Israel-Palestine Conflict

 CONTEXT: The conflict which majorly started in 1948, and became the reason of thousands of deaths and adversities in these years, finally got the attention of the world and specially those of the West, with Hamas attacking Israel, with around 1200 people killed, and some 240 seized and taken as hostages in Gaza.

Since then more than 20000 Palestinians have been killed, including 6000+ children, and 50000 people have been injured, around 25000 children have been orphaned since October 2023.

Not just this, but half of a densely populated area bombed to rubble and nearly 15 lakh people have been displaced from their home in the Gaza war.

RECENT DEVELOPMENT: 

• Israel's foreign minister said last Wednesday that agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza at this stage would be a mistake, and that Israel will continue its war on Hamas whether or not it has international support. 
• Meanwhile, India, in the UN General Assembly, voted in support of a draft resolution seeking an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the ongoing battle between Israel and Hamas. The 193-member UN General Assembly adopted the resolution, introduced by Egypt, at an emergency special session on Tuesday. 

BACKGROUND OF THE CONFLICT:

Britain took control of the area known as Palestine following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled that part of the Middle East, in World War One.

Tensions grew when the international community gave the UK the task of establishing a "national home" in Palestine for Jewish people.

Between the 1920s and 1940s, many number of Jews migrated to Palestine, with many fleeing from persecution in Europe, especially the Nazi Holocaust in World War Two. 

The decision of creation of Israel was an outcome of Western guilt, if it were not the holocaust then maybe it wouldn't have happened. Jews were forced to flee from almost every country and oppressed by the west for decades and hence the west tried to compensate by making an Independent sovereign state for Israel.

Though this decision was criticised by many countries including India, who questioned whether the sovereignty of Israel should have come at the expense of Palestinian Arabs, who had no role in the Holocaust. For over one and half a millenia, Palestine was inhabited by majority of Arabs.

In 1947, the United Nations adopted Resolution 181, known as the Partition Plan, which sought to divide the British Mandate of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states; it was accepted by the Jewish Leaders but rejected by the Arab side and never got implemented. 

The State of Israel was created on May 14, 1948, igniting the first Arab-Israeli War. The war ended in 1949 with Israel’s victory, but more than 800,000 Palestinians were displaced, and the territory was divided into 3 parts: 

the State of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River), and the Gaza Strip. 

In a war in 1967, Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as most of the Syrian Golan Heights, Gaza and the Egyptian Sinai peninsula.

Most Palestinian refugees and their descendants live in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in neighboring Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The Palestinian refugees are not allowed by Israel to return to their homes.

Israel has built settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the past 50 years, where more than 700,000 Jews now live. Though settlements are held to be illegal under international law, that is supported by the UN Security Council and the UK government, among others - although Israel rejects this.

The total population of Palestine in 1922 was 757,182, of whom 78% were Muslims and 11% were Jews; whereas the Palestinian territories currently have a population of around 5.5 million, including 2.2 million in Gaza. On the other hand, Israel now has a population of over 9 million.

In the last decades thousands of people lost their lives in the Israel-Palestine war, though if you will look at the stats, it's the Palestinians who lost more lives. Israel also holds more than 5000 Palestinians as prisoners including women and children.

 As per "United Nations" , The Human Cost Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is:

 image credit: Statista

Situation Before October 2023:

With time most of the countries recognised Israel, and with the improvement of relations between major Middle Eastern countries and Israel, Middle Eastern countries had begun to lose their interest in the Palestinian issue.

Jewish settlement has progressed in the West Bank, and Israeli settlements in Palestine have expanded in a manner that far exceeds international agreements, and personal movement of Palestinians has been restricted by the separation wall constructed by Israel.

 Palestinian homes and land are unilaterally destroyed and confiscated by Israel, Palestinians who protest are detained, and even children are shot dead. In 2022, 44 Palestinian children were killed, and in 2023 (before the Hamas attack on October 7), 96 children were killed in confrontations with Israeli forces and settlers. In addition, Israeli settlers have caused harassment and violence, such as breaking the windows of houses, but the authorities have tolerated these acts without any crack down. In June 2023, 310 cases of Israeli settlers setting fire to Palestinian homes, mosques, and schools were recorded in just one week.

Gaza has been under Israeli siege for 16 years, restricting the free movement of people and goods, with 65% of the population living below the poverty line, 63% suffering from food insecurity, and Gaza's economy in a state of "near-collapse".

Though every life matter and the recent attack of the Hamas should not be justified but the background of the war, all the facts and figures should also not be neglected. And by understanding all these, one could easily know which side has been suppressed since decades.

Conclusion: The only solution now is that the world should come together to mitigate the conflict and stop the war first; and then later work for a two state solution between Palestine and Israel with the consensus of both the Palestinians and Israelis.