Conflict cycle consistof 3 stages which are ‘ conflict formation’, ‘ conflict escalation’ and ‘ conflictdecline’. Conflict formed whentwo different societies fighting over the ownership of a land. Territorialdispute amongst Jews and Palestine started after the Second World War. The Jewsand Palestine think of themselves as two separate identities who is superiorthan the others.
The Jews have a grievance to be satisfied which is to find astate for the Jew people as many were killed in the war against the Nazi andthose who lived, have fled to other states seeking refuge. The Zionist movementformed by Alexander Herzl has convinced the Jews that they are chosen by God asthey started to shortlisted countries in order to form a state for them. ZionismisIsrael’s national ideology which promotes the belief that Judaism is anationality as well as a religion, and that Jews deserve their own land intheir ancestral homeland, Israel. Palestine became their first choice as theyclaimed sovereignty over the land that used to be for Jews. Conflict started toform when the Jews believe they can get Palestine as they have received supportand votes from the United Nations.
Conflict starts toescalate when the numbers of actors and issues in dispute increase. Forinstance, Israel has fought multiple wars with other countries in the MiddleEast, all of whom support the Palestinian national cause. During 1948 until1967, Jamal Abd Nasser, the president of Egypt has mobilized all armies tofight against Israel. In 1967, The Arab waged the ‘ 6 days war’ against Israeland they got support from the Soviet Union. Unfortunately the Arabs lost andthe whole of Jerusalem and half of Egypt were taken by the Jews.
This showsthat the escalation of conflict leads to the expansion in the region. The conflicthas become more generalized as it has involved more people. The conflict escalatedwhen the frequency of attacks and intensity increased. It can be seen when Egyptlaunched another war against Israel in 1973 under the lead of Anwar Saddat. Afterthat, the uprising of Palestinian against Israel occurred in the late 1980s andin the early 2000s which is famously known as Intifada. The intifadas had adramatic effect on Israeli-Palestinian relation as it has marked the end ofnegotiating process between Israeli and Palestinian. The desire to achieve thegoals has been replaced by the desire to harm one another.
The first intifada wasa series of Palestinian demonstrations, nonviolent actions like mass boycottsand Palestinians refusing to work in Israel, and attacks (using rocks, Molotovcocktails, and occasionally firearms) on Israelis. The fatal and damage towardsthe Palestinian were bigger as the Israeli military responded to the protestsand attacks with heavy force and weapon. The second intifada grew out of thepeace process that supposed to happen in 2000. Negotiations between IsraeliPrime Minister Ehud Barak and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat broke down, and theintifada began shortly afterwards. Unlike the first intifada, Palestinian respondedwith suicide bombings, rocket attacks, and sniper fire, in which Israel has metwith even deadlier force.
The conflict has slowdown in 2005, but not beforeabout 1, 000 Israelis and 3, 200 Palestinians were killed.
