Israel vs. Palestine

2002 - ongoing by 2011

Core issue: Conflict between Israel and Palestinians over
the existence of a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank

Type of conflict ending: Conflict ongoing by 2011

The Israel-Palestine conflict is rooted in the creation of the Israeli state after the end of the Second World War. Since then, these two entities have engaged in numerous open conflicts regarding the issues of Palestinian refugees or the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. A major change came in 1993 with the Oslo Accords. The Oslo Accords, signed by Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat, meant
a step forward in the peaceful settlement of the core issue. Both sides recognized each other as legitimate representatives of their people and set an agenda for negotiations towards conflict resolution. In the aftermath of the Oslo Accords, the Palestine National Authority (PNA) was created with Yasir Arafat as its first Chairperson. From 1995 and Oslo II Accords, Palestine can be considered to be a de facto state. The situation worsened in 2000 with the outbreak of the Second Intifada. Israel and the PLO were once again in a military conflict. Major escalation which is also considered to be a start of the frozen conflict came in 2002 with Israeli Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank. 2005 is considered as the end of the Second Intifada, but the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit failed to stop violence completely or resolve the underlying core issues. As a result of Hamas victory in 2006 elections in Palestine, relations between Palestine and Israel and international community quickly deteriorated. The situation eneded up in violent clash between Hamas and Fatah.

The Gaza Strip subsequently fell under the control of Hamas in the summer of 2007, effectively establishing de facto state in its own right, while Fatah was left in control of the West Bank. Negotiations between the Fatah-dominated PNA and Israel led to a joint statement in support of a two-state solution at the end of 2007. Further negotiations, such as direct talks between PNA an Israel facilitated by the United States in 2010, failed to reach an agreement on core issues by 2011.

Sources

Cohen, S. 2013. "Revisiting Territorial Pragmatism in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict", Eurasian Geography and Economics, 51 (6), 733-743.

Lesch, D.W., 2019. "The Arab-Israeli conflict: a history." New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Mahler, G.S., 2019. "The Arab-Israeli conflict: an introduction and documentary reader." London: Routledge.

"UCDP - Uppsala Conflict Data Program: Israel: Palestine." 2018, Accessed 4 October 2019 <https://ucdp.uu.se/#conflict/234>