Israel Palestine Conflict: 1000 year History | Jerusalem | Gaza | West Bank
Greetings, dear readers!
In 1993, a pivotal moment in history saw Israel and Palestine coming to the brink of a peaceful resolution. However, the subsequent turn of events that led to the ongoing conflict today remains a perplexing and tragic tale. To comprehensively grasp the contemporary crisis, it is imperative to delve into the annals of history.
Our journey commences thousands of years ago, where in the mistreatment of Jews can be traced back to antiquity. The narrative takes us to the birth of Jesus Christ into a Jewish family, with some Christian traditions perpetuating the belief that certain Jews conspired to crucify him. This ideology persisted among Christians for years, even centuries, and during the Crusades a millennium ago, Christians targeted Jews with mass violence.
During that era, an array of baseless rumors painted Jews as sinister figures, accused of partaking in practices as grotesque as consuming the blood of Christian children in their religious rituals. These groundless slanders fomented widespread animosity against the Jewish community, subjecting them to an enduring depth of hatred that few other religions have endured over the past millennium.
As the 19th century dawned, this enmity towards Jews evolved beyond religious boundaries, encompassing their perceived distinct ethnicity. By the late 1800s, Jews across the globe harbored a growing sense of not being fully accepted in any nation. To secure peace and prosperity, they envisioned the creation of their homeland—a Jewish state. This fervent aspiration led to the birth of the Zionist movement.
Among the prominent figures in this movement was Theodor Herzl, an Austro-Hungarian journalist who, in his 1896 pamphlet, introduced the concept of Zionism. He argued for the establishment of a distinct Jewish homeland. While Herzl's ideas were groundbreaking, it's worth noting that various organizations, known as Lovers of Zion, had been advocating this vision since the 1870s.
In 1881, the first significant wave of Jewish migration to Palestine was witnessed. This marked the beginning of Jewish settlements and permanent residences in the region, primarily driven by the sacred importance of Jerusalem, the holiest place for Jews. At that juncture, the region encompassed what is now Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, all under Ottoman Empire rule. Remarkably, the diverse population—comprising Christians, Muslims, and Jews—coexisted with relatively few conflicts. A key factor was the ample, sparsely populated land, resulting in minimal territorial disputes.
Fast forward to 1915, and World War I erupted, with the British, French, and Arab revolutionaries collectively challenging Ottoman rule. The British skillfully played both sides, promising the Arab revolutionaries control over Palestine in exchange for their support, while also making a similar pledge to the Jews to establish a Jewish homeland near Palestine. This dual promise aimed to court favor with American Jews and gain influence in American politics.
However, in secret, the British forged a different agreement with the French. Following the Ottoman Empire's fall at the end of World War I, Britain and France partitioned the Middle East between them, with Britain taking control of Palestine from 1918 to 1948. This period witnessed the intensification of tensions and conflicts between Jews and Palestinians.
In 1948, as the British acknowledged their inability to maintain control, they handed the issue over to the United Nations. The UN devised a partition plan for the region, designating portions for a Jewish state and an Arab-Palestinian state. The 1947 United Nations Partition Plan allocated 57% of the territory to the Jewish state and 43% to the Arab-Palestinian state. Jerusalem, a city of immense religious significance for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, was to remain under international administration.
The Jewish community accepted this plan and officially named their new state Israel. However, the neighboring Arab nations vehemently opposed the partition, leading to the outbreak of the First Arab-Israeli War in 1948. In this historic confrontation, more than five nations united to challenge the nascent Jewish state.
Given the recent history of persecution, the Jewish population in Israel understood the gravity of their situation. They had witnessed the Holocaust and were now confronting multiple Arab nations seeking their annihilation. Survival was paramount. The resolve to defend their newly formed nation led to an astonishing Israeli victory against overwhelming odds.
Following the war's conclusion in 1949, Israel not only retained the areas designated for it under the UN plan but also occupied additional territories. The Gaza Strip came under Egyptian control, and the West Bank was administered by Jordan. The consequences were profound for the Palestinian population, with more than 700,000 Palestinians becoming refugees.
This mass displacement is known as the 1948 Palestinian Exodus, and it had far-reaching implications. In 1967, the Second Arab-Israeli War unfolded, resulting in another Israeli victory and further territorial acquisitions, including the Sinai Peninsula.
The desire for Palestinian statehood led to the creation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964, with the initial objective of using armed struggle to achieve their goals. However, their stance on the existence of Israel led to their classification as a terrorist organization by the USA and Israel. The characterization of the PLO as terrorists or freedom fighters depends on one's perspective.
In 1979, a significant breakthrough occurred when Egypt and Israel successfully negotiated a peace treaty. Egypt became the first Arab nation to officially recognize Israel, and the Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt as part of the agreement. For their roles in this historic peace process, both the Israeli and Egyptian Prime Ministers received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Tragically, in the years that followed, the situation deteriorated. Extremist elements assassinated the Israeli Prime Minister, mirroring the tragic fate of Gandhi at the hands of Godse due to his pursuit of unity between Hindus and Muslims. This event deepened the divide, with some Israeli extremists seeking to claim the entire West Bank as theirs.
Around the same time, Palestinian extremists formed HAMAS, a militant group that rejected the PLO's perceived secularism and its compromise with Israel. HAMAS's ultimate goal was the eradication of Israel, a stance that led the USA and Israel to label them as terrorists. This polarization and violence on both sides fueled ongoing conflicts.
The situation escalated further in 2006 when HAMAS won the Palestinian election, defeating the PLO's Fatah party. The victory was narrow, but it had significant implications. Subsequently, in 2007, a civil war erupted between the two Palestinian factions, culminating in the division of Palestine. HAMAS took control of the Gaza Strip, while Fatah and the PLO governed the West Bank.
Presently, the Gaza Strip is effectively controlled by HAMAS, regarded by some as a terrorist group, while the West Bank, under PLO rule, experiences less violence. This complex and deeply rooted conflict has no straightforward solution. The question of how to divide the land remains paramount.
The fragmented West Bank, dotted with Israeli settlements, presents a daunting challenge. Some advocate for a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, while others harken back to the 1947 Partition Plan. Resolving the fate of existing Israeli settlements and the intricate Jerusalem issue compounds the complexity.