Abba Meir Eban, a respected Jewish diplomat, said Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity to make peace at the Geneva Conference of 1973. But today, it is the Arabs who feel this way about the Jews.
The Israel-Palestine conflict has stretched for so long and the world has grown numb to its harsh realities. Between 2000 and now, security forces have killed no less than 46 journalists and media personnel in Palestine, including Shireen Abu Akleh, who died in a gun battle a few days ago. In all, more than 14,000 people have died.
According to Britannica’s ProCon, 1,512 Israelis and 8,441 Palestinians died between 1987 and 2014 due to the conflict. Some Palestinians carry out reprisals while Israel maintains a firm chokehold on Gaza and West Bank areas of Palestine.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have accused Israel of oppressing Palestine and setting up an apartheid system. But Israel says Palestine is the aggressor. As all parties involved claim to be victims, it is pertinent to understand the conflict.
BEGINNING
In the beginning there was no Israel, as the Jews did not have a sovereign state until 1948, when the United Nations (UN) adopted Resolution 181, also known as the Partition Plan, to help define the closely knit Jewish and Arab nations. On May 14, 1948, the plan created the State of Israel after the dissolution of the British Mandate of Palestine.
