An Overview and Understanding of Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Among the most common misconceptions about the Israel-Palestine conflict is that it is a religious struggle, raged over centuries. In truth, it is not incorrect to claim that religion is involved, but it is not the only factor. The controversy, which dates back nearly a century, is mostly over two parties claiming ownership of the land. This all came to pass thousands of years ago during the time of the Egyptian empire. The Hebrews known as Jews were conquered and taken as slaves, cast adrift from their homeland. When the Jewish revolt ignited and they rose against their oppressors and threw away their shackles, once they arrived back to their birthplace it had been occupied and settled by different people.

There are always two sides to every event in life and history. As you are aware, I mostly write to provide a quick overview and knowledge of current events and situations. I must begin by stating that I do not incline to one side or the other. This is a neutral overview to present a two-sided view and explain the principles of the recent series of events.

I do not agree with war and conflict in any way. Although, I do understand why the divergence has turned out the way they have and agree that as a species, we should not engage in any form of violence.

Following the horrors of the Holocaust, the need for a Jewish state became more apparent. The Zionist movement arose, arguing that Jews are united not just by religion, but also by a national identity that necessitates the existence of a nation. The traditional Jewish homeland in the Middle East, which is now Israel-Palestine, was considered the best option for building a Jewish state as promised to the Jews by Napoleon.

The United Nations in their intent to arbitrate in the creation of peace, helped in the distribution of land for everyone to establish. The territory was supposed to be divided into three parts; one for Jews, one for Arabs, and an international trust territory.

“1949–1960s — Up to a million Jewish refugees and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries, plus 250,000 Holocaust survivors, settle in Israel.”

Tension continued and the Arab nation was not satisfied with how the UN made arrangements. Palestinians created their armed forces in an effort to liberate Palestine and war was declared. The Six Days War took place in 1967 when Arab powers attacked Israel. The fledgling state of Israel defeated the Arabs, seizing the Gaza strip which was under Egyptian rule, and the West Bank territory which was controlled by Jordanians as well as East Jerusalem. Palestinians living in those areas were given resident status.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was formed as armed forces for the liberation of Palestine as they struggled and tried to regain control of Palestinian lands from Israel. The violent conflict between PLO and Israel continued for years with several casualties on both sides.

For Palestinians, the occupation was becoming more and more upsetting while their hopes for reclaiming their land were being reduced. At the same time, the PLO elected their new leader, Yasser Arafat, who was a founding member of the Fatah political party. After this, Palestinians responded with the so call ‘Intifada’(Arabic word for uprising), which was the Palestinian unrest against the Israeli occupation that led to protests and then rapidly became very violent.

By the early 1990s, the world had realized that Israel and Palestine need to make peace. World leaders requested both sides Israeli to sign the Oslo Accord, a treaty to resist violence and to set a peace process. The proposal did not include much about the land and settlements, so it was basically rejected by Hamas, and suicide-bombing attempts were made in Israeli regions. Israel and the Hamas( which is an acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement considered a terrorist organization by some countries) engaged in several ways after that.

In 2000, violence increased with the second ‘Intifada’ and thousands of lives lost. This was a turning point for Palestine as they realized Israel was never going to withdraw from their lands. A peaceful resolution was far from the table, causing an economic crisis across Israeli regions. In 2019, Donald Trump proposed new terms, terming Jerusalem the capital of Israel and preventing Israel from expanding in Palestinian regions. This was quickly rejected by Palestinian Authority.

In recent events, Palestinian residents are threaten to be evicted of the still dispute of ownership and housing units in East Jerusalem. “Israel’s laws allow Jews to file claims over land in the East Jerusalem which they owned prior to 1948, but reject Palestinian claims over land in Israel which they owned. In this specific case, the Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah are refugees who have no right under Israeli law to repossess their pre-1948 homes in Haifa, Sarafand and Jaffa.” 1

Violence has overcome both nations, when Israel sent police on the Final Friday prayers of Ramadan to Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinians started throwing rocks and objects at the police officers. Police responded with fire stun grenades. Police officers tried to make them evacuate the area of worship. Riot, protest, and chaos broke. Airstrikes with advanced warnings for evacuation were made destroying Hamas' places of meeting. Hamas and Palestinians fired back.

On May 12, “Israel and Hamas agree to implement a ceasefire beginning at 2:00am local time on May 21st.[71] Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi commends U.S. President Joe Biden for joint assistance in brokering the ceasefire.” 2

World leaders and the United Nations are seeking a peaceful resolution to the dispute that will allow citizens of the country to live in peace and progress.

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Jarrah_property_dispute

2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_in_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict