Can peace be achieved in the Middle East after so many years of conflict?

Israeli and Palestinian aggression has created problems for both cultures since the seventh century. Israelis, descendants of the ancient Hebrews, and Palestinians, descendants of the ancient Philistines, have fought over this small but religiously important strip of land. Recently, disputed settlements in Israel's Gaza Strip and West Bank have led to terrorist aggression on both sides.\nFounded May 14, 1948, Israel fought against a British mandate to become an independent state. With its declaration of independence, Israel faced attacks from neighboring Arab countries. During the next 15 months, Israel defended itself and expanded its holdings into Northern Galilee and Southern Negev. Jerusalem became split between Transjordan and Israel, leaving the fate of 400,000 Palestinian refugees unknown, according to CNN.com.\nProfessor Emeritus of Education Malcolm Fleming, an advocate of the fair treatment of Palestinian settlers, said original information suggests Palestinian refugees fled of their own accord. But he said new historical information assumes Israel drove out the refugees. Under U.N. Resolution 194, refugees are either entitled to return to their country of origin or be monetarily compensated, leaving Israel with the burden of unclaimed refugees.\nAccording to CNN.com, in 1959, Yasser Arafat and Abu Jihad founded the Al Fatah, which later became the Palestinian Liberation Organization as a movement to free Palestine from Israel's control using guerrilla warfare. It grew in the 1960s to become the largest and most powerful Palestinian force today, headed by Arafat since 1969, the Web site states.\nAfter Egypt closed the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping supplies, Arab countries began mobilizing their forces. In six days of warfare, known as the Six-Day War, Israel's air force and infantry divisions captured the Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, the West Bank of the Jordan River including the Old City of Jerusalem and Gaza, according to CNN.com. The war ended with a U.N. arranged cease-fire and U.N. Resolution 242, according to the Web site. \nIn 1973, the Arab nations again attacked Israel, this time during a holy Jewish holiday. It took Israel days to mobilize its forces and suffered great fatalities, the Web site states. Once mobilized, Israel's armed forces overpowered their attackers and forced the Arab nations back, obtaining the western bank of the Suez Canal and large chunks of Syrian territory, according to CNN.com. \nAgain, the U.N. arranged a cease-fire, this time with Israel as the clear military dominant of the region.\nIsrael and Egypt signed The Camp David Accords in 1979, a formal peace treaty between the two nations, the Web site states. The treaty, which ended 30 years of warfare, allowed Egypt to recognize Israel's right to exist for the return of the Sinai Peninsula, according to CNN.com.\nIn 1993, after escalating aggression between the PLO and Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin and PLO Chairman Arafat met in Oslo, Norway, and signed the Oslo Accords. CNN.com said these secret talks allowed mutual recognition and Palestinian self-rule in Gaza and the West Bank. \n"Israel was slowly moving troops from the occupied territories, 40 percent, 60 percent, 80 percent and then 95 percent of the troops, but 95 percent is not 100 percent. Imagine Palestinians living in a territory 22 percent of its original size and Israelis in the middle of it. It just wouldn't work," Fleming said.\nOther acts of aggression occurred during the 1990s, including a massacre of Palestinians while they were praying, the murder of Rabin, failed peace talks and terrorist attacks of civilians on both sides, according to CNN.com. \nSeptember and October 2000 were bloody months, with the number of fatalities reaching more than 200. Israel's election, to take place today, is a hostile battle between political parties. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak continues to meet and negotiate with the Palestinians, the Web site states. \nHistory Professor Irving Katz said there are three main irreconcilable differences being discussed: who will control Jerusalem, what to do with expelled Palestinian refugees and where borders will be drawn. \nKatz said while both cultures want control of the disputed Temple Mount, neither is willing to give up the religious site. For Jews, the Mount is the last remaining portion of the Second Temple, and the holiest site in the religion. For Muslims, the two mosques on the top of the mount make it the third most religious spot in their religion after Mecca and Medina.\nSince their expulsion in 1948 and again after the Six-Day War in 1967, the Palestinian refugees have been trying to prove their right to return to Israel. \nKatz said allowing the refugees back would be suicide for Israel. An increase of thousands of Palestinians would throw off the balance of power and disrupt the Jewish majority. Compromises are being discussed, such as reunification of families and population exchanges between Israel and Arab countries.\nKatz said the last main issue is where borders will be drawn. Although many Israelis understand the need for a Palestinian state, Palestinians are requesting continuity -- a continuous Palestinian state without Israel between its boundaries. But this request worries Israelis for security reasons.\nWith such controversy lurking, why is it so important to maintain peace in such a hostile environment? \nBoth Israelis and Palestinians agree the region needs peace. \nJunior John Bava, secretary general of the Muslim Student Association and technology coordinator of the Muslim Student Union, said fighting has been going on for too long.\n"In order for peace to ensue in the entire Middle East it needs to begin with the Palestinians and Israelis; they shouldn't compromise each other's right to exist as humans," Bava said.\nJunior Marisa Bobbe visited Israel this past December with the Hillel-sponsored trip through Birthright Israel. She said in a country where all students go to the military after high school, people her age are scared for their lives. \n"They have such national pride they want to serve, but all the acts of aggression make them scared. They don't want to fight," she said.\nBobbe said although there were places they were not allowed to visit, the level of danger people live with is not as bad as the press makes it appear. \n"I think it's safer than here," she said. "There are restrictions that are made; we were told exactly which taxi to take, but there (are) no one worries about rape. There, that's not even an issue"