The Obstacles Between Israel And Palestine

The Obstacles Between Israel And Palestine The Israeli Palestinian conflict is the longest running contemporary conflict, still ongoing, to date. The origins of the conflict and its history provide the context necessary to understanding the obstacles to a to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The obstacles to a peace agreement are both numerous and complex. Some of the more major obstacles, recent and still current today include: (1) land issues over the West Bank and Gaza strip, (2) status of Jerusalem (3) security concerns, (4) Palestinian refugee problems, and (5) issues over water resources. The purpose of this academic essay is to provide a brief overview of the origins and history of the Israeli Palestinian conflict, placing a primary focus on providing a detailed account of the aforementioned major obstacles to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The origins and particularly the history of Israeli Palestinian conflict can become mindboggling as the conflict has gone on for so long; a simple, selective and brief overview would best facilitate an understanding of this epic saga like conflict. Starting from the very beginning; in ancient times Judea was originally the home of the Jews until it was conquered by the Romans, renamed Palestine, and later reconquered and inhabited by Arabs for over a thousand years. Zionism, a movement of national liberation to achieve a homeland for Jews (Heywood, A. 2007) later came about and it aimed to restore the Jews to Israel, largely ignoring the existing Arab population. In 1917, Britain was granted Palestine as a League of Nations mandate under the Balfour Declaration, in which Britain committed itself to the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. Arab resentment over the loss of their land to the Jews fostered repeated riots and a revolt that later prompted Br itain to cease Jewish immigration to Palestine. Jewish immigration to Palestine resumed due to the pressure created by the Holocaust and murder of 6 million Jews at the hands of the Nazis and in 1947 the UN partitioned Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. This would cause Arab tempers to flare, they could not accept the partition and as a result a war broke out. Israel would win a decisive victory and expand as a state, and in doing so create Palestinian refugees in the hundreds of thousands. This was only the beginning of the conflict. The Arab states would refuse Israel both recognition and peace; wars would break out in 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1982. There were also many terror raids and Israeli reprisals. Each side blames the other entirely for the conflict and expects an apology. The intensity of the Israeli Palestinian conflict has varied over the years, but with the continued involvement of the international community, the calls for peace are growing ever louder. The Peace proc ess began in 1993 with The Oslo Declaration of Principles. In this document, both sides recognized the rights of the other to exist as a people within the borders of Palestine/Israel, and committed themselves to negotiating a permanent settlement and to improving relations between the two peoples. (MidEastWeb, 2008) Since then, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), currently led by Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli government, currently led by Benjamin Netanyahu, has been committed to an eventual two-state solution. The two parties have taken part in direct and official negotiations mediated by the Quartet on the Middle East, represented by and consisting of the United Nations, United States, Russia, and the European Union. Since 2003, however, the Palestinian side has become divided between its two major factions, that of Fatah, traditionally the dominant party, and that of Hamas, its later electoral challenger. Hamas seizure of power over the Gaza Strip in June 2007, caused a division of governance over the territory formerly controlled by the Palestinian National Authority (the Palestinian interim government) between the Fatah in the West Bank, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Annapolis Conference of 2007, would set out the central issues, and therefore the major obstacles needed to be ov ercome, in order for a peace agreement to be reached. Land issues over the West bank and (until 2005) the Gaza Strip is just one of the major obstacles to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The 2,200 square miles of land was occupied in the 6 day war of 1967, and since then Israel re-established old communities (destroyed in 1929 and 1948) and built new settlements for its people in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, the majority of which reside in the West Bank. Israel expanded these settlements throughout the peace process that began in 1993 with the Oslo Declaration of Principles. The United States, United Kingdom, European Union along with the International Court of Justice have declared these settlements illegal under international law. In 2005, Israel enacted its unilateral disengagement plan, evacuating all residents of Jewish settlements located in the Gaza strip, as well as four settlements in the northern West Bank, and demolishing all residential buildings. The West Bank, however, still remains in dispute. The Palestinians demand a complete hand over of the West Bank in its entirety. Israel on other hand maintains that it needs to retain some land and settlements in the West Bank to act as a buffer against future acts of aggression. This issue remains unresolved and as such is one of the major obstacles to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The status of Jerusalem is another major obstacle to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians because of its significant religious importance to the three largest Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Both Israel and Palestinians assert claims over the eastern part of Jerusalem. For Israel, Jerusalem was the capital of Judea in ancient times and the site of the Jewish holy temple, of which only the Western Wall remains. For Palestinians, Jerusalem is also the site of the Al-Aqsa mosque, regarded by many as the third holiest Islamic site. Both sides also have grave concerns regarding the welfare of their respective holy sites being under the control of the other. Israel asserts that Jerusalem should not be divided, rather it should remain unified under Israels control. Palestinians claim the parts of Jerusalem that were not a part of Israel prior to June 1967. As of 2005, of the 719,000 people that lived in Jerusalem, 465,000 were Jews, most of which live d in West Jerusalem, and 232,000 were Arabs, most of which lived in East Jerusalem. At the Camp David in 2000 and Taba Summits in 2001, the United States proposed that the Arab parts of Jerusalem should be given to the Palestinians while the Jewish parts of Jerusalem should be retained by Israel. Both sides accepted the proposal in principle, but the summits ultimately failed. No concrete action has been taken on this matter as of yet and it remains a major obstacle to an Israeli Palestinian conflict resolution. Israeli security concerns are also a major obstacle in the resolution of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Throughout the Israeli Palestinian conflict, Palestinian political violence has been of particular concern to the Israelis. The Palestinian political violence against Israel, its civilians and military are considered acts of terrorism. Although violent Palestinian groups may disagree with each other on specific issues, they are united and motivated by a common goal; to eliminate the state of Israel, replacing it with a Palestinian Arab state. Another concern is the close proximity of Israeli cities to Palestinian territories. Many of Israels cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are within the Palestinians artillery range and the threat of Qassam rockets fired from the Palestinian territories is of great concern to Israeli defence. The Israeli government recorded 1,726 such rocket launches in 2006 alone. It is because of this Israel insists that the Palestinian state should be d emilitarized. These are not the only security concerns Israel has. The West Bank is of enormous strategic importance to any country intent on invading Israel. Israel insists that the Palestinian state provide guarantees that foreign armies will not be permitted to enter its borders; to ensure this Israel insists on the establishment of bases within the West Bank as a safeguard. Another major obstacle in the resolution of the Israeli Palestinian conflict is how to deal with the Palestinian refugee problem. In 1948, about 726,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes in the war that followed shortly after the creation of Israel. Additional Palestinians fled from their homes in the 6 day war of 1967. Today there are about 4.6 million Palestinian refugees. Many of them live in poor conditions in crowded refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Palestinians demand that these refugees should have the right to return to their homes in Israel under the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 of 1948 which states that: the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible. Israelis refute this right arguing that in 1948 Jews fled Arab lands to Israel in almost equal numbers. One of the main reasons Israelis oppose the return of the Palestinian refugees is because that would create an Arab Palestinian majority and thus would put an end to Israel as a Jewish state. Most Palestinian groups agree with and support this outcome wanting to see a resolution to the refugee problem and the end of Israel; killing two birds with one stone, as it were. The Israeli government also asserts that the Palestinian refugee problem is largely due to the refusal of all Arab governments, with the exception of Jordan, to grant citizenship to Palestinian Arabs who reside within those countries borders. Water resources and their management is another major obstacle peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians as it is a scarce commodity. The Israel National Water Carrier, however, has made a high population density and standard of living possible. The carrier works by pumping water from the Sea of Galilee and carrying it to areas in the centre and to the south of Israel and the Palestinian areas as well. Up to 1.7 million cubic meters of water can flow through the carrier in just one day; but this is not enough. Israel receives a great deal of its water supply from two large underground aquifers that continue under the Green Line. The use of this underground water has been contentious as some of the wells used to draw the water reside within Palestinian Authority areas. Even though Israel withdraws some water from these areas, it also supplies the West Bank with approximately 40 million cubic meters annually, contributing to 77% of the Palestinians water supply in the West Ba nk, which is to be shared among a population of about 2.3 million. Both sides need water for survival and development and want to ensure an adequate water supply from the limited resources available. Israel has reserved for its own use a large percentage of the water in West Bank aquifers. One of the Palestinians most central concerns is obtaining land and resources that have enough contiguity to provide them with a viable society, and not be forced to give up too many resources to Israel, as this may lead to economic collapse. The purpose of this academic essay was to provide a brief overview of the origins and history of the Israeli Palestinian conflict, placing a primary focus on providing a detailed account of the aforementioned major obstacles to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. There are 5 major obstacles to a to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. (1) Land issues over the West Bank and Gaza strip consisting of the Palestinians demanding a complete hand over of the West Bank in its entirety and Israel wanting to retain some land and settlements to act as a buffer against future acts of aggression. (2) The status of Jerusalem with both sides asserting claims over the eastern part of Jerusalem and fearing for the welfare of their respective holy sites being under the control of the other. (3) Israeli security concerns regarding: the Palestinian political violence and terrorism, Israeli cities being within the Palestinians artillery range, with the threat of Qassa m rocket attacks; and the defence of the West Bank from foreign invasion. (4) Palestinian refugee problems and finding a proper home for 4.6 million refugees living in poor conditions in crowded refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. (5) Issues over water resources, with both sides needing water for survival and development and wanting to ensure an adequate water supply from the limited resources available.

Klipspringer

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel, The Great Gatsby, the short-lived character of Ewing Klipspringer plays a large role in representing a major theme of the novel: the hollowness of the upper class. Though Klipspringer only briefly appears during the story, his character is an important symbol for the way wealth and the upper class is perceived in the novel. While he may seem like an unimportant character due to his blunt appearance in the novel, he plays a significant part in representing the greedy nd materialistic mentality of the upper class.We are introduced to Klipspringer in chapter five of The Great Gatsby, being described as a â€Å"slightly worn young man, with shell-rimmed glasses and scanty blonde hair. † Klipspringer is a frequent guest at the Gatsby mansion, playing the piano for Mr. Gatsby and staying at the mansion as he pleases. The way he is described in the novel assumes he has a somewhat innocent demeanor, where he is â€Å"decently clothed† and seems awkward and embarrassed when Gatsby asks him to lay the piano; however, he proves to have the opposite disposition.He is otherwise recognized as a freeloader, as he uses Gatsby for his enormous wealth; and he has no sympathy or gratitude for Gatsby, proven by his absence at Gatsbys funeral. In several ways, Klipspringer's greed and selfishness reflects the entire society of the upper class. They take advantage of Gatsbys prosperity and parties; yet they have no feelings towards him. Like the rest of Gatsbys hundreds of guests, Klipspringer fails to attend Gatsbys funeral at the end of the novel.Klipspringer furthermore goes to call Nick during Gatsbys funeral to retrieve a pair of his tennis shoes, rather than calling to send any condolences. Klipspringer's lack of compassion and sympathy speaks for Gatsbys relationship with all of his many guests – although he serves them generously, they lack any gratitude or empathy towards him. Though Klipspringer only appears in th e novel a short time, his brief appearance plays an important role in showcasing a vital theme in the novel: the hollowness of the upper class. At the end of chapter five, Gatsby requests Klipspringer to play him a song on the piano.Klipspringer plays the song, â€Å"Ain't We Got Fun†, singing along, â€Å"One things sure and nothings surer, the rich get richer and the poor get – children. In the meantime, in between time. † In several ways, Klipspringer's song choice suggests the shallow, unhappy lifestyle of the upper class. While they live lavish lifestyles and attend ornate parties, none of these provide any personal value. This proves especially true for Gatsby himself, as he spends large amounts of money on is extravagant parties, yet none of them bring him any true happiness.Klipspringer's freeloading at Gatsbys mansion also shows how wealthy Gatsby truly is, being able to have a personal piano player stay at his mansion. It reflects his â€Å"new money' lifestyle of carelessly spending money, and represents the ostentatious ways of the â€Å"newly rich† residents of West Egg. The upscale residents of West Egg are not brought up by wealthy families, and have not been prosperous for most of their lives; thus, the residents of West Egg are typically more humble, but lack the ophistication of those in East Egg.While Klipspringer was short-lived in the story, he serves as a symbol for the novel's greater theme: the hollowness ot the upper class. Though ne is only one man, he reflects the whole acquisitive society of the upper class; spending money carelessly, and taking advantage of Gatsbys wealth and gaudy parties. Although he only made a brief appearance, he plays a large role in characterizing the egotistic and selfish ways of the upper class in The Great Gatsby.

Academia and Text Matching Software Essay

Critically evaluate the use of text matching software as an aid to developing good scholarship practice Introduction Academic dishonesty such as plagiarism has been a major factor in education that has affected students’ success and academic achievements in recent years. Plagiarism according to Park (2003) is the act of appropriating or copying another person’s work and passing them on as one’s idea without acknowledging the original source. Park (2003) noted that plagiarism is a growing problem and has been a misuse of the writings of another author, their ideas, hypothesis, theories, research findings and interpretations. Furthermore studies by Chao, Wilhelm and Neureuther (2009) emphasised that the rising trend of plagiarism among students can be attributed to several factors such as academic literacy, language competence and the technological advancements in the world today in terms of high speed internet facility available in hostels and computer labs. These factors according to Chao, Wilhelm and Neureuther (2009) has enhanced the ability of students to plagiarise a whole assignment by obtaining papers on the internet relating to their assignments which is as easy as copying and pasting. Park (2003) stated that students have different perceptions towards plagiarism. He noted that students view plagiarism as a minor offence which is different from cheating in exams. He further discovered that plagiarism could be unintentional (ibid). This is because some students possess a mental illusion in which they believe they have produced something from their own perspective while infact they are reproducing something which they have read from another author. The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the effect of text matching software as an aid to developing good scholarship practice. This paper will begin by briefly describing what good scholarship practise is. In addition the use of text matching software for detecting good scholarship practice will be critically discussed and a conclusion will be made based on the evaluation. Good scholarship practice can be referred to as a formal study which involves academic learning and achievement. It involves acknowledging where information used to support ideas in a particular context is gotten and citing the sources (Locke and Latham, 2009). Britag and Mahmud (2009) pointed out that different strategies whichinclude the use of electronic software tools such as turnitin have been derived for detecting plagiarism with the intent of allowing students’ take responsibility of their learning and also work hand in hand with their tutors in the drafting stages of their assignments. According to Britag and Mahmud (2009) manual detection of plagiarism is difficult because it is time consuming and this is the reason why some tutors are reluctant in pursuing potential cases of plagiarism. However both the manual method of plagiarism detection and the electronic text matching method should be employed (Britag and Mahmud, 2009). Scaife (2007) argued that the electronic text matching software is not the solution to eliminating plagiarism because the software only focuses on text matching of paper under review with documents (journals, articles, e-books and conference papers) found on the internet or which has been previously submitted and this is a limitation because the only detection are focused on electronic materials without considering some non-electronic paper based documents which could still be plagiarised. Walker (2010) stated that with the development of text matching software such as the turnitin plagiarism detection was made easier, however he emphasised that the turnitin detection software is not 100 per cent efficient, it merely identifies and matches materials present in a document uploaded to turnitin website to materials available on the internet. Walker (2010) describes the electronic text matching software as a tool only suitable for detecting word for word or direct plagiarism in electronic form and the refined ones from the paper based sources are not easily detected. Moreover Carroll and Appleton (2001) argued that the turnitin is just an option for measuring plagiarism and that alone cannot be used as a basis for judging good scholarship practice. In addition Carroll and Appleton (2001) insist that the use of electronic software for detecting plagiarism requires human application and interpretation and that using turnitin alone as a medium for plagiarism detection is not proficient. According to Barrett and Malcolm (2006) the electronic text matching software (turnitin) only indicates possible plagiarism without any certainty, it is left to the tutor to determine the extent to which the writer has plagiarised or included some sources in the paper without acknowledging where they were acquired. In conclusion the concept of plagiarism cannot be overemphasised. It has become a factor that has affected good academic scholarship practice and has  created an avenue for educators to develop methods for detecting and dealing with plagiarism. The development of the electronic detection software such as the turnitin has enhanced the detection of plagiarism however it cannot be relied upon completely because it is not effective. In addition it is important to understand that the best way to detect plagiarism is to use both the manual method which involves educators and the use of electronic text matching software such as turnitin. Students could also be assisted in understanding the criteria for academic writing such as the code of conducts which requires them to acknowledge any source from where data is derived when writing academically. References Barrett, R. & Malcolm, J. (2006) ‘Embedding plagiarism education in the assessment process’, International Journal for Educational Integrity, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 38-45. Bretag, T. and Mahmud, S. (2009) ‘A model for determining student plagiarism: Electronic detection and academic judgement. ‘, Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 50-60. Chao, C. , Wilhelm, W. J. , Neureuther, B. D. (2009. ) ‘A Study of Electronic Detection and Pedagogical Approaches for Reducing Plagiarism’, The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 31-42. Carroll, J. and Appleton, J. (2001), Plagiarism: A good practice guide, Oxford: Oxford Brookes University. Locke, E. A, Latham, G. P (2009) ‘Has Goal Setting Gone Wild, or Have Its Attackers Abandoned Good Scholarship? ‘, The Academy of Management Perspectives, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp.  17-23. Park, C. (2003). ‘In Other (People’s) Words: plagiarism by university students—literature and lessons’, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 28, No. 5, pp. 472-488. Scaife, B (2007) IT Consultancy Plagiarism Detection Software Report for JISC Advisory Service. [Online]. Retrieved from:www. plagiarismadvice. org/documents/resources/PDReview-Reportv1_5. pdf [Accessed 24th October 2012]. Walker, J. (2010) ‘Measuring plagiarism: researching what students do, not what they say they do’, Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 41-59.

The Effects Of Technology On Our Children - 1364 Words

These days times are changing, increasingly fast, technology advances are leaping us ahead faster than we could have imagined and this has been a major component of the rapid velocity of today s society (Walker, 2005). Most people of today find they are rushing everywhere, be it getting to work or getting home from work, even getting our children to and from their activities is a rush to complete; In current times, we expect everything to be done the moment it is requested, most of us have access to emails, messages and phone calls instantly due to mobile phones and devices however, even with the benefits of our technological advances, people don’t seem to be any happier, healthier or wiser for it (Walker, 2005). With our fast paced,†¦show more content†¦The school system has also played a major role in contributing to the loss of childhood with its replacing of free play with the academic goal orientated curriculum (Lynott Logue, 1993). Children are expected to con form the minute they hit school age with set boundaries on when they can and cannot do things, their free play is strictly limited and they are expected to preform to the same standards as all the other children in their age group. Talented children are frequently shifted from one book to another or one level of ability to another deprived of time in between for parallel supplementation and Intelligent children can quickly become conscious that to perform quicker entails more work of the same kind (McGreevy, 1987). These talented children do require the chance to validate what they comprehend in particular capacities; however, they then need to have the time to foster development endeavors and slow down their rate of progression at the same time, we need to allow for both of these to happen in order to get full benefit from the learning. (McGreevy, 1987). Stereotypes and false expectations are another issue within schools which have an effect on the rushed development of childhood, this results in children being labeled too quickly as gifted or even labeling them as being behind what is expected, this isShow MoreRelatedTechnology And Its Detrimental Effect On Children1123 Words   |  5 PagesLuke Stafford En 102 Essay 4 6/22/2015 Technology is a large part of everyday life in the 21st century, and the effects of its power over our culture are clearly visible in multiple ways. For example, social media is the most popular form of communication and using the internet and computers seems second nature to us, especially in the form of entertainment. Many children today have never known a time when they didn’t have access to the internet, a television, or a cell phone. 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