Recently violent clashes between Israeli and Palestinian factions in Gaza Strip ending by Egypt mediated ceasefire.
- Arab-Israel conflict
- Hussein-McMahon (1915) correspondence British support of an independent Arab state for Arab assistance in opposing the Ottoman Empire.
- In 1917, during World War I, the British captured Palestine from the Ottoman Empire after the Sykes-Picot Agreement with France (1916).
- Balfour Declaration (1917), Britain pledged establishment of Palestine as national home for Jews. The British Mandate period saw rise in immigration of Jews to the Mandate of Palestine. During World War II, the persecution of Jews by Nazi Germany gave momentum to the demands for a state for Jews in Palestine. This led to a conflict between Arabs and Jews i.e. Israel-Palestine conflict and Arab-Israel wars
- In 1947 the United Nations voted to split the Palestine between Arabs and Jews.
- Jewish leadership accepted while Arabs rejected the agreement. Consequently, Arab states of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria declared war on Israel.
- Israel won the war and expanded its territory reducing Palestine to just Gaza strip and West bank
- beginning Palestine refugee crisis which ultimately led to the creation of PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) in 1964.
- wars in 1956, 1967(Six-day War) and 1973 (Yom Kipper War) between Israel and Arab States.
- In 1993, PLO signed OSLO Accord with Israel that provides for Palestinian interim self-government in West bank and Gaza strip. However, Israel backtracked and refused to consider Palestine as a free country.
- further complicated by the establishment of settlements by Israel in the occupied West Bank.
- 2011 Palestine launched a diplomatic campaign to gain membership in the UN for the state of Palestine. Same year, it was admitted in UNESCO as a full member, however the Palestinian struggle to be an independent nation is still going on.
Israel Palestine Conflict
- Bone of Contention:
- What should happen to Palestinian refugees.
- Whether Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank should stay or be removed.
- Whether the two sides should share Jerusalem.
- Whether a Palestinian state should be created alongside Israel.
- Israel still occupies the West Bank, and although it pulled out of Gaza, the UN still regards that piece of land as part of occupied territory.
- Hamas is the largest of several Palestinian militant Islamist groups that controls Gaza.
- Israel claims the whole of Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
- Religious Significance of Jerusalem: Jerusalem contains sites sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity
- Al Aqsa mosque, the world’s third holiest site in Islam.
- Western Wall, a place sacred to the Judaism.
- Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a church built on the traditional site of Jesus’ Crucifixion and burial, is sacred to Christianity.
Rationale behind the India’s Policy
India’s support for Palestine stems from following reasons:
- Consonance with Indian values: anti-imperialism, anti-racism, support to the liberation struggles around the world, etc.
- Middle Eastern Cooperation: India imports more than 80% of its oil needs and for that relies heavily on Islamic Countries of Middle East.
- Opposition to Palestinian cause, could also provide some traction to Pakistan’s attempt to bring about a Pan-Islamic Alliance involving countries like Turkey, Malaysia etc. for raising Kashmir issue at international level.
- Aspiration for Global Leadership: In order to get 2/3rd majority for Permanent seat at UNSC, India also needs support of 57 member states of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) out of the total 193 UN members.
The support provided to Palestine had to be accompanied with de-hyphenation policy because of growing ties with Israel on economic, social and most importantly strategic level. For example, Israel is engaged with India in development of several joint defence projects like Barak 8 missile.
What are the prevalent issues in India’s Israel Policy?
- India’s global ambitions will not allow fence-sitting on global issues: India’s balancing act between Israel and Palestine is currently intact. But, as India’s status as a global power rises, it would become increasingly difficult for it to take a neutral stance on such issues.
- India’s stance on terrorism is in conflict with support for Palestine: India’s global stance against the idea of distinguishing between good terrorism and bad terrorism does not allow it to support the terrorist activities (by Hamas) in the Palestinian regime.
The success of India’s policy is dependent on the efficacy of its balancing act in the region. The best way to strengthen this act is to take a predictable, principled and unbiased stance. Such a stance would provide India with the flexibility to maneuver its act according to the situation while simultaneously enabling it to take a geopolitically principled stance.
What is the two-state solution?
- It means that an independent, sovereign Palestine state and an independent, sovereign Israeli state would coexist in peace.
- The first proposal for the creation of Jewish and Arab states in the British Mandate of Palestine was made in the Peel Commission report of 1937 which proposed that Palestine be partitioned into three zones: an Arab state, a Jewish state, and a neutral territory containing the holy places.
- India supports the Two State Solution aimed at addressing the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians for Statehood and Israel’s security concerns.
- UAE and Israel signed a US-brokered agreement known as the ‘Abraham Accord’, that aims at establishing formal relations between the two countries. According to the Accord, UAE and Israel would establish formal diplomatic relations and in exchange, Israel would suspend its plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank
- With this, UAE will become the first Gulf country to establish diplomatic and economic relations with Israel. UAE becomes the third Arab nation to recognize Israel after Egypt (in 1979) and Jordan (1994)
- Why Arab states are engaging with Israel?
- Need to reorient their economies: invest in technology driven sectors. Israel being the leader in technology in West Asia can aid Arab states.
- Enhanced cooperation with Israel: can provide cutting-edge technology in fields of biotech, healthcare, defense and cyber surveillance
- Threat from radical Sunni extremism: Arab states now realize the danger it poses to them as exemplified by the rise of the Islamic State terror group
- Need to counter Iran: pave Sunni Arab kingdoms, US and Israel enhancing regional cooperation against Shia Iran.
- Need to address threat of slamism or political Islam: transnational concept embodied by the Muslim Brotherhood and one which certain Gulf Arab rulers view as an existential threat to their dynastic monarchies.
- What is the geo-political significance of this agreement?
- For UAE: strategic advantage over Iran and access to better technology including biotech, healthcare, defense and cyber surveillance. It might also prompt other Gulf and Arab nations to start engagement with Israel
- For Israel: diplomatic and economic opening with the big power in the Gulf, that could open other doors, given its security interests. It will also provide Israel a secure presence in Gulf and the larger region.
- For Saudi Arabia bloc: its interests being aligned with that of U.S. and Israel (Over Iran, Muslim brotherhood etc.) and their support for Palestine, which Arab powers had historically upheld, is dwindling
- For USA: It allows US to pivot away from Trump’s Peace to Prosperity plan for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The agreement could be interpreted as a counter to the Iran-China deal.
- For Palestine: Palestinians do not figure prominently in the agreement. Palestinians want a viable independent state which is nowhere on the horizon.
- Egypt and Israel peace deal promised an autonomous self-governing authority in the West Bank and Gaza.
- Jordanian Israeli treaty came after Israel agreed to the formation of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza.
Possible significance for India
- Peace and Stability in West Asia: beneficial for India, as it has deep stakes in terms of energy supplies and expatriate populations.
- Two state solution: Israel’s suspension of its plan for annexation might lead to early resumption of talks between Israel and Palestine. India has always supported two-state solution as part of a negotiated settlement between Israel and Palestine.
- Ties with Iran could be impacted as it will see Arab-Israeli tie-ups as a direct threat to its security. India has prominent stakes in Iran such as Chabahar port, access route to central Asia etc.
- opens new opportunities for India to play a much larger role in the regional security and stability in the region, as India enjoys special relations with both UAE and Israel.
Significance of this region for US
- Valuable oil reserves: Arab states of Persian Gulf holds valuable oil reserves to which US seeks access, not just to supplement American reserves but as a means of maintaining a degree of leverage over the import-dependent European, Asian and Japanese markets.
- Threat of Terrorism: from the Middle East as America’s major national security concern in the post-cold war world.
- Sustaining freedom of navigation: It is required by U.S. Navy and for global commercial traffic through the Middle East’s major maritime passages—the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el Mandeb Strait, and the Suez Canal.
- Iran issue: US intends to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons
While the deal has the potential to change Arab-Israeli relations for good, it also shows how the Arab countries are gradually decoupling themselves from the Palestine question.