Israeli / Palestinian Conflict

Issue: The Palestinians want full statehood with all the rights of an independant nation. They want to control their own borders and military. Israel fears that its security will be compromised and that the new state will be used as a staging ground for attacks. Both peoples want control over Jerusalem. Israel has claimed complete control, and the city has been its capitol since 1980. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as their capitol because of the large population that lives there. The Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights are other subjects of dispute. The area of the Gaza Strip and West Bank is as large as the American state of Deleware, yet is inhabited by 2.2 million Palestinians and only 145,000 Israeli's. There are 3 million more Palestinians in the Arab world, primarily in Jordan, as well as 850,000 in Israel alone.

Israeli / Palestinian Conflict: Conflicting Views
Israeli View Jews will be persecuted wherever they are in the minority; thus Jews must be in the majority and the state of Israel allows them that. The Jews have undergone the Holocaust - they deserve their own land to be protected. Israel is (according to the scripture) the promised land. Israel is a democracy. The Israeli's have a right to national security. The West Bank supplies 40% of all of Israel's water supply. The Palestiians may have domestic autonomy. The Palestinians are terrorists. The Palestinians have the third largest birthrate in the world - they will multiply and take over the country.	Palestinian View The Palestinians are entitled to their own homeland. They are being tortured by Israeli forces. The Jews are persecuting the Palestinians as they themselves have been persecuted. There is no difference between what Israel is doing to the Palestinians as what the United States settlers did to the Native Americans. Jerusalem is Islam's religous city as well. 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the 1993 Oslo Accords. 50 Israeli's have died. The Palestinian's are not terrorists. A people cgaed can be expected to rebel - the Jews themselves did this. Israel must withdraw its troops. We want a sovereign nation.

Israeli / Palestinian Conflict:
Conflicting Views

Israeli View

Jews will be persecuted wherever they are in the minority; thus Jews must be in the majority and the state of Israel allows them that.
The Jews have undergone the Holocaust - they deserve their own land to be protected.
Israel is (according to the scripture) the promised land.
Israel is a democracy.
The Israeli's have a right to national security.
The West Bank supplies 40% of all of Israel's water supply.
The Palestiians may have domestic autonomy.
The Palestinians are terrorists.
The Palestinians have the third largest birthrate in the world - they will multiply and take over the country.

Palestinian View

The Palestinians are entitled to their own homeland.
They are being tortured by Israeli forces.
The Jews are persecuting the Palestinians as they themselves have been persecuted.
There is no difference between what Israel is doing to the Palestinians as what the United States settlers did to the Native Americans.
Jerusalem is Islam's religous city as well.
1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the 1993 Oslo Accords. 50 Israeli's have died. The Palestinian's are not terrorists.
A people cgaed can be expected to rebel - the Jews themselves did this.
Israel must withdraw its troops.
We want a sovereign nation.