ISRAEL-PALESTINE CONFLICT: A DETAILED REPORT ON PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

Hey Readers! Today I will be talking about the ongoing dispute between Israel and Palestine. I will be speaking about their history and the reason behind this conflict. I will be also explaining the current situation and what might happen in the future. Click the button down at the end of the post to listen to the article!

The history behind Israel-Palestine conflict:

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the world’s longest-running and most controversial conflicts. It claims to have its roots in 957 BC when King Solomon built the first temple in the Israelite kingdom. The temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia in 587/586 BC. Though both the Jews and the Arab Muslims date their claims to the land back a couple thousand years, the current political conflict began in the early 20th century.

Let’s go back a century:

After the Ottoman Empire was defeated in World War I; the British took control of the area known as Palestine. The land was inhabited by a Jewish minority and Arab majority. Tensions between the two peoples grew when the international community gave Britain the task of establishing a “national home” in Palestine for the Jewish people. For the Jews, it was their ancestral home. However, the Palestinian Arabs also claimed the land and opposed the move. The Jews, fleeing persecution in Europe and seeking a homeland after the Holocaust of WWII, arrived in huge numbers between the 1920s and 1940s. The swelling numbers led to violence between the Arabs and the Jews and resentment against British rule. In 1947, the United Nations voted for Palestine to be split into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem becoming an international city. That plan was accepted by Jewish leaders but rejected by the Arab side and never implemented.

Creation of Israel and the turmoil that followed:

In 1948, unable to solve the problem, British rulers left and Jewish leaders declared the creation of the state of Israel. Many Palestinians objected and a war followed. Troops from neighbouring Arab countries invaded. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced out of their homes in what they call Al-Nakba, or the “Catastrophe”. By the time the fighting ended in a ceasefire the following year, Israel controlled most of the territory. Jordan occupied land which became known as the West Bank, and Egypt occupied Gaza. Jerusalem was divided between Israeli forces in the West and Jordanian forces in the East. Because there was never a peace agreement – each side blamed the other – there were more wars and fighting in the decades which followed.

What’s happening now?

Tensions are often high between Israel and Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. Gaza is ruled by a Palestinian militant group called Hamas, which has fought Israel many times. Israel and Egypt tightly control Gaza’s borders to stop weapons from getting to Hamas. Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank say they’re suffering because of Israeli actions and restrictions. Israel says it is only acting to protect itself from Palestinian violence. Things have escalated since the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in mid-April 2021, with nightly clashes between police and Palestinians. The threatened eviction of some Palestinian families in East Jerusalem has also caused rising anger.

How this issue can be resolved:

It can be resolved by the interventions of the world leaders and more importantly, Palestinians and the leaders of Israel should come for healthy dialogue on the table with the intentions of establishing peace in the entire region. Israel should also help Palestine financially so that they can also match the footsteps with the rest of the world in the sphere of science education and health. The un should play a vital role in getting the leaders to crack the peace treaty among the warring nations. Many soldiers as well as civilians are losing their lives in this conflict from both sides and they should be given at most wattage. If world leaders and the countries will not leave their selfish interests and not stand up to resolve this issue then it might affect the rest of the world and can result in world war III.

Israel-Palestine – a timeline of the conflict:

• May 1948 – Britain lifts its control over Palestine in the wake of the Second World War and the Jewish People’s Council declares the creation of the state of Israel. Palestinian’s object and an armed conflict begins. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are made refugees.

• 1949 – Israel signs Armistice Agreements with neighbouring Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

• 1950s – Regular skirmishes lead to hundreds of deaths on both sides. The Suez Crisis starts in 1956 – an invasion of Egypt by Israel, the UK and France to try to regain control of the Suez Canal. In 1957, Israel withdraws its forces after being assured of unimpeded navigation and safety by Egypt.

• February 1964 – The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is founded in Cairo by the Arab League. It states its goal as the destruction of the state of Israel through armed struggle and its replacement with an “independent Palestinian state” between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

• June 1967 – The Six-Day War is triggered by Israel launching air strikes on the Egyptian Air Force. Israel defeats the pro-Palestinian forces, capturing the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Up to 25,000 are killed, with as many as 250,000 Palestinians displaced from their homes.

• September 1972 – Palestinian militant group Black September carries out the Munich massacre, an attack on Israeli Olympic athletes that killed two and injured nine more. It is one of many such attacks in the early 1970s, including the Avivim school bus massacre and Lod Airport massacre.

• October 1974 – The PLO is recognised by the UN General Assembly as the representative of the Palestinian people and is granted the right to participate in the deliberations on Palestine.

• March 1978 – Israel launches Operation Litani, a seven-day invasion of Lebanon that results in 100,000 to 285,000 refugees being created and between 300 and 1,200 Lebanese and Palestinian militants and civilians being killed.

• 1987-1993 (The First Intifada) – A sustained series of Palestinian protests and violent riots against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in response to an Israeli Defence Forces’ (IDF) truck colliding with a civilian car, killing four Palestinian workers. An estimated 1,162-1,204 Palestinians are killed in skirmishes with the IDF over six years, along with 100 Israeli civilians and 60 IDF personnel. The Palestinian militant group Hamas is formed at this time and begins carrying out suicide bombings.

• September 1993 – The Oslo Peace Accord is signed by Israel and the PLO, ending the First Intifada. However, attacks continue on both sides throughout the 90s, resulting in hundreds of deaths.

• 2000-2005 (Al-Aqsa Intifada) – The Second Intifada begins after the 2000 Camp David Summit fails to reach a final agreement on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and Israeli leader Ariel Sharon makes a highly provocative visit to the Muslim Temple Mount, sparking protests. These protests escalate into warfare, with Israeli forces responding with tanks and airstrikes. In 2001, Hamas begins firing rockets into Israeli territory. Later that year, Abu Ali Mustafa, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, is assassinated by an Israeli missile. In total about 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis are killed, as well as 64 foreigners.

• February 2005 – The Sharm el-Sheikh Summit effectively ends the Second Intifada, with both sides agreeing to back down and Israel agreeing to withdraw from West Bank towns that had been reoccupied during the intifada.

• January 2006 – Hamas wins by a landslide at the 2006 Palestinian election, causing the US and EU to cut off aid, viewing the party as a terrorist group.

• June 2006 – Hamas calls off 16-month truce after a Palestinian family is killed by a blast on a Gaza beach.

• 2006 (Gaza-Israel conflict) – The conflict over the Gaza Strip – a strip of land between southern Israel and Egypt – has been ongoing for the last 15 years. Hamas has frequently fired rockets at Israel, with Israeli forces launching airstrikes. According to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, Israel remains an occupying power under international law, meaning it rules over Gaza without any formal claim to do so. The situation is complicated by the 2006 split in the Palestinian government, with the Fatah government in the West Bank and the Hamas government in Gaza. The Fatah government is now internationally recognised as the sole representative of the State of Palestine and does not recognise the Hamas government. More than 3,400 Palestinians have been killed since 2006, with a further 15,000 injured. About 185 Israelis have died. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has repeatedly rejected the notion of a two-state solution, and there appears to be no clear path to an end to the conflict, with the current fighting among the worst in recent memory.

Hope you’ll now know the main reason behind this ongoing conflict and found this post interesting as well as knowledgeable! Let me know in the comments. Stay tuned for the upcoming post!

This information is correct and factual to the best of the author’s knowledge, but it is not intended to replace formal, customised advice from a competent professional. This content is not plagiarised, and it is not intended to offend anyone’s feelings.

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