned the principle of "land for peace" and instead emphasized the principle of "security for peace", which made the Middle East peace process stagnate. Although Palestine and Israel have successively signed the Hebron Agreement and the Wye Agreement, they have not been fully implemented due to the delay of the Israeli government. 1In May 1999, Barak was elected Prime Minister of Israel. In order to implement the Wye Agreement, Palestine and Israel signed the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum, and the two sides agreed to start the final status negotiations on1September 3, 1999, and reach a framework agreement on the status of Jerusalem before February 5, 2000, and a final agreement before September 3. Due to Israel's deliberate delay, the terms of the agreement have not been well implemented. In July 2000, the tripartite summit of Palestine, Israel and the United States was held in Camp David, Maryland, USA. Because of the status of Jerusalem, the demarcation of borders, the future of Jewish settlements, the return of Palestinian refugees and the distribution of water resources, the talks failed to reach an agreement. On September 28th of the same year, Israeli hardline leader Sharon forcibly entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Islamic holy place, which triggered a long-lasting bloody conflict between Palestine and Israel. After Sharon's government came to power in March, 20001,the relationship between Palestine and Israel deteriorated.

General situation of Arab-Israeli contradiction

The essence of the contradiction between Arab countries and Israel is the territorial issue, and the territorial dispute between the two sides was formed in the past decades.

1947 The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on the partition of Palestine, which divided the Palestinian territory with a total area of more than 26,000 square kilometers into two parts, 14477 square kilometers was allocated to Jews to establish the state of Israel, 1 1655 square kilometers was allocated to Arabs to establish Palestine, and Jerusalem was tentatively designated as an "international city", that is, its ownership was unknown.

On May 1948, the day after the founding of Israel, Israel annexed more than 6,200 square kilometers of land allocated to Palestine and forcibly occupied West Jerusalem. At that time, King Abdullah of Jordan occupied the territory of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and allocated it to Palestine, covering an area of 5,268 square kilometers. In the Third Middle East War (1967), Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza, as well as the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, the Syrian Golan Heights with an area of 1600 square kilometers and the Gaza Strip under the jurisdiction of Egypt. It also seized East Jerusalem from Jordan and declared the whole of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In the Lebanon War of 1982, Israel occupied a narrow strip with the width of 10- 15 km in southern Lebanon.

According to the Camp David agreement reached between Egypt and Israel in 1978, Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. 1974, Israel returned a part of the Golan Heights to Syria, but continued to occupy the remaining 700 square kilometers of land in the Golan Heights, and announced its annexation in 198 1.

In recent years, Israel has built a large number of Jewish settlements in the occupied Arab territories. In the West Bank and Gaza, 200 Israeli settlements have been established, with 65,438+004,000 Jewish immigrants. Israel's Jewish immigration policy tries to establish a great Israeli state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean by changing the population structure of the occupied Arab territories.

Over the years, Arab countries have demanded that Israel abide by UN resolutions 242 and 338, stop building Jewish settlements in the occupied territories and withdraw from the territories occupied by 1967 in order to "exchange land for peace". Israel, on the other hand, believes that after the return of Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, it has already met the requirements of UN resolutions, and all it needs now is "peace for peace".

The Palestinian people demand the establishment of their own independent state in the occupied territories, but Israel only focuses on discussing the issue of "limited autonomy" with representatives of the West Bank and Gaza. Syria demands that Israel return the Golan Heights, Lebanon demands that Israel withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon, and Israel has repeatedly stated that it will not give up an inch of land.

The partition of Palestine and Israel and the founding of Israel

In 70 AD, the Roman army occupied Jerusalem and destroyed the Jewish temple. In 135, the Jews were expelled from Palestine, and since then, they have been wandering for more than 800 years. From the day they were expelled from their homeland, the Jews never forgot to return to their homeland.

/kloc-at the end of 0/9, a large-scale anti-semitism wave appeared in Europe, and the Zionist trend of thought and movement rose accordingly. 188 1 year, Pinske, a Russian Jewish doctor, published the book "Self-liberation" and put forward the idea of establishing a Jewish nation-state. This book is regarded as the origin of Zionism. 1896, Hecl, a Hungarian Jewish lawyer, published The Jewish State, which put forward the idea of Zionism completely. In response to the slogan "Jews get out" that was everywhere in Europe at that time, he wrote: "I want to ask this question in the simplest form now: Are we going out now? Where to go? " "The sovereignty of a certain part of the earth should be granted to us, and its area is enough to meet the normal needs of a nation; The rest is up to us. " Hecl's works have aroused great repercussions among Jews, but there have always been differences among Jews about where this national homeland was built. They imagined South Africa and Argentina, seriously considered Uganda and voted for it. It was not until 1897 that the first World Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland, that it was finally defined as the cultural root in the eyes of Jews-Palestine.

This congress proposed that Jews should establish "a homeland (or country) recognized by the public and guaranteed by law". At the same time, the "World Zionist Organization" was established and began its activities. They organized Jewish immigrants to Palestine, where Arabs have lived for centuries, and established the Jewish National Fund and the Palestinian Land Development Corporation. This session of Congress 1897 is considered to be the year when Jews began to put their dream of homeland into practice, and it is also considered to be the year when the Palestinian-Israeli dispute began.

From Balfour Declaration to Palestinian White Paper

During the First World War, Palestine was occupied by Britain and became a "mandated territory" of Britain after the war. 1917165438+12, British foreign secretary Belfo wrote to Rothschild, vice-chairman of the Zionist league, claiming that "Your Majesty's government is in favor of establishing a Jewish national state in Palestine and will do its utmost to promote its realization". This letter was later called the Balfour Declaration. On this basis, Jews began to immigrate to Palestine in large numbers. However, this move was strongly opposed by local Arabs in Palestine, who put pressure on Britain by means of riots and strikes to restrict Jewish immigration. The unrest lasted for three years. At the same time, Jews who had no livelihood under Nazi persecution continued to immigrate to Palestine in large numbers. By 1939, the total number of Jews living in Palestine had increased to 445,000.

During the period of 1936- 1939, Britain proposed to establish a Jewish state (much smaller in area than later designated by the United Nations) and an Arab state in Palestine, but the Arabs refused. 1939 in may, the British government was afraid of further arousing the resistance of Arab countries, so it took the initiative to show goodwill to Arab countries and put forward the so-called Palestinian white paper. The white paper proposes that in the next five years, only10.5 million Jews will be moved each year; Restrict Jews from buying Arab land, and prepare to gradually hand over Palestine to a local government with a majority of Arabs, under which Jews can exercise a high degree of autonomy. The Arab unrest has subsided, but it is obviously not an easy task to build trust between Jews and Arabs who strongly oppose it.

When the White Paper on Palestine was published, it was the day when European Jews struggled to find an oasis to live in to escape the Nazi Holocaust. In the Nazi Holocaust,13 of the Jews in the world were killed, and the total number of victims reached 6 million, leaving few Jews in Europe. Before Britain declared war on Germany, local Jews and trusteeship authorities refused to let persecuted German-Austrian Jews enter Palestine because of their adherence to the White Paper, and were on the verge of war. Violence is limited only based on hatred of German fascism. But in wartime, Jewish commandos never stopped destroying British facilities that intercepted illegal immigrants.

United Nations Resolution 18 1 and the Establishment of Israel

After World War II, hundreds of thousands of Polish Jewish prisoners liberated from Nazi concentration camps were homeless. They can't go back to their hometown, because at this time, there have been incidents of killing returning Jews in various parts of Poland; Except for a few Nordic countries, war-torn western European countries are unable to accommodate them; Even the United States, known as an immigrant country, is unwilling to open its doors. At this time, the only one who welcomes them with open arms is the Jewish community in Palestine. As Britain continued to adhere to the policy of the White Paper, the conflict between Jewish commandos and British trusteeship authorities escalated. Jews bombed roads and bridges, attacked camps where illegal immigrants were held and assassinated British officials.

This will be an unpopular war for Britain. At this time, Hitler's crime of killing 6 million Jews was gradually exposed, and international public opinion expressed sympathy for the Jews. It is really unreasonable to let those liberated Polish Jews continue to live in concentration camps. With the exposure of the secret documents of the Axis countries, Britain rejected Italy's proposal, and its decision not to approve the transfer of German and Austrian Jews to Palestine through Italy was also made public. Public opinion regarded Britain as an accomplice in the massacre of Jews. Under the pressure of international public opinion, Britain decided to get away from Palestine. 1947 February 15, Britain announced that it would hand over the hot potato of Palestine to the United Nations.

1947165438+1On 29 October, the second session of the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of Palestinian partition with 33 votes in favor, 13 votes against (including 10 Islamic countries) and 10 abstentions. The resolution stipulates that Britain will end its mandated rule in Palestine and withdraw its troops before 1 August 9481; Two months later, two countries were established on the land of Palestine, namely, the Arab country and the Jewish country. According to the blueprint of partition resolution, the territory of Arab countries can reach 1 1203 square kilometers, accounting for about 43% of the total area of Palestine at that time. The population is 725,000 Arabs and 65,438+0,000 Jews. The land of the Jewish State is 14942 square kilometers, accounting for about 57% of the total area of Palestine. The population includes 497,000 Arabs and 598,000 Jews. The resolution also stipulated that the United Nations should establish and manage an international special regime for the city of Jerusalem. In order to be the ruling Labor Party for Israel, the Soviet Union changed the anti-Semitic attitude inherent in the Russian Empire, made great efforts for the founding of Israel, and gave diplomatic and military support to the establishment and consolidation of the State of Israel. Gromyko, Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union to the United Nations, delivered a touching speech at the United Nations General Assembly, which played an important role in the smooth adoption of resolution 18 1. However, Britain, which vowed to support the Jewish Restoration in the Balfour Declaration, abstained.

At that time, there were more than 65,438+200,000 Arabs in Palestine, accounting for more than two thirds of the total population. However, the territory of Arab countries in the partition resolution only accounts for 43% of the total area of Palestine. What makes Arabs unbearable is that the territory of Arab countries is fragmented and disconnected, and most of them are hilly and barren areas. The Jewish state is not like this. Although there are only 600,000 Jews, accounting for less than13 of the total population, their territory accounts for 57% of the total area of Palestine, and most of them are located in fertile coastal areas.

On the afternoon of May 1948, the square in front of Tel Aviv Museum of Modern Art was crowded with Jews. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Ben-Gurion, the "father of the founding of Israel" with a height of 1.6 meters, declared the independence of the State of Israel. Ben Gurion became Israel's first prime minister.

The news of the founding of Israel spread all over the world by radio waves, and most countries responded positively. 17 after Ben Gurion announced the establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC), White House Press Secretary Charlie Rose announced to reporters that the United States recognized Israel. The declaration of recognition of Israel was drafted by Americans before they knew the name of this new country. When he learned that the country was named "Israel", President Truman crossed out the word "Jewish State" in the proclamation and changed it to "Israel". 17 in may, the Soviet union announced its recognition of Israel.

The day after the founding of the People's Republic, the war broke out.

On May 1948, 15, the day after Israel announced its founding, Britain announced the end of its mandated rule over Palestine. On the same day, the armies of the Arab League countries Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan (renamed Jordan in 1950) successively entered Palestine. At the same time, the Arab League issued a statement declaring that Israel was in a state of war and the first Middle East war broke out. The history of this war is called "Palestinian War".

Different from the later Middle East war, Britain and the United States sided with Arabs in the Palestinian war because of their long-term strategic consideration of the Arab world. It was the Soviet Union that fully supported the founding of Israel. Czechoslovakia, which was under the control of the Soviet Union at that time, not only provided Israel with a lot of arms, but also provided Israel with a special airport, established an air corridor and trained the air force and paratroopers for Israel. During the war, several Jewish soldiers of the US Air Force in Europe risked being sent to a military court and stole three heavy bombers. After the airport in Czechoslovakia was filled with bombs, they took off to bomb Cairo and Damascus.

Due to the suspicion and internal discord between the Arab countries participating in the war, King Abdullah of Jordan and King Farouk of Egypt made their own calculations, which enabled Israel, which had only guerrilla strength, to take the initiative in the war. In mid-July, at the urging of Britain and the United States, Israel declared a ceasefire, but sporadic fighting continued until 1949. After the war, Palestine was divided into three parts: Israel occupied 78% of the total area of Palestine, exceeding the area of more than 5,700 square kilometers stipulated in the partition resolution; The West Bank is under the jurisdiction of Jordan; The Gaza Strip is under Egyptian jurisdiction. Nearly/kloc-0.00 million Palestinians were expelled from their homes and became refugees.

The failure of the first Middle East War made the neighboring Arab countries feel ashamed, and the revolutionary atmosphere was everywhere. 1949 In March, August and February, there were three coups in Syria. 1951July, King Abdullah and his son of Jordan were assassinated by Palestinian refugees. King Abdullah 18-year-old grandson Hussein survived because a bullet hit his grandfather's medal pinned to his chest. 1953, he succeeded to the throne of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. 1952 In July, Egyptian soldiers overthrew the Farouk dynasty, and Nasser, leader of the Freedom Officers Organization, became president in June 1956.

Brief introduction of five Middle East wars

The First Middle East War (1948- 1949): Also known as the Palestinian War, Israel called it the "War of Independence". 1May 194814th, Israel declared its founding. The next morning, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and other Arab countries sent troops to attack Israel.

The Second Middle East War (1956- 1957): Also known as Suez Canal War, Israel called it "Sinai Campaign". 1956 10, Britain, France and Israel jointly launched an attack on Egypt on the pretext that Egypt announced the nationalization of Suez Canal Company and prohibited ships from crossing the Canal and straits of tiran.

The Third Middle East War (1967): Also known as the Sixth Five-Year War, the Arab countries called it the June War, and Israel called it the Six-Day War. 1On the morning of June 5, 967, Israel launched a surprise attack on Egypt, Syria and Jordan on the pretext that Egypt blocked the Gulf of Aqaba.

The Fifth Middle East War (June-September, 1982): Also known as Lebanon War. 1On June 6, 1982, Israel sent troops to occupy the territory of Lebanon 14, attacked the PLO and its armed forces in Lebanon, and fought with the Syrian army in Lebanon.