18 MAY 15, 2017

Can Israelis and Palestinians

MAKE PEACE?Will President Donald Trump be able to help solve

the longest-running conflict in the Middle East? BY BROOKE ROSS

IT IS ONE OF THE MOST fought

over areas on Earth, and it is only

about the size of New Jersey. Once

known as Palestine, the region

today includes the Middle Eastern

nation of Israel and neighboring

Palestinian territories. The area has

been mired in conflict for centuries.

The struggle is rooted in com-

peting claims over land by two

groups that live there. Israel is about

75 percent Jewish. The Palestinian

terri tories of the West Bank and the

Gaza Strip are mostly Arab. (See map,

p. 21.) Both groups say the region

belongs to them. Their repeated

clashes have led to terrorist attacks

and even wars. Countless civilians

have been caught in the cross fire.

Many U.S. presidents have tried,

and failed, to find a compromise

A Palestinian woman walks past Israelis

in Jerusalem. The city is sacred to Jews,

Muslims, and Christians.

LIVING HISTORY Middle East • Map Skills

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between Israel, which is a U.S. ally,

and the Palestinians. Now, Presi-

dent Donald Trump says perhaps he

can settle the conflict by coming up

with a deal both sides can agree on.

“I would love to be able to be the

one that made peace with Israel and

the Palestinians,” he recently said.

Whether or not Trump can do

it is a matter of great concern for

the U.S. and the world. The Israeli-

Palestinian conflict has been a

destabilizing force in the Middle

East for decades. It has helped

create a breeding ground for ter-

rorism. Many terrorist groups that

want to harm the U.S. arose out of

chaos in the region. That includes

ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and

Syria), which has targeted Ameri-

cans and other Westerners.

Also, about 65 percent of the

world’s known oil reserves are in the

Middle East. Tensions in the region

threaten the flow of that oil, which is

essential for powering the world’s

cars, homes, and factories.

“Strategically, the Middle East is a

hugely important part of the world,”

says Christopher Rose of the Uni-

versity of Texas at Austin. If the

conflict between Israel and the Pal-

estinians is not settled, the Middle

East may never be stable or live up

to its potential.

Here is what you need to know

about Israel, the Palestinians, and

the challenges President Trump will

face if he gets involved in one of the

oldest conflicts in the world.

1 How did the conflict begin?

For many centuries, the region that

includes Israel and the Palestinian

territories was the homeland of the

Jews. In 63 b.c., the region was seized

by the Romans. They came to call it

Palestine. (See timeline, pp. 20-21.)

In 135 a.d., the Romans drove the

Jews out of Jerusalem. Many more

Jews fled the region altogether. In

636 a.d., Arab armies conquered the

region. Palestine then became dom-

inated by Arab and Islamic culture.

By the 1800s, many Jews began

moving to Palestine from Europe.

They wanted to build a nation of

their own in their former homeland.

Then, after World War I (1914-18),

Palestine came under British con-

trol. Britain made promises for

statehood to both Jews and Arabs.

After World War II (1939-1945) and

the Holocaust, in which 6 million

Jews were killed, the idea of estab-

lishing a Jewish state in the region

gained wider support. Jews began

moving to Palestine in increasing

numbers. Tensions soon erupted

between Palestinians and Jews.

2How have tensions escalated since?

In 1947, claims for the land still were

not settled. The United Nations

(U.N.) voted to split Palestine into

two states, one Jewish and one Arab.

Jews accepted the plan and the fol-

lowing year founded Israel. But

Palestinians considered the deal

unfair and rejected it. In 1948, Israel’s

Arab neighbors attacked. Israel

survived. But Palestinians Today, both Israelis and Palestinians live in the small region of the Middle East once known as Palestine. Both groups have strong ties to the area.

Israel built a barrier along much of

the West Bank to prevent terrorist attacks.

But Palestinians object to restrictions

of their movement.

20 MAY 15, 2017

remained without a country.

In 1967, Arab nations again set out

to destroy Israel. Their plan back-

fired. During what is now known

as the Six-Day War, Israel captured

Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza

Strip.* It also won territory from Jor-

dan, including eastern Jerusalem

and the West Bank. (See map, right.)

But with those new territories came

a whole population of Palestinians

living under Israeli occupation.

That meant further conflict.

3What is the situation like now?

Today, a tense standoff remains.

Nearly 3 million Palestinians live in

the West Bank, which is under partial

Palestinian control. But Israel con-

trols the area’s borders. Also, Israelis

have built settlements on what

Palestinians consider their land.

Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip is con-

trolled by Hamas, a Palestinian

extremist group. Hamas calls for

Israel’s destruction. At times it fires

rockets into Israeli towns, killing

civilians and setting off crackdowns

from the Israeli military. PA

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4 Can the conflict be resolved?

Many observers say the only answer

is a “two-state solution.” That would

give Palestinians their own country

alongside Israel. This nation could

consist of the West Bank and the

Gaza Strip. But making this idea a

reality has proved difficult.

Palestinians demand that Israel

withdraw from the settlements in the

West Bank and return to pre-1967

borders. But some Israelis say that the

settlements are necessary for security

along Israel’s eastern border.

The two sides also cannot agree on

the status of Jerusalem. That ancient

city has sites that are holy to Jews,

Muslims, and Christians. Israel has

declared Jerusalem its capital, but

most of the world does not recognize

it as such. Palestinians, meanwhile,

also claim the city as their own. They

see it as their future capital.

5Can President Trump help achieve peace?

Trump campaigned as Israel’s great

ally, trying to distinguish himself

from former President Barack

Obama. Obama was also an ally of

Israel, but he had a strained rela-

tionship with Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu.

In February, Trump met with

Netanyahu at the White House.

Trump said then that he was open

to any ideas that would bring peace,

including alternatives to the two-

state solution. That was a big change

from decades of U.S. policy.

“Our current president said,

‘Let’s erase the whiteboard and start

again,’” says Anthony Wanis-St.

John of American University in

Washington, D.C.

But Middle East expert Rose says

it is too early to tell whether the pres-

ident will be able to negotiate peace.

“Part of the issue here is that it

has to be a deal that [people in the

region] can accept,” he explains.

“They’re the ones that have to live

with it and abide by it. That’s the

much more complicated part.” ◆

CORE QUESTION How might the U.S. benefit if peace is achieved between Israel and the Palestinians?

1250 b.c.People who come to be known as Israelites and later as Jews settle in Canaan (present-day Israel and neighboring nations). About 1000 b.c., the Israelite king makes Jerusalem the capital of the kingdom of Israel.

600s a.d.In 63 b.c., the Romans conquer the area. In 135 a.d., they expel Jews from Jerusalem. About 500 years later, in 636 a.d., Arab armies conquer most of the Middle East. Eventually, the area becomes mostly Arab.

1930sPersecution by Nazi Germany spurs many Jews in Europe to move to Palestine, joining previous migrations. International pressure builds for a restored Jewish homeland. The Arabs of Palestine resist.

1947Jews accept a U.N. plan to divide Palestine, but Arabs reject it. In 1948, Israel declares its independence. Arab nations attack. When the war ends in 1949, Israel holds even more territory, and about 700,000 Arabs are displaced.

A Region in Conflict

TIMELINE

*Israel later withdrew from both territories, returning the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt and ceding control of Gaza to the Palestinians.

LIVING HISTORY

JUNIOR.SCHOLASTIC.COM 21

1. Iran is located on which continent?

2. What is the capital of Lebanon?

3. Which area under Palestinian control lies on the Mediterranean Sea?

4. Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan all have coastline along which body of water?

5. In which direction would you have to travel to get from Haifa, Israel, to Jericho in the West Bank?

6. Jerusalem straddles what border?

7. Looking at the map, what area appears to be disputed by Israel and Syria?

8. About how many straight-line miles separate the capitals of Iraq and Iran?

9. Which city is located at approximately 40°N, 33°E?

10. What is the approximate latitude and longitude of Jerusalem?

Map SkillsIsrael and Its Neighbors

1967When Arab countries fight Israel in the Six-Day War, Israel captures areas that include eastern Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Israel starts building settlements in the new territory.

1987Palestinians begin a revolt against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Despite a treaty between Israel and Palestinian Arabs in 1993, the violence continues. In 2005, Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip.

2007The group Hamas seizes control of the Gaza Strip. Frustrated by rocket attacks from militants, Israel declares war against Hamas in 2008. The three-week conflict kills about 1,300 people, almost all of them Palestinians.

2017President Trump hopes to negotiate a peace deal between Israelis and the Palestinians and says he’s open to alternatives to the two-state solution. One of many obstacles is the status of Jerusalem, which both groups claim.

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