The Israel-Palestine conflict is a long-standing territorial and ideological dispute primarily centered on the land known as Israel, which is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians. It has its roots in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when Jewish immigrants began settling in Palestine, then part of the Ottoman Empire. The Zionist movement sought to establish a Jewish homeland, leading to increased tensions with the indigenous Arab population.
The issue escalated in the aftermath of World War I, with the British Mandate for Palestine granting Britain control over the territory. The Balfour Declaration of 1917 expressed support for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, further inflaming Arab-Jewish tensions. Jewish immigration increased during this period, exacerbating resentment among Palestinians.
Following World War II and the Holocaust, international sympathy for the Jewish cause grew, leading to the United Nations Partition Plan of 1947, which proposed dividing Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. While Jewish leaders accepted the plan, Arab leaders rejected it, leading to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Israel declared independence, resulting in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and the establishment of the state of Israel.
The conflict intensified over subsequent decades, marked by several wars and periods of violence, including the Six-Day War in 1967, during which Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, among other territories. This occupation led to the growth of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, which are considered illegal under international law by most of the international community.
Efforts to resolve the conflict have included various peace initiatives, such as the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, which aimed to establish a framework for Palestinian self-governance. However, these efforts have been repeatedly undermined by continued violence, mistrust, and disagreements over core issues such as borders, security, refugees, and the status of Jerusalem.
The situation in Gaza, controlled by the militant group Hamas since 2007, has further complicated peace efforts, with frequent outbreaks of violence between Hamas and Israel, including wars in 2008-2009, 2012, and 2014, as well as periodic escalations of violence in subsequent years.
The international community, including the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and regional powers, has been involved in mediating the conflict and promoting peace negotiations. However, a comprehensive and lasting resolution has remained elusive, with both Israelis and Palestinians deeply entrenched in their respective narratives, grievances, and aspirations for statehood, security, and self-determination.
4. .7TH OCTOBER,2023 5000 HAMAS
ROCKETS LAUNCHED TOWARDS
SDEROT, THE BORDERING CITY OF
ISRAEL.
.WAVES OF HAMAS MILITANTS
ATTACK THE ISRAELI CIVILIANS,
KILLING AND RAPING HUNDREDS
WHILE THE OTHERS HELD
HOSTAGE.
.ISRAEL DECLARES WAR ON HAMAS.
6. .THE REGION OF ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED
SACRED FOR THE MUSLIMS, CHRISTIANS
AND JEWS.
. WHILE IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
MUSLIMS, CHRISTIANS AND
JEWS(MINORITY) LIVED IN RELATIVE
PEACE.
.EUROPE WITNESSED A SURGE IN ANTI-
SEMITISM DURING THE 16TH CENTURY.
.THIS GAVE RISE TO THE ZIONIST
IDEOLOGY.
7. .THE 1897 ZIONIST CONGRESS DECIDED THE
SEPARATE STATE TO BE LOCATED IN THE
OTTOMAN REGION.
.THIS HAD TO DO WITH THE BELIEF THAT
THE JEWISH GOD JUDAH WAS FROM THE
HOLY LAND OF JERUSALEM.
.IN 1914, BRITAIN AND FRANCE PROMISED
SEPARATE ARAB STATE IF THE ARABS
SUPPORTED THEM AGAINST THE OTTOMAN.
.SINCE THEY ALSO REQUIRED WAR AID FROM
AMERICA, WHERE THE JEWISH COMMUNITY
WAS HIGHLY INFLUENCIAL,THEY PROMISED
A SEPARATE JEWISH STATE
8. .THOUGH IN 1916, THEY SIGNED THE SYKES-
PICOT AGREEMENT TO DIVIDE THE MIDDLE
EAST AMONG THEMSELVES.
.THE CONFLICTED REGION CAME UNDER
BRITISH MANDATE.
.THEN COMES HITLER, WITH HIS
HOLOCAUST AND THE SURVIVING JEWS
FROM EUROPE MIGRATED TO THE MIDDLE
EAST.
. THE JEWISH POPULATION SPIKED FROM 6%
IN 1918 TO 33% IN 1945
9. .IN 1947, IT WAS THE TIME FOR THE BRITS TO
LEAVE
.AND UN HAD TO TAKE OVER THE CONFLICT.
.THEY CAME UP WITH A TWO STATE SOLUTION,
PALESTINE FOR THE ARABS, ISRAEL FOR THE
JEWS AND JERUSALEM WAS TO BE KEPT
UNDER INTERNATIONAL CONTROL.
.55% OF THE LAND WAS ALLOTED TO ISRAEL
AND 45% WAS ALLOTED TO PALESTINE.
11. .14TH MAY 1948,ISRAEL DECLARES ITSELF AS AN
INDEPENDENT SOVEREIGN STATE AND THAT
VERY DAY THE ARAB COUNTRIES DECLARE WAR
ON ISRAEL.
.SHOKINGLY, ISRAEL WON AND TOOK OVER 78%
OF WHAT WAS THE INITIAL CONFLICTYED
TERRITIRY.
.THE 3RD AND 4TH ISRAEL-ARAB WARS IN 1967
AND 1973 RESULTED IN ISRAEL CAPTURING
GAZA AND PARTS OF WEST BANK, SYRIA AND
EGYPT.
12. .ALTHOUGH AS A PART OF PEACE TREATY IN
1978, ISRAEL ACCEPTED TO GIVE THE CAPTURED
LAND BACK.
.EGYPT DENIED TO TAKE CHARGE OF GAZA .
. IN 1974 PLO WAS FORMED WHICH WAS
IMMEDIATELY RECOGNSED BY THE UN.
.SINCE PLO’S NEGOTIATIONS WERE QUITE
LIBERAL, THE EXTREMISTS WHO WANTED
COMPLETE CONTROL OVER THE LAND FORMED
A MILITANT ORGANISATION CALLED HAMAS IN
1984.
13. .IN 1993 AND 1995, PLO AND THE ISRAELI
GOVERNMENT SAT DOWN FOR PEACE TREATIES
CALLED THE OSLO ACCORDS WHICH TURNED
OUT TO BE DIPLOMATIC DISASTERS.
.SINCE THEN, THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS
REBELIONS AND ATTACKS FROM THE MILITANTS
OF GAZA.
.IN 2006, HAMAS FORMED GOVERNMENT IN
GAZA AND AS A REACTION TO IT ISRAEL FORCED
BLOCKADES AND LIMITED THE SUPPLY OF
RESOURCES.
15. .AS WE SAW ISRAEL HAS FORCED BLOCKADES IN
GAZA AND IT HAS BEEN EXPANDING ITS
SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST BANK REGION AS A
RESULT OF DIPLOMATIC FAILURES.
.NOW THAT HAMAS ATTACKED THE BORDER CITY
OF ISRAEL AND KILLED, RAPED AND HELD
HOSTAGE ITS PEOPLE ; ISRAEL DECLARED WAR
ON HAMAS OPERATING FROM THE GAZA STRIP.
.UNTILL NOW, MORE THAN 10K GAZA CIVILIANS
HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES TO THE WAR, WHILE THE
DEATH TOL IN ISRAEL IS SAID TO BE AROUND
1400 PEOPLE.
16. .MOSSAD, THE ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE, IDENTIFIES
HIDDEN AMMUNITION AND HAMAS MILITANTS
AND BOMBS .
.THESE AMMUNITIONS AND MILITANTS ARE
HIDDEN IN PUBLIC PLACES LIKE HOSPITALS,
MOSQUES ETC
.HAMAS SMARTLY USES ITS OWN CITIZENS
INCLUDING WOMEN AND CHILDREN AS HUMAN
SHIELDS AGAINST THE BOMBINGS.
.HENCE THE TALLY OF PEOPLE KILLED IN GAZA
DUE TO THE WAR HAS CROSSED 10K MARK.
18. .INDIA HAD A TOUGH CHOICE
TO MAKE :
SUPPORTING ISRAEL
UNCONDITIONALY OR
KEEPING A DIPLOMATIC
BALANCE AS IT HAS BEEN
LATELY.
19. .INDIA VOTED AGAINST THE TWO STATE PROPOSAL
OF THE UN IN 1947 SAYING THE LAND BELONGED
TO THE ARABS.
.IN 1949 INDIA VOTED AGAINST ISRAEL FOR ITS
INCLUSION AS A UN MEMBER.
. THOUGH THINGS CHANGED IN 1950 WHEN ISRAEL
WAS GIVEN PERMANENT UN MEMBERSHIP AND
INDIA , FOR THE FIRST TIME , RECOGNISED ISRAEL.
.SINCE THEN OUR DIPLOMATIC TIES WITH ISRAEL
HAVE BEEN GETTING STRONGER WHILE INDIA
STANDS FIRM FOR THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE AND
THE TWO STATE SOLUTION.
20. .EVEN CURRENTLY THE INDIAN
GOVERNMENT HAS MAINTAINED ITS ANTI-
CONFLICT STANCE, URGING FOR PEACE IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE TWO STATE
SOLUTION.
.INDIA’S NEUTRALITY CAN BE SEEN BY ITS
CONDEMNATION OF THE HAMAS TERROR
ATTACKS ON ISRAEL AND AT THE SAME
TIME SENDING HUMANITARIAN AID FOR
THE GAZA CITIZENS AFFECTED BY THE
WAR.
22. PEACE HAS NEVER BEEN AN
OPTION
.SINCE THE CONFLICTED REGION ESPECIALLY THE GAZA STRIP
HAS BEEN SUBJECTED TO WAR CRIMES AND MASSIVE
POLITICAL INSTABILITY , THE RADICALISATION IN THE REGION
HAS BEEN UNCONTROLLABLE.
.ANY ATTEMPT TO PEACE WOULD INVITE SECURITY THREATS.
.HAMAS , THE MILITANT ORGANISATION GAINED POPULARITY
ONLY SINCE PLO WAS ALL IN FOR PEACE AND WAS HENCE
SEEEN AS “TOO SOFT”.
.ISRAEL PM RABIN WAS MURDERED BYA A JEWISH EXTREMIST
AS HE WAS THE ONE INITIATING PEACE I.E. THE OSLO ACCORDS.
