Abstract

Far from being a natural disaster, the ongoing crisis in the Middle East is a man-made problem. It is a problem over home lands as delineated by human organizations which can only be solved by human actors. The contentious creation of the nation of Israel in 1948 as a home for the displaced postwar Jewish population has caused an ongoing conflict between Israelis and the Arab population who had previously lived in that territory, especially the Palestinians. Unfortunately, the debate between Israeli and Palestinian military conflicts is still muddled in gray ethical lines and religious fervor. It remains nearly impossible to tell who has real rights to these lands and territories and international intervention by multiple mediating nations and organizations have failed to broker any lasting peace between the two nations. However, it is very clear that though Israeli citizens still live in constant fear of terrorist attacks, the Palestinian refugee community, especially in the Gaza Strip, has been devastated by the terror of the brutal Israeli war machine. The seemingly intractable conflict has manifested itself in various ways. The study therefore tends to academically x-ray this horrifying and distasteful conflict that has ravaged the Middle East with implications on the entire world. It was hypothesized that implementing the UN resolution 181 and 242 which calls for a return to 1967 borders and a two state respectively will put an end to the conflict. The theory of Alienation is the framework upon which the paper is based. Far reaching recommendations were also made, and the paper finally resolves that, a solution can be found by adopting the resolutions reached by the UN which both parties are signatories to and implementing same. And that all third parties in the conflict must stand as impartial arbiters if a meaningful resolution is to be made and if a lasting peace will ever be reached in the Middle East.