Palestine and Israel

For as long as I can remember the Palestine/Israel Conflict has raged through the Middle East, and in the last few months a new conflict has arisen in one of the most war torn parts of the region, the Gaza Strip. The flame that the Balfour Declaration of 1917 ignited those many years ago burns more brightly with the renewed conflict in Gaza. I am neither Jewish nor Muslim, neither am I Anti-Semitic nor Anti-Islam; I do believe, however, that this conflict has gone on long enough. With the establishment of Israel in an already inhabited area, the region became more volatile in an instant and the tensions continue to grow stronger today.
For centuries there was no Palestine/Israel Conflict; there was peace. The region was inhabited by a multicultural population; Muslims, Christians, and Jews alike shared this land and lived in peace. Today, however, the headlines of news stations across the globe are littered with footage of suicide bombings, and rocket attacks by Hamas and Fatah, and brutal raids carried out by the Israeli Army. Israel possesses one of the world’s most powerful armies. According to the CIA World Fact Book Israel devotes 7.3% of its GDP (Gross Deficit Product) to the military (that’s approximately 14 billion dollars a year). The Palestinians do not possess a military, in fact, they aren’t allowed to according to the Palestinian-Israeli Interim Agreement. Yet, the fighting continues.
There are three primary issues within the Palestine/Israel Conflict: the original population of what is now Israel was majority Muslim and Christian; however, displaced Muslims and Christians are barred from returning to their homes in the self-declared Jewish state, and those within Israel are actually discriminated against. In 1993 the Oslo Peace Accords declared that the West Bank and Gaza Strip, obtained by Israel in a previous conflict, were to be returned and made a Palestinian state. Israel, however, has continued its military occupation of these lands. When Israel continued to confiscate land in these areas and move citizens onto it, the Palestinian populace rebelled. These rebellions are in the form of suicide bombings and missile attacks by both Hamas and Fatah. According to The New York Times between the dates of December 27, 2008 and January 2, 2009 approximately 430 Palestinians and four Israelis were killed. Finally, Iran supplies Hamas with its weapons; Iran enables Hamas to wreak havoc on the Israelis.
The cease-fire established by Hamas and Israel in 2005 was broken on November 4, 2008, when Israel went into Gaza and killed six Palestinians. The Israeli government stated that these Palestinians plotted to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Hamas retaliated and began its rocket attacks on Israel. In order for any ground to be made between these two factions the international community must step in. The United Nations (U.N.) should demand that a cease-fire be negotiated. Contrary to popular belief, Hamas and Fatah have firmly declared that they are open and willing to participate in negotiations which are based on international borders and rights. The U.N. should mandate that Israel end its blockade of Gaza, and put an end to Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Lastly the U.N. should mandate that all rocket attacks into Israel be stopped. Common ground must be made.
Hopefully at the end of solving this conflict the United Nations would seek to end the Palestine/Israel Conflict once and for all. The U.N. should demand that Israel give back the West Bank and Gaza according to the Oslo Accords of 1993. Make religious relics and sites international zones free of occupation by any one country, as they do with the various U.N. forums. The international community should seek to eliminate conflict which has the potential to continue well into this century. It has taken the lives of hundreds of innocents; hundreds of men, women, and children have fallen during this massacre in Gaza, which adds to the death toll in the region. We cannot let it go on any longer.