20th Century Jerusalem

The twentieth century began with a development  of secular zionism, or the notion for a Jewish state but not strictly one filled with super religious Jews. This vision is often attributed to Theodore Herzl. Due to the rising of Jewish pride coupled with Jewish success, resentment in first Catholic and later Muslim communities began to arise. With World War I, Jerusalem became the headquarters for the VII Turkish corps, causing controversy with the Armenian quarter within Jerusalem. The end of World War I brought the  British Mandate Period from 1918-1948, when the English and the French divided the Palestine and the surrounding areas in the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. The Balfour Declaration then established Palestine as a national home for Jewish people, a quite support of the notion of zionism. However, this ambiguity behind the purpose of the Balfour Declaration soon led to Churchill's "White Paper" which attempted to clarify the idea of Palestine to both Jews and Muslims. This clarification backfired and further confusion and violence led to the Peel Commission of 1937, which partitioned a two-state solution with Jerusalem as an international city.

As conflicts continued, the British were being attacked by the Jews and decided to end the British Mandate in the War of Independence (1948). During this time, the Jews were an armed paramilitary group not part of a recognized state, so the question begs whether or not most people considered them to be terrorists. To the East, King Abdullah of Jordan made a stride towards peace, which was quickly shot down by his son, King Hussein. In the Six-Day War, Egyptian and Jordanian forces attempted a surprise attack on Israel, which was pre-empted with an Israeli force. Intifadas or "uprisings" began in the 80's. Just when the regions were closer to obtaining peace, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon took a stroll around the Temple Mount, which was highly prohibited and provoked another intifada. Prior to this, the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) developed as the sole representation of the Palestinian people. In the Oslo Accords, the PLO recognizes Israel's right to exist and Yassar Arafat is recognized as the leader.