Arab-Israeli Conflict

We are learning about a conflict in the Middle East. Another way to refer to the Middle East

is Southwest Asia.

Two groups of people are fighting over the same piece of land. The land is today called

Israel, but it used to be called Palestine.

The Palestinian people are one group who want to control this piece of land. Palestinians are

Arab. Most Palestinians are Muslim.

Israeli people also want to control this territory. Most Israelis are Jewish.

Homeland Israel

Land that Jews consider their homeland.

Land that Palestinian Arabs believe to be their homeland.

Jews believe that Israel is their homeland. In their holy book, it says that God gave them this land. Although there have been Jews living in this region for thousands of years, many different empires and governments have controlled it.

After the Roman Empire completely conquered this land around the year AD 70/70 CE, many Jews were forced to leave. They settled all over North Africa, Europe and Asia. Even though they were far from the land they loved, they dreamed of returning home.

Arab warriors and settlers took control of Palestine during the late AD 600s/600s CE. They settled the area and they came to love it. Their descendants are the Palestinians of today.

For over 1,000 years, the Jews who lived scattered across Europe and Asia were

mistreated by the people who controlled those lands. They were blamed for natural disasters and were often killed in attacks on

their communities.

In the 1800s, many Jews began to dream about having their own country where all Jews could live in peace. They would no longer be outsiders in someone else’s community. They

decided that the place they should settle would be the land of their ancestors. The plan

to move back to Palestine and to form their own country was called Zionism.

Jewish people began moving to Palestine. There was conflict though. The Arab people who had been living there since the late AD 600s/600sCE were afraid the Jews would take over their land. This map shows how over time, more and more Jews began to settle the area.

After World War II and the Holocaust, pressure to create a country for Jews lead to the creation of the modern country of Israel. The United Nations made a plan. It was for the Palestinians to share

the land with the Jews. However, the Palestinians refused to accept this plan. They didn’t understand why they had to give up part of their own territory to another group of people. Since the

formation of Israel in 1948, there have been four wars fought over this land.

Most of the people who live in the countries around Israel are Muslim, just like most of the

Palestinians. During the fights over who would control this territory, those neighbors took the side of the Palestinians. The Israelis got most of their support from countries like Great Britain and the

United States.

Why Can’t the Two Sides Make Peace?

Palestinians• These people want the Palestinians living in

refugee camps outside of Israel to be able to move back to their old homes. There are almost 4 million of these people who would return to Israel.

Israelis• These people fear that because the Palestinians

outnumber them, they would soon take over the country. Also, they don’t want to give up land they’ve won during the wars.