It is important to recognise the religious context of Israel and Jerusalem to the Zionists. To comprehend the Jewish fundamentalist movement you must understand the core of its ideology. The Hebrew Scriptures are a combination of all religions but are essential the story of the people, the scripture is unalterable and literal. This is an important point to understand how strongly Zionists rely on this ideological framework within the conflict. It is important to recognise that in Hebrew Scriptures, the Israelites concluded their wanderings when they reached Canaan, the modern West Bank. There is archaeological evidence to support that this region was inhabited by the Israelites and the first three holy cities that feature in Judaism are present in that area. This does not prove a theological debate for self-determination but it does add deep layers to the conflict. With an intransigent population, the theological aspect gives Jews a strong tie to the land. Yitzhak Reiter discussed how religion played a role in both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; specifically, how religionalisation of a political culture has seen the focus on national identity dependant on religion. He supports this for Arabs by saying “most Arab states also define themselves as Muslim states, and some (if not all) of them ascribe much significance to Islamic law – shari’a – as a source of …show more content…
Until 1968, the efforts of achieving self-determination for Palestinians were best enclosed within general Arab national development. This changed with the rise of the PLO, where Palestinians became a political force of greater significance. The raid of Karameh inside Jordan was a turning point in Palestinian growth. It resulted in a rush of volunteers within the Arab population and within a year the Fedayeen were a strong force in Jordan. This recognises a time where there was a vacillation between the PLO. Some factions had a revolutionary direction while one was focused towards national independence. While both goals should not have been opposed, to understand and seek a Palestinian identity the factions were in opposition of each other. This period recognises the importance of Jordan in the conflict. After 1948 Jordan became a hot bed of Palestinian resistance with cross border raids a common occurrence. The PLO had set up its base in Jordan. The significance of Jordan was its history as being part of Mandate Palestine which was the correct state of Israel and Jordan. It became trans Jordan after the Mandate yet while it did not make peace with Israel until 1994, it still worked with Israelies to provide Palestinian counter