The League of Nations gave Britain a mandate to govern the lands west of the Jordan River after the end of the First World War. The League of Nations disintegrated as a result of the Second World War and was eventually replaced by the United Nations. When the Jews realised that Britain was moving towards granting independence to the Palestinian Mandate on a democratic single-state basis, the Jews began a program of terrorism designed to drive Britain out of Palestine. Britain handed the "problem" over to the United Nations, which initially favoured a division that provided approximately equal shares of the land to each side. After initiating a civil war in which many of the Palestinians fled the future state of Israel or were actually driven out, Israel unilaterally declared independence. For one day, 11th May 1949, Israel consented to negotiate United Nations proposals, during which time Israel was accepted as a member of the United Nations, then Israel reneged on any further discussions. The Palestinians did not accept this situation, but Israeli military power has forced a change of position on the part of the Palestinian leaders.
There are no doubt some Palestinians who would like to see Israel destroyed, just as there are Jews who would like to see the Palestinian Territories destroyed, but most Palestinians who continue to fight would settle for a secure territory behind secure borders. Time is on the Israeli side, as Israelis can continue to build Jewish settlements on Palestinian land as long as Israel remains the colonial power in the Territories.
Yes. The Arab-Israeli Wars have been going on intermittently since around 1920 if the Zionist Jewish Settlers are considered to be the Israeli progenitors and 1948 if the terms are used strictly. See the related question for causes of this conflict.
The closest to conflict that Arabs and Israelis have in the Diaspora is competing political lobbies and occasional riots (more often Arabs against Jews or Israelis than the reverse, especially in Europe). There is no current Mafia-War or otherwise between Arabs and Israelis in the Diaspora. There have also been rare incidents such as the Palestinian (Black September) Terrorist Attack at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972, the Palestinian Hijacking of a plane with numerous Israelis in Athens, Greece and the eventual Israeli military rescue in Entebbe, Uganda in 1976, and several Israeli (Mossad) Assassinations of Arab officials both serving and in hiding that were believed to have committed violent activities against Israeli citizens.
If this question is asking about political relations between Israel and Palestine, then the answer is rather simple: Palestine did not exist. Palestine only became a country in the late 1980s or early 1990s depending on the particular interpretation of history chosen. At this point, the Palestine Liberation Organization, the forerunner to the current Palestinian Authority (the recognized government of Palestine), was a stateless organization that believed in no negotiation or peace with the State of Israel. If this question is asking about personal relationships between Israelis and Palestinians, the question becomes more complicated. Between 1949 and 1967, Israeli Jews had little if any contact with Palestinians. The Israeli Arab communities tried to maintain links across the border with Jordan, but with little luck. Between 1967 and 1987, many Palestinians got jobs in Israel and correspondingly, there was relatively high degree of contact. Palestinians formed large portions of the workforce in many unskilled professions during this period. While the Occupation certainly bothered and infuriated the Palestinians, it was nowhere near as strong and omnipresent as it has been since the Intifadas.
There is no current conflict in Portugal. People in Portugal like to live life peacefully.
There have been fights in Paris as many march in support of the Palestinians. Another current event in France is France recently celebrating Bastille Day.
Pretty much everything about modern politics in the Middle East is inspired by historical events in the Middle East. The historical repression of Sunnis and Shiites at each others' hands results in their current conflict. The borders of the current countries are a direct result of Western colonization or protectorate-making. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is ethno-nationalist conflict based on the way that Israelis and Palestinians have seen land-ownership of the land in history.
Pretty much everything about modern politics in the Middle East is inspired by historical events in the Middle East. The historical repression of Sunnis and Shiites at each others' hands results in their current conflict. The borders of the current countries are a direct result of Western colonization or protectorate-making. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is ethno-nationalist conflict based on the way that Israelis and Palestinians have seen land-ownership of the land in history.
There has never been a war between the Palestinians (which have only existed as a national group since the 1940s) and the Israelites (which only existed as a national group prior to the Roman Empire). If the question means to ask about Israelis (the current citizens of Israel) and Palestinians, then the answer is relatively simple. Each war between Israel and Palestine has further estranged the relationships of its populations with the other. Typically, these wars have garnered more international support for Palestine, since it appears to be the underdog.
The crisis in Sudan, the current situation in Zimbabwe, the plight of minorities in China, Palestinians in Israel, the ongoing conflict between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon, Serbs in Kosovo, the ongoing conflict between Republican Catholics and Loyalist Protestants in Northern Ireland...
Yes. The Arab-Israeli Wars have been going on intermittently since around 1920 if the Zionist Jewish Settlers are considered to be the Israeli progenitors and 1948 if the terms are used strictly. See the related question for causes of this conflict.
It is not entirely clear what "nature" refers to. Is this a question of the way the conflict is conducted, i.e. the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is asymetric warfare of a national army opposed to terrorist and criminal organizations. Is this a question of the current boundaries and on-the-ground realities, i.e. the Israelis have a military occupation of some parts of the West Bank, while Palestinians have control of Gaza Strip under Hamas usurpation and parts of the West Bank under the recognized Fatah government. As for the causes, see the Related Question below.
"Palestinian" is usually used to refer to the Arab former inhabitants of the British Mandate of Palestine and their descendants regardless of whether they live in those borders or not. Jews, Bedouins, Circassians and Druze Arabs who live or whose ancestors lived in that territory are not considered Palestinians.
The closest to conflict that Arabs and Israelis have in the Diaspora is competing political lobbies and occasional riots (more often Arabs against Jews or Israelis than the reverse, especially in Europe). There is no current Mafia-War or otherwise between Arabs and Israelis in the Diaspora. There have also been rare incidents such as the Palestinian (Black September) Terrorist Attack at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972, the Palestinian Hijacking of a plane with numerous Israelis in Athens, Greece and the eventual Israeli military rescue in Entebbe, Uganda in 1976, and several Israeli (Mossad) Assassinations of Arab officials both serving and in hiding that were believed to have committed violent activities against Israeli citizens.
It is unclear what "all this hostility" refers to. Contrary to what many Arab and Muslim commentators may say, the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict really only affects the Israelis and Palestinians and had marginal to reasonably important effects on the Arab countries directly bordering Israel or Palestine. However, the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict does not cause the majority of problems or conflicts in the Middle East and is actually quite insignificant. (Such conflicts include the Turko-Cypriot War, the current Syrian Civil War, Saudi Repression of Women and Minorities, the Iran-Iraq War, the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991, the Iraq War and the Insurgency, the Anfal Campaign and other Genocides in Iraq prior to Saddam Hussein's overthrow, the Iranian-Israeli Proxy Wars, the Cultural and Political Repression of the Kurds, South Sudanese, Darfurians, Amazigh, Pied Noirs, Jews and Christians, and numerous other conflicts). As for the issues between Israelis and Palestinians currently, most of them have to do with the current Israeli and Palestinian governments not being interested in pursuing bilateral negotiations because of mutual distrust. Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister, is angered by Hamas' bellicose nature along the Israeli border and does not believe that Mahmoud Abbas is truly interested in a negotiated solution since he went to the UN to acquire statehood without a formal peace agreement. Abbas, the Palestinian Authority Chairman, is bothered by increased Israeli settlement construction and a failure on the Israeli government's part to reward his positive management of the West Bank with increased autonomy and land-area. As for the general issues, please see the Related Questions below.
Yes, of course. However, there is currently strong political inertia on both sides against such an interdependence. In the 1970s and 1980s, numerous Palestinians commuted to work in Israel, serving as Israel's dominant force of low-paid and low-skilled labor. Additionally, Palestinians were able to attend Israeli Arab schools, they became trained in more skilled professions, especially as doctors. From 1967-1979, Israel and the Palestinian Territories were for the other the highest-volume international trade partner with which they shared borders. Since the Intifadas in the late 1980s up to the current conflicts, Israeli and Palestinian leaders have chosen to isolate the two peoples. Most famously, Israel built the Security Fence to keep Palestinian Suicide Bombers out of mainland Israel. However, it also had the effect of making commuting between the Palestinian Territories and Israel nearly impossible, lessening connections between Palestinians and Israelis.
The media has quite a significant impact on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. This impact has been felt in several major ways. 1) Knowledge of the Conflict: It is on account of media reporting that many more people are aware of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict than any of the other major Middle Eastern Conflicts, even though many have been more significantly bloody such as the Kurdish Wars for Independence and subsequent massacres, the Lebanese Civil War, the Libyan-Egyptian War of the 1980s, the current fleeing of the Assyrians in Iraq, and the current Yemeni and Bahraini Civilian Repressions. Media reporting seems very interested in this particular Middle Eastern Conflict and as result, people have heard of it. 2) Reinforcing Biased Views: The Media in recent years has become more and more one-sided, where each network caters to a pre-existing opinion and attempts to buttress that opinion. This further entrenches individuals' biased and uncompromising position helping to facilitate further conflict and negotiations failure. 3) Exaggeration of Conflict: While the suffering of Israelis and Palestinians is very real, the media chooses to focus on the death and destruction far more often than it does on the much more commonplace peaceful relations between average Israelis and Palestinians. The bottom line is that no news-watcher wants to see a cover-story of "Young Palestinian Girl goes to Israeli Mall and buys a beautiful headscarf on sale!"
If this question is asking about political relations between Israel and Palestine, then the answer is rather simple: Palestine did not exist. Palestine only became a country in the late 1980s or early 1990s depending on the particular interpretation of history chosen. At this point, the Palestine Liberation Organization, the forerunner to the current Palestinian Authority (the recognized government of Palestine), was a stateless organization that believed in no negotiation or peace with the State of Israel. If this question is asking about personal relationships between Israelis and Palestinians, the question becomes more complicated. Between 1949 and 1967, Israeli Jews had little if any contact with Palestinians. The Israeli Arab communities tried to maintain links across the border with Jordan, but with little luck. Between 1967 and 1987, many Palestinians got jobs in Israel and correspondingly, there was relatively high degree of contact. Palestinians formed large portions of the workforce in many unskilled professions during this period. While the Occupation certainly bothered and infuriated the Palestinians, it was nowhere near as strong and omnipresent as it has been since the Intifadas.