Question

choose five controversial issues within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the “Israeli Point of View” box, you will label the five issues and explain the Israeli point of view for each. In the “Palestinian Point of View” box, you will label the five issues and explain the Palestinian point of view for each.

Answer 1

Five controversial issues within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are mutual recognition, borders, control of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, and Palestinian refugees. The Israeli point of view for each issue includes the importance of recognition, secure borders, Jerusalem as their capital, settlements for security, and concerns about the Jewish majority. The Palestinian point of view includes conditional recognition, pre-1967 borders, East Jerusalem as their capital, opposition to settlements, and the right of return for refugees.

Step-by-step explanation:

Controversial issues within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:

1. Mutual recognition: Israelis argue that Palestinian recognition of Israel's right to exist is essential for peace negotiations. Palestinians believe that recognition should be conditional on the end of Israeli occupation.

2. Borders: Israelis contend that secure borders are necessary for the safety and well-being of their citizens. Palestinians insist on the pre-1967 borders that include the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.

3. Control of Jerusalem: Israelis view Jerusalem as their indivisible capital, while Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

4. Israeli settlements: Israelis argue that settlements are necessary for security and the biblical connection to the land. Palestinians view settlements as illegal obstacles to the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state.

5. Palestinian refugees: Israelis contend that accepting Palestinian refugees would undermine the Jewish majority in Israel. Palestinians demand the right of return for refugees and their descendants from the 1948 war.

Answer 2

The US secretary of state, John Kerry, says negotiations on borders should be based in the pre-1967 "green line" – the armistice line drawn in 1949 at the end of the war that followed Israel's declaration of a state – with agreed land swaps to compensate for Jewish settlements in the West Bank that would be incorporated into Israeli territory. For Israel, this would mean giving up settlements deep inside the West Bank. The rightwing Jewish Home party, a key member of the coalition, has declared this a “red line”. The 1967 line is broadly acceptable to Palestinian negotiators, but the actual route of the border and land swap details are crucial.

Jerusalem

Both Israel and the future state of Palestine want Jerusalem as their capital. Israel, which annexed East Jerusalem after the 1967 war, rejects any division of the city. The international consensus is that Jerusalem would have to be the shared capital of both states. But recent speculation suggests that the framework agreement may refer to the Palestinian capital in “greater Jerusalem” - which could mean areas cut off from the city centre and holy sites by the separation wall. This would be unacceptable to the Palestinians.

Security

Israel wants to maintain a long-term military presence in the Jordan Valley, a corridor of land in the West Bank adjacent to the Jordan border, which is under its control. It says this is vital for its security. The Palestinians say they will not accept the continued presence of Israeli forces within their state, and they must control their own borders. The US has suggested that Israel maintains a military presence in the Jordan Valley for a limited period of time.

Refugees

The Palestinians insist that those people – and their descendants – who were forced to flee in 1948, when Israel declared its state amid a bloody war, must have the right to return to their former homeland. Around 5 million Palestinians are registered as refugees. Israel refuses to countenance the return of any refugees, saying an influx would endanger the Jewish character of the state. Previous negotiations have suggested allowing a symbolic number of refugees to return, plus compensation for others.

The Jewish state

Israel insists that the Palestinians must recognise it as a Jewish state ahead of negotiating the details of a deal. The Palestinians reject this, saying the nature of the state of Israel is not their business, and no other country has been required to recognise it as a Jewish state. Such a move would disregard Israel's Arab population, effectively relinquish the right of return for Palestinian refugees and erase the Palestinian historical narrative. Kerry may propose that the Palestinians recognise the Jewish state at the final stages of a deal.