Hello Readers,
Hell let itself loose on 7th October 2023 when the Hamas militant group of Palestine launched a deadly attack on Israel. A surprise attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Israel — combining gunmen breaching security barriers and a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza — was launched at dawn during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. The October 7 attack resulted in more than 1,200 deaths, primarily Israeli citizens, making it the deadliest day for Israel since its independence.
More than 240 people were taken hostage during the attack. The next day, Israel declared itself in a state of war for the first time since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The war began with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducting air strikes on the Gaza Strip, followed weeks later by the incursion of ground troops and armored vehicles. By early 2024 tens of thousands of Gazans had been killed and over half of the buildings in the Gaza Strip had been destroyed or damaged.
Let us have a bit of its history:
Israel and Palestine have long been known for their enduring conflict. In the 17th century BC, the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of the Jewish people settled in the region known as Kanaan.
This region approximates present-day Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, as well as parts of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. King Saul established the Israelite monarchy, followed by King David who made Jerusalem the capital and King Solomon built the first temple in Jerusalem. After King Solomon’s death, the united monarchy split into the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south.
The land of Israel became subject to numerous conquests, one of which was conducted by the Roman Empire, renaming it Palestine. Christianity, starting as a Jewish sect, ultimately became a dominant religion. In the 7th century, an Arab conquest spread Islam, making Jerusalem a holy city for three monotheistic religions.
The Crusades were launched by Christians to bring back the holy city to the Christians but resulted in the persecution of Jews. From the 16th century to World War 1, the region was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. More Jews in Europe joined the Zionist movement aiming for a Jewish national state.
After World War 1, the region came under the British Mandate for Palestine, and Britain promised a Jewish national homeland. Tens of thousands of Jews immigrated from Europe to the region, leading to tensions with the Arab population.
After World War II, the United Nations proposed a plan to partition Palestine into two states. The Arab Israeli War of 1948 involved five Arab nations and resulted in Israel gaining control over the majority of historic Palestine. The Six-Day War in 1967 resulted in Israel gaining control over various territories, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The first Intifada was a violent Palestinian uprising triggered by the rising number of Israeli settlers. The Oslo Accords aimed to establish peace but did not resolve the issue of Jewish settlements. Israel and Palestine have long been known for their enduring conflict.
According to the Oslo Accords, the West Bank was divided into three areas. Area A was exclusively controlled by the Palestinians, Area B was controlled by both the Palestinians and Israel, and Area C was fully controlled by Israel.
Though further peace talks continued in 2000, the Israelis and Palestinians could not reach agreements on key issues, such as the status of Jerusalem and increased Jewish settlement in Palestinian lands. Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem sparked the offensive, leading to the Second Intifada. The violence ultimately ended with Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.
Hamas, a Sunni Islamist militant group, split from the Palestinian Authority after an armed conflict with Fatah. It gained power in the Gaza Strip and faced a suffocating blockade imposed by Israel. This led to several bloody wars, including Operation Cast Lead, Operation Pillar of Defense, and Operation Protective Edge. In 2018, Hamas and Fatah reached an agreement to form a national unity government.
In 2018, the U.S. relocated its embassy to Jerusalem, which was seen by Palestinians as a signal of American support for Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Recent events, including hostile incidents in East Jerusalem, sparked a series of violence until a ceasefire was reached with the help of Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations. The conflict between Israel and Palestine was reassumed by a series of hostile events in East Jerusalem, leading to several acts of violence until a ceasefire deal came into effect on May 21st.
So, I hope you enjoyed reading till here.
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Originally published at https://chroniclebrews.substack.com.
