For the final post on the history of the Middle East, and
South West Asia I feel it is important to talk about Israel. This country has occupied the news for the
better part of the last 20 years with conflicts between Arabs in the West Bank,
Gaza Strip, as well as conflicts between other major countries of the area. I am only going to give a short history on
the country, and not touch on too many of the developing conflicts, because
they are ever changing, and very extensive.
Israel’s modern hardships begin shortly after World War II
when the UN partitioned the area of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. This arrangement was rejected by the Arabs,
which subsequently led to many wars and battles between them and the Jews. In 1982, Israel withdrew from the 1979
Israel-Egypt peace treaty leading to higher tensions between the Jews and Arabs
of the region. In 1991 peace negotiations
were conducted between Israel and Palestine to achieve a final settlement and
signed into the Oslo Accords in 1993, giving the Palestine a short time of
self-rule. In 2003 President Bush led a committee
to lay out the final accords between Israel and Palestine and to end the
violence between the two sides. In 2005
Israel completely disengaged from the Gaza Strip, later followed by the
election of HAMAS to the Palestinian Legislative Council froze the relations between
the two sides. Over the next eight years
talks between the two sides have been tried and failed. With added tensions between Syria, Lebanon,
Jordan, and Iran, Israel’s future seems to be just as rocky as its past.
Of Israel’s 7,590,000
people, 76 % are Jewish, 16 % are Muslim, and 2 % Christian. This is the only country of the region that
is predominantly non-Muslim. This leads
to many of the conflicts and disagreements of the country and its surrounding
countries. The country’s $237 billion
GDP is based off of high-technology products, such as aviation, communication,
and computer products. Recent findings
of gas fields off shore have secured Israel’s energy security. Israel has a very strong military 1.5 million
strong. All Jewish and Druzes males and females over the age of 18 are
obligated to military service, whereas Christians, Muslims, and Circassians are
voluntary.
Although Israel has had a very rocky past, it is clear that
they are a country that will not give up.
Through many battles, wars, and conflicts Israel has held on to its
pride and land. As a small Jewish country
in the middle of one of the most violent areas of the world, Israel has stood
up and maintained it’s stronghold in the region and the world.
References
CIA World Fact Book. Israel.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ku.html
Hess, Darrel. Physical Geography: a Landscape Appreciation.
Tenth Addition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. 2011.
Rubenstein, James M. Contemporary Human Geography. 2nd
Ed. Glenview IL. 2013.
