Note: This article was written in October 2023. Due to the ongoing nature of this conflict, some information may be outdated.
The conflict between Israel and Palestine is known for its complex and enduring nature. While some may think the conflict was caused by only religious differences, that is not always the case; modern conflict has several underlying political and historical reasons that are arguably more prominent than religious ones. It is also important to note that not all Israelis or Palestinians have the same ideologies. Hamas does not reflect the thoughts of all Palestinians, nor does the Israeli government for Israelis.
Religious tensions between Jews and Muslims have always existed, as both claim land in the Middle East. Judaism marks it as a “Promised Land,” one that was promised by God to the descendants of religious figures such as Abraham and Moses. However, it is also a Holy Land for Muslims. Thus, both groups argue that the land should belong to them, leading to the lasting conflict.
Before World War I, the region of modern day Israel and Palestine was under Ottoman rule. The area was religiously diverse, but primarily occupied by Muslims and Christians. However, many changes took place during the early 1900s. First, more and more ethnic Arabs developed a sense of nationality as Palestinians. In Europe, a movement called Zionism, which argues that Jews are a nationality and deserve their own nation, began to grow. After centuries of persecution in Europe, many Jews also believed it was the only way for acceptance and peace.
Following the first world war, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, and France and Britain took control of the Middle East, with Britain gaining control over the Israel and Palestine region. As more and more Jews arrived and settled into farming, conflict between Jews and Arabs, particularly Palestinians, grew, with some turning violent. Britain then began limiting Jewish immigration, which resulted in Israel forming military groups against both Arab and British rule.
After World War II and the Holocaust (which resulted in the murder of over eleven million people, including six million Jews) many more Jews fled Europe and settled in Palestine with global support. However, as conflict between the two groups grew, the United Nations created a plan to divide British Palestine between the Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an “International Zone.” This established both a country for Israel and independence for Palestine, and was intended as a solution to end violence on both sides. However, many Arab states saw this as an extension of Western colonialism and attacked Israel, leading to the Arab-Israeli War in 1948. The Arab states hoped to prevent the establishment of a Jewish state. Israel won the war, but they pushed past their borders and expelled Palestinians from their territory. Palestine was pushed back to Gaza, in the control of Egypt, and the West Bank, in control of Jordan. This marked the beginning of the Arab-Israeli conflict, when many Jews fled or were expelled from other Arab countries and settled in Israel. When conflict ended, Israel claimed more territory, leading to them taking over all of Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem. Israel now governed the Palestinians.
In 1978, Israel and Egypt signed the Camp David Accords, brokered by the United States, resulting in Israel vacating Sinai. With this, conflict between Israel and the Middle East gradually subsided, but Israel still was in control of Gaza and the West Bank, both of which used to be Palestinian territories. Palestine, through the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), fought against Israel, sometimes through terrorist attacks. As the attacks occurred, Israelis started moving into the West Bank and Gaza for numerous reasons including religious and political motives, as well as cheap housing. With settlers came soldiers to guard them and sometimes even push Palestinians off the land. By the 1980s, the First Intifada (“uprising,” in Arabic) began, and soon, it turned violent.
Israelis also responded with violence, and soon, hundreds died on both sides.
Around the same time, a group in Palestine who considered the PLO too secular created Hamas, an extremist group whose goal was to destroy Israel. It became more and more clear that the two groups would need peace, and the leaders both signed the Oslo Accords in 1993 to begin a first step in an independent Palestinian state. It allowed a bit more freedom and power by establishing the Palestinian Authority, but faced opposition on both sides. Hamas launched suicide bombings to stop the process, and some Israelis criticized their Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, as a traitor and a Nazi. As he signed the second rounds, an extremist Israeli assassinated him in Tel Aviv. Following these events, negotiations and peace talks have almost always been unsuccessful. Palestinians who believed peace wasn’t possible launched the Second Intifada, which resulted in an increase in violence, and thousands on both sides died.
In 2005, Israel withdrew from Gaza and gave Palestinians authority over it. Immediately afterwards, Hamas gained power, but split from the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank after a civil war. Israel then put Gaza under an extremely strict blockade, and Palestinians in the West Bank also face oppression. Death tolls, especially for Palestinians, including many civilians, rose significantly due to violence and the poor living conditions in the Gaza strip resulting from the blockade.
The current war in Gaza is perhaps not unexpected. The conflict was sparked by Hamas gunmen rampaging from the Gaza strip into surrounding Israeli land, including at a music festival where more than 260 civilians were killed, with many still missing after being abducted by Hamas. Israel immediately declared war on Hamas and has launched airstrikes across Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinian civilians. Israel is getting its forces ready for more conflict, and the government has promised further retaliation. Israel is also using their blockade to cut off supplies such as fuel and food from the two million Palestinians living there. There are only two ways to get out of the Gaza strip, the northern border with Israel and southern with Egypt. Israel has closed the northern border, meaning that the crossing with Egypt is now the only way out. However, Egypt has rejected Palestinian refugees due to concerns that they may not return to Palestine, and concerns that Hamas fighters may be disguised as refugees. However, this has led to civilians being effectively trapped in an area that is turning more and more into a warzone. If Israel invades Gaza, it may turn into a lasting urban war, which makes it difficult to avoid inflicting major harm on civilians.
As conflict still continues, the international reaction has been mixed. While some sources have blamed Israel for the violence and argue that Hamas had a justifiable reason for the attacks, others, especially in the West, have condemned the attacks as terrorism. The war has also created division all around the world, with both supporters of Israel and supporters of Palestine protesting and raising awareness.