What are the causes of the Arab-Palestinian Conflict?

Answer 1

There are a myriad of reasons underlying and undergirding the Jewish-Arab Conflict in recent times and it is important to evaluate all of these rationales. However, it is important to note that the actual military conflict is an international one with set international players. The spiritual conflict is much more pervasive. At the core for this difference is that Jews and Arabs see their communities as being brethren in the same way that all Americans see each other as brethren. There is a saying among Arabs that goes "If an Arab falls in the desert and nobody hears him, everybody still feels him."

NOTE: Jews are an ethno-religious group, while Arabs are merely an ethnic group with an incredible variety of religious difference (similar to the way that White connotes a race with an incredible variety of religious differences). These days, Jews do not typically target Moslems with faith-based issues (i.e. we abhor you because of the false prophecy of Mohammed) and Moslems similarly do not target Jews on faith-based issues (i.e. we abhor you because you say that Isaac was taken to Mt. Moriah instead of Ishmael being taken to Saudi Arabia).

Additional Information is available at the Related Links below.

Causes for the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:

1) Hallowed Land: The Jews consider the Land of Israel (which is not necessarily all in the borders of the State of Israel) to be a holy piece of land in that God promised it to the Jewish people as an eternal inheritance. Thus, some Jews, especially Religious Zionists see resettlement of the Land of Israel by Jews to be part of God's plan and mandate and therefore do everything in their power to settle it. In addition, it contains specific religious and historical sites such as the Western Wall and the Old City of Jerusalem, the Cave of Machpelah, the Old City of Jaffa, and the Sanctuary of Shiloh among others. Moslems also consider Jerusalem holy because of Mohammed ascending to Heaven on the Buraq over Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Both cultures want to ensure maintenance and access to the sites which they feel have been limited by the other. (Jews claim that Jordanians used the Western Wall as a landfill and Arabs argue that Israelis arbitrarily close off access to Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

2) Zionism: A number of Jews in Europe began to feel that they were being permanently and deliberately excluded from parts of European society because of the prevalent racial and pseudo-scientific forms of Anti-Semitism. They believed that there was no possible equality between European nationals and their Jewish residents and were disinterested in the Andalucian Solution because they did not want to be second-class citizens. They believed that the Jewish people needed to form a political apparatus (an Independent State) to defend themselves and their civil rights. Zionism originally had purely secular connotations, but with the advent of Religious Zionism, the powerful secular cause of Zionism joined with the Hallowed Land idea to provoke conflict. Zionism is strongly opposed by many for many different reasons. See the link at the bottom of the page for Anti-Zionist arguments and rationales.

3) Halutzim & Jewish Land Acquisition: In the First Zionist Congress in 1897, the main resolution was to acquire, by any means, a piece of land to be made a country for the Jews. Early Zionists tried to figure out how to attract Jews to leave their country of origin and come to build this Jewish State. The general consensus always revolved around building a State in the Land of Israel/British Mandate of Palestine since that would make attraction easiest. (The idea of the Jews Returning to Israel had a very romantic notion to Jews at the time and still does today.) As a result, politically influential Jews began purchasing tracts of land from the Ottoman Pashas in control of the territory without indigenous consent and promptly began to develop it. The indigenous Palestinians took issue with the migrations of these Halutzim (Jewish Pioneers) but as the land was bought legitimately, they had little recourse but to allow them to arrive. This occupation and colonialism were certainly not greeted with friendly handshakes or pats on the back by the indigenous inhabitants who stood to lose everything.

4) Balfour Declaration, the Holocaust, and UN Resolution 181: The European Climate also supported the Zionist idea of forming a Jewish State in the Middle East as it would allow Jews to leave Europe and stop being a European problem. This prevented the Europeans from having to absorb the refugees themselves, rapidly increased the numbers of Jews in Israel. In addition, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration which declared Britain's intent to create a Jewish State in the Middle East. This, however, was not seriously considered until the Holocaust proved to Europeans (and Jews) that Europe was no longer safe for Judaism. UN Resolution 181 promoted a partitioning of the British Mandate of Palestine into a Jewish State and an Arab State. While this resolution did pass (and is in fact legally binding) many Arabs find issue with its decision because there were not enough independent Arab States to vote it down.

5) Palestinian Exodus & UNRWA: This is probably the most thorny issue between Israel and Palestine. During the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9 (in which Palestinian militias also participated), many Palestinians were forced out of their homes by Israeli soldiers due to brutal atrocities. In addition, many left because they feared similar outcomes. Also Arab leaders encouraged the exodus, because they believed that they could destroy Israel and safely return all of the Palestinians after the conflict. However, this did not happen and a large number of Palestinians (some estimate four million) are in UNRWA Refugee Camps and there is a large Palestinian Diaspora. They have not forgiven Israel for not allowing them to return after the War.

6) Occupation of the West Bank & Gaza: In 1967, Israel fought the Six-Day War against the Arab States and took over control of the West Bank and Gaza. These territories did not come under Israeli Civil Authority and have been instead militarily controlled. Palestinians who live in these territories have to contend with Israeli checkpoints, military provisions, and incoming settlers (from the Hallowed Land section). This occupation is perceived by Palestinians to be a repression of their Right to a State and their ability to lead normal productive lives. Settlers in the territories act in a very cavalier fashion (similar to cowboys in the Wild West) and steal property owned by Palestinian families for generations in the name of Religious Zionism. Zionist Squatters are a huge problem in cities like Hebron where these individuals have "liberated" over a quarter of the city from its Palestinian inhabitants and begun to drive a wedge into those communities.

7) Blockade of Gaza & Dependence of the West Bank:Due to the militancy of Hamas, Israel has found it necessary for defense to form a blockade around Gaza and to only allow certain materials into the territory. This has resulted in a Human Relief Crisis in the Gaza where the average caught in the struggle barely have enough food, heat, and light to adequately survive. On a different token, the West Bank (as controlled by the Palestine Authority) is a patchwork of separate unconnected jurisdictions. As a result, the West Bank leaders depend on Israel for defense coordination, tax collection, and assurances of safety from settlers. This creates a secondary occupation-dynamic where the Palestinian government is bound to the desires and wishes of the Israeli people in addition to its actual constituency.

8) Retaliation: This one is fairly simple. Each side honors its fallen by engaging in retaliatory killings and attacks. In addition, the retaliation is usually on a larger scale than the offense. (I.e. one death results in ten retaliatory deaths etc.)

Causes for the Arab-Israeli Conflict:

1) Restatement: Since the Arab-Israeli conflict sees a strong connection between Arabs in Palestine with Arabs outside of Palestine, the above eight causes are repeated in full here.

2) Andalucian Solution: Many Arabs capitalize on the situation in Andalucia as being the perfect solution to create Arab-Jewish harmony and are angered when Jews do not agree. In Andalucia (Islamic Spain of the 700s-1000s), Christians, Moslems, and Jews all had a flowering of their cultures and an interchange of ideas. It was one of the most progressive societies in the World for its time and certainly a much better time/place for Jews than many countries in the Modern Era. Jews get angered by the fact that Arabs do not note that Jews were second-class citizens in Andalucia who were granted the privilege of settling in Andalucia (a privilege which was revoked on several occasions). Jews want to be able to control their affairs and have civil rights, which Arabs seem not to understand when they advocate this model.

3) Pan-Arab Nationalism: Beginning in the 1950s and reaching its apex in the 1960s and 1970s, the wave of Pan-Arab Nationalism began to assert that all Arabs should live in one united country that would span from Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean to Iraq on the Persian border and all lands in between. This view was based on the history of the Umayyad Caliphate in the year 700 C.E. which controlled all of that territory and formed the basis of the modern Arab Identity. It also harkens back to the Abbassid Caliphate of a couple hundred years later which was the pinnacle of Arab scientific accomplishment. The thought of Pan-Arabists was that a Pan-Arab State would bring about a second unity of the Arab peoples like the type seen in the Umayyad days and the cultural flowering seen in the Abbassid days. Israel was a logistical problem for that ideology in that it cleanly separated North Africa (Egypt specifically) from the Levant countries of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. More importantly, it represented a non-Arab country in the region that according to Pan-Arabism should be an Arab State.

4) Anti-Colonialism: Israel was seen by many in the Arab World as being a European colony in the Middle East because much of the state infrastructure was built by Europeans. This, of course, did not take into account the Mizrahi Exodus (see below) which makes Israel a much more mixed nation, but there are some elements of truth. Israel was conceived primarily by European Jews, funded with European and American money, and built in a Western Governmental style. The Arabs saw this as an attempt by Europeans to influence their affairs and control their futures without having to maintain their untenable pre-World War II empires. This belief was exemplified by the British, French, and Israeli responses to the Suez Crisis. Jews argue that Israel is not a colony because it is loyal only to its own needs; it just so happens that those needs align more often with modern, liberal states than those of its Arab neighbors.

5) Lack of Respect: Arabs feel maligned by the Great Powers in the World and see Israeli support by those same Great Powers as a way of denying them a seat at the Global Table. Arabs have a strong sense of cultural pride, believing themselves to be the heirs of the Abbassid cultural legacy of science, math, philosophy, and historiography. However, they are weakly involved in International Agencies, their countries rarely have pull over anything except oil prices, none of them are allowed nuclear weapons or any other sort of powerful weaponry, and their hopes and dreams are largely ignored. Unlike the Arabs, though, the Jews have managed to make Israel a cornerstone of American and British foreign policy and guarantee their international protection and seat at the Global Table. Therefore, the Arabs have a lot of negativity towards Israel for securing that spot.

6) Israeli Imperialism: There is a belief in the Arab World that it is Israel's intent to expand and colonize other Arab regions in the Levant. They point to Israel's occupation of the Sinai Peninsula from 1967-1982, the Israeli occupation of Lebanon south of the Litani River from 1982-2000, and the continued holding of the Syrian Golan Heights conquered in 1967 and annexed to Israel in 1981. Religious Zionists claim that Israel should spread from the Nile to the Euphrates which encompasses a territory occupied in full or in part by six different countries. Most Jews and Israelis say that Israel has enough trouble controlling what little territory it does have and that the idea of controlling more is absurd, but the past extraterritorial occupations leave a different taste for most Arabs.

7) The Mizrahi Exodus: Jews become irate over the fact that the Arab countries refuse to recognize the events that led up to the Jewish exodus from the Arab World. Jews from the Arab World or Mizrahi Jews, did not live in the Andalucian Solution as most Arabs uncritically believe, but lived in countries which limited their rights, organized pogroms (such as the Farhud in Baghdad), stole their property, and executed and disappeared family members. Between 1950 and 1952 over 500,000 Mizrahi Jews immigrated to Israel where they were forced to live in camps in the desert until proper shelters could be built for them. (The population before the immigration was around 600,000 which made this immigration almost impossible to accommodate.) Arabs often claim that the hostility towards the Mizrahim (if they admit that such things occurred) were just outbursts and that they do not treat minorities as badly anymore, but refuse to publicly atone for the treatment or be self-critical about this history.

8) Biblical Causes: Arabs and Jews consider themselves descended from Abraham's sons Ishmael and Isaac respectively. Abraham aggressively kicked his maidservant Hagar and her son Ishmael out of the house in order for his son Isaac (born of his wife Sarah) to have primary attention. Jews and Christians assert that Abraham had a more special relationship with Isaac, taking him up a mountain in an attempt to sacrifice him. Moslems allege the same story, but with Ishmael. So, many claim that Jews and Arabs have a sibling rivalry of sorts coming from this moment. However, both the Bible and Qur'an make it very clear that after the halted sacrifice, Ishmael and Isaac actually spent a good deal of time together and remained on good terms. In fact, Isaac's son Esau married one of Ishmael's daughters.

Causes for Arab Anti-Semitism and Arab Anti-Zionism:

1) Restatement: Since Arab Anti-Semitism and Arab Anti-Zionism is strongly linked to Arab interests, all previous causes are repeated in full.

2) Arab Un-Integration in Europe: Arabs are finding it difficult to integrate into European society because of the European definition of what a European is. Typically those definitions involve an ethno-racial character (which Arabs cannot become) or a very strongly disdainful attitude towards religion (which Arabs are not interested in ascribing to). This has led to riots across Europe (especially in France) over French-born Arab rights as citizens. In response to the glass ceiling present in these countries, some Arabs have acted out. One of the clearest symbols of European governmental authority is its protection of Europe's remaining Jewish communities and endorsement of the State of Israel. Therefore these ideologies are attacked and institutions like synagogues are vandalized as a way of showing Arab frustration with European governmental authorities.

3) Financial Unbalance for Arabs: Arabs feel that Jews have much more financial pull than the Arabs do and this unbalance draws their ire because they believe that what the Jews have was partially stolen from them and their historical achievements. Jews counter by saying that there are quite a number of rich Arabs in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, but that these emirs choose to spend their money personally instead of professionally or philanthropically.

4) Jewish Failure to Reciprocate Past Treatment: Some also believe that when Islam was civilized and glorified centuries ago, the Jews were treated fairly and that their rights were respected and recognized. Muslims thought of them as their friends and let the Jews lived with them on the same land, using the same Natural Resources without any barrier. All were equal in the eyes of the Muslims. Only Jews who hate and wanted to destroy Islam were the ones who could not be tolerated by the Muslims. It is important to note that many Jews are particularly angry that Muslims fail to recognize that their treatment of Jews, while enlightened for the period, falls far short of the modern concept of "Equal Rights" and that the situation for the Jew under Islam was one of humiliation and vast inequality in both taxation, job openings, and general feeling of being second class.

Causes for Jewish Anti-Islamic Sentiment:

1) Restatement: Since Jews feel a strong kinship to Israel, all causes in the Israeli-Palestinian and Arab-Israeli Conflict are repeated in full.

2) Islamic Un-Education & Un-Censorship: Jews are angry that in many mosques, messages of tolerance and acceptance of Jews are few and far between. The message spread is one of hatred and a desire to prevent reconciliation. This is much more common in conservative Arab countries than it is in Western nations where numerous liberal Islamic leaders (even those who are Anti-Zionist) vigorously oppose Anti-Semitism. In addition, television in Arab countries tends to be strongly biased against Jews and Israel, uniting the two in such shows as Farfur by Hamas. Finally, Arabs are strongly discouraged from reading and discovering other points of view in the world, preventing them from having an honest understanding of what Judaism stands for and believes.

3) Islamic Opposition to Free Speech & Use of Threats: Moslems have notoriously protested violently at cartoon portrayals of Mohammed, Qur'an burnings, and other forms of free speech or religious protest. Islamic leaders have also called for death threats to those who hold views counter to their own, the most famous of which being the Fatwa to kill Salman Rushdie. Most Jews see these reactions as barbaric, as do many Western Moslems who are ashamed of their more excitable brethren. This ultra-conservative and unwavering view makes many Jews fearful that there cannot be reconciliation with Arabs and Islam because they would be unwilling to accept an open dialogue.

4) Islamic Support for Terrorism: This is pretty straightforward. Jews are angry that Moslems all over the world contribute to organizations whose prime motive for existence is the slaughter of Israeli and Jewish civilians. Similarly Arabs are angered whenever Jews give contributions to Israel or to the IDF because they feel similarly that Jews are paying to kill Palestinian civilians.

5) Clean Up Your Own Backyard: Jews are bothered that many Arabs spend so much energy accusing Israel of Human Rights abuses and other infringements of international law, but do not turn the lens on themselves first. Jews believe that Arabs should be angry about the torture that openly goes on in Saudi Arabia and Syria, the genocides that occurred all over Iraq, the suppression of free will in Algeria by a military junta, and numerous beatings and stonings that go on in the Arab World. They argue that the Arabs should clean up their own backyard before they attempt to tell Israel how to behave.

6) Arab Messiah: Some believe that the Jews have been keeping a sense of hatred towards the Muslims when Mohammed was chosen as the official last Prophet for humankind till eternity. They believe this problem among the Jews and the Arabs did not happen before Islam came. Both tribes lived happily and respected each other before Muhammad announced his prophet-hood. As Mohammed came from the Arab lineage, this led to anger and frustration amongst the Jews as they were hoping that their promised Messiah would be among the Jews itself. They did not accept that their Messiah was not from their own kind. They believe the Jews kept hating Muslims and tried to destroy them. It is important to note that this belief is circulated far more often among Arabs as a way to detract from the above-mentioned reasons. Jews typically do not see Mohammed as a prophet in the lineage of prophets (the way that Moslems see him) and generally see him as a False Prophet or a Leader of the Goyim.

Answer 2

Other Answers from the Community

By the extreme Islam it is beause the land held by the Zionists is holy and should only belong to the Muslims.

Religous Jews belive the land was promised to them by god and is rightfuly theirs

Answer 3

There are a myriad of reasons underlying and undergirding the Arab-Israeli Conflict in recent times and it is important to evaluate all of these rationales. However, it is important to note that the actual military conflict is an international one with set international players. The spiritual conflict is much more pervasive. At the core for this difference is that Jews and Arabs see their communities as being brethren in the same way that all Americans see each other as brethren. There is a saying among Arabs that goes "If an Arab falls in the desert and nobody hears him, everybody still feels him."

NOTE: Jews are an ethno-religious group, while Arabs are merely an ethnic group with an incredible variety of religious difference (similar to the way that White connotes a race with an incredible variety of religious differences). These days, Jews do not typically target Moslems with faith-based issues (i.e. we abhor you because of the false prophecy of Mohammed) and Moslems similarly do not target Jews on faith-based issues (i.e. we abhor you because you say that Isaac was taken to Mt. Moriah instead of Ishmael being taken to Saudi Arabia).

NOTE 2: Reasons cited for the conflict therefore vary from participant to participant and observer to observer. A powerful example of this divide can be found in opinion surveys of Palestinians and Israelis.

Causes for the Arab-Israeli Conflict:

1) Hallowed Land: The Jews consider the Land of Israel (which is not necessarily all in the borders of the State of Israel) to be a holy piece of land in that God promised it to the Jewish people as an eternal inheritance. Thus, some Jews, especially Religious Zionists see resettlement of the Land of Israel by Jews to be part of God's plan and mandate and therefore do everything in their power to settle it. In addition, it contains specific religious and historical sites such as the Western Wall and the Old City of Jerusalem, the Cave of Machpelah, the Old City of Jaffa, and the Sanctuary of Shiloh among others. Muslims also consider Jerusalem holy because of Mohammed ascending to Heaven on the Buraq over Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Both cultures want to ensure maintenance and access to the sites which they feel have been limited by the other. (Jews claim that Jordanians used the Western Wall as a landfill and Arabs argue that Israelis arbitrarily close off access to Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

2) Zionism: A number of Jews in Europe began to feel that they were being permanently and deliberately excluded from parts of European society because of the prevalent racial and pseudo-scientific forms of Anti-Semitism. They believed that there was no possible equality between European nationals and their Jewish residents and were disinterested in the Andalucían Solution because they did not want to be second-class citizens. They believed that the Jewish people needed to form a political apparatus (an Independent State) to defend themselves and their civil rights. Zionism originally had purely secular connotations, but with the advent of Religious Zionism, the powerful secular cause of Zionism joined with the Hallowed Land idea to provoke conflict. Zionism is strongly opposed by many for many different reasons. See the link at the bottom of the page for Anti-Zionist arguments and rationales.

3) Halutzim & Jewish Land Acquisition: In the First Zionist Congress in 1897, the main resolution was to acquire, by any means, a piece of land to be made a country for the Jews. Early Zionists tried to figure out how to attract Jews to leave their country of origin and come to build this Jewish State. The general consensus always revolved around building a State in the Land of Israel/British Mandate of Palestine since that would make attraction easiest. (The idea of the Jews Returning to Israel had a very romantic notion to Jews at the time and still does today.) As a result, politically influential Jews began purchasing tracts of land from the Ottoman Pashas in control of the territory without indigenous consent and promptly began to develop it. The indigenous Palestinians took issue with the migrations of these Halutzim (Jewish Pioneers) but as the land was bought legitimately, they had little recourse but to allow them to arrive. This occupation and colonialism were certainly not greeted with friendly handshakes or pats on the back by the indigenous inhabitants who stood to lose everything.

4) Balfour Declaration, the Holocaust, and UN Resolution 181: The European Climate also supported the Zionist idea of forming a Jewish State in the Middle East as it would allow Jews to leave Europe and stop being a European problem. This prevented the Europeans from having to absorb the refugees themselves, rapidly increased the numbers of Jews in Israel. In addition, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration which declared Britain's intent to create a Jewish State in the Middle East. This, however, was not seriously considered until the Holocaust proved to Europeans (and Jews) that Europe was no longer safe for Judaism. UN Resolution 181 promoted a partitioning of the British Mandate of Palestine into a Jewish State and an Arab State. While this resolution did pass (and is in fact legally binding) many Arabs find issue with its decision because there were not enough independent Arab States to vote it down.

5) Rejection of Israel: (Written by someone else) The cause is the rejection of Israel's right to exist on its historical homeland. It should be noted that the Jews accepted the partition plan while the Arabs rejected it. Ever since, Israel always sought a solution while the Arab rejectionists continued to fight to destroy Israel, even at the expense of their own people and used the Palestinian refugees as pawns. The root cause is the rejection of Israel's right to exist, for Israel made it clear that she was always willing to negotiate with any peace partner including the Palestinians. Israel needs secure borders as well. When Israel first offered to return most of the land for peace, the Arab states said,"No peace. No negotiations. No recognition".

6) Palestinian Exodus & UNRWA: This is probably the most thorny issue between Israel and Palestine. During the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9 (in which Palestinian militias also participated), many Palestinians were forced out of their homes by Israeli soldiers due to brutal atrocities. In addition, many left because they feared similar outcomes. Also Arab leaders encouraged the exodus, because they believed that they could destroy Israel and safely return all of the Palestinians after the conflict. However, this did not happen and a large number of Palestinians (some estimate four million) are in UNRWA Refugee Camps and there is a large Palestinian Diaspora. They have not forgiven Israel for not allowing them to return after the War.

7) Occupation of the West Bank & Gaza: In 1967, Israel fought the Six-Day War against the Arab States and took over control of the West Bank and Gaza. These territories did not come under Israeli Civil Authority and have been instead militarily controlled. Palestinians who live in these territories have to contend with Israeli checkpoints, military provisions, and incoming settlers (from the Hallowed Land section). This occupation is perceived by Palestinians to be a repression of their Right to a State and their ability to lead normal productive lives. Settlers in the territories act in a very cavalier fashion (similar to cowboys in the Wild West) and steal property owned by Palestinian families for generations in the name of Religious Zionism. Zionist Squatters are a huge problem in cities like Hebron where these individuals have "liberated" over a quarter of the city from its Palestinian inhabitants and begun to drive a wedge into those communities.

8) Blockade of Gaza & Dependence of the West Bank: Due to the militancy of Hamas, Israel has found it necessary for defense to form a blockade around Gaza and to only allow certain materials into the territory. This has resulted in a Human Relief Crisis in the Gaza where the average caught in the struggle barely have enough food, heat, and light to adequately survive. On a different token, the West Bank (as controlled by the Palestine Authority) is a patchwork of separate unconnected jurisdictions. As a result, the West Bank leaders depend on Israel for defense coordination, tax collection, and assurances of safety from settlers. This creates a secondary occupation-dynamic where the Palestinian government is bound to the desires and wishes of the Israeli people in addition to its actual constituency.

9) Retaliation: This one is fairly simple. Each side honors its fallen by engaging in retaliatory killings and attacks. In addition, the retaliation is usually on a larger scale than the offense. (I.e. one death results in ten retaliatory deaths etc.)

10)Andalucían Solution: Many Arabs capitalize on the situation in Andalucía as being the perfect solution to create Arab-Jewish harmony and are angered when Jews do not agree. In Andalucía (Islamic Spain of the 700s-1000s), Christians, Muslims, and Jews all had a flowering of their cultures and an interchange of ideas. It was one of the most progressive societies in the World for its time and certainly a much better time/place for Jews than many countries in the Modern Era. Jews get angered by the fact that Arabs do not note that Jews were second-class citizens in Andalucía who were granted the privilege of settling in Andalucía (a privilege which was revoked on several occasions). Jews want to be able to control their affairs and have civil rights, which Arabs seem not to understand when they advocate this model.

11) Pan-Arab Nationalism: Beginning in the 1950s and reaching its apex in the 1960s and 1970s, the wave of Pan-Arab Nationalism began to assert that all Arabs should live in one united country that would span from Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean to Iraq on the Persian border and all lands in between. This view was based on the history of the Umayyad Caliphate in the year 700 C.E. which controlled all of that territory and formed the basis of the modern Arab Identity. It also harkens back to the Abbassid Caliphate of a couple hundred years later which was the pinnacle of Arab scientific accomplishment. The thought of Pan-Arabists was that a Pan-Arab State would bring about a second unity of the Arab peoples like the type seen in the Umayyad days and the cultural flowering seen in the Abbassid days. Israel was a logistical problem for that ideology in that it cleanly separated North Africa (Egypt specifically) from the Levant countries of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. More importantly, it represented a non-Arab country in the region that according to Pan-Arabism should be an Arab State.

12) Historical Arab Anti-Semitism: (Written by someone else) The root cause or partial root cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict is Islamic anti-Semitism with its origins dating back to the rise of Islam in the seventh century. Several verses from the Qur'an, such as chapter 2, verses 61 and 65; chapter 3, verse 71; chapter 4, verse 46; chapter 5, verses 60-65, and 78-82; and chapter 7, verse 166 assign negative attributes to Jews. In addition, the type of institutionalized discrimination mandated by the Pact of Umar applied to Jews throughout the Islamic world to one degree or the other over the centuries inevitably led to deeply ingrained feelings of a natural right to Muslim authority over any Jews living in the Middle East or North Africa. Some critics of Islam claim that Muslims also developed an abiding belief in the supremacy of Islam as a result of its early conquests and centuries long position as a dominant religious and political force in the Middle East and beyond. The relative decline of Islam as a dominant military and political force may have engendered in the Islamic world a deep seated desire to regain Islam's past glory. Critics of Islam argue that it follows that the presence of Israel, a Jewish state and democracy, in the heart of the Islamic world is very difficult for Muslims to accept. It is very difficult for Muslims to reconcile Israel's presence and its regional military supremacy with the prevalent Muslim view that, as recipients of Allah's final revelation, that no Muslims should be subject to the political supremacy of a Jewish state. Supporters of Israel argue that regardless of the small size of Israel and the vastly larger land mass of the surrounding Arab lands, from the Muslim perspective, Israel's existence is a cancer in the heart of the Islamic world. [See, Stunich, Andrew (2007). The Real Cause of and Likely Progression of the Arab-Israeli Conflict below, See also, A Regional Perspective on the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Jay Shapiro[6] Also see, [[Myths & Facts Online Arab/Muslim Attitudes Toward Israel By Mitchell G. Bard, below]

13) Anti-Colonialism: Israel was seen by many in the Arab World as being a European colony in the Middle East because much of the state infrastructure was built by Europeans. This, of course, did not take into account the Mizrahi Exodus (see below) which makes Israel a much more mixed nation, but there are some elements of truth. Israel was conceived primarily by European Jews, funded with European and American money, and built in a Western Governmental style. The Arabs saw this as an attempt by Europeans to influence their affairs and control their futures without having to maintain their untenable pre-World War II empires. This belief was exemplified by the British, French, and Israeli responses to the Suez Crisis. Jews argue that Israel is not a colony because it is loyal only to its own needs; it just so happens that those needs align more often with modern, liberal states than those of its Arab neighbors.

14) Lack of Respect: Arabs feel maligned by the Great Powers in the World and see Israeli support by those same Great Powers as a way of denying them a seat at the Global Table. Arabs have a strong sense of cultural pride, believing themselves to be the heirs of the Abbassid cultural legacy of science, math, philosophy, and historiography. However, they are weakly involved in International Agencies, their countries rarely have pull over anything except oil prices, none of them are allowed nuclear weapons or any other sort of powerful weaponry, and their hopes and dreams are largely ignored. Unlike the Arabs, though, the Jews have managed to make Israel a cornerstone of American and British foreign policy and guarantee their international protection and seat at the Global Table. Therefore, the Arabs have a lot of negativity towards Israel for securing that spot.

15) An Irrational Perception of Israeli Imperialism: There is a belief in the Arab World that it is Israel's intent to expand and colonize other Arab regions in the Levant. They point to Israel's occupation of the Sinai Peninsula from 1967-1982, the Israeli occupation of Lebanon south of the Litani River from 1982-2000, and the continued holding of the Syrian Golan Heights conquered in 1967 and annexed to Israel in 1981. Religious Zionists claim that Israel should spread from the Nile to the Euphrates which encompasses a territory occupied in full or in part by six different countries. Most Jews and Israelis say that Israel has enough trouble controlling what little territory it does have and that the idea of controlling more is absurd, but the past extraterritorial occupations leave a different taste for most Arabs.

16) The Mizrahi Exodus: Jews become irate over the fact that the Arab countries refuse to recognize the events that led up to the Jewish exodus from the Arab World. Jews from the Arab World or Mizrahi Jews, did not live in the Andalucían Solution as most Arabs uncritically believe, but lived in countries which limited their rights, organized pogroms (such as the Farhud in Baghdad), stole their property, and executed and disappeared family members. Between 1950 and 1952 over 500,000 Mizrahi Jews immigrated to Israel where they were forced to live in camps in the desert until proper shelters could be built for them. (The population before the immigration was around 600,000 which made this immigration almost impossible to accommodate.) Arabs often claim that the hostility towards the Mizrahim (if they admit that such things occurred) were just outbursts and that they do not treat minorities as badly anymore, but refuse to publicly atone for the treatment or be self-critical about this history.

Answer 4

Answer 1

The conflict between Israel and Palestine dates back thousands of years and is said to have originated from the book of Exodus in The Bible which tells of the promised Land (Palestine) which was said to have been given to the Hebrew people (Israelites) which were being freed by Moses from Egypt. The Jews believe that the land was promised to them by God and took over the land many years back. It is a conflict of religion and land rights between Palestine and Israel.

The Israelis were given the country of Israel by the British after World War 2. The Palestinians, who already lived there, didn't like this because the new government forced them to leave their homes to let Jews move in, and conflict came about instantly.

The Jews believe the land of Israel was promised to them by God. Unfortunately, so do the Palestinians, so it is difficult to reach an agreement, to say the least.

As this is a controversial topic, there are necessarily numerous viewpoints.

Answer 2

The basic answer is that too many cultures having claims over the same piece of land. The Middle East, aka Palestine, aka the Levant, aka the Holy Land has seen battles for supremacy ever since Adam was a pup.

Answer 3

[NOTE: This answer has factual discrepancies, such as claiming that the British took over in 1881 instead of 1917.]

In 1881, when the British took over the land, Jews were coming from Europe because of Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Between the Jews and the Arab were many fights, finally the British decided to leave the land and let the UN solve the problem, the British wanted to give Jordan to the Palestinians and "palestina\eretz Israel" to the Jews, the Arabs didn't agree, the UN gave a new plan "the UN partition plan" which separate the land, 45% to the Arabs and 55% to the Jews, again the Arabs didn't agree and started a war which they lost.

The Israel-Palestine conflict is not any more about the independence of Israel but about "the 6 days war" in this war Israel took over Sinai, Gaza strip, the west bank and the Golan Heights.

Most of the people in Gaza strip were Egyptians that immigrated to Gaza to serve Egypt's army. After Israel took over these lands she gave Sinai to Egypt (part of the peace agreements with Egypt), Egypt didn't want Gaza Strip back (She couldn't let herself deal with the people in Gaza) . The same with Jordan, Jordan couldn't let the Palestinians weaken the kingdom, 60% of Jordan population are Palestinian, in the 1970 Jordan betted the Palestinian to Lebanon, in operation that called "The Black September", so in the peace agreements they didn't want the West Bank back.

In 1994 Israel and the Palestinian made an agreements that called "Oslo Agreements" In these agreements Israel gave to the Palestinian Gaza strip and the West bank, This is was the end of some terrorist organizations, but there were many organizations that continued to support terrorism and bombed them self almost every day in Israel.

In 2005 Israel built the "security wall" which separate the Palestinian and Israel, on theses borders control Israel, After this move the terrorist acts over Israel stopped, on 2009 there were no terrorist attacks, 4 years before, there were everyday.

There is a military fight between Israel Defense Force and some terrorist organizations in Gaza especially "Hamas".

There is a diplomatic-fight between the liberal Palestinian organizations and Israel, this is about of making a Palestinian state and her capital city, the Palestinian want Jerusalem to be the capital, Israel refuses.

Israel has west Jerusalem since 1948 and since 1967 east Jerusalem, Jordan didn't take Jerusalem back in the peace agreements.

The biggest problems today in this conflict is with the terrorist organizations that control Gaza Strip and the desire of The Palestinian Authority to has Jerusalem, a state, and cancel the security wall.

Answer 4

Jews mainly fled from Europe to Palestine from the horrific lifestyle they had to undergo whilst Hitler and his allies held supreme power. Zionists claimed that a state should be established for the Jews. They were insistent on these demands and overthrew Britain's control over Palestine of which they were said to be "controlling". Native Palestinians were consequently made to live as refugees in their own land as immoral, cheating Zionists forced them out of their homes and stated that Palestine was the promised land for the Jews. This genocide is unfortunately still occurring in the once beautiful state of Palestine, however, if you look on a recent map you will notice that "Israel"is taking up more of where Palestine should be. Palestinian's are loosing more and more authority of their own land ..sound fair? Yes, it is believed that we should learn from history but does the suffering of innocent Palestinians (including women, elderly people and children) not seem familiar to anyone? It's as if the Holocaust is being repeated. And now the Israelis are not content with the land they have, and are starting to expand into the West Bank.

Answer 5

Some corrections to Answer 3. Zionism was actually born in the 1880's, and had begun prior to the Holocaust. in 1936, there were more than a million Jews living in what is today called Israel.

The Jewish national fund started buying up land for decades. The Holocaust only accelerated the process of Israel becoming a state. Unfortunately, this information is not taught in Muslim schools. Muslims are taught that Zionism is a conquering mentality, which it's not. It's simply a love of Israel and a desire to return there.

Today, The Israeli government has NO DESIRE to take the Palestinian land (although at one time, they did). The problem now is that Israel refuses to negotiate the status of Jerusalem and the Palestinians refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist. as of 2011, Prime Minister Netanyahu has openly pleaded for the Palestinians to return to negotiations, but the Palestinian Authority refuses.

Answer 6

The answer can be traced back to Israel's history and calling as a people of God where the Lord promised the patriarch Abraham and his descendants to give Canaan as his inheritance. God did not count worthy the former inhabitants of the land as their sin has arouse God to anger. God in His holiness and integrity chose Israel instead to possess Canaan in fulfillment to His promise to Abraham.

Answer 5

There is no one major cause of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. There are numerous causes that together lead to the Arab-Israeli Conflict.

Please see the Related Question for more information.

Answer 6

Answer 1

The Palestinian people, who are primarily Muslims, have religious differences with the Jews, causing conflict. But in a more sensible thought the Palestinians and Jews are fight over a strip of land no bigger than Manhattan named the Gaza strip.

Answer 2

If you are using Jew as euphemism for Israeli, click the link below for information as to the causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If, however, you are curious about why Jews worldwide are in conflict with Palestinians in the public forum, examine the below answers in addition to those on the linked page.

1) Denial of Israel's Right to Exist: Since Jews feel a strong ethno-religious kinship with Israel, Palestinian attacks on the Right of Israel to Exist or to Defend Itself often draw Jewish anger because Jews see Israelis as their brothers.

2) Anti-Semitic Messages: Jews are angry that in many mosques, messages of tolerance and acceptance of Jews are few and far between. The message spread is one of hatred and a desire to prevent reconciliation. In addition, television in Palestine tends to be strongly biased against Jews and Israel, uniting the two in such shows as Farfur by Hamas. Finally, Palestinians are strongly discouraged from reading and discovering other points of view in the world, preventing them from having an honest understanding of what Judaism stands for and believes.

3) Palestinian Lack of Recognition for Jewish Holy Sites:Many Palestinians refuse to acknowledge any sort of Jewish connection to Land of Israel because they believe that doing so would provide tacit acceptance for the validity of the State of Israel. Thus, many Jews get angered when Palestinians allege that all of the Jewish Holy Sites there are either Zionist fabrications or scriptural lies.

4) Islamic Support for Terrorism: This is pretty straightforward. Jews are angry that Palestinians support organizations whose stated objectives are the slaughter of Israeli and Jewish civilians. Similarly Palestinians are angered whenever Jews give contributions to Israel or to the IDF because they feel similarly that Jews are paying to kill Palestinian civilians

because of land and worship

See the linked question for additional reasons.

Answer 7

The conflict between the Arabs and the Jews goes all the way back to biblical times. According to the bible, Koran, and the Torah, God promised Abraham and his wife Sarah that they would have a son. After their efforts proved fruitless Sarah instructed her husband to sleep with their Egyptian slave Hagar. Hagar bore a son named Ishmael. Soon after Sarah became pregnant with Isaac. Sarah instructed her husband to send Hagar and Ishmael into the desert. God promised Abraham that his offspring would inhabit the promise land. Now here's where the conflict starts. Muslims believe that Ishmael is the legitimate offspring of Abraham, and Jews believe that it is Isaac. So both religions believe that they are entitled to the promise land (Jerusalem). Fast forward to the current problem. The Jewish people had inhabited the land in the middle east for years, but have been repeatedly conquered or kicked out, especially by the Romans. The Romans carried out Diaspora's, which spread the Jewish population throughout the Roman Empire. So after years of being kicked out of their land, the Jewish people got fed up and turned to outside powers, mainly Britain. It was decided to let the Jewish people migrate back to their "home land" (modern day Israel and Palestine) but only in closely monitored numbers. This was all well with the Jewish population, but there was one problem. The Arabs now inhabited the land, and they did not like the Jewish people moving in by the thousands. This caused conflicts with the Jews and Arab; so much conflict that the UN had to step in. The UN came up with a "solution" called the UN partition plan. The split up that land of Palestine and made two nations. The Jewish nation was named Israel, and the Arabs got the area of Palestine. Fast forward to modern day and there is an increasing amount of conflict. The Arabs are mad that they had to give up their land and control, and the Jewish are mad because Palestinian (Arabs) are becoming violent. This is a conflict that has been escalating for years, and seems to be impossible to solve.

Answer 8

There have been several Arab-Palestinian Battles and intermittent and long periods of Palestinian mistreatment at Arab hands. In fact, more Palestinians have died as a result of the Arab-Palestinian Conflict than the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict to date. There are two general variants of these conflicts and they have separate causes and history.

1) Failure to Integrate Refugees: The Arab-Palestinian Conflict is based on the fact that many Arab governments would rather watch Palestinians suffer in refugee camps in order to use them as pawns against Israel than to let them integrate into Arab society at large. This leads (necessarily) to profound rage among Palestinians, especially in Lebanon where anti-integration policies are strongest. When the Palestinians revolt against the treatment they have received, they are put down violently by the army of the country in which the refugee camp is located. One of the worst of these such massacres is the Battle of Nahr el-Bared in 2007. See the link below for further information.

2) Palestinian Militant Organizations: The Palestine Liberation Organization and Hamas have been searching almost continuously for countries willing to tolerate their activities of promoting violence and sabotaging the State of Israel. Since most of these organizations are made up of thugs and espouse violence, the neighborhoods near wherever these organizations set-up shop become very problematic. In addition, there is much international condemnation for these organizations. This leads to the armies of whatever country they have lodged themselves in to demand their departure and attack their positions in that country. One of the most important of these fights was the Jordanian removal of the PLO called Black September. See the link below for further information.

Answer 9

Which Palestinian conflict is the question referring to?

1) Is it the Arab-Palestinian Conflict? -- which began in 1948, but became much more violent in the 1970s and 1980s, killing between 5,000-25,000 Palestinians depending on the estimates used. This conflict began when the Palestinians fled from the former Mandate of Palestine and the governments of the Arab countries to which they fled preferred to effectively incarcerate them in refugee camps for generations.

2) Is it the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict? -- which began in the 1920s, but became much more widespread in 1947 with the Jewish-Arab Engagement and the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9. Approximately 19,000 Palestinians have died in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. This conflict started in the conflict between Zionism (Jewish Nationalism) and resurgent Arab Nationalism. It continues as a conflict between these two nationalisms and various religious, political, social, and economic groups which have chosen to support one side or the other.

3) Is it the Palestinian Civil War? -- which began in 2006, but most violence took place in 2007 with approximately 600-1000 deaths. The causes of this conflict deal primarily with leadership/political disputes between Fatah and Hamas over governance of the Palestinian Territories.

See the Related Questions below for the different Palestinian Conflicts.

• What are the causes of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?
• What are the causes of the Palestinian Civil War?
• What are the causes of the Arab-Palestinian Conflict?

Answer 10

Causes for the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:

1) Hallowed Land: The Jews consider the Land of Israel (which is not necessarily all in the borders of the State of Israel) to be a holy piece of land in that God promised it to the Jewish people as an eternal inheritance. Thus, some Jews, especially Religious Zionists see resettlement of the Land of Israel by Jews to be part of God's plan and mandate and therefore do everything in their power to settle it. In addition, it contains specific religious and historical sites such as the Western Wall and the Old City of Jerusalem, the Cave of Machpelah, the Old City of Jaffa, and the Sanctuary of Shiloh among others. Muslims also consider Jerusalem holy because of Mohammed ascending to Heaven on the Buraq over Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Both cultures want to ensure maintenance and access to the sites which they feel have been limited by the other. (Jews claim that Jordanians used the Western Wall as a landfill and Arabs argue that Israelis arbitrarily close off access to Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

2) Zionism: A number of Jews in Europe began to feel that they were being permanently and deliberately excluded from parts of European society because of the prevalent racial and pseudo-scientific forms of Anti-Semitism. They believed that there was no possible equality between European nationals and their Jewish residents and were disinterested in the Andalucian Solution because they did not want to be second-class citizens. They believed that the Jewish people needed to form a political apparatus (an Independent State) to defend themselves and their civil rights. Zionism originally had purely secular connotations, but with the advent of Religious Zionism, the powerful secular cause of Zionism joined with the Hallowed Land idea to provoke conflict. Zionism is strongly opposed by many for many different reasons. See the link at the bottom of the page for Anti-Zionist arguments and rationales.

3) Halutzim & Jewish Land Acquisition: In the First Zionist Congress in 1897, the main resolution was to acquire, by any means, a piece of land to be made a country for the Jews. Early Zionists tried to figure out how to attract Jews to leave their country of origin and come to build this Jewish State. The general consensus always revolved around building a State in the Land of Israel/British Mandate of Palestine since that would make attraction easiest. (The idea of the Jews Returning to Israel had a very romantic notion to Jews at the time and still does today.) As a result, politically influential Jews began purchasing tracts of land from the Ottoman Pashas in control of the territory without indigenous consent and promptly began to develop it. The indigenous Palestinians took issue with the migrations of these Halutzim (Jewish Pioneers) but as the land was bought legitimately, they had little recourse but to allow them to arrive. This occupation and colonialism were certainly not greeted with friendly handshakes or pats on the back by the indigenous inhabitants who stood to lose everything.

4) Balfour Declaration, the Holocaust, and UN Resolution 181: The European Climate also supported the Zionist idea of forming a Jewish State in the Middle East, as it would allow Jews to leave Europe, stop being a European problem, and prevent Europeans from needing to absorb Jewish refugees. This led to a rapid increase in the numbers of Jews in Israel. In addition, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration which declared Britain's intent to create a Jewish State in the Middle East. This, however, was not on most people's radar, until the Holocaust proved to Europeans (and Jews) that Europe was no longer safe for Judaism. UN Resolution 181 promoted a partitioning of the British Mandate of Palestine into a Jewish State and an Arab State. While this resolution did pass (and is in fact legally binding) many Arabs find issue with its decision because there were not enough independent Arab States to vote it down.

5) Palestinian Exodus & UNRWA: This is probably the most thorny issue between Israel and Palestine. During the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9 (in which Palestinian militias also participated), many Palestinians were forced out of their homes by Israeli soldiers due to brutal atrocities. In addition, many left because they feared similar outcomes. Also Arab leaders encouraged the exodus, because they believed that they could destroy Israel and safely return all of the Palestinians after the conflict. However, this did not happen and a large number of Palestinians (some estimate four million) are in UNRWA Refugee Camps and there is a large Palestinian Diaspora. They have not forgiven Israel for not allowing them to return after the War or at any subsequent point in time.

6) Occupation of the West Bank & Gaza: In 1967, Israel fought the Six-Day War against the Arab States and took over control of the West Bank and Gaza. These territories did not come under Israeli Civil Authority and have been instead militarily controlled. Palestinians who live in these territories have to contend with Israeli checkpoints, military provisions, and incoming settlers (from the Hallowed Land section). This occupation is perceived by Palestinians to be a repression of their Right to a State and their ability to lead normal productive lives. Settlers in the territories act in a very cavalier fashion (similar to cowboys in the Wild West) and steal property owned by Palestinian families for generations in the name of Religious Zionism. Zionist Squatters are a huge problem in cities like Hebron where these individuals have "liberated" over a quarter of the city from its Palestinian inhabitants and begun to drive a wedge into those communities.

7) Blockade of Gaza & Dependence of the West Bank: Due to the militancy of Hamas, Israel has found it necessary for defense to form a blockade around Gaza and to only allow certain materials into the territory. This has resulted in a Human Relief Crisis in the Gaza where the average caught in the struggle barely have enough food, heat, and light to adequately survive. On a different token, the West Bank (as controlled by the Palestine Authority) is a patchwork of separate unconnected jurisdictions. As a result, the West Bank leaders depend on Israel for defense coordination, tax collection, and assurances of safety from settlers. This creates a secondary occupation-dynamic where the Palestinian government is bound to the desires and wishes of the Israeli people in addition to its actual constituency.

8) Retaliation: This one is fairly simple. Each side honors its fallen by engaging in retaliatory killings and attacks. In addition, the retaliation is usually on a larger scale than the offense. (I.e. one death results in ten retaliatory deaths etc.) The memories of these attacks remain years and decades after the actual events took place.

9) Euro-American Superiority to Muslims: (Written by someone else) After WWII, Zionists claimed that a state should be established for the Jews. Israel being created was another example of the British and American leaders feeling superior to Muslims. England and US must still see 'Muslims' as inferior humans, while still defending Israel.

10) Jewish Rejection of Dhimmitude: (Written by someone else) The Arabs rejected the Jewish state purely because it was Jewish. Had it been just another Muslim group, a separate state would have been accepted without controversy. But it was intolerable to allow the Dhimmis (the non-Muslims who lived in Muslim States) to set up a state. Even worse, one in which Dhimmis would rule over some Muslims. This problem - and nothing else - is the root cause of the conflict.

Additional Info:
See the related questions for a more in-depth discussion of the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

Questions on the Jewish-Arab Conflict?
What is the Jewish Arab Conflict?
What are the causes of the Jewish-Arab Conflict?
How did the Jewish-Arab Conflict start?

Questions on the Arab-Israeli Conflict
What is the Arab-Israeli conflict about?
What are the causes of the Arab-Israeli Conflict?
What are the events of the Arab-Israeli Conflict?

Questions of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
What is the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?
What are the events of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?
What are the effects of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?
What are some possible solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?

Questions on the Arab-Palestinian Conflict
What are the causes of the Arab-Palestinian Conflict?

Questions on the History of Israel
How was modern Israel established?
What is the origin story of the modern State of Israel?

Questions on Hatred of Israel
What are the causes of Anti-Zionism?
Why do people hate Israel?

Questions on Animosity
What caused Jews and Muslims to become enemies?