Isreali-Palestine+Conflict-Homepage

Israeli and  Palestinian Conflict “Palestine is an area in the Middle East bounded to the west by the Mediterranean, to the north by Lebanon, to the south by the Sinai desert, and to the east by the Jordan River. It is occupied at present by two peoples or national groups, Israelis and Arabs."

In about 1000 B.C., King David conquered Jerusalem and established an Israelite kingdom. That land has since then been under control of many different peoples and nations; the Assyrians, Romans, the Ottoman Empire, and most recently it was Palestine. After WWII Jewish Refugees were given land in Palestine, some of this land was where Israel was 1000 years ago. The problem was some land that was Israel was not given to the refugees. Israel took this and other land by force in a series of wars. They forced over 700,000 Arab Palestinians to flee what had been now designated the new state of Israel. The United Nations ordered Israel to give back the land and remove their settlers to allow Palestinian refugees to return home. Israel has not complied, which is one reason why the two nations are fighting."

In 1996, under the leadership of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Israel built a concrete and steel wall over eight-metres high completely encircling the Gaza Strip. Israel has no troops in the Gaza Strip but it controls every person and every good that enters or leaves that area. Israel claims the wall was made for security and counter-terrorism, but Israel isn't letting enough supplies into Gaza for the 1.5 million Palestinians who live there, suggesting that Israel is waging a financial war."

Not only is Palestine fighting Israel, it is also fighting itself. Since 2006 there has been a Palestinian civil war between two militias, the Hamas and Fatah. In 2006 the Hamas democratically won the parliamentary elections. The other group, Fatah, is a rebel group who in 2006 to 2007 was armed, supplied, and trained by the U.S. under President George Bush's covert initiative to topple the Hamas government.

Palestinians inspect the damaged at al-Taqwa mosque, after an Israeli air strike, January 8, 2009 in Gaza, Gaza Strip. Israeli aircraft continue to bomb targets across the Hamas-ruled territory of Gaza Strip. According to reports at least four rockets were today fired into northern Israel from Lebanon, injuring four people and raising fears that the conflict is spreading. Almost 700 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive on the region as international negotiations for a ceasefire continue. (Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images) ( January 8, 20092009-01-08 00:00:00 - Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images Europe)

History on the Conflict: http://hart2f09.wikispaces.com/Israeli-Palestinian+conflict+page+2

Webquest: http://hart2f09.wikispaces.com/Israeli-Palestinian+conflict+webquest

Citations: http://hart2f09.wikispaces.com/Israeli-Palestinian+conflict+citations