Evaluate the changes in Israeli policy towards the Palestinians and Essay

Evaluate the changes in Israeli policy towards the Palestinians and account for the recognition it finally gave the PLO in 1993 - Essay Example The various wars and terrorism has made Israel adopt harsh security and military measures against the Palestinians. The emergence of the PLO as a rallying point for Palestinians gave Israel a chance to change their policy toward negotiations, instead of harsh security and military measures. Different Israeli Prime Ministers have created and implemented policy towards the Palestinians. Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, and Ariel Sharon have all had unique views and policies toward the Palestinians. The Palestinians react to the policies, then the Israelis respond to their reactions through their elections of Prime Ministers. This paper will describe and evaluate Israeli policy towards Palestinians. It will also discuss why the PLO was an important factor in these policies changing, the reason for recognizing the PLO, and if recognizing and negotiating with the PLO changed the situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories. Before World War I, most of the Middle East, including Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire for around five hundred years. Due to the oppression of the Ottomans towards the residents of Palestine, the Palestinians fought for the Allies in World War I in the hopes of liberation (Fraser, 1980, p. 2). At the end of World War I, the British occupied Palestine under the British Mandate of Palestine. During the British Mandate of Palestine, Jews started immigrating into Palestine rapidly. From the beginning, the Jews had a policy against the native Palestinians. When the Jews started coming to Palestine, they began buying land and forming communities. However, due to persecution in their former countries, the Jews created close communities. This resulted in farms, industries, and businesses for Jews only. The Jews prohibited the employment of the Arabs, which upset the local population (Lesch, and Tschirgi, 1980, p. 51). The policy of â€Å"Jew only† communities