| This dissertation considers the general question of conflict and conflict resolution in the context of Arab-Israeli relations. Using conflict theory as a theoretical framework, it begins by defining what the researcher considers to be the origins of the conflict in the Balfour Declaration of 1917. Chapter Two discusses and investigates the personalities, calculations, and motivations which resulted in Balfour's short letter which led to the establishment of the State of Israel. Chapter Three traces the development of the debate over the Arab-Israeli conflict in the United Nations over a period of 33 years (1948-1981), and argues that there are similarities between the Balfour Declaration and the series of United Nations Resolutions passed during this period. The chapter is divided into two sections, one analyzing the United Nations' dealings with the problem on a humanitarian basis, and a second analyzing its political deliberations.;Chapter Four analyzes three major initiatives that have been undertaken in the last decade seeking to resolve the conflict. These are (1) Egyptian President Sadat's visit to Jerusalem and the subsequent Camp David Accords, the first step towards political settlement between Israel and one of its long-standing enemies, (2) the Arab-European dialogue initiated by the EEC following the 1973 October War and 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, and the subsequent Venice Declaration of 1980, and (3) the initiative proposed by the Saudi government in August, 1981, the so-called Fahd Eight-Point Peace Plan. Chapter Five, containing the author's conclusions, argues that the central features of any permanent settlement must be the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza and a concurrent guarantee of Israel's security within its pre-1967 borders. |
