Israel and Palestine have been feuding for a long, long time, (at present) 62 years- to be precise. The intense struggle between Israel and Palestine started at the end of the Second World War as it continues to date to become one of the world’s most destructive and intractable conflicts. We must understand this lengthy and controversial battle. An elaboration of how this conflict developed, what the possible solutions are, etc. are explained subsequently.
When And How Did The Conflict Begin?
Albeit the roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict date back to Biblical times as both the Jews as well as the Arab Muslims date their right to the land a couple of thousand years ago. The late 1800s and 1900s are relevant to the current situation. During 1882-1948, Jews extensively moved from all around the globe to an area which was officially known as Palestine in 1917. They did this to flee persecution and oppression, so the Jews wanted to establish a national homeland there.
After the Ottoman, the British were the
colonial power in Palestine, what was then an Arab and Muslim majority
territory. The Jews considered Jerusalem as the Holy City. This conflict also
had a lot to do with Jerusalem, which was inside British-mandated Palestine.
Jerusalem has been the center of a religious dispute between the Arabs and
Jews for ages.
The British issued the Balfour Declaration which favored the establishment of a national home, for the Jews in Palestine. The Arabs opposed this, as they claimed the land was rightfully theirs. The plan to split the territory into parts by the United Nations failed, as they promised 56% of British Palestine to the Jewish State. The concept of a Jewish majority state didn't sit well with the Arabs.
Nevertheless, in 1948, Jewish
paramilitary forces formed the state of Israel by force. Therefore, several
wars ensued between Israel and the surrounding Arab nations. This 1948 war
observed a mass departure of 700,000 Palestinians take off, which was known as
the "Nakba" ("Catastrophe" for Arabic) due to
the violence. This war is notable as it remains the cause of the unsettled
ongoing conflict.
Israel defeated them and got control of all the disputed
region except the West Bank- the Eastern quarter of Jerusalem that is managed
by Jordan and the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Egypt. The descendants of
the Palestinians who fled their territory in the past, are now over 4.5 million
people who have spent generations living in refugee camps. The main demand of
the Palestinians is for the right of these descendants to return to their
homes.
The significant war of 1967, known as the Six-Day War of 1967- witnessed the downfall of the forces of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Israel defeated them in just six days, taking control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip from Jordan, both of which are home to vast Palestinian groups. By the end of it, Israel had even more land than 1948, which is 77% of the land in its possession.
The UN, Palestinian territories, including many countries consider this area to be "occupied" land. Meanwhile, Israel deems it the "disputed" territory and wants peace negotiations to conclude its status.
How Are Settlements Affecting
People?
Since 1967, West Bank has been under the Israeli occupation, so many Jew populations (between 600,000 to 750,000) have moved in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (both of which are a huge home to Palestinians), these communities are known as settlements.
Palestinian communities are separated
which has debilitated their connection to the land, while the Jew communities
lay their roots deep in the territories of Palestinians. This essentially
curtails any possibilities of the Palestine State gaining boundaries in the
future.
What Happened Next?
In 1993, after years of belligerent conflicts, both sides arrived at a deal, also called the "Oslo Accord" which meant a
peace treaty. According to this agreement, the two would have to recognize each
other and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) would have limited
self-governance powers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This provisional
agreement didn't work well and thus US-hosted peace summit in 2000 was a
failure.
Who Controlled The West Bank And Gaza?
The PLO is headed
by Fatah, the mainstream secular nationalist political party that has been in
the power of both PLO and PA (Palestinian National Authority, a semi-autonomous
government) for decades. They have been in control of about 40% of the West
Bank, whereas Hamas- a Palestinian Islamist political organization and militant
group governed Gaza. The rest of the West Bank was under the control of Israeli
forces.
What Is The Al-Aqsa Intifada?
In 2000, Ariel Sharon who was soon going to be the Prime Minister of Israel visited the Temple Mount in East Jerusalem, guarded by an Israeli security cordon. The Palestinians were suspicious of this move as they both- Israelis and Palestinians didn't trust each other.
This led to a violent
uprising (unlike the first intifada) by the Palestinians that included suicide
bombings, rocket attacks and sniper fire- which the Israeli Defense Forces
responded with even more lethal force. This continued for the next five years,
resulting in the death of 1000 Israelis and 3200 Palestinians amidst the many
killed in suicide bombings. This deteriorated the peace process.
In 2005, Israel concluded to withdraw from the Gaza
Strip, wherein a large population of Palestinians were under Israelis since
1967. However, gradually Hamas took over it and was involved in violent
clashes with the Israeli Defense Forces. Consequently, Gaza was under the siege
of the Israeli military that limited their necessities like food, water,
energy. The living conditions of the 1.8 million Palestinian residents there as
dreadful.
What Are The Solutions?
There are two solutions to this conflict, but they are
complex. They are- The Two-State Solution and The One-State Solution. The
former suggests that both Palestine and Israel become independent states to
resolve this conflict. Since Israel wants an Israeli State and Palestine-
Palestinian, they could run their states the way they want, this could be a
satisfactory outcome to both but only possible by separating the two.
The "One-State" Solution would incorporate
Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip into one country. It would either be one
democratic country in which the Arab Muslims would outnumber the Jews- putting
an end to the Jewish State (which the Jews would not agree with) or the other
option would be Israel annexing the West Bank and either driving the
Palestinians out or refusing to give them the right to vote. The former is
favored by some Palestinians and the latter by some Israelis which is also an
impermissible human rights violation.
But for the Two-State Solution to take place, Israel and
Palestine would have to make peace with each other on the two-state terms which
they are unable to.
What Happens Now?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wishes to
proceed on his plan to annex the Israeli settlements and the Jordan Valley on
July 1. This could also mean thousands of Palestinians living there would
neither be imparted citizenship nor equal rights.
After over 70 years since the 1948 war, Israel still
denies and refuses to give Palestinians the right to return to their homes. These
Palestinians were forced to flee their homes during that war and are now
refugees residing in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Jordan and
Lebanon, which has caused them a massive amount of tribulations.
Written By - Ivanova
Edited By - Aditya Neelakantam
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