On October 7, 2023, Hamas slaughtered 1,200 Israeli civilians. Israel’s government responded with multiple bombings on the Gaza Strip. Palestinians in Gaza have been further deprived of water, food, and humanitarian aid. Unfortunately, this is not the first case of conflict that has happened between the two nations.
In the 19th century, Jews across Europe were subjected to various types of oppression. Prejudices against Jews were widespread with campaigns advocating for the boycott of Jewish enterprises. There were numerous instances where Jews were barred from higher education institutions, and were often forced to reside in specific areas. Often, whole towns would rise against Jews, instigating robberies, assaults, and rape. They sought out a safe haven, thus Theodore Herzl brought about the idea of Zionism, viewing the establishment of a Jewish state to be the optimal solution to this issue. Over the years, he encouraged thousands of Jews to immigrate to Palestine. However, the Arab Muslims who had inhabited the land before them became increasingly worried at the growth of immigration rates and settlements. The United Nations proposed the “Two-State Solution” in 1993. Yet, this plan failed to incorporate the population orientation, and ended up giving 56% of the land to the Jewish minority as well as the displacement of more than 700,000 Arabs. Though it is arguable to say this was the event that rifted animosity between the Palestinians and Israelis, the dispute traces back to May 14, 1948 when Jews first arrived in Palestine and Great Britain was occupying the land.
The “Ḥusayn-McMahon correspondence” was an exchange of letters during July 1915 to March 1916 between Sir Henry McMahon, a British high commissioner in Egypt, and Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, the emir of Mecca falsely implying the independence of Palestine for their support against the Ottomans. However, in November 1917 the British created the Balfour Declaration, promising Jews a national home in a place where the Arab natives made up more than 90% of the population at the time. Historians also argue the Balfour Declaration was one of the primary reasons for Plan Dalet.
Before Great Britain introduced the idea of “minorities” and “majorities,” Jews already living there and the Arabs lived in peace. After Great Britain announced their leave from Palestine, the Haganah, the Jewish militia, stressed the idea of pushing out Arabs from the Gaza strip. Yosef Weitz, the Director of the Land Department of the Jewish National Fund, pursued the expulsion of all Arabs from Palestine. He recorded in his diary,
“The only way is to transfer the Arabs from here to neighboring countries, all of them, except perhaps Bethlehem, Nazareth and Old Jerusalem. Not a single village or a single tribe must be left…There is no other solution.”
Under Plan Dalet, the Haganah organized large-scale military operations, such as Operation Nachshon, the first major Haganah operation, which intended to open the route from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Unsuitably, this goal accomplished this by committing an infinitude of atrocities, such as the well known “Deir Yassin massacre”, the mass killing of the Arab village conducted by a small group of Hagnah militia. According to a 1948 report filed by the British delegation, “Women and children were stripped, lined up, photographed, and then slaughtered by automatic firing and survivors have told of even more incredible bestialities,” the report said. “Those who were taken prisoners were treated with degrading brutality.” Israeli historian Benny Morris said the militias “ransacked unscrupulously, stole money and jewels from the survivors and burned the bodies. Even dismemberment and rape occurred.” A number of Arab revolts were in immediatement response with far reaching consequences, such as “…on April 13, an Arab retaliation resulted in another slaughter, this time 70 Jewish physicians and nurses were caught in a medical convoy near Jerusalem…” (Combs and Slann). Jewish leaders articulated disgust towards this horrid event, however, most weren’t opposed to thousands of Arabs fleeing in fear. Even so, The Jewish mayor Abba Houshi of Haifa, the third largest Arab city at the time, discouraged and pleaded with the Arabs to stay. Unfortunately, his begging did not stop the disembarkation of more than 300,000 Palestinians.
As of now, Israel has claimed more than half of the land once called Palestine and continues to control almost every aspect of Palestinian’s lives. For example, in response to attacks and terrorist incidents, Israel created borders during the early 2000s that further limited livelihood. According to Tanya Abdallah, a scholar of Bethlehem University, 60% of the confiscated land held water resources and a large amount of grazing areas for livestock. Now, not only are Gazans living under military occupation, but they also endure a lack of water, food, and electricity: half of the population lives in poverty. Restrictions on traveling have placed civilians in a situation that Human Rights Watch equates to an “open-air prison.” Those who attempt to escape by sea are killed by Israeli forces. Israel has been observed to commit crimes of apartheid against Palestinians, “…based on the Israeli government policy to maintain domination over Palestinians and grave abuses against Palestinians in the occupied territory,” states Human Rights Watch. If Israel is allowed to maintain its firm and brutal grip on Palestine, this conflict will never cease.
With that said, it is still good to keep in mind the conflict remains complex, deeply entrenched, and marked by tragic events. Understanding its historical context is crucial for seeking lasting solutions and promoting peace in the region; it would be indecent to oversimplify such a multi-layered variance with the suggestion of a perfect solution, although with the current state of this altercation it becomes more evident that something needs to be done.
Delving into current events, war breaks out again. Gaza’s death toll swells over 17,000; around 14,200 of those killed were women and children. Donations intended to support humanitarian aid in Gaza have been blocked amidst this “total siege”; as a result, nearly 50,600 wounded civilians struggle to receive proper treatment among bombed hospitals and overworked medics. A multitude of instances have revealed that those who support Palestine are often labeled as anti-semetic, even though most who hold these beliefs deny this. What most fail to understand is that those who truly stand for Palestine do not stand against the people of Israel or Jews, they simply stand against the persecution of Palestinians for over 50 years and the colonialism that Israel imposes. As Israel bombards the Gaza strip with the incentive of not stopping, one is left to wonder, does Israel’s proposal of serving as a safe haven justify its years of colonization, occupation and bloodshed?
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