Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently declared war on the terror organisation Hamas as a result of the bombings on Monday 10th October, 2023. Notwithstanding, the conflict has been rife since the 1st millennium BCE, and the motives for war are much more conceited than typically reported contemporarily.
A brief history of the prolonged annals of Israel
During the Iron Age (C.1200-1000 BCE), The states of Israel and Judah were established, along with the beginnings of religious movements of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Samaritanism and many others in the Middle East across centuries. The variance of religious doctrine of the peoples of Palestine created much angst and bloodshed between them, leading to thousands of years of combat. This fighting displaced many people across the Middle East as the combat was intense, merciless and righteous.
The Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Seleucids and Ptolemies vied for control over the Palestinian land during the majority of the 1st millennum BCE, before it again became an autonomous Jewish state in the 1st century BCE as a result of the Hasmonean dynasty.
The Jewish state then became dissolved in to the Western Roman Empire during the Jewish-Roman war, where battles lasted until the 2nd century AD. As a result of roman victory, many Jews were killed, displaced or sold in to slavery. However, after the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 4th Century AD, Palestine came under the control of the Byzantine Roman Empire as a Christian state until the 7th century AD.
Christian control was then superseded by Arabian Islamic rule under the prophet Muhammad, and maintained as such until the infamous Crusades began from the 11th Century-13th Century AD. Pope Urban II declared that an expedition from the Byzantine Empire be put in motion under the command of 5 French nobles to take back Christian control of "The Holy Land". These Crusades were long and arduous, and once again had a huge effect on the local population (mostly Jews, Christians and Muslims). At this point, Jerusalem and its surrounding area has been at the mercy of 2000 years of warfare.
Palestine then became victim to more contention, under the Mamluk Sultanate that presided over the land from the 13th-16th Century AD. They defended against the Mongols, who travelled many miles over the Silk Road to gain access to the riches of The Holy Land. They were ultimately unsuccessful, maintaining Mamluk Sultanate rule until the Ottoman Empire finally toppled them. The Ottoman Empire's control of Palestine lasted until the 20th Century, which saw the modern conceptualisation of Zionism give control once again to the Jews.
Anti-semitism and resultant Zionism
The consequences of warfare spanning over 2,500 years for the rights to Jerusalem created huge swathes of Jewish diaspora across the Americas and Europe. In 1900, it was estimated that 15,000,000 Jews were living outside Palestine as a result of historical displacement, emigration or slavery.
4 years prior to this in 1896, a movement started to form in Central and Eastern Europe as a result of a pamphlet written by Theodor Horzl called "Der Judenstaat". Horzl laid out his dreams for an independent Jewish state in the upcoming 20th century, due to the rise of anti-semitism in Europe and the lack of a homeland for the Jewish people. He referenced the many ghettos that Jews were forced to live in because they were viewed in many countries as sub-class citizens during the 19th century. He also referenced the various ownerships that the state of Israel had, leaving a detrimental effect on the Jewish identity integrity, and therefore reclaiming the homeland would be beneficial to their survival in the future. The proposed mass emigration of Jews to Palestine was named "aliyah", or ascent in English, to rise from the ashes of anti-semitism. Thus, Zionism was born.
The Zionist movement grew and grew in Europe, as global scholars and politicians began to agree that the treatment of Jews since the takeover of the Ottoman Empire was inadequate. After the Russian pogroms, the first "aliyah" began, transporting 20,000-30,000 Russian Jews to Palestine at the end of the 19th Century. The second aliyah occurred in 1903-1914, which saw 35,000-40,000 extra jews emigrating to Palestine. During this period, the initial building of Tel-Aviv took place.
The Balfour Declaration
The garnering of support for Zionism reached its pinnacle in 1917, when British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour wrote a letter to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the Zionist Federation (ZF), to declare the British Government's support of the establishment of an autonomous Jewish state in Palestine. Interestingly, in his letter, Balfour also added that it must be 'clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country'. This is something we'll come back to later.
Israeli occupation
The message of mass emigration to Palestine was broadcast across Europe to Jews by the Cabinet Office, by form of propaganda leaflets, posters, and radio messages. Palestine was officially open for Jews to return.
The Arab population in Palestine were not best pleased. In 1917, a mandate was established where promises were made by the League of Nations to Palestine after their war with Turkey, assuring the people of Palestine self-government and nationhood for their service, but this proclamation was betrayed. The subsequent revolt and uprisings from Palestinians only made the situation more volatile between them and the Jews. The backing of Zionism from the British Government complicated matters, and civil conflict continued. Between 1917-1948, under the backing of the British State, the Jewish resettlers began to scour the land of Arabic palestinians and displacing them via the "rights" of Zionism. The map below gives a good visual representation of the land gains by the Jews:
As this map above shows, the existent Palestinian population has been forced in to much smaller shares of land. The Gaza Strip, for example, has a population of around 2,000,000, making it one of the most densely populated areas in the world. On top of this, Israeli occupation has led to food, electricity, and water being controlled for the Palestinian populations. The ongoing assault to this present day on Palestinian people as well as their rights has forced some to view Israeli action as apartheid, whereby Palestinian people are devoid of basic rights like voting and free-movement solely for their race. Instead, everything the Palestinians do is managed by Netanyahu's government through the controversial Israel Defence Forces (IDF). This conscriptive service assures that Israeli men serve for 32 months, and women for 24 months, to upkeep the subservience of the Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank.
Since 2008, the Human Rights Watch has declared the Gaza Strip as a 'open-air prison', which is ironic seeing as the Palestininan people living in Gaza are not criminals. They are living in the land that they were born, and being oppressed for doing so.
Nevertheless, the methods used by organisations such as Hamas in Gaza are unlawful and morally inept, but questions also need to be raised of the IDF and their methods of expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homeland. This is one of many reasons why international bodies and governments have appealed for a two-nation state, where the political wants and needs of both peoples is considered, in place of the one-sided affair that exists currently. The Palestinian people have been backed in to a corner for over 100 years by the Jewish government in Israel, and better agreements need to be made by both sides if a deal is to be accepted.
Conclusion
It's clear that a claim by the Jewish people to the land of Israel is warranted. Anyone who studies the history of this highly-contested land can see how Jewish people were persecuted to their right to a homeland. Yet, their provocation of the Palestinian people has caused much bloodshed, and continues to oppress them today. Does their right to a homeland also enable them to fight an existing civilisation? I'll let you decide.
I believe that there must be a better solution to this issue by compromise from the Israeli government. They are vying for total control over the country in areas which Palestinian people should be able to integrate with Jewish communities. I think that Arthur Balfour had it right the first time, when he uttered the words 'nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine', arguing for a cohesive settlement between Palestinians and Jews in Israel. Frankly, neither side has agreed upon this sentiment mostly for religious reasons, and I forsee much more fighting in the years to come until one side is completely demolished. A sad reality for the people who live in this country, making a ceasefire the only good option to save lives and begin talks.
Notes: I completely understand that this issue is as contentious as it is volatile. That's why I strove out to research as much on this subject as I possibly could to make an impartial judgment. There are no clear answers as to the resolution of Israel and Palestine, but coming together to discuss them is a good place to start.
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