Drastic Measures: Border Confusion, Suicide Bombings and Violent Attacks
Suicide bombings in the region that is now known as Israel are relatively frequent in comparison to the rest of the world. Most of these bombings are carried out by religious or political extremists. It is difficult to understand why such bombings take place. The conflict in the region started thousands of years ago, primarily for religious reasons. Violence in the area has been occurring for centuries and borders have shifted often, contributing to the ambiguity on both sides of the conflict.
A History of War in the Middle East
Israel was established around 1000 B.C. by King David who conquered Canaan. His son and successor king Solomon divided the land into two parts; Israel and Judea. Over the next several centuries the kingdom faced invasions from many other peoples including Assyrians, Persians and Romans. Alexander the Great ruled the land from 331 B.C. until his death in 323 B.C., after his death the land was divided into separate kingdoms under several rulers. In 167 B.C. the Jews revolted and formed a kingdom with a capital in Jerusalem.
Around 61 B.C. the kingdom again fell under Roman control and the Jews were driven out of their homeland. The Romans named the land Palaestina, which translates to Palestine in English. Palestine was ruled by the Romans until the fourth century A.D. In the fifth century Muslim armies began to conquer the Middle East and Palestine became primarily Islamic. Jerusalem soon became holy to the Muslims, believed to be the place where Muhammed ascended into heaven. This area is also the holy land for Jews, who believe the land was promised to them by God.
The Muslim Arabs ruled for the next 500 years, fallowed by several other groups. Eventually crusaders invaded the region and many Muslims and Jews were killed or exiled. Over time many Muslims and Jews returned to the area, by 1914 the population of both Jews and Palestinians in Jerusalem and surrounding areas flourished. The two groups continued to dispute over whom the land belonged to. On May 14, 1948 Israel became an independent state; Palestine was still fighting for its independence.
Outside Influences from World Powers
World powers such as the United Nations urged for peace in the Middle East for many years. From 1993 to 1995 Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) signed several agreements including a peace treaty in attempts to end the conflict. Negotiations ended in 2000 due to disagreements in policy and violence escalated. Terrorist attacks and suicide bombings became frequent during this time.
Cessation of violence was called for many times by both parties, but the requests only seemed to anger extremists. In March of 2002 Palestinian extremists carried out nearly one successful suicide attack every day. These attacks were most likely funded by independent sources. However, Israeli officials claim to have evidence that the late Palestinian nationalist Yasser Arafat personally approved the attacks.
In May of 2002 United States President George W. Bush met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to discuss a plan for peace, but the meeting was cut short due to a suicide bombing in Israel by a Palestinian religious group. That June, Sharon met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abu-Mazen (also known as Mahmoud Abbas), there Abu-Mazen called for an end to the violence. Palestinian extremists were outraged and another wave of violence including suicide attacks fallowed.
Precautions for Israeli-Palestinian Peace
Although some precautions to prevent violence have been taken, suicide bombings continue, usually carried out by Jihad Islamist factures, Fatah Al Aqsa (a branch that broke away from the PLO) or Hamas (a group of religious extremists). These precautions include barriers (concrete structures and fences) in an area known as The Green Line and in Gaza.
