Israel-Palestine conflict:The complete story.

 Israel-Palestine conflict: 

The complete story

Israel is small country in the Middle East Asia, located on the eastern water of the Mediterranean Sea and share boundary with Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The country of Israel with a population of more than 8.8 million people, mostly Jewish persons ,has many important archaeological and religious sites considered sacred by 3 religions Jews, Muslims (3rd most sacred site) and Christians(Birth place of Jesus), and a complex history with periods of peace and frequent conflicts. To understand the scenario of Israel and palatine conflict the key episode is Balfour Declaration. 

The Balfour Declaration:

From 1517 to 1917, along with much of the Middle East, Israel was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. But World War I dramatically influenced the geopolitics of the Middle East. In 1917, in the duration of ongoing war, British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour submitted a letter of intent acknowledging the need of establishing  a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

When World War I ended in 1918 with an Allied victory, the 400-year Ottoman Empire rule ended, and Great Britain took control over the region what became known as Palestine (modern-day Israel, Palestine and Jordan).The Balfour Declaration and the British mandate regarding Palestine were approved by the League of Nations in 1922. Arabs world opposed the Balfour Declaration, concerned that a Jewish homeland would mean the oppression of Arab Palestinians. The British controlled Palestine until Israel, in the years following the end of World War II, became an independent country in 1947.

Middle east and atrocities against Jews.

1.Arab world have repeatedly made clear their animosity toward Judaism and its followers. For example, on November, 1937, Saudi Arabia’s King Ibn Saud told British Colonel H.R.P. Dickson: “Our hatred for the Jews dates back from God’s condemnation of them for their persecution and rejection of Isa (Jesus) and their subsequent rejection of His chosen Prophet.” He added “that for a Muslim to kill a Jew, or for him to be killed by a Jew ensures him an immediate entry into Heaven and into the august presence of God Almighty.”

2.When Hitler introduced the Nuremberg racial laws in 1935, he received telegrams congratulating and appreciating racial laws from all corners of the Arab world. Later, during the war, one of his most ardent supporters was the Mufti of Jerusalem.

3.Jews were never permitted to live in Jordan according to Civil Law No.6, which governed the Jordanian-occupied West Bank, states: “Any man will be a citizen of Jordan subject if he is not Jewish.”

4.After the Six-Day War in 1967, the Israelis found public school textbooks that had been used to educate Arab children in the region of West Bank. They were surplus with racist and hateful portrayals of Jews.

5.Muhammad, the founder of Islam religion, traveled to Medina in 622 A.D. to add followers to his new faith. When the Jews residents of Medina refused to recognize Muhammad as their Prophet. In 627, Muhammad’s followers killed  600 to 900 of the Jewish men, and divided their surviving Jewish women and children amongst them.

6.Jews in Muslim lands lived thrived culturally and economically. But position of the Jews was never secure, however, and changes in the political or social struggle would often lead to persecution, violence and death.

7. On December 30, 1066, Joseph Hanagid, the Jewish vizier of Granada, Spain, was crucified by an angry Arab mob that proceeded to raze the Jewish quarter of the city and slaughter its 5,000 residents. The riot was incited by Muslim preachers who had angrily objected to what they said as an inordinate Jewish political power.

8.Similarly, in 1465, Arab mobs in Fez beheaded thousands of Jews, only 11 left alive, after a Jewish deputy vizier treated a Muslim woman in “an offensive manner.” The killings propagated in a wave of similar massacres throughout Morocco.

The Zionism Movement

.An organized religious and political movement known as Zionism emerged among Jews in late 19th century. Zionists wanted to reinstall a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Massive numbers of Jews immigrated to the ancient holy land and bought land from Arabs and built settlements. Between 1882 and 1903, approximately 35,000 Jews relocated to Palestine. Another 40,000 settled till 1914.

Many Jews family living in Europe and around the world, fearing persecution during the Nazi reign, found refuge in Palestine and embraced Zionism. After the Holocaust and World War II came to ended, members of the Zionist movement mainly focused on creating an independent Jewish state.

Arabs in Palestine opposed the Zionism movement, and tensions between the two groups continued. An Arab nationalist movement developed as a confrontation.

Israeli Independence:

The United Nations approved a plan of splitting Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state in 1947, but the Arabs rejected it strongly.

In May 1948, Israel was finally and officially declared an independent state with David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish population, as the prime minister.

As this historic event seemed to be a victory for Jews, it also marked the beginning of more conflicts and violence with the Arabs.

Wars and acts of violence between Arabs and Jews since the 1948

Following the announcement of an independent country Israel for Jews people, five Arab nations Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon immediately attacked and invaded the region in what became known as the 1948 Arab-Israel War.

Civil war waved throughout Israel, but a cease-fire agreement was reached in 1949. As part of the temporary agreement, the West Bank became part of Jordan, and the Gaza Strip became Egyptian territory.

Suez Crisis: In 1956, Egyptian president G. Abdel Nasser overtook control and nationalized the Suez Canal, the important shipping waterway that connects the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea. With the help of British and French forces, Israel then attacked the Sinai Peninsula and retook control over the Suez Canal. 

Six-Day War: A surprise attack by Israel in 1967 defeated Egypt, Jordan and Syria in six days. After this short duration war, Israel took control of the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and Golan Heights. These land considered “occupied” by Israel.

Yom Kippur War: In hope trap the Israeli army off guard, in 1973 Egypt and Syria launched air strikes on Israel on the Holy Day of Yom Kippur. The fighting went on for as long as two weeks, until the UN tabled a resolution to stop the war. Syria hope of recapturing the Golan Heights during this battle was unsuccessful. In 1981, Israel won the Golan Heights, but Syria continued to claim it as territory.

Lebanon War: In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon and defeated the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). 

First Palestinian Intifada: Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank led to a 1987 Palestinian uprising and hundreds of deaths. A peace Accord, known as the Oslo Peace Accords, ended the violence. After this, the Palestinian government got some territories in Israel. In 1997, the Israeli army then withdrew from some parts of the West Bank.

Second Palestinian Intifada: Palestinians used suicide bombs and other attacks on Israelis in 2000. This violence lasted for years, until a cease-fire was reached. Israel announced a plan to remove all troops and Jewish residents from the Gaza strip by the end of 2005.

Second Lebanon War: Israel went to war with Hezbollah a radical Islamic militant group in Lebanon in 2006. A UN-negotiated ceasefire ended the conflict a couple of months of its occurrence.

Hamas Wars: Israel has been involved in repeated violence with Hamas, a radical Sunni Islamist militant group that assumed Palestinian power in 2006. Some of the more noticeable conflicts took place  in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021.

Israel Today

Clashes between Israel and Palestine are still common. Key territories of land are divided, but some are claimed by both groups. For instance, they both cite Jerusalem as their capital. Both states blame each other for terror attacks that kill civilians. 

Sources:

History of Ancient Israel: Oxford Research Encyclopedias.

Creation of Israel, 1948: Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State.

The Arab-Israeli War of 1948: Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State.

History of Israel: Key events: BBC.

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