The Israeli- Palestinian conflict has been the longest ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The roots of the crisis can be traced back to the 19th century with the rise of national movements, such as Arab nationalism and Zionism. The religious and historical differences play a major part with this. Both the Arabs and the Jews were desperate to make a home on the same land which is now Israel and the Palestinian states. Before the British left there were constant internal wars between the Jews and Muslims over the future. In 1948 the ‘State of Israel’ was declared with a Jewish majority and the Arab’s got the small sections which included the West Bank and the Gaza strip. In the next years the border of Palestine became a place of constant bloodshed as both sides want more land. There is not sufficient space for the Palestinians and the Jews want to expel them in order to control the area. As a result there have been constant bombings and ‘legal’ construction of houses on the Palestinian territory. There have been 3 civil wars in the past decades and the ‘two state’ solution has clearly no impact.
“Even the pyramids one day will disappear but not Palestinians longing for their homeland”
–Eduard Shevardnadze