Israeli-Palestinian conflict with neighboring countries

It is hardly surprising that the long and bloody history of the Palestinian and the Israeli people is also linked to the conflict that Israel has with its neighboring countries. Before we understand the current status of these countries in relation to the conflict, it is important to first know the history between these regions.

This long history of bloodshed has lasted more than half a century starting from 1948 when the British Mandate of Palestine ended and Israel declared its independence. Using the two state solution declared by the United Nations, the Jewish State of Israel was founded.On May 14th the armies of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Jordan invaded the country starting the Arab-Israeli War which the Israeli’s eventually won. They also gained the area of what is now called the Sinai peninsula, Gaza strip West Bank in the Six Day War against Egypt in 1967.

The next major war between Egypt and the Syrians against the Israeli forces was during the Yom Kippur war in 1973. The Israelis eventually returned the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt after a peace treaty was signed in 1979. This was followed by a peace treaty from Jordan in 1994.This essay will discuss how the conflicts between the Palestinians and Israelis affect the neighboring countries of Syria, Lebanon and Jordan (MidEastWeb). In order to understand the relationship of the conflict with Jordan and Lebanon it is important to go back to 1964 to the formation of the Palestine Liberation Organization or PLO. The Arab league ratified the creation of the PLO in order to create a body which would realize the destruction of Israel.

The outflow of Palestinians from their homeland after the creation of Israel in 1948 led the PLO to establish itself in Jordan.In 1971 the PLO were expelled from Jordan and settled in Lebanon. After a few years of activity they started riots which eventually led to the Lebanon civil war which would last for another 15 years and end with the expulsion of the PLO from Lebanon and eventual settlement in Jordan. It was during this time of civil war that the PLO carried out several attacks on the Israeli homeland. The PLO allied with Syria in 1981 to position missiles in Lebanon that were used to attack the Israelis which led to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

Since then there have been several altercations between the forces of Israel and Lebanon (MidEastWeb). There have been several instances of Israeli forces breaching Lebanese borders in order to fight the Hezbollah organization such as in 1993 on the south Lebanese border, in 1996 and then again in 2000 and then in 2003. The last major conflict that occurred in 2006, this was the year when Hezbollah fighters crossed the border from Lebanon into Israel and killed eight Israeli soldiers. This led to the 2006 Lebanon war which caused much destruction in Lebanon and ended on August 14, 2006 (CNN. om ).

The increasing conflicts between the Israelis and Hezbollah have led to the rise of radical Islam in Lebanon and the sectarianism of Sunnis and Shiites. This has led to fears among the Christian Lebanese population of violence against them and mass exodus of this minority has begun (Hirst). Another country that has been affected by this war is Syria. Syria has been bombed by Israel for several years with the latest bombing on September 6, 2007 on an eastern Syrian complex that was alleged to be a nuclear reactor built with the aid of the North Koreans.However, in 2008 the Syrian President Bshar Al Assad said that peace between Syria and Israel was being actively pursued. Israel has responded favorably to a peace treaty saying that they would be willing to withdraw from Golan Heights as a part of it (The New York Times ).

The situation in Jordan however is somewhat different from the other countries mentioned. Unlike other countries Jordan has enjoyed a good relationship with Israel since it signed a peace treaty with it in 1994.Growths of practical trade, economic co-operation and tourism have brought great benefits to the Jordanian economy (APS Diplomat). However, with the increasing violence against the Palestinian people the Jordanians also have to deal with hundreds of thousands of refugees who seek to gain access to Jordan especially from the West Bank.

Additionally there are political factions in Jordan which see the 1994 peace treaty as a mistake giving power in the country to organizations such as Hamas.In response to this the Jordanian monarchy has taken measures to still the voice of these organizations and calm dissent among the populace. However, the continuing dissent from governmental ranks has shown that they are not immune to the effects of the Palestinian Conflict (APS Diplomat). It is not difficult to see how the history of the conflict in the region has shaped the futures of the countries in question. No doubt with the continuing hostilities between the two sides the region will continue to evolve and change.

What it will change into is what all are waiting to see.