Israel-Palestine problem, a problem arose within the strategies and sacredly planned wars in holy lands of Middle East, continues its existence as a dedication and belief story. I think, this problem, depicted as unchanged agenda of Middle East, should be analyzed from the point of ‘’black box’’ model, which is supported by realist view; in other words it should be evaluated by separating it from the basis of states. On this opportunity, I will be able to share my observations I took from both Israel and Palestine within the scope of ‘’Middle East The School of Politics’’.
In this article, it is expected that there will be unknown or maybe concealed observations obtained from the both sides of the problem; instead of comments of analyses taken from a supporter viewpoint. Firstly, it is necessary to state that Israel-Palestine problem is a multidimensional problem and many actors are directly active in this situation. Countries in the region, hegemonic countries and middle-sized countries and international actors have generated many ideas for the solution. As I have stated before, it can be seen that there have been many direct and indirect meetings held on this highly disputed problem, but no certain solution has been found.
My first observation is related to the approaches of both sides on the subject of solving the problem. For our fieldwork, we have come together with many representatives from both Israel and Palestine. When we evaluated the situation as a whole, we could see that both sides are conscious of the problem. With this consciousness, they run their proceedings in company with the policies which they have shaped together. When we met different groups in Israel it could be seen that despite different opinions they have, they could find the least common denominator on the subject of Palestine problem. Many official representatives including political parties, media and civil society have merged under the name of ‘’safety’’ and on each platform they claim their own positions. .
We can say that some groups, newspapers and nongovernmental organizations, which are supported by the ideas from the left side of political scale and whom Turkish national media benefits from, maintain a pro-Palestinian attitude. The most prevalent idea throughout the country is that they can show a common stance on the problem. On the side of Palestine, it can be seen that no common strategy and attitude towards the problem has been determined. There are many big differences between the refugees and media’s approach towards the problem and also between the meetings, held among Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, and Hamas.
For years; Hamas and Palestine Liberation Organization, which have been criticized to be disable to merge under one power, declared that they had decided to move together. However, the people, who see this integration as an achievement, should not forget that there are big differences between these groups in terms of the problem. The main reason for the integration is that Palestine, which will declare its unilateral independence, announced that it is intending to show a common stance on the problem. Besides, the two groups have not reached a consensus on forming a new temporary government.
Within the frame of the Israel-Palestine problem, boundaries, decisions, agreements, the concepts of land and population could change in accordance with the ideas of the groups. According to an idea, receding to the border of 1967 will be a subject of proceedings and according to another idea this would be a suicide. Some people claim that 100 years ago there were no Jewish people here while others say that no Palestinian people lived here 100 years ago. Shortly, the extends of the problem have been discussed historically, politically, religiously and demographically and have been complicated.
I would like touch upon some interesting points in terms of countries’ own features instead of the conflicts between Israel and Palestine. We learned in detail with the briefing we took in Israel Knesset that a different kind of threshold and system disputes in Turkey is held in Israel also. Especially the system disputes, which are important and meaningful in terms of democracy and representation, are existent in Israel also. While we are discussing lowering the 10 percent of the barrage heatedly, Israel is discussing raising the 1,5/2 percent of the election threshold.
The fact that the election threshold is so low obstruct Israel from making decision and make the government difficult to manage. In Israel parliament, there are many groups which represent a certain political view from each wing and a very long time is spent on making a common decision. Thus, the sides are working on a new formula which will help them make decision by raising the threshold system- supposed to be democratic by some people- to a rational level.
In Israel, which owns a one chamber parliament of 120 people, we can say that there are many different fractions that can be named as right or left. Together with these disputes, it seems that people have reached a consensus on freedom of expression which is an important indicator of democracy. Especially; in Israel, people and media have right to express their opinions and create a rational platform without using violence. In this country, there are many groups from different religious, political and social communities who have been able to form their own lives. Many groups such as Bahais, Bedoins, Druzes and Ahmedis could hold their social and religious practices in their own special regions.
On the side of Palestine, we can see regions which have been divided into 3 main lines with Oslo Agreement. These are divided between each other into as follows; the region where civil affairs are carried out by Palestine government, the region under the sway of Palestine government, the region belonging to Israel. Some certain limitations and controls on the crossings and walls are carried out strictly. Although there are often rebels, the systems that are applied on certain measures do not change and even repeat.
Of course, when we think of Palestine, I think that the meaning of refugee camps is also important. El-Aida refugee camp that we visited was among 59 refugee camps around the world. It is necessary to state that these camps are rented for 99 years and established by United Nations. They are not parts of the city and but we cannot say that they are established away from city center especially. El Aida refugee camp is located near the concrete walls in Bethlehem dividing the city from Jerusalem. The specialty of the camp is that in it there is an iron key which welcomes the visitors on the entrance and includes the writing ‘’not for sale’’ on it.
This key symbolizes the comeback desires of Palestinian people who had been obliged to leave their homes after 1948. The interesting part of the issue is that young people who lived at that time had this key on their neck and believes in this struggle as much as old people. One of the interesting situations within the experiences we had in Palestine was about the young people whom we talked in Ramallah. Although Ramallah is mostly seen to be a dangerous city by many people, the dreams and attitudes of the young people here show that the main danger is look at this city with prejudice.
We can say that the future dreams of the students at a university in Ramallah are brighter than the dreams of Turkish youngs. Moreover, many international organizations have information about the political problem in the country and provide an important source for the young people in terms of employment.
As for the Israel Palestine problem again, when we put the political discussions about the problem, the picture we could see shows the importance of religion and belief for these people. Jerusalem, which is seen as holy city by many beliefs; constitutes a holy story with its each part. Thus, even when the Israel-Palestine problem is solved, the problem about who owns Jerusalem and what its status will be cannot be solved thoroughly. If an international community can be formed to solve the Jerusalem problem, this holy city can be saved from deadlocks by creating a discussion platform.
Consequentially, as I stated in the title, the conflicts have been resulting from the fact that the concepts gain or lose value because of the viewpoints. The fact that some people are seen as terrorist by a view while another view consider those people as heroes is obstructing objectivity. Israel-Palestine problem continues its existence with many conflicts. During the process of analysis, it is very important to test our analysis with universal values. What we learned from the Israel-Palestine problem is that people take risks fro the sake of their beliefs. Authorities should shed light on the problem with a letter of agreement rather than making short term statements. Everyone needs solutions offered by using diplomacy and proceedings within the frame of universal law and human rights. I hope one day the word ‘’peace’’ will be a phenomenon rather than a necessity on this problematic region in Middle East, our contributions as an individual and a country will be among constituents of reconstruction humanity.
Selma BARDAKCI
Translated by Yasemin Taşçı
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