To start with let us know that the noted history of
this area is more than 1000 BC old. The area had predominantly been the land of
Judaism from early age was intruded and invaded by Persian, Greek and
roman empires during the course of history and then ruled by Arabs for
centuries which made the native Jews to migrate from time to time. After the First
World War this region came under British rule and the whole region was known as
Palestine (under British Mandate) until the Israeli Declaration
of Independence of 1948.
Initially expelling Jews from Spain and pogroms
(massacre and persecution of Jews) in Eastern Europe drove the migration of
Jews back to this region. With the rise of Nazism and the subsequent
persecution of Jews in Europe led to huge migration of Jewish Holocaust
survivors from Europe to British Mandate Palestine. This move of almost one
fourth Jewish population concerned Arabs and caused Arab revolt which
resulted in British imposing restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine.
After World War II, British govt. unable to
resolve the issues between the Arabs & Jews announced their withdrawal from
Palestine, United Nations proposed a plan to replace the British
Mandate with "an independent Arab State, an independent Jewish State.
The Jewish representation accepted the proposal but Arab representation clearly
rejected it and started a civil war on Jews. After initial defense Jews also reciprocated
and gained a strong hold.
A day before the expiration of the British Mandate,
Jewish representation declared the establishment of a Jewish state, to be known
as the State of Israel, which was immediately followed by the Arab-
Israel war of 1948 when the armies of four Arab countries—Egypt,
Syria, Jordan and Iraq entered what had been British Mandatory Palestine and
declared a war on Israel. Israel counter attacked and gain control over
majority of area. Later a ceasefire was declared with temporary borders, with Jordan
taking current day West Bank, Egypt took over Gaza Strip.
The war of 1967 gave Israel more control over the area as they
occupied the West Bank. It withdrew its occupying troops and settlers
from Gaza in 2005, but maintains a full blockade of the territory. This occupation
of West Bank is pain for Palestinians who live there constrained by walls
surrounding them and check points created by Israeli troops. The war is going
on for years, the peace accords of 1993 and 1995 (Oslo Accords) brought
hope for time being but has deteriorated in last decade.
Now let us know few other important aspects related to
the problem to understand what's going on in Gaza and how it affects the
situation
1) Palestinian legislation has elected Hamas as
representative of Palestinian people. Hamas is extension of Muslim
Brotherhood and operates with a militant wing. Hamas refused to
recognize Israel or respect past Palestinian agreements with Israel while in
government. It seeks to replace Israel with a Palestinian state, and has
repeatedly refused to recognize State of Israel.
2) There are other militant groups in Gaza,
most notably Palestinian Islamic Jihad, who regularly launches rockets
into Israel as part of their radical struggle. Israel holds Hamas responsible
for all rocket fired from Gaza and this elevates the problem.
3) Israel controls the border crossing and naval paths
due to security concerns and regulates the movement of products to restrict
Hamas from producing rockets and getting funding that can hit Israel. Also this
move politically weakens Hamas as this limited access could either cause Palestinians
to shift their support to a more moderate faction or force Hamas itself to
moderate. However this has also resulted in huge unemployment and lack of basic
facility which creates humanitarian crisis in Palstine.
4) Gaza and West Bank, the two Palestinian
territories are separated geographically. Just like Pakistan when it was
divided into East Pakistan (current day Bangladesh) & West Pakistan during
partition. Gaza strip is very populous area with very high density population
and thus becomes the part of conflict as Hamas operates inside civilian population
areas and any air attack on Hamas surely kills civilians as well due to this
high density of population.
Israel justifies the occupation for its security from
foreign invasion and Palestinian attacks; however Israel's blockade on Gaza strangles
the economic and social freedom and punishes the civilians day in and day out.
It also helps produce a climate that is hospitable to extremism, and allows
Hamas to nurture a belief that even if Hamas may never win, at least refusing
to put down their weapons is a form of liberation.
Hamas on other end wants to establish Arab rule in the
region and their commitment to terrorism and to Israel's destruction has led to
thousands of innocent lives and economic set back to Palestinians
Note: Inputs were taken from various articles, Wikipedia
and other sources.
