The Palestine-Israel conflict is nothing new. Everyone knows it is ghastly, and it has been going on for a long time, but many people are apparently unclear about this fight. There are five essential things to know about the Palestine-Israel conflict.
The reason Palestinians and Israelis are fighting: Simply put, the conflict is about the control over land. This is not principally about religion. For decades, Israel has kept the Palestinians under tormenting military occupation. On the other hand, Palestinian militia groups terrorize Israelis. The conflict has been made even worse by the long, bitter and violent history between these two peoples for more than 70-plus years.
The start of the conflict: The seed of the Palestine-Israel conflict started long before WWI, when the largely Arab and Muslim region was under the Turkish Empire known as the Ottoman Empire and, beginning in the year 1917, a mandate run by the British Empire. Thousands of Jewish people began settling into the region to create their own homeland, under a Zionism movement.
The United Nations granted a plan in 1947 to break up British-controlled Palestine into two independent countries—Palestine for Arabs and Israel for Jews. Arab leaders took it as Europe’s colonial arrangement and, in the year 1948, attacked to see Palestine undivided. The 1948 war was won by Israel, and they pushed well further than the boundaries which the United Nations had designated to demand land which was part of Palestine. Moreover, they uprooted total Palestinian communities, making around seven hundred thousand refugees, whose descendants now add up to seven million.
Israel occupies territories of Palestine: The military occupation of Israel in Gaza and the West Bank started in 1967. As a result, the West Bank had been relatively dominated by Jordan and Gaza by Egypt. In 1967, another war broke out between Israel and its neighboring Arab countries, in which Israel captured two territories of Palestine. Israel has captured and put control on the West Bank since then. In 2005, it removed its settlers and occupying troops from Gaza, but has maintained a complete obstruction of the territory, which has made Gaza into an “open-air prison.’’
The unending conflict: This is the burning issue of the five essential things to know about the Palestine-Israel conflict. There are three ways the conflict could end, and only one of them is both viable and peaceful—the two-country solution. But it is also extremely difficult, and the more time goes on the harder it gets. Ultimately, the fight has dragged on for so long that the way out has become impossible and it is not clear if it will, or can, happen.
So difficult to make peace: Jerusalem is claimed by both sides as their capital. It is also a holy place for Jewish, Christian and Muslim people. There is no clear-cut pact on where in particular to build the borders, which more or less follow the armistice line of the 1948 Israel-Arab war, particularly since thousands of Israeli settlers have constructed suburban-style communities just on the Palestinian line.
Officially, there are seven million Palestinian refugees, who are considered as such because their descendants escaped or were uprooted from today’s Israel. Palestinians recurrently ask for the “right of return” permission to go back to their homeland. But Israel fears that if they take up seven million returning Palestinians, Jewish people will become a minority.
At the end of the day, whether or not people around the world understand the five essential things about the Palestine-Israel conflict, the violence on both sides is becoming everlasting. Extremism, apathy and distrust are rising on both sides, making things worse for Palestinians every day.
Opinion By Rahad Abir
Sources:
Vox
The Washington Post
The Times of Israel
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10 Responses
This war started between Esau and Jacob, when Esau gave up his Birth right to Jacob.
so long ago it speaks of this in the Bible, is
this the same war as yesteryears, going back then.
I agree that it is all about religion. The jewish people believe they are God’s chosen people and that he gave them the land of Israel. Too bad the jewish people are mistaken because they are not the descendants of the jewish people of the bible. The original jews are black. Some of you know this and only speak it in your homes behind closed doors. You are in constant conflict because you reap what you sow. You will never be at peace in a homeland that is not yours.
Sorry “bill”. You are not “mizlabel”. And as a Hasbara artist, you are a vast and deep failure.
Here you are, Michael:
“the conflict is about the control over land.”
Absolutely not. The Jewish People were granted Mandatory Palestine as their National Home, based on historical rights, according to international law written in 1922. nevertheless, they were prepared in 1939, 1947, 1967, 2000, 2005, 2008, today, to accept partition into Arab and Jewish states. It was, is, and continues to be the absolute Arab rejection of acceptance of a nation state for the Jewish People in ANY part of its ancestral homeland that is the sole cause of the continuing war.
“For decades, Israel has kept the Palestinians under tormenting military occupation.”
As a result of the 1967 war that the Arabs once again instigated, and lost.
“The seed of the Palestine-Israel conflict started long before WWI, when the largely Arab and Muslim region was under the Turkish Empire known as the Ottoman Empire”
What exactly was that “seed” that initiated the Arab Israeli conflict in the time of the Ottomans?
“beginning in the year 1917, a mandate run by the British Empire.”
Completely wrong. The Mandate for Palestine was given to Britain by unanimous vote (which makes it valid international law today) of the 52 members of the League of Nations in 1922. It divided the original Mandate into Transjordan (80% of the original Mandate for Palestine) and Mandatory Palestine ( the remaining 20%).
“The United Nations granted a plan in 1947 to break up British-controlled Palestine into two independent countries—Palestine for Arabs and Israel for Jews.”
The UN, in 1947, through UNGA 181 RECOMMENDED to Britain that it partition its mandate into “an Arab state, and a Jewish state”. No mention of Israel or Palestine is made anywhere.
“attacked to see Palestine undivided. The 1948 war was won by Israel, and they pushed well further than the boundaries which the United Nations had designated”
The Jews accepted the partition. The Arabs refused, attacked, and lost. The Green Line became the armistice line from 1949-1967 because the Arabs refused to negotiate final borders and peace.
“to demand land which was part of Palestine”
The Israelis demanded NOTHING except a negotiated secure peace. The Arabs refused. Meanwhile, Egypt took control of Gaza, while Jordan illegally annexed Judea and Samaria, and changed those names from “Trans-Jordan” to Jordan, and Judea and Samaria to “West Bank”.
“Moreover, they uprooted total Palestinian communities, making around seven hundred thousand refugees”
There is widely, accurately documented evidence, including in the refugees’ own words, that most of them left at the behest of their leadership without ever even having seen an Israeli soldier. I have it available upon request.
” In 1967, another war broke out between Israel and its neighboring Arab countries,”
No. Egypt and Syria prepared a well-announced war of annihilation against the Jewish People, and Jordan joined in despite Israel’s pleas to stay out.
“Israel captured two territories of Palestine.”
Really? Who EVER referred to Gaza and the West Bank as “Palestine” on June 3, 1967? Who would you allege were the LEGAL sovereign powers over those territories on that date?
“In 2005, it removed its settlers and occupying troops from Gaza, but has maintained a complete obstruction of the territory, which has made Gaza into an “open-air prison.’’
Total nonsense! Israel has the right to control its own borders, which it did with Gaza. Gaza had a full border with Egypt, and had right to demand whatever access it wanted from its brotherly Arab nation. As for the blockade, you might remember that that started in response to rockets being fired from gaza at Israeli civilians, starting in 2001, and intensified when hamas took over control of Gaza, which led to an intensification of the legal blockade. Hamas could, of course, have announced the founding of the Palestinian state exactly then in 2005, and built hospitals, bridges, factories, and farms. Instead, it decided to pursue its goal of extermination of the Jewish State and its people.
“Jerusalem is claimed by both sides as their capital.”
Jerusalem has only ever been the capital of a Jewish State throughout history. The Arabs NEVER made it the capital of anything even when they had full control under the Ottomans, or between 1949-1967. Indeed, from 1949-1967, despite promising free access to all religions, and protection of all holy sites, the Jordanians refused access to the Jewish People to their holiest sites, and proceeded to destroy all the synagogues and Jewish holy sites in the area of Jerusalem under their control.
” just on the Palestinian line.”
When and by what law or legal process did any of the disputed territories become “Palestinian”?
“Officially, there are seven million Palestinian refugees, who are considered as such because their descendants escaped or were uprooted from today’s Israel.”
There have been wars and refugees throughout history, up to and including today. In no other conflict have ANY refugees EVER been accorded refugee status through following generations. And while all the millions of world refugees are looked after by the UNHCR, ONLY!!! the Palestinians and their descendents have their own organization (mostly run by Hamas) of UNRWA.
Not about religion? At the very least, religion is being used as reason to take land away from its existing inhabitants. The Israeli position is that God gave the land to Jews and Jews alone have a right to it. It’s ALL about religion.
No. The Jewish People have lived on the land continuously for 4000 years. They are a People and Nation. Not all the people follow the Jewish religion. The position of Israel and many legal scholars, is that Israel’s claim to the land is based on international law written in 1922 which ascribed the Mandate for Palestine to become the national home of the Jewish People, based on their historical rights.
Israel has no state religion, unlike Britain, Greece, Scandinavian countries, etc.
The conflict is NOT about religion, but the right of an indigenous People (the Jewish People) to self-determination.
I don’t think it’s about “control over land” at all. It’s about occupation, ethnic cleansing, the subjegation of a people and the destruction of their homes, economy and future. It’s not about control of land souch as acquisition of land, and the eviction of the inhabitants from their homes and land.
Which of course explains why the Arabs initiated the civil war against the Jews on Nov. 30, 1947; then attacked in force by 5 armies and local irregulars in 1948; again from 1949-1956; then again in 1967; then again in 1973, etc., etc.
Okay “mizlabel”, then why can you not challenge any of the points made? I do not see any huge factual inaccuracies so I am relying on you to point them out. One by one and with factual verifiable sources. I won’t hold my breath however, you people never reply when you are called out…
Wow. What a non-historic inaccurate account of what’s going on in the region. People reading this should first check their actual history sources if they want to begin understanding “essential” things about the conflict. This editorial opinion could not be less factually accurate.