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Israel- Palestine Conflict: The war has been ongoing since past 100 years and more

13/05/2021
Sarkardaily
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Israel Palestine Conflict

Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Gaza recently. It was an action taken after Hamas and other Palestinian militants fired many rocket barrages at Tel Aviv and Beersheba. Almost 43 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and five in Israel following airstrikes.

Why did the recent violence occur?

The current violence, like in past happened due to conflicting claims over Jerusalem home to major holy sites of Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

What happened: History

  1. The Isaraeli-Palestinian conflict is an ongoing struggle since mid 20th century.
  2. The conflict has been one of the most enduring conflicts of the world and yet there is no amicable solution that has been found. 
  3. The conflict has been ongoing for more than a 100 years between Jews and Arabs over a piece of land between Jordan river and the Mediterranean sea. 
  4. It was between 1882 to 1948, when the Jews from around the world gathered in Palestine. This movement came to be known as Aliyahs. 
  5. Then in 1917, Ottoman Empire fell after World War 1 and the UK got control over Palestine.
  6. The Balfour Declaration was issued after Britain gained control with the aim of establishing a home for the Jews in Palestine. However during that period the Arabs were in majority in Palestine. 
  7. Jews favoured the idea while the Palestinians rejected it. Almost 6 million Jews lost their lives in the Holocaust which also ignited further demand of a separate Jewish state.
  8. Jews claimed Palestine to be their natural home while the Arabs too did not leave the land and claimed it. 
  9. The international community supported the Jews.   
  10. It was in the year 1948 that Britain lifted its control over the area and Jews declared the creation of Israel. Although Palestinians objected, Jews did not back out which led to an armed conflict. 
  11. The neighboring Arabs also invaded and were thrashed by the Israeli troops
  12. This made thousands of Palestinians flee their homes.This was called Al-Nakba, or the “Catastrophe”. 
  13. Israel had gained maximum control over the territory after this came to an end. 
  14. Jordan then went on a war with Israel and seized control over a part of the land which was called the West Bank, and Egypt occupied Gaza.
  15. Jerusalem was divided between Israel in the West, and Jordan in the East. However, no formal peace agreement was signed, each side continued to blame each other for the tension and the region saw more wars. 
  16. Israeli forces captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank, various areas of Syrian Golan Heights, Gaza and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula in the year 1967.
  17. That time Palestinian refugees and families lived in Gaza and the West Bank, along within the border areas of neighboring Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
  18. They were not allowed to return after the Israeli forces captured the areas as they considered it a threat to Jews
United Nations Mediation:
  1. Israel occupies the West Bank, though the Israeli forces have pulled out of Gaza which happened after the United Nations mediation.
  2. Israel says the whole of Jerusalem is it’s capital while Palestinians say the East of Jerusalem is theirs. 
Mediation of other countries:

The United States being a very close ally of Israel and a handful of other countries have recognized Israel’s claim on the whole of Jerusalem.

Palestine objected strongly when Israel built numerous settlements in the above mentioned areas, where approximately 6,00,000 Jews now live

They found these settlements of Israel illegal. 

Hamas and Israel:
  1. Israel and Hamas have a history of fighting three wars and various skirmishes since the militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007.
  2. Recent outbreaks of fights were mediated by Qatar, Egypt and various other middle east countries. 
  3. Egypt helps Israel in controlling Gaza’s borders to halt weapons from landing in the hands of Hamas.
  4. Palestinians however are claiming to be tortured by both Hamas and Israeli army equally which Israel denies. 
  5. Now a new tension between the two parties has emerged when in mid April 2021 night clashes took place between police and Palestinians.
About Israel: 

Israel is the world’s only Jewish state. It is located to the east of the Mediterranean Sea. Palestinians are the part of Arab population hailing from the land under Israel generally referred to as Palestine. They wish to establish a state by that name entirely. So the major fight is over the land and the control over it.