Table of Contents
The Israel-Palestine is a military and political conflict that has been ongoing for decades. It is one of the world’s longest-continuing conflicts in history. Many attempts and steps have been made to resolve the conflict alongside the much broader Arab-Israeli conflict, which has existed for decades. Now and then, the situation escalates, causing deaths and destruction.
With the conflict, the people of the world are divided into two groups: one supporting Israel and the other supporting Palestine. There are two sides to every story, then there are truths and facts. To understand the conflict, root cause, and problem, we need to look at the background of both sides and the geographical background to understand the conflict.
Background of the conflict
The conflict dates back as far as the 19th century. In 1947, the United Nations (UN) implemented Resolution 181, which is also known as the Partition Plan. This partition plan sought to divide the British Mandate of Palestine into two states: Arab and Israel. On May 14, 1948, the state of Israel was created, causing the first Arab-Israeli war.
The war ended in 1949 with Israel being victorious. With the defeat, 750,000 Palestinians were displaced, which caused the territory to be divided into three parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. With Palestine displaced, Israel was given the land and was recognized as an independent country, causing many conflicts between Israel, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Gaza, etc.
In a historic move, on December 6, 2017, former President of the US Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This historic move upset and angered Arab countries who consider the Jewish state their enemies. Israel considers the complete and unified Jerusalem as its capital, whereas Palestine considers only East Jerusalem as the capital,
Geographical background of Israel and Palestine
The people of both sides live in three places: the Gaza Strip, Israel, and the West Bank. The Gaza Strip is home to two million Palestinians, but the strip is governed by Hamas, a militant group recognized by many countries. Israel is home to mostly Jewish people. The West Bank includes settlements by both Israel and Palestine, with the latter living in many small areas.
The West Bank is controlled by the Israeli military and, in some parts, is governed by Israel. The two groups of people; Israelis and Palestinians inhabit in parts of two places. With Israel and Palestine coexisting, surrounded by each other, and the latter losing lands, there is bound to be a lot of conflict between them. One can simply say that the conflict is about land.
Jerusalem, a holy land for the people of three religions; Christians, Muslims, and Jews, faces the same situation. West Jerusalem has been Israel’s territory since 1948. The capital is under Israel’s control and Jews live in the majority. Whereas East Jerusalem has a Palestinian majority and was occupied by Israel in 1967. Israel thinks the whole of Jerusalem is theirs, and Palestine believes it is theirs, hence, causing conflicts between Israel and Palestine.
Hamas is causing unrest
Hamas is a militant terrorist group and a political party that occupies and controls the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip is populated by over two million Palestinians. Even the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, governing the Palestinian areas in the West Bank, has no control over the Gaza Strip. The terrorist group is responsible for many attacks, killing hundreds of Jews.
Countries like the USA, Israel, Japan, and the European Union (UN) have declared the group a terrorist organization. Over the last few decades, there have been many situations of unrest and war between Hamas and Israel. Hamas often launches rockets into the Jewish country, prompting them to set up the Iron Dome, a defense system against the rockets.
