This guide explains the longstanding conflict between Israel and Palestine, providing a clear and concise overview of the historical, political, and cultural factors that have contributed to the ongoing violence and tension in the region.
What’s a solution?
A solution is more than just an answer to a difficult arithmetic problem. It’s also a chemical term that describes a chemical combination of a solvent and solute.
The latest round of conflict in Israel-Palestine is likely to escalate further, with Israeli settler militias firing rockets into southern Israel and Palestinians in other parts of the occupied territories rising up in solidarity. This is because of many factors.
The Conflict is a result of Israel’s Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip in a war in 1967. Palestinians have never been able to return to their homes, so they live in refugee camps in Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria.
In 2022, Hamas launched a rocket attack on Israel from the densely populated Gaza Strip. This was condemned internationally, including by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who urged both sides to seek diplomatic solutions. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a complete siege of Gaza, which was branded a war crime by Human Rights Watch.
Meanwhile, inter-communal violence rose to unforeseen levels, with Israeli police and settlers attacking Palestinians in their cities and towns. In addition, the Israeli Supreme Court legalized a settlement outpost on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, while hundreds of Palestinians are on a hunger strike to protest their administrative detention. The conflict shows no sign of being resolved anytime soon. The latest peace plan by the US under Donald Trump has been rejected by both sides, and past peace efforts have failed.
The Conflict is a result of Israel’s settlements
Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, and Palestinians view them as a major obstacle to peace. They also see the growth of Israel’s settlement enterprise, which is pushing Palestine into de facto annexation, as evidence that their quest for an independent state is being stolen from them.
Settlers range from the secular to the national-religious, but all believe they have a biblical connection to the land. For them, the West Bank contains many Jewish holy sites, including the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and they see settling there as the fulfilment of an ancient divine promise.
The settlers are supported by an Israeli government that includes ultranationalist and religious parties. These parties promote policies that undermine the two-state solution, and their actions are stifling freedom of movement for Palestinians in occupied territories. They are imposing restrictions on Palestinians through checkpoints and settler-only roads, and encircling towns with walls and gates that create isolated enclaves. For comprehensive analysis and updates on this complex situation, you can visit our SavingGain Blog for the latest insights.
The Origins of the Conflict
A century ago, Britain’s foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, wrote a letter that had a profound impact on the conflict. It promised a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, with British help.
It was a momentous pledge and a hugely significant act, but it also set in motion a series of events that led to the present confrontation.
The uprising of the First Intifada began with nonviolent protests, boycotts, and strikes – and ended with Palestinian casualties of a staggering scale. It sparked violent responses by Israeli forces and the birth of Hamas in 1987 as an alternative to the PLO.
Israel’s new government is a coalition of far-right and religious parties, and its policies skew toward religious Zionism. This is an environment that brews for an explosive conflict. Traditionally, security threats have united Israelis and masked domestic divisions, but a large escalation could stoke divisions and lead to political instability. Civilians will inevitably bear the brunt of any such war, particularly in Gaza, where a ground invasion and air bombardment have ratcheted up tensions.
The Intifada
A series of events triggered the first intifada on December 8, 1987. An Israeli army truck rammed a group of Palestinians in Gaza’s Jabalya refugee camp, killing four, causing widespread anger and sparking violence. For the next few years, Palestinians were killed by security forces and by their own comrades. The victims were stabbed, hacked with axes, and shot, sometimes for no particular reason other than being a member of the PLO or having contact with Jews.
The conflict sprang from a broad range of Palestinian grievances, including economic disenfranchisement and administrative and legal discrimination under Israeli occupation. Some of these have since been addressed in the Oslo Accords that enabled the creation of the Palestinian Authority and a degree of self-governance in the West Bank and Gaza. But other issues remain. The most acute is the status of the al-Aqsa mosque compound, which is holy to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount. For a more detailed examination of these historical grievances and their impact on the ongoing situation, you can visit our All Over Coupon Blog for comprehensive analysis and updates.
The Oslo Accord
Under the Oslo Accords, major Palestinian cities and towns are now under the control of an interim PA structure, while the remainder of the occupied West Bank is divided into three non-contiguous areas: Area A (three per cent), Area B (18%) and Area C (60%). In Area A, Israel retains full control of external security; in Area B, it controls only education and health; and in Area C, it exercises full military jurisdiction.
Both sides feared that the other was only using Oslo as a tactical step towards a larger goal; Israelis believed that the PLO had no sincere desire to reach peace and coexistence with Israel and that it wanted to achieve complete territorial sovereignty by force of arms. This belief proved justified, as the outbreak of the First Intifada shattered any hopes of progress. Israeli-Palestinian tensions have barely risen or fallen since then. But in recent months, they have resurfaced to alarming heights. This has been driven by a combination of factors, including Israel’s repeated raids on the Jenin refugee camp, its refusal to negotiate with Hamas, and the expansion of its settlement enterprise into the disputed territory’s de facto annexation.
The Future
The continued occupation and the dying hope of a two-state solution are driving Israel and Palestinians toward major war or, at least, repeated outbursts of severe violence. The global community must act now to inject new thinking into moribund peace efforts and impose strong measures to curb Israeli and Palestinian escalation.
The international community must condition billions of dollars in military aid and weapon sales to Israel on a halt to the construction of new Jewish settlements, along with a freeze on Palestinian political violence against Israel. It should also support grassroots Palestinian efforts to de-escalate tensions and reduce friction with Jewish settlers.
The West must also work harder to improve living standards for one-fifth of Israel’s citizens who are Palestinian and to reduce intra-societal violence between Palestinians. Those steps must include addressing legislative discrimination in funding and building permits and working to reduce Palestinian unemployment and youth suicide rates. This would help to diminish the appeal of extremist movements that are exploiting the conflict’s sense of despair and hopelessness.
The Israeli Occupation
The conflict between Israel and Palestine focuses on whether the Palestinian people have a right to form their own sovereign state within part of a land that was historically called Palestine. Jews believe that this territory, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Jordan River, Egypt, and Syria, was promised to them by God, whereas Palestinians claim an ancient connection to the region.
Israel’s occupation is based on a two-tier system of law that discriminates against Palestinians and constitutes apartheid under international law. This includes sweeping and arbitrary restrictions on freedom of movement, imposing a blockade that amounts to illegal collective punishment, and implementing a policy of confiscating Palestinian property. Israel’s actions also violate the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people. They undermine the prospect of a negotiated settlement to the conflict.
The Palestinian Uprisings
Popular Palestinian discontent grew during the Oslo peace process as expectations of freedom of movement and socioeconomic standing were not met. This resentment, along with the failure of Camp David, laid the groundwork for an escalation in confrontation with Israel.
The first uprising, the Intifada, erupted in December 1987 after an Israeli truck hit two vans transporting Palestinian workers. Young Palestinians responded by throwing stones and firebombs at the Israeli vehicles, which led to mass rioting throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Israeli government responded with a heavy-handed crackdown that included summary killings, closure of universities, and the use of military curfews in which civilians were locked in their homes for long periods. These measures contributed to the economic collapse of Palestinian societies.
The International Community
The conflict has sparked a variety of international engagements and initiatives. However mutual distrust and significant disagreements over basic issues remain.
The Israeli-Palestinian dispute is primarily about land. Both sides claim the right to self-determination and to govern over a particular piece of land, which they believe God promised them in ancient times.
Following the first Palestinian Intifada, Israel began settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. This created a two-tier system in which Jewish settlers have all the rights of Israeli citizens, while Palestinians live under military occupation. This has deepened the divisions of Israeli and Palestinian society. The United States has relaunched negotiations, but they have stalled over disagreements about key issues such as the status of Jerusalem. Both sides also view certain militant groups as existential threats.
The Two-State Solution
Israeli leaders are unmoved by the pleas of Palestinians and international pressure. They do not want to give ground and admit that apartheid is the status quo on the ground. Instead, Israel has shifted from an effective democracy to a “chaos-crazy,” concentrating on opportunistic annexation and security measures while placing little emphasis on peace negotiations.
The Palestinian side is fragmented between two competing political factions – Fatah and Hamas, which operates as a militant organization. Since 2000, the Palestinians have launched a series of uprisings called the Intifadas against Israel’s continuing occupation and land seizures. Israel has reoccupied areas of the OPT and constructed a separation wall, destroying Palestinian livelihoods. Many young Palestinians support a Switzerland-like confederation, but such a solution is not realistic. Full Israeli annexation would end Palestinian hopes for a state of their own.
The Peace Process
Israel is now grappling with an escalation of violence that has pushed it closer to the brink than ever before. After a bloody Israeli-Hamas war that has left thousands of Palestinians dead and wounded, and Israeli-Jewish mobs assaulting civilians across the country and occupied territory, the conflict is at an inflexion point.
The Trump administration is now seeking ways to restart the peace process, but it’s unclear how it can do so without both sides taking the other a little more seriously. The current right-wing Israeli government is sceptical of concessions, while Hamas has made it clear that its only interest is in seeing Israel crushed. The two have conflated the Palestinian struggle for freedom with Islamist ideology and indiscriminate rocket fire against civilians in residential areas. Israel’s security forces have responded with a brutal crackdown on protesters in Sheikh Jarrah and al-Aqsa, using sponge bullets, stun grenades, and skunk water, leaving hundreds injured and many Palestinians arrested.
Conclusion
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine is a complicated subject with long-standing historical origins. While there have been attempts at peace and resolution, a lasting solution has yet to be found. It is important to continue to educate ourselves and strive for understanding and empathy toward all those affected by this conflict.
