Samenvatting

For already many years the Israeli-Palestinian crisis is a complicated situation. Despite all the efforts to come to a peace agreement, a solution has not been found yet. The land that is now called ‘Israel’ is and has been very important for different reasons; economical, strategic and religious. Many nations have always been interested in its rich sources, its strategic location next to the Mediterranean Sea, connected with Asia, Europe and the other Middle East countries. Over the years the European Union and other international organizations have tried to search a solution for peace by mediating between Israel and Palestine. In order to support this, several Accords and Resolutions were implemented to promote peace. In 2003, the EU developed by hand of the other members within the Quartet, the plan for the ‘Road Map’. The goal of this plan was to create a two-state solution: Israel and an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state, existing side by side within secure and recognized borders. In order to come to a possible two-state solution there are four important aspects which have to be taken into consideration by both sides, namely; Jerusalem, the Palestinian refugees, the settlements, borders and security between the two states. For the Jews, the Muslims and the Christians, the capital city, Jerusalem, is very important for several religious reasons and therefore a possible separation of the city appears to be complicated. More than five million Palestinian refugees live across the Middle East and hundreds of thousands of them living throughout the rest of the world. The problem of the Palestinian refugees will not be resolved as long as they do not have a state, because the economic situation does not become better. Since the war of 1967, the Palestinians accepted that Israel occupies the land of the 1948 boundaries. The West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem were the Palestinians territories. Therefore a complete withdrawal from Israel from these territories is required. Israel’s position towards Palestine on the security field is understandable: they want to be certain that after the ending of the occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state, Israel does not have to face any potential threats from outside. By giving up occupation in Palestine, Israel will lose the strategic position of the Israel Defence Forces in the West Bank and therefore might lose early warning stations which provide time to prepare for possible attacks. In order to create mutual trust, it is important that the international parties and the EU support initiatives and organisations which promote mutual understanding between Israeli and Palestinian civilians.