On October 7th, 2023, the Hamas terrorist organization launched a surprise attack on Israel. Thousands of rockets were fired throughout southern and central Israel, causing mass casualties. . Five hours after the attacks, Netanyahu (Prime Minister of Israel) made a public statement saying, “Israel is at war.” The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict has lasted for dozens of years, but what is the history of this conflict?
Israel was created in 1948 as a safe-haven for Jews who were escaping discrimination and violence. Palestinians and surrounding countries were against the founding of Israel, which led to many wars. In fact, the day after its creation, Israel was attacked by 5 different countries, which is now known as the Arab-Israeli War. After the creation of Israel, they have been in numerous wars since then: the Palestinian Fedayeen insurgency, the Suez Crisis, the Six-Day War, the War of Attrition, the Yom Kippur War, and many more.
There has been a lot of war, but there have been attempts to make peace. In 1979, Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt, which it had previously been at war with. There was also an Arab plan, which requested Israel to return the land it received from wars in the past in exchange for normal relations with bordering countries. Currently, Joe Biden is trying to establish more peaceful relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
What are the motives of the Palestinians? Ever since all of the wars that Israel had with its bordering countries, Israel has obtained a lot of land. Palestinians want their land back, but they are also interested in Jerusalem. Palestinians want control of Eastern Jerusalem due to its religious sites, but Israel has it claimed as its capital. Another large motivation of the Palestinians is to take back the refugees. Many people would assume that the refugees would leave on their own, but they can’t. Many of them don’t have the desire to leave, because it could be their hometown or it could be dangerous. Some people say the Gaza strip is the largest open-air prison in the world. After all of the wars and the land lost, many Palestinian refugees are living in parts of Israel.
Continuing from the Gaza strip and why the refugees can’t leave, it’s important to keep in mind the rulers of the place. In 2006, Hamas won the Palestinian elections. This means that they have control over the Gaza strip. Hamas and Israel have been fighting each other for years, so having any refugee attempt to escape could be life-threatening. According to Hamas officials, the reason for the attack on Israel is because they want to break the blockade, and also gain revenge for the crimes committed to the Gaza strip and West Bank.
The battles and hatred between Israel and Palestine have been going on for many decades, and don’t seem to be stopping. In the current situation, there are hundreds of people dying each day. Who knows when the current war will end? And who knows when the whole war will end?
