The agreements of peace were signed in 1979 between Egypt and Israel which also resulted in the withdrawal of Israel from Sinai Peninsula. It was followed by the military government abolishment in the Gaza Strip and West Bank in the favor of Civil Administration of Israel. With the establishment of treaty, both the US and Israel began to aid Egypt in terms of both its economy and military. Due to this foreign assistance, Egypt has prospered and its economy has gotten better. Even though it appears that peace between the two nations is strong, the peace between them is explained through the term of cold peace. Both of the nations are wary and concerned about each other. They are uncertain about the actions of each other and due to it, there is always a possibility of war between them (USIP, 2019).

For almost seventy years, the conflicts between Palestine and Israel have influenced the landscape of Middle East. International efforts have been evaded by a detailed and complex diplomatic solution which has left several ambiguous and confused about peace prospect. In spite of the peace treaties between the two countries, issues have prevailed and there have been problems. One of the most important reasons for the conflict between the two nations is their relatable religious histories. Both of the nations have religious claims about the land and that is what keeps them apart from each other. The primary reason why conflict exists between Israel and Palestine is their land. Israelis claims the land to be theirs because of their ancestral footprints on the group and Palestinians claim the land to be solely theirs as it also has the footprints of their ancestors on the land. Battles between the two countries have been ensued because of this issue and they have yet to reach a mutual conclusion. In fact, even though treaties have been developed, the peace between them is not sustainable. Due to it, other countries have also been affected. There are a number of other reasons including this one as well why peace hasn’t been established between the two nations. In this paper, these issues will be discussed and historical background will be discussed (Quandt, 2010).

Obstacles in Peace Establishment

Land Issues of Peace between Arab and Israel

It can be said that the part of conflict arose from claims about the land. For instance, territory which is regarded by the Jewish people as their homeland is at the very same time when it was regarded by Arab Palestinians. Both of the communities had claims about the land and this played an important role in their conflicts.

Religious Aspects of Peace between Arab and Israel

Palestine and Israel both are religious nations and their history can be traced back to decades. The religions being followed by Palestinians and Israelis are different. For instance, Palestinians practice Islam and its rituals while Judaism is practiced by the Israelis. These religions have a clear difference between them in both traditions and other values. However, these religions have had a history together and battles between the two communities have been noted by scholars. These differences are utilized by politicians and governmental officials within the two nations to keep the instability between two religions. Due to the fact that religious aspects are included in international relations and politics, peace is inhibited.

International and External Obstacles

Iranian Conflict of Peace between Arab and Israel

Generally, following the peaceful negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, movements of Palestinian militant led and controlled by Hamas served to initiate a campaign of terror for disrupting and derailing the negotiations. It can be said that attacks on Israel have increased since 2010 after four civilians were assassinated by militants of Hamas. Rocket attacks have been increased by Palestinians at Israelis. Hamas militants, on 2^nd August, launched several rockets at Aqaba and Eliat, which killed a Jordanian civilian while four others were wounded (Beinin & Hajjar, 2014).

Egypt & Peace between Arab and Israel

After the Accords of Camp David, a peace treaty was signed by Egypt and Israel in 1979. In accordance with the terms, Sinai Peninsula actually returned to the hands of Egyptians and the Gaza Strip remained under the control of Israel, to be included in the Palestinian State’s future. In general, the agreement also offered a free passage for the ships of Israel through Suez Cana and required the recognition of Gulf of Aqaba and Straits of Tiran as international water ways.

In accordance with the figures of Israel, 57 were civilians and 120 were soldiers among the killed people. Due to it, international outcry was ensured and many criticized Israel for what it had done as it was quite a violent response. Additionally, protests were ensued on numerous campuses across the United States of America and in front of the consulate of Israel. Additional protests also occurred across the countries of Middle East, South America, and Europe. But the governments of Netherlands, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Australia, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, and the United States expressed support the right of Israel to defend itself against attacks. They also condemned the attacks which were targeted at them.

Similar to Israel, Egypt also suffered an irreplaceable and unbearable loss due to the battle between the two countries. The numbers are not highlighted by studies but it has been determined that more than 1,000 Egyptians were killed by Israelis at a single time and most of them were always soldiers. In comparison with Israel, Egypt lost more soldiers and people and that is one of the important reasons peace is unstable between them. In response to it, most of the Arab countries sided with Egypt and criticized Israel for its actions because due to it, countless humans had died.

Following the rise of attacks by Hamas, an operation was started in the Gaza Strip in 2014. Meanwhile, the military role of Israel in the Civil War of Syria has actually been limited to just missile strikes which were not acknowledged officially until 2017. Although the official position of Israel is neutral in the issue, it is opposed to the presence of Iran in Syria nonetheless. It has been determined that even in the Civil War, there were involvements of Israel and it caused Syria to be agitated about the situation of cold peace between them.

Some proxies of Iran like Hezbollah are generally suspected by Israel for performing attacks against the positions of Israel on borders to Lebanon and Syria, and Israel is also suspected of performing strikes against carriers which were transferring weapons to different organizations. In 2017, the President of the US announced that the nation was recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. It promoted condemnation from other nations and also resulted in protests along with the Gaza border. In 2018, a new embassy of the US was opened.

This support has been criticized by several Muslim and Arab nations because of Israel’s involvement in several attacks on Egypt and Palestine. In accordance with them, Israel is responsible for killing countless humans. It has been reported in the recent times by Syrian media that warplanes of Israel struck various sites in Syria and killed both civilians and fighters. Due to it, the situation has only become adverse between Muslim countries and Israel. All of these nations are involved in the battles and both have suffered from losses (Cohen, 2015).

References of Peace between Arab and Israel

Beinin, J., & Hajjar, L. (2014). Palestine, Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Midle East: The Middle East Research and Information Project.

Cohen, H. (2015). Year zero of the Arab-Israeli conflict 1929. Brandeis University Press.

Quandt, W. B. (2010). Peace process: American diplomacy and the Arab-Israeli conflict since 1967. Brookings Institution Press.

USIP. (2019). The Current Situation: Israel, The Palestinian Territories, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Retrieved from USIP: https://www.usip.org/publications/2019/08/current-situation-israel-palestinian-territories-and-arab-israeli-conflict