DOCSLIB.ORG

Israel and the Middle East News Update

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Israel and the Middle East News Update Israel and the Middle East News Update Tuesday, February 2 Headlines: Poll: Most Israelis Want Peace Talks, But Are Skeptical IDF to Reopen Ramallah as Palestinians Besieged in Their Own City IDF Searching for Hamas Tunnels Along Gaza Border Israel Prepares to Demolish Home of Palestinian Officer Who Shot Soldiers DEA: Hezbollah Drug Money Scheme Disrupted Russia Assured Israel It Isn’t Transferring Arms to Hezbollah in Syria Almost All West Bank Land Deals for Illegal Settlements Forged Commentary: Yedioth Ahronoth: “While You Were Sleeping” By Sever Plocker, Chief Economic Editor, Yedioth Ahronoth Al-Monitor: “How Bibi Was Blindsided by the French Ultimatum” By Mazal Mualem, Israel Pulse Columnist, Al-Monitor S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 www.centerpeace.org ● Yoni Komorov, Editor ● David Abreu, Associate Editor News Excerpts February 2, 2016 Jerusalem Post Poll: Most Israelis Want Peace Talks, But Are Skeptical Most Israelis support negotiations between Israel and the PA, including a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, but are skeptical that talks will yield results, according to the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University’s monthly Peace Index poll, released Tuesday. When asked for their stance about peace negotiations between Israel and the PA, 61.8% are in favor to some degree, while 32.8% oppose to some degree. Israeli Arabs are far more likely to support talks, with 59.6% very in favor and 27.1% somewhat, than Israeli Jews, who are 26.3% very supportive and 30.6% somewhat. See also, “What is the Likelihood of the International Community Pressuring a Two-State Solution?” (Peace Index) Ma’ariv IDF to Reopen Ramallah as Palestinians Besieged in Their City For the first time since the start of the terror wave, the IDF took a harsh step yesterday and imposed a partial closure on Ramallah, the most important city of the PA. Last night, after a situation assessment meeting, the IDF decided to lift it. News of the closure took the residents of Ramallah by surprise. They only learned of the matter when they were leaving their houses on the way to work or to run errands. As a result, traffic jams several kilometers long were created throughout the day in areas leading to checkpoints. Many voiced feelings of frustration and rage. One resident stuck in the traffic jam said angrily that a closure would only make things worse: “Not all Palestinians shoot at the Israelis. This checkpoint is effectively creating the next terrorist as a result of frustration.” See also, “Israel Lifts Ramallah Access Restrictions” (Wall Street Journal) Ynet News IDF Searching for Hamas Tunnels Along Gaza Border In an effort to assuage increasing concerns by Israelis living along the Gaza border who say they've been hearing banging and clattering at night by Hamas digging under their homes, the IDF has started to drill along the border in an effort to locate terror tunnels. The military is also installing classified technological systems to identify tunnels. So far, the military has yet to find an attack tunnel inside Israel. "The fear among everyone here is constant," said Nissim Hakmon, from moshav Pri Gan near the Gaza Strip. "I've heard the sound of a hammer and chisel and my neighbor says she can hear them digging under the cement. We're stressed out." See also, "Israel Keen to Lower the Sound of War Drums" (Ha'aretz) Jerusalem Post Israel Prepares to Demolish Home of Palestinian Officer The IDF and Civil Administration, secured by Border Police forces, mapped out the home of Amjad Sukkari in the West Bank village of Jami'n, southeast of Kalkilya on Tuesday. Sukkari carried out the shooting attack on Sunday in which 3 IDF soldiers were wounded at a checkpoint near the Beit El settlement. His home is scheduled to be demolished, in line with instructions from the government. 2 CNN DEA: Hezbollah Drug Money Scheme Disrupted The Drug Enforcement Administration announced Monday that an international operation netted a Hezbollah network using millions in drug money to fund terrorist activity in Syria and Lebanon. The arrests targeted a division of Hezbollah that provides "a revenue and weapons stream...responsible for devastating terror attacks around the world," DEA Acting Deputy Administrator Jack Riley said. Seven countries including France, Germany, Italy and Belgium, were involved in the operation, which apprehended four individuals. The investigation began last February, with the DEA saying that additional arrests were likely. See also, “US Nabs Global Hezbollah Money-Laundering Network” (Ynet News) Ha’aretz Russia Assured Israel It Isn't Transferring Arms to Hezbollah Russia assured Israel a few weeks ago it hasn’t transferred and will not transfer arms to Hezbollah in the course of its military operations in Syria, Israel’s ambassador to Moscow told the Knesset on Monday. Ambassador Zvi Heifetz’s remarks were reported to Ha’aretz by several MKs who attended the meeting. Heifetz stressed before the MKs, in wake of the Daily Beast report quoting Hezbollah commanders on Russian support, that the Russian ambassador in Tel Aviv reached out to senior officials in Israel's Foreign Minister on his own initiative and said the reports were baseless. The Russian ambassador stressed that the Russian government conducted an internal investigation of the issue and verified no arms were passed from Russian troops in Syria to Hezbollah. Ha’aretz Almost All West Bank Land Deals for Illegal Settlements Forged A fraud squad investigation has revealed that 14 of 15 supposed real estate acquisitions made by Al- Watan, a company run by pro-settlement activist Ze’ev Hever and owned by the right wing Amana, were forged. Details of the West Bank forgery industry were broadcast on Tuesday in an investigative report on the Channel 10 program HaMakor with Raviv Drucker. In recent years, whenever the state sought to evacuate illegal outposts in the Binyamin region, Al-Watan officials would announce that they had bought the local lands from their Palestinian owners. The documents often turned out to be forged. A police investigation that was opened in the case ended, and the case was transferred to the state prosecutor. The police did not interrogate Hever, but by questioning a chain of straw men it emerged that 14 of the 15 supposed deals were forged. 3 Yedioth Ahronoth – January 29, 2016 While You Were Sleeping By Sever Plocker At the end of 2008, some 260,000 Jews lived in the settlements in Judea and Samaria, as defined by the Central Bureau of Statistics. The number does not include the Jews in the territories annexed to Jerusalem in 1967 or the illegal settlement outposts. Now, based on the same definitions, some 400,000 Jews live in the settlements in Judea and Samaria. According to an estimate based on data provided by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, approximately another 220,000 Jews live in the territories annexed to the capital. Under the past three Netanyahu governments, the number of settlers has risen sharply by about 55%, an annual growth rate of 6.5%. In this period, the Jewish population of Israel grew by only 13%, or 1.8% per year. The growth rate of the settlements was three and a half times as fast as that of the Jewish population of Israel and double the rate of the Palestinian population. The reasons for this growth, ranked by their demographic weight: high natural increase, a housing (and identity) crisis in the Haredi sector and ideological internal migration. These were the seven fat years of the settlement enterprise that created a new national reality, in which the formula of two states for two peoples is becoming impossible to implement. The separation between Jews and Palestinians and the disengagement from the latter have become almost unreasonable and unfeasible. An addition of about 150,000 settlers—equivalent to five new cities of 30,000 residents each in the Negev and Galilee—required large additional governmental investments in physical and social infrastructure, in state institutions and in public services in Judea and Samaria. These budgetary figures are not open to the public. Some may see the settlement boom as a blessing, others may see it as a danger. In any case, the accelerated growth of the settlements has not captured public attention, it has not made headlines, it has not inflamed tempers. In these seven years, passions were inflamed by issues such as centralization of holding companies in the stock market, bank fees, prices of cottage cheese and dairy products, taxation of “trapped profits” (have you already forgotten what that means?), IDB’s debt settlement, the natural gas arrangement, high-tech exits and so forth. The public and political engagement in these issues was so intensive and took up so many resources that the moderate left wing and right wing did not have time and energy left to pick up their head, look beyond the Green Line and see what had changed in the Jewish settlements there. The seven fat years of the settlements passed under the radar. Is this by coincidence? If I believed in conspiracy theories, I would write that this is no accident. I would write that there was a governmental plot to flood the Israeli discourse with many popular consumer-economic issues just so the issue of the growing settlements did not arise. I would write that the leaders of this discourse served—some unwittingly, some consciously—the diversionary plot. But I do not believe in conspiracies, but rather in free choice: public opinion in Israel did not see the growth in the settler population because it did not want to see it.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • April 6 2020
    Israel and the Middle East News Update Monday, April 6 Headlines: • Cabinet Decides Lockdown in 8 Cities, Jerusalem Areas Amid Passover • Israel Seals Off Ultra-Orthodox Town Hit Hard by Coronavirus • Israel's Number of COVID-19 Cases Rises to 8,430 • Bennett Demands Defense Ministry Take Over Virus Battle from Health • Gantz Asks Rivlin for More Coalition-Forming Time • Eyeing Positions in Likud Govt, Labor Asks to End Left-Wing Alliance • PA Bans Israeli Goods to Prevent Spread of Coronavirus • Ex-IDF Generals: West Bank Annexation Could Cause Collapse of PA Commentary: • Ma’ariv: “‘An Appeal to Netanyahu: Health Ministry Versus the Scientists” - By Ben Caspit, commentator at Ma’ariv • Ha’aretz: “Who Needs Doctors When You Have an Army?” - By Raviv Drucker, commentator at Channel 13 News S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 www.centerpeace.org News Excerpts April 6, 2020 Times of Israel Cabinet Decides Lockdown in 8 Cities, Jerusalem Areas Amid Passover The cabinet early Monday adopted decisions to allow the government to close off several cities and neighborhoods across Israel and the West Bank to combat the spread of the coronavirus and also step up economic assistance to the battered economy. The cabinet, which met via telephone, authorized a ministerial committee to declare various areas in Israel with high infection rates as “restricted areas,” and gave the same powers to the Israel Defense Force commander in the West Bank. The cabinet statement, issued after midnight Sunday, did not say who the members of the committee would be.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of People-To-People Programs in the Current Israeli-Palestinian
    The Power of Possibility: The Role of People-to-People Programs in the Current Israeli- Palestinian Reality Forum Israel Shira Herzog and Avivit Hai ECF economic cooperation foundation © 2005 by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Israel Office P.O.Box 12235 Herzliya 46733, Israel Editor: Hermann Bünz Layout: Jaffa Cohen Printing: Ra'ayon All rights reserved. Editorial The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung is a non-profit organisation with ideological roots in the German and international labour movement. Out of a profound commitment to social justice and peaceful coexistence both within societies and between nations, the Friedrich- Ebert-Stiftung office in Israel contributes to - Strengthening German-Israeli relations - Facilitating the peace process and regional co-operation - Improving labour relations - Working for gender equality and women's empowerment - Democracy education for youth - Policy consulting and information Together with its partners, the Israel office of the Friedrich-Ebert- Stiftung regularly holds public forums and workshops which address the above-mentioned topics. Authoritative representatives from the political, social, economic, and academic worlds are invited to take part in these encounters. Lectures and addresses given at these events, as well as conference summaries, are reproduced in this series of brochures, entitled "Israel Forum". The series is also intended for the presentation of policy analyses and research results which constitute the backdrop to such public forums. www.fes.org.il Opening Note The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the Economic Cooperation Foundation (ECF) are pleased to support this publication, "The Power of Possibility – the Role of People-to-People in the Current Israeli-Palestinian Reality." The last few months have seen dramatic changes in the Israeli-Palestinian relationship.
    [Show full text]
  • Families of Backsliding Democracies: Unhappy in Their Own Way?
    Working draft – do not cite Families of Backsliding Democracies: Unhappy in their own way? Mordechai Kemnitzer and Yuval Shany (with assistance by Oded Ron), The paper, which is part of a broader project studying the mechanics and root causes of democratic backsliding and their possible relevance for Israeli democracy, explores similarities and differences between specific legislative and administrative measures taken or contemplated in three clusters of states, which could conceivably be presented on a spectrum of backsliding from liberal democracy – (1) Poland and Hungary – two EU member states that retain democratic institutions, but whose governments have been able to change significantly the balance of power between branches of government and to decrease the space available to criticism and opposition to government policies and to certain conservative values supported by the government (such countries are sometime regarded as illiberal or anti-liberal democracies); (2) Israel - a state which retains democratic institutions, but where elements in government have been attempting, with partial success, to change the balance of power between the branches of government and to curb criticism and opposition; and (3) Turkey, Russia and Venezuela – states that preserve some democratic institutions but no longer allow meaningfully competitive elections, practice open repression against political opponents and have left very little civic space for criticism and dissent. The present paper focuses only on comparing certain measures taken in the first two clusters of countries and presents some tentative conclusions about democratic backsliding in the three states. Our concern in this paper is not with the overall assessment of the situation in backsliding democracies, or on studying the populist ideology inspiring and, at times, facilitating the backsliding.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel's National Religious and the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict
    Leap of Faith: Israel’s National Religious and the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict Middle East Report N°147 | 21 November 2013 International Crisis Group Headquarters Avenue Louise 149 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 502 90 38 Fax: +32 2 502 50 38 [email protected] Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... i Recommendations..................................................................................................................... iv I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 II. Religious Zionism: From Ascendance to Fragmentation ................................................ 5 A. 1973: A Turning Point ................................................................................................ 5 B. 1980s and 1990s: Polarisation ................................................................................... 7 C. The Gaza Disengagement and its Aftermath ............................................................. 11 III. Settling the Land .............................................................................................................. 14 A. Bargaining with the State: The Kookists ................................................................... 15 B. Defying the State: The Hilltop Youth ........................................................................ 17 IV. From the Hills to the State ..............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Israel 2020 Human Rights Report
    ISRAEL 2020 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Israel is a multiparty parliamentary democracy. Although it has no constitution, its parliament, the unicameral 120-member Knesset, has enacted a series of “Basic Laws” that enumerate fundamental rights. Certain fundamental laws, orders, and regulations legally depend on the existence of a “state of emergency,” which has been in effect since 1948. Under the Basic Laws, the Knesset has the power to dissolve itself and mandate elections. On March 2, Israel held its third general election within a year, which resulted in a coalition government. On December 23, following the government’s failure to pass a budget, the Knesset dissolved itself, which paved the way for new elections scheduled for March 23, 2021. Under the authority of the prime minister, the Israeli Security Agency combats terrorism and espionage in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. The national police, including the border police and the immigration police, are under the authority of the Ministry of Public Security. The Israeli Defense Forces are responsible for external security but also have some domestic security responsibilities and report to the Ministry of Defense. Israeli Security Agency forces operating in the West Bank fall under the Israeli Defense Forces for operations and operational debriefing. Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security services. The Israeli military and civilian justice systems have on occasion found members of the security forces to have committed abuses. Significant human
    [Show full text]
  • Israel and the Middle East News Update
    Israel and the Middle East News Update Wednesday, April 17 Headlines: • PA Prime Minister: Trump’s Peace Deal Will Be ‘Born Dead’ • Amb. Dermer: Trump Peace Plan Should Give Jews Confidence • Final Election Results: Likud 35, Blue White 35 • Netanyahu Celebrates Victory: I Am Not Afraid of the Media • Nagel: “Currently, there is No Solution to Gaza” • In First, US Publishes Official Map with Golan Heights as Part of Israel • Israel Interrogates US Jewish Activist at Airport Commentary: • Channel 13: “The Main Hurdle: Lieberman Versus the Haredim” − By Raviv Drucker, Israeli journalist and political commentator for Channel 13 News • Ha’aretz: “How the Israeli Left Can Regain Power - Stop Hating the Haredim” − By Benjamin Goldschmidt, a rabbi in New York City. He studied in the Ponevezh (Bnei Brak), Hebron (Jerusalem) and Lakewood (New Jersey) Yeshivas S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President ● Yoni Komorov, Editor ● Aaron Zucker, Associate Editor News Excerpts April 17, 2019 Jerusalem Post PA Prime Minister: Trump’s Peace Deal Will Be ‘Born Dead’ Newly sworn in Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said Tuesday night that US President Donald Trump’s peace plan will be “born dead." Shtayyeh said the American “Deal of the Century,” was declaring a “financial war” on the Palestinian people, during an interview with The Associated Press. "There are no partners in Palestine for Trump. There are no Arab partners for Trump and there are no European partners for Trump," Shtayyeh said in the interview. See also, “PALESTINIANS TURN TO RUSSIA TO BYPASS US PEACE PLAN” (Jerusalem Post) Jerusalem Post Amb.
    [Show full text]
  • The National Left (First Draft) by Shmuel Hasfari and Eldad Yaniv
    The National Left (First Draft) by Shmu'el Hasfari and Eldad Yaniv Open Source Center OSC Summary: A self-published book by Israeli playwright Shmu'el Hasfari and political activist Eldad Yaniv entitled "The National Left (First Draft)" bemoans the death of Israel's political left. http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/osc/israel-left.pdf Statement by the Authors The contents of this publication are the responsibility of the authors, who also personally bore the modest printing costs. Any part of the material in this book may be photocopied and recorded. It is recommended that it should be kept in a data-storage system, transmitted, or recorded in any form or by any electronic, optical, mechanical means, or otherwise. Any form of commercial use of the material in this book is permitted without the explicit written permission of the authors. 1. The Left The Left died the day the Six-Day War ended. With the dawn of the Israeli empire, the Left's sun sank and the Small [pun on Smol, the Hebrew word for Left] was born. The Small is a mark of Cain, a disparaging term for a collaborator, a lover of Arabs, a hater of Israel, a Jew who turns against his own people, not a patriot. The Small-ists eat pork on Yom Kippur, gobble shrimps during the week, drink espresso whenever possible, and are homos, kapos, artsy-fartsy snobs, and what not. Until 1967, the Left actually managed some impressive deeds -- it took control of the land, ploughed, sowed, harvested, founded the state, built the army, built its industry from scratch, fought Arabs, settled the land, built the nuclear reactor, brought millions of Jews here and absorbed them, and set up kibbutzim, moshavim, and agriculture.
    [Show full text]
  • Conference Program
    Table of Contents Plenary Sessions .............................................................................. 1 SUNDAY | June 30, 2019 ................................................................... 1 MONDAY | July 1, 2019 ..................................................................... 5 TUESDAY | July 2, 2019 ................................................................... 13 Spotlight - Policy Arenas ............................................................. 19 MONDAY | July 1, 2019 ................................................................... 19 TUESDAY | July 2, 2019 ................................................................... 20 Roundtable Sessions .................................................................... 21 MONDAY | July 1, 2019 ................................................................... 21 TUESDAY | July 2, 2019 ................................................................... 23 The Herzliya Conference War Game ...................................... 26 SUNDAY | June 30, 2019 ................................................................ 26 (Closed Session) Registration will open on Sunday, June 30, at 2pm. We kindly ask all our participants to bring with them official ID documents (Israeli ID cards, Israeli driver’s license or international passports). Admittance to the Conference area with weapons will not permitted. 1 Plenary Sessions SUNDAY | June 30, 2019 14:00 Welcome & Registration 15:00 Opening Ceremony Prof. Uriel Reichman, President & Founder, IDC Herzliya Prof.
    [Show full text]
  • The Second Intifada: Background and Causes of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Jeremy Pressman
    Document generated on 09/23/2021 11:50 p.m. Journal of Conflict Studies The Second Intifada: Background and Causes of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Jeremy Pressman Volume 23, Number 2, Winter 2003 URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/jcs23_2art07 See table of contents Publisher(s) The University of New Brunswick ISSN 1198-8614 (print) 1715-5673 (digital) Explore this journal Cite this article Pressman, J. (2003). The Second Intifada: Background and Causes of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Journal of Conflict Studies, 23(2), 114–141. All rights reserved © Centre for Conflict Studies, UNB, 2003 This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/ This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ Fall 2003 The Second Intifada: Background and Causes of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict by Jeremy Pressman INTRODUCTION What caused the outbreak of the second intifada? The conventional wis- dom places the blame on one of two central figures, Ariel Sharon or Yasser Arafat. In one version, Sharon, then the leader of the Israeli opposition, started the intifada by going on an intentionally provocative visit to the Temple Mount on 28 September 2000. Alternatively, Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), decided that the new State of Palestine should be launched in blood and fire; he unleashed Palestinian militants rather than accept a negotiated resolution of the conflict.
    [Show full text]
  • Speakers & Members of the Board *
    Speakers & Members of the Board * Mr. Ammar Abdulhamid Founder and Director of the Tharwa Foundation and a leading Syrian human rights and pro- democracy activist. He is a former Fellow of the Saban Centerfor Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute and co- founder of the Hands Across the Mideast Support Alliance (HAMSA). A known poet and author, he was a Fellow at the International Institute for Modern Letters in Las Vegas. He holds a BA in History from the University of Wisconsin. Mr. Aharon Abramowicz Former General Director of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Currently a partner in the law offices of Lipa Meir and Co., he previously served as General Director of the Israeli Ministry of Justice. He was General Director of the Jewish Agency. He served as legal advisor to a number of organizations, such as the Jewish Agency, the World Zionist Federation, the World Jewish Restitution Organization and the United Israel Appeal. He holds an LLB from the Hebrew University. Mr. Elliott Abrams Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). As a member of the George W. Bush administration he served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Middle East Affairs as well as the Senior Director on the National Security Council for Near East and North African Affairs. During the Reagan administration he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights, and later Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs. He received his JD from Harvard Law School. Prof. Oded Abramsky Chairman of the National Council for Civilian Research and Development.
    [Show full text]
  • The Israeli Campaign Regarding the Iranian Nuclear Program
    Consciousness as Leverage: The Israeli Campaign regarding the Iranian Nuclear Program Ronen Dangoor1 Background Iran’s nuclear program has constituted a central security issue for Israel over the past two decades. Against this backdrop, Israel has conducted a multifaceted drive to block it, in part through a complex cognitive campaign that extended from the summer of 2002 – when the Iranian nuclear program was revealed – to July 2015, when the agreement between Iran and the world powers on restricting the nuclear program was signed. This article discusses the central characteristics of the cognitive campaign, which included four main components and motifs: the first and most basic, which was a constant for the entire period, was exposing and raising awareness of the dangers of the Iranian nuclear project; the second emphasized the other threats that the Iranian regime poses, chief among them its aggressive policy, which includes involvement in terrorism and extensive activity to develop long range missiles; the third component was the threat of a possible Israeli military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which was prominent as a central narrative mainly during the years 2010-2012; and the fourth component, which dominated from 2013, dealt with the negotiations between the world powers and Iran and with the nuclear deal that was reached between them. The struggle against the agreement has intensified in recent months against the backdrop of the United States’ withdrawal from it, but that development is not addressed here due to the lack of sufficient perspective. 1 Ronen Dangoor is a former Deputy Director of the Research Department at the Prime Minister’s Office.
    [Show full text]
  • The Second Intifada: Background and Causes of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
    Fall 2003 The Second Intifada: Background and Causes of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict by Jeremy Pressman INTRODUCTION What caused the outbreak of the second intifada? The conventional wis- dom places the blame on one of two central figures, Ariel Sharon or Yasser Arafat. In one version, Sharon, then the leader of the Israeli opposition, started the intifada by going on an intentionally provocative visit to the Temple Mount on 28 September 2000. Alternatively, Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), decided that the new State of Palestine should be launched in blood and fire; he unleashed Palestinian militants rather than accept a negotiated resolution of the conflict. Both of these claims overplay the role of individual leaders and overlook a wider array of elite decisions and deeper political and social conditions. Decisions by Sharon and Arafat did matter, but not in the way that is conven- tionally portrayed. Instead, a chain of events starting in 1993 set the stage for renewed conflict. First, popular Palestinian discontent grew during the Oslo peace process because the reality on the ground did not match the expectations created by the peace agreements. From 1993-2000, many aspects of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip deepened rather than abated. Palestinians expect- ed their lives to improve in terms of freedom of movement and socioeconomic standing; when both worsened, significant resentment built up in Palestinian society. This discontent, further fed by the failure of the Camp David summit in July 2000, laid the groundwork for popular support for a more confrontational approach with Israel.
    [Show full text]