palestine -Isreal and Violence
Palestine - Israel and Violence
On the day, July 27,1302 Osman Bey defeated the Byzantine armies at the plain of Bapheus and marked the beginning of future Ottoman conquests.
The empire reached its apex under Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century, when it stretched from the Persian Gulf in the east to Algeria in the west, and from Yemen in the south to Hungary and parts of Ukraine in the north.
Ottoman Empire was founded in 1299 AD by Osman I as a small beylic in Northwest Asia Minor just south of Byzantine capital Constantinople .
From 1699 AD onwards , the Ottoman Empire began to lose territory over the next two centuries due to internal stagnation, costly defensive wars, European colonialism, and nationalist revolts among its multi ethnic subjects.The empire came to an end in the aftermath of its defeat in World War I , when it's remaining territory was partitioned by Allies.The Sultanate was officially abolished by Government of the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara on November 1,1922 following the Turkish war of Independence.
Last Caliph: Mehmed VI (born January 14 ,1861—-died May 16, 1926,San Remo ,Italy) was the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, whose forced abduction and exile in 1922 prepared the way to the emergence of the Turkish Republic under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who then served as Turkey's first President from 1923 to 1938 ( until his death).
Palestine:
The word ‘Palestine’ was derived from the name of the people –the Philistines–who occupied part of the region in the 12th century B.C. Over the centuries Jews, Muslims, Christians and others have all claimed special connections to the region.It has always been the common term for the territory between the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the Jordan river and Dead Sea to the east. It was a part of the Ottoman Empire from 1516, during the reign of Selim I ,until the empire’s fall in 1918.During the Ottoman Empire's rule of 401 years the land was peaceful and marked by harmonious coexistence and flourishing local culture . After World War I the troubles for Palestine began when , in 1918 the Ottoman Empire was forced to cede the territory to the League of Nations . During World War I the British Government issued the Balfour Declaration,1917 ,favoring the establishment of Jewish homeland in Palestine. British troops took control of the territory from the Ottoman Empire at the end of October 31st 1917.
Jewish immigration:
The Jewish immigration to Palestine is termed as Aliyah . It occured in multiple waves .Between 1918 and 1947 , the Jewish population in Palestine increased from 6% to 33% due to nearly 250,000 Jewish immigration especially from Europe due to Nazism. In the late 19th Century,99.7% of the world ‘s Jews lived outside the Palestine region. In 1922 Jewish population was 11%, in 1948 it reached 82.1% and in 1965 it was 88.5% .
British policy favoring immigration from 1919 to 1930. But in 1939 British Government issued a “white paper” restricting immigration to Palestine to 75,000 people over five years and also limiting the purchase of land by Jews. After the ,Great Britain jailed thousands of the illegal immigrants in detention camps in Cyprus. After the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 , all limitations on Jewish immigration were lifted. As of now the region has 7.4 million Jewish population which is 75% and 45.5% of the region and world Jewish population respectively.
Mandatory Palestine:
The League of Nations gave Britain mandatory power over Palestine in 1922. Between 1930-1936 over 182,000 Jews entered the country which was bitterly resented by the Arabs.During this time Arab revolt 1936-1939 in Palestine in various forms , rioting, sabotage, destruction of property, terrorism, and guerrilla warfare directed against Jews and Government of Palestine. In between 1944-1948 Jewish insurgency took place in Mandatory Palestine.
War map of Palestine during
World War I (1917-1918)
Territory occupied by Israel since June,1967
British Policies: During World War I , Palestinian Arabs kept faith in Great Britain’s promise of their independence in accordance with ‘The Hussein -McMahon Correspondence ,July 1915 to March 1916’ in return for their support against the Ottomans during the war. Yet by March , 1916 Great Britain,France and Russia signed the ‘Sykes-Picot Agreement’ in which they should acquire different regions of the Ottoman Empire. Jerusalem, because of the holy place, should be under an international regime. But the British Government issued the ‘Balfour Declaration in 1917 to create a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine.
Division of Mandatory Palestine:
Around 750 British military and police personnel died in Mandatory Palestine during the war.It followed Britain’s abandonment of the mandate on May 15, 1948. During the mandate period British were responsible for administering the territory but faced dual obligation to both Arabs and Jews. During the Arab revolt of 1936-1939 about 5000 Arabs, 415 Jews and several hundred Britons were killed. In 1944 Lord Moyne, the British Minister of State for the Middle East was assassinated.
In 1947, the UN adopted Resolution 181, voted for Palestine to be split into seperate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem becoming an International City. The plan was accepted by Jewish leaders but rejected by the Arab side and never implemented.
State of Israel and First Arab-Israeli War:
Photograph: Six-Day War
Photograph: Displacement of
Palestinians during Six-DayWar
On May 14, 1948 ,the state of Israel was created just after the withdrawal of the British Mandate over Palestine. It sparked the First Arab-Israeli War . Egypt, Lebanon, Syria,Transjordan ,and Iraq declared war on the new state of Israel.The war ended in 1949 with Israel's victory ,but 750,000 Palestinians were displaced or were forced out of their homes in what they call ‘Al Nakba’ or” the Catastrophe”.
Mandatory Palestine was divided into three parts: the State of Israel controlled by Jewish , the West Bank of the Jordan river was occupied by Jordan, and Egypt established the “ All Palestine Protectorate” in the Gaza Strip. Jerusalem was divided between Israeli forces in the West ,and Jordanian forces in the East.
The Six-Day War of 1967:
In June 1967, following a series of maneuvers by Egyptian President Abdel Gamal Naser , Israel preemptively attacked air bases of Egypt and Syria ,and the Six-Day War started. Israel won the war and gained territorial control over the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt; the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan ; and Golan Heights from Syria.
Camp David Accord- 1978:
Israeli forces to be withdrawn from Sinai.
Egypt to regain all of Sinai within three years.
Israeli shipping to have free passage through the Suez Canal and the straits of Tiran.
The Egyptian economic boycott was to be lifted and economic relations to be established.
A summit of US President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin was held from September 5–17 ,1978 at Camp David , Maryland. Israel handed over Sinai to Egypt in return of first formal recognition of their state from an Arab State.Till the date the relationship between two states is stable, mutually beneficial and peaceful.
Several Arab states rejected Camp David Accord because the agreement did not address the status of Jerusalem, rights of Palestinian refugees and establishment of an independent Palestine state.
The Oslo Accords -1993 and 1995:
In 1993 both Palestine and Israel recognised each other and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the ‘Oslo I Accord' in Washington D.C. to achieve peace within five years. In 1994 Palestine Authority (PA or PAN) was created by Gaza- Jericho Agreement .
In 1995 West Bank was divided into three parts on the basis of Oslo II Accord :-
(i) Area A (18% of the total area ) is under Palestinian control but much of the available land for building lies on borders with Area C.
(ii) Area B ( 22% of the total area ) under joint Isreli-Palestinian control .The Palestine Authority exercises administrative control but Security control is shared by Israeli Authorities.
(iii) Area C( 60% of the total area) under Israeli control. About 300,000 Palestinians live in 532 residential areas located partially or fully in Area C , along with 400,000 Israeli settlers residing in 230 settlements. 60% of Area C is designated as ‘firing zone’ for military training .So,the Palestinians struggle to obtain land permits for housing and farming , schooling, health care and water connection in the remaining 40%.
On January 20,1996 first elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) were held.
Oslo’s Collapse, 1996-2000
In November 1995, Rabin was assassinated which was followed by a string of terrorist attacks by Hamas . In the May 1996 election Binyamin Netanyahu was elected as the Prime Minister of Israel who opposed Palestine statehood and Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas and an outspoken critic of the accords. The Wye River Memorandum in 1998 and the Camp David Summit in 2000 ended without finalizing a binding process. The second Infitida in September 2000 caused the death of more than 3,000 Palestinian and 1,000 Israeli over four -and-a half years. By the end of 2001 Israel reoccupied many of the areas transferred to the PA under the Prime Ministership of Ariel Sharon. In 2015 Palestinian President Mohmaoud Abbas of Fatah announced that Palestins would not longer be bound by the territorial divisions created by Oslo Accords.
Fatah - Hamas Conflict:
Hamas was founded in 1987, soon after the first Intifada. It is a Palestine Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist organization.After the death of Yasser Arafat the conflicts between these two groups arise in 2004.In Legislative Election, 25th January 2006 Hamas won and in June 2007 Gaza was taken over by Hamas and since then Hamas has been the de facto governing authority of the Gaza Strip . The civil war between Fatah and Hamas ,10-15 June 2007 is termed as the Battle of Gaza or Gaza Civil War in which at least 161 people were killed and more than 700 were wounded.It resulted in dissolution of unity government; Gaza Strip is governed by Hamas and West Bank by PNA.
Israel -Hamas War:
The Gaza Strip was governed by Egyptian Military rule from 1949 to 1967, allowing Palestinians to work and study in Egypt. In 1967 Israel captured the Gaza Strip and allowed the Gaza workers to take jobs in agriculture, construction and other services. During this Israel built many settlements in the strip which aroused Palestinian resentment and in December 1987 First Infitida launched.
In 2000, Second Infitida outbroked. Suicide bombings, shootings, etc were common for the Palestinians in response airstrikes, demolitions no-go zones and curfews imposed by Israel.
In August,2005 Israel evaluated all its troops and settlers from Gaza and fenced off Gaza from the outside world.But it resulted into tunnel economy into Egypt. After Hamas victory in 2006 election, much of the International Community cut aid to the Palestinians in Hamas controlled areas because Hamas was treated as a terrorist organization.
Among the worst fighting Hamas launched rockets in Israel resulting in the death of 67 soldiers and 6 civilians in 2014. Israel carried out air strikes and artillery bombings in Gaza resulting in the death of more than 2,100 Palestinians.
On 7th October 2023 a surprise attack on Israel took place during the Jewish holidays of Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret on Shabbat. During this attack , 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, including 815 civilians, 215 Israeli and foreigners were taken captive into Gaza and 3,300 were injured. One day after the October 7th attack the Israeli Cabinet formally declared war against Hamas to carry out a complete siege of Gaza. On October 27, 2023 Israel attacked and invaded to destroy Hamas and free hostages. Till date about 40,000 Palestinian in Gaza have been killed,including women and children.
Hamas said it attacked Israel due to Israel‘s continued occupation, blockade of Gaza, expansion of settlements, Israel’s disregard for international law, alleged threats to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and general plight of Palestinians. According to the Gaza Health Ministry more than 42,227 Palestinians were killed and 98,464 injured and 2.3 million people displaced in Israel's military offensive in between 7 October 2023 to 12th October 2024 .
Israel -Hezbollah War 2023-2024
Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Islamic militant group and political party founded in 1982 .Since 1992, eight of its members have been elected to the Parliament and held cabinet positions since 2005.
On 8th October, 2023 Hezbollah launched attacks across the Israel -Lebanon border in a show of support for Hamas of Gaza Strip and officially declared state of war against Israel. On 20 th September,2024 Ibrahim Aqeel , the Hezbollah commander, was killed by Israel in Beirut. On 25 September Ibrahim Kobeissie was killed.On September 27,2024 Israel Air Force bombed Beirut to destroy Hezbollah Headquarters and killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrullah and Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan . On the other hand more than 80,000 Israelis have been displaced from their homes due to cross-border bombermant near Israel -Lebanon border.
Iranian attack on Israel:
On 1 October 2024 ,Iran launched 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli targets in two waves .Iran claimed that the attack was an act of “ self defence” in retaliation of Hamas leader Ismaili Haniyeh in Tehran, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrullah and IRGC general Abbas Milforushan. On April 14th Hossein Salami, the head of IRGC ,declared a counter attack on Zionist regime if any assets, people and citizens at any point attacked .
Fate of “two state solution”:
In 1993 the Jewish population was 250,000 in the West Bank and in September 2024 it was 700,000. There are 645 fixed physical obstacles / walls , 49 checkpoints in the West Bank which fragmented the Palestine communities and restricted their mobility.The UN has condemned settlements, calling it a big hurdle in the realization of a viable Palestine state as part of the “ two state solution”.
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