O conflict between Israel and Palestine it is a dispute over the ownership of Palestinian territory and is at the center of current political and diplomatic debates.
The dispute intensified at the end of the 20th century, starting in 1948, when the creation of the State of Israel was declared.
Origin of the Conflict between Israel and Palestine
Palestine is located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, in the Middle East, and until the beginning of World War I, in 1914, it was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
With the dissolution of this empire, England started to administer the region in 1917. It is estimated that by the end of 1946, Palestine was inhabited by about 1.2 million Arabs and 608,000 Jews.
At the end of the conflict, the Jews started a series of migratory movements in an attempt to find a new home after the persecutions that took place in Europe. Thus, the area came to be dominated by Jews after the end of World War II.
For these people, the region is called "Holly Land"
and "Promised land", but the concept of sacred place is also shared by Muslims and Christians.
Causes of Conflict between Israel and Palestine
The causes for the conflict are remote and if we have to put a date, it would certainly be the expulsion of the Jews by the Romans in 70 AD. a., when the Jews had to move towards the North of Africa and Europe.
In the nineteenth century, however, in the wave of nationalism that was emerging in Europe, some Jews gathered around the Zionist ideas of the Hungarian Theodor Herzl (1860-1904). This advocated that the home for the Jews should be in "Zion" or the land of Israel, Palestine and, finally, the Jews would have a home like other peoples.
At the end of the Second World War (1945), Zionist Jews began to press for the creation of the Jewish State.
During the conflict, 6 million Jews were exterminated in concentration camps under the orders of adolf hitler (1889-1945). Thus, with international support, mainly through US action, the region was divided in 1948-1949 into three parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The division, programmed by UN (United Nations), foresaw the transfer of 55% of the territory to the Jews and 44% would remain to the Palestinians.
The cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem would be considered international territory because of their religious significance for Muslims, Jews and Christians. However, the Arab representatives did not accept the determinations.
State of Israel Foundation
On May 14, 1948, however, Israel was founded, after the withdrawal of the British. The next day, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq invade Israel and start the War of Independence, which was called the Nakba or "catastrophe" by the Arabs.
The war ended in 1949 and resulted in the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians who came to live as refugees in a movement known as "exodus from Nakba".
As a result of the expulsion of the Palestinians, Israel increased its territory by 50%. The extension of land was indicated by the UN and occupy 78% of the area destined for Palestine.
The action was not questioned by the international community. The reaction only came in 1956 after Israel disputed with Egypt for control over the Suez Canal and earning the right of exploitation as determined by the UN.
In 1959 the PLO (Organization for the Liberation of Palestine) is founded, which was only recognized by the UN in 1974.
Six Day War (1967)
A new conflict, however, this time in 1967, yields victories for Israel. In the so-called Six-Day War, Israel occupies the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank and the Golan Heights in Syria.
As a result, half a million Palestinians flee and the UN Security Council passes Resolution 242. It makes the acquisition of territories by force inadmissible and the right of all states in the region to peacefully coexist.
The Arabs try to regain the territory occupied in 1973, in the Yom Kippur War (Jewish holy day), which lasted from 6 to 26 October. However, it was only in 1979 that Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt after signing a peace agreement.
What does the Bible say?
The reasons for establishing the Jewish state in the region were based on biblical sources.
The Jews consider the area between Africa and the Middle East, where Palestine is, the land promised by God to the prophet Abraham.
This corresponds to the territories currently occupied by the State of Israel, Palestine, the West Bank, West Jordan, southern Syria and southern Lebanon. The so-called biblical patriarchs received it after the Exodus.
This is the claim of the Zionist Jews who demand the full occupation of the territory. Before the post-war occupation, 4% of the population of Palestine was Jewish.
The right from the biblical promise is rejected by the Arabs and they say that Abraham's son, Ishmael, is his ancestor. In this way, God's promise would include them as well. Furthermore, the Palestinians' claim is based on the right to occupation, which took place for 13 centuries.
The Occupation of Palestine
The region was occupied 2000 years a. Ç. by Amorites, Canaanites and Phoenicians, being called the Land of Canaan. The arrival of Hebrews of Semitic origin occurred between 1.8 thousand and 1.5 thousand BC. Ç.
Successive invasions marked the region. In 538 BC a., the commander of Persia, Ciro the Great, occupied the region, later retaken in an invasion led by Alexander, the Great, in 331 a. Ç. The Roman invasion under Pompey's leadership took place in 64 BC. Ç.
Roman rule lasted until 634 d. Ç. when the Arab conquest marks the beginning of 13 centuries of Muslim permanence in Palestine. Under Arab rule, Palestine was the target of several Crusades between 1099 and 1291 and in 1517 the Ottoman occupation began, which lasted until 1917.
After France's onslaughts, under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), Palestine passes to the domain of Egypt and the Arab revolt begins in 1834.
It was only in 1840 that the Treaty of London ended Egyptian rule in the region and in 1880 the manifestations of Arab autonomy began.
In 1917, Palestine is submitted to the British mandate. The British command lasted until February 1947, when England renounced the mandate over Palestine and handed over most of the military equipment to Zionist groups.
Conflict between Israel and Palestine in the 21st century
Far from over, the conflict still lingers and thousands of Arabs are still in refugee camps. The Palestinian National Authority demands approval at the UN for the autonomy of the Palestinian state.
It also demands the withdrawal of Israeli settlements from the West Bank, a situation that was condemned by the International Court in The Hague, but which persists.
The Palestinians also demand that the future Palestinian State has as its borders the structure prior to 1967. In addition, they aim for the return of 10 million refugees to the region occupied today by Israel.
The State of Israel, on the other hand, claims the entirety of Jerusalem, a claim that was not accepted by the Hague Convention.
Israel wall
On the field, the military and economic advantage is Israeli. In 2002, the Israeli government, under the command of Ariel Sharon (1928-2014) started the construction of a wall in the West Bank.
The barrier, built under the guise of protecting Israel from Palestinian attacks, separates local communities from agricultural areas. Despite international criticism, the project was maintained.
New attacks were started in 2014 from Israel against the West Bank. It was the most violent offensive since 2005, when a ceasefire occurred after the promise of the withdrawal of Jewish colonies from the Palestinian territories.
In 53 days of conflict, in the summer of 2014, 2,200 Palestinians were killed. Of them, 1,500 were civilians and 538 were minors, according to data from OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories). On the Israeli side, the feud resulted in 71 deaths, six of them civilians.
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- Middle East
- War in Syria
- Crusades
