Complete the table with the synonyms of the following words and make up sentences using them

Exercise 14

Study the chart and explain why it is so hard for the Israelis and Palestinians to reach an agreementconcerning the conflict.

THE KEY ISSUES THAT WILL HAVE TO BE AGREED

Exercise 15

Read the text and answer the questions:

What are the two sides' goals?

What is at stake for the rest of the region?

Israel's main declared aim is to stop rocket fire from Gaza once and for all and restore quiet and safety for Israelis. Part of its Operation Protective Edge involved a ground operation to destroy Hamas tunnels, which have been used to launch attacks into Israel. Israel says it destroyed 32 but acknowledge some may have gone undetected.

Israel has also made it clear that it wants Gaza to be demilitarised.

Hamas' political leaders said they would only stop fighting when there is an end to the blockade of Gaza. The group's armed wing though went further, demanding an end to Israeli "aggression" in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza and the freeing of prisoners released in exchange for Gilad Shalit in 2011 but were recently re-arrested.

At stake is the legacy of the Obama administration, and its push for better ties with the Muslim world. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has long been seen as a driver of negative sentiment towards Israel in the Middle East and the wider Muslim world. But the talks are resuming against the backdrop of regional upheavals after the Arab Spring.

Exercise 16

Choose the best title to the following texts. Give your reasons.

1.The Gaza Strip, sandwiched between Israel and Egypt, has been a recurring flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for years.

Israel occupied Gaza in the 1967 Middle East war and pulled its troops and settlers out in 2005. Israel considered this the end of the occupation, but it still exercises control over most of Gaza's borders, waters and airspace. Egypt controls Gaza's southern border.

Israel has imposed tight restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip, measures it says are vital for its own security.

However, Palestinians in Gaza feel confined and are suffering socio-economic hardship. The dominant Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas and other militant groups say the restrictions are intolerable.

a) Middle East conflict history

b) Palestinians’ hardship

c) Hamas and other Palestinian groups

2. Hamas's charter is committed to Israel's destruction but in recent years it has said it will consider a long-term truce with Israel. It cites Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem as reasons for its attacks on the Jewish state before and after 2005.

It says it is also acting in self-defence against Israeli air strikes, incursions and other military assaults.

Analysts point to the fact that Hamas has become increasingly isolated in Gaza after losing the support of its former staunch ally Syria and to a lesser extent Iran, and seeing the Egyptian authorities crack down on smuggling tunnels following the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Attacking Israel, they say, may be a way for Hamas to try to boost its popularity and obtain concessions in any eventual long-term ceasefire.

a) Hamas’s charter

b) Hamas isolation

c) Hamas’s activities

3. The Palestinians are divided politically between the West Bank-based Fatah and Islamist Hamasmovement, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, and has condemned the talks.

Some other Palestinian groups, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), staged protests against the talks.

Mr Netanyahu also faces internal challenges. Despite the public support for peace talks, some of his coalition partners – for example the Jewish Home party – and members of his own Likud party oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state.

More importantly, the two sides appear to have wide gaps separating their optimal positions. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of their state, an idea that is vehemently opposed by some parties in the Israeli cabinet, who maintain Jerusalem should be the undivided capital of Israel.

Mr Netanyahu's government is likely to insist on keeping some Israeli settlements in the West Bank or East Jerusalem as part of a final deal. Previous talks have suggested mutually-agreed land swaps with the Palestinians as a way to achieve this.

a) The Palestinians’ division

b) Overriding issues of Fatah and Hamas

c) Israeli settlements

THE LATEST PEACE TALKS

Exercise 17.

Read the information and answer the questions:

How productive were the latest talks?

What results were achieved by the warring sides if any?

Roadmap, 2003

The roadmap is a plan drawn up by the "Quartet" – the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.It does not lay down the details of a final settlement, but suggests how a settlement might be approached It is designed to create confidence, leading to final status talks.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are restarting peace talk on 14 August 2013 in Jerusalem under US mediation. The two sides are meeting for the first time in nearly three years to negotiate an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution formula.

Mr Kerry said in late July that all final-status issues – Jerusalem, borders, security arrangements, settlements and Palestinian refugees – would be on the table. He did not specify a timetable and added that both sides had agreed to keep the contents of meetings confidential.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an April meeting with Mr Kerry that Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state would be among the first issues. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told reporters in Cairo in July that the talks would focus first on borders and security.

Hostilities between the two sides resumed after talks on a long-term ceasefire deal collapsed. Israel has vowed to pursue its campaign until "full security" is achieved. Fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip is currently on hold after both sides agreed to a long-term ceasefire. The past seven weeks have seen the deadliest violence in years, punctuated by a succession of failed truces.

The UN Security Council voiced "grave concern" at the resumption of hostilities and "called upon the parties to resume negotiations to urgently reach a sustainable and lasting ceasefire".

In October 2014 both sides have agreed to an Egyptian-sponsored deal, which has been painstakingly difficult to arrive at. It is not the first ceasefire since Israel launched its offensive on 8 July – indeed there have been numerous and they have been short-lived.

However, unlike earlier truces which were for intended to last for hours or days, the latest ceasefire is open-ended. After 50 days of fighting, there is more impetus – and war-weariness on both sides – to find a way bring an end to the conflict to a conclusion than at any time before.

The ceasefire deal appears to combine elements of proposals that have been under discussion for weeks. However, differences in initial statements from both sides. According to officials from the Palestinian factions, restrictions on Gaza's crossings with Israel would be eased and humanitarian supplies and desperately-needed materials for reconstruction allowed in. Fishing limits will also be extended, they said.

Discussions about other issues, like Hamas' demand for an airport and a sea terminal, will be put off for a month, they added. A senior Israeli official told the BBC that while Israel accepted the Egyptian ceasefire proposal, it did not include the issue of a seaport, airport or the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Exercise 18

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