Palestine & Israel - explaining the 76-year-old conflict capturing the world

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In the past 2 weeks, the world has been forced to sit wide-eyed at their TV screens, watching war crimes being committed daily. Established broadcasting media platforms have been pulled in all directions, trying their best to report the most accurate information.

Unfortunately, during the rapidly turning turmoil- misinformation has been rife, and powerful people have been making very misleading statements- statements that have the power to resurface dangerous beliefs in the masses.

We are witnessing a rapidly growing rise in islamophobia around the world. Thankfully, we South Africans live in a land liberated from oppressors. We know propaganda first-hand and are always sceptical of the information we are served.

Despite this, the West undeniably strongly influences the media the rest of the world consumes. When the incident on the 7th of October 2023 occurred, and the attack by Hamas was brought to light- I realised that the everyday South African, the average man you meet on the street, or the lady that sits next to you at work, may not be aware of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

I have encountered people who were seeing the situation for the first time. I heard people shout terrorism at their screens, I saw people support the violent reaction of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).

I saw so many people ignore the situation and chalk it up to another Middle Eastern conflict. At first, I became angry, I thought to myself, how can people be so ignorant? Do they simply make the choice to ignore current affairs?

Very quickly, I realised that my outrage would be misdirected. The media reports are diluted, intending to keep them on a need-to-know basis- the people are not to be blamed for not knowing.

If I did not have a personal interest in the matter and I did not actively seek out updates- I too would be in the dark. I chose to channel how I felt into education and spreading awareness.

Whenever I meet someone who stares in disbelief at the headlines, I choose to engage in conversation with them and educate them about the 75-year-long oppression of the Palestinian people.

At Accensis, we can write articles on a topic of our choice and contribute to the company blog space. Considering the current global atmosphere, I choose to use this platform and its reach to educate as many people as possible about the history predating 7 October 2023 and hopefully, in my stead, gather more support for the Palestinian resistance.

A brief look into the history of the Palestinian plight

From the get-go I want to request that you remove the narrative from your mind that this is a religious war between Jews and Muslims.

As a Muslim and fellow member of the three Abrahamic faiths, I will not stand with antisemitism and hatred towards the Jewish community. Israel does not represent Jews. Israel is based on the foundation of the Zionist movement.

Definitions - Let’s get a better understanding:

Zionism: Zionism (Hebrew: צִיּוֹנוּת Tsiyyonut [tsijoˈnut] after Zion) is a  nationalist movement that emerged in the 19th century to espouse support for the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine, a region roughly corresponding to the Land of Israel in Jewish tradition. Following the establishment of Israel, Zionism became an ideology that supports "the development and protection of the State of Israel".

Antisemitism: Antisemitism is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. This sentiment is a form of racism.

It's extremely difficult to summarize the 75-year-long history of the Palestine-Israel conflict. I’ve narrated the political history in bullet points for easy reader consumption. Please reference the following image for a more visual representation of the Israeli land encroachment.

1917  

During this time, the British Empire still controlled much of the world. It was in 1917, that the United Kingdom approved the Zionist movement of creating a Jewish state in Palestine. This approval was done under the Belfour Declaration for the “formation of a Jewish homeland”.

1946

After the Second World War, Jews were displaced in Europe. The holocaust traumatised the Jewish community, and rightly so. The Palestinians welcomed them into their community and shared what they had.

In the years to follow, many more Jewish settlers immigrated to Palestine from all over the world. Eventually, the Arabs rebelled against the continuous migration of Jewish people into Palestine.

The migration was backed by British support to solemnise the foundation of a Jewish state on Palestinian land. Both sides then fell into a period of violence.

At this point, things escalated beyond the capacity of the United Kingdom, and so the issue was passed on to the United Nations.

1947

The UN proposed a partition of Land so the Jews could form their own State called Israel. The Palestinians disagreed; they were unwilling to give away half of their land.‍

1948

The year of the Arab-Israeli war. Neighbouring Arab countries stepped in and aided the Palestinian rebellion. The Nakba- a word meaning “a catastrophe”. This term describes the destruction left in the wake of this war.

The Zionists formed the independent state of Israel and further encroached on Palestinian land. Many Palestinians were removed from their homes and declared as permanent refugees.

More than 500 villages were destroyed. 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes, and it was decided that there would be a no-return home placed on them, which means those Palestinians who chose to leave the chaos were never allowed to return to their homeland.

The Arab countries that neighboured Palestine, joined in the war but were still outnumbered and out-armed.

1949

When the war passed and the rebellion fell, the UN consolidated the land taken by the Israelites and it was declared that 78% of Palestinian land now belonged to Israel.

What remained is what we now know as the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The expelled Palestinians are now refugees in their own land. They live in refugee camps and are dependent on international aid.

Despite continued efforts from neighbouring Arab countries and ongoing spurts of the ‘Intifada’ (uprisings), Israel still retains control over Palestinians. It has been 75 years, and day by day, the world is witnessing the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.

Palestinians who live in Gaza and the West Bank are separated from Israeli land with a concrete wall. 2 million people live in this open-air prison. 2 million people are confined to such a small stretch of land.

Israel controls the movement of civilians, the entry of aid and the movement of trade. The majority of the Palestinian population lives in poverty. Palestinians carry an ID controlled by Israel. There are more than 600 Palestinian checkpoints. Palestinians aren’t allowed to move around the region freely. 

Employment is scarce, and basic amenities are even scarcer. 95% of the water in Palestine is not drinkable.

People who live in Gaza look to the ocean as a symbol of freedom, and the sea serves as more than just a symbol of what could be but also a food source.

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What's happening in Palestine today?

On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched a violent attack on Israel, killing multiple civilians in their wake. Approximately 1300 people died, and 200 were taken as hostages. Hamas states that their attack was in response to the increased settler violence and the recent desecration of holy sites.

Who is Hamas? Hamas is an Islamic militant group that runs Gaza. They are also essentially a political party that governs what is left of the Gaza Strip. They are known for their violent resistance against settlers and their antagonistic approach towards the Israelis.

The Israeli government retaliated almost immediately, and ever since, they have rained air strikes on the densely populated regions of Gaza.

Israel passed a blockade on Gaza, forbidding food, water and fuel from entering Palestine.

They also cut off the electricity.

No electricity and no fuel means that hospitals cannot function at full capacity. Israel has bombed schools, civilian areas, and even hospitals.

The bombing of the Al-Ahli hospital killed more than 2,000 people. The hospital had mainly children in it. This event stirred the Western world, and many now see the actions of Israel as a war crime.

In recent days, Israel has given warnings for the evacuation of many hospitals and civilian regions as they are planning airstrikes to destroy the alleged hiding places of the Hamas militant group. A few days earlier, Israel ordered the evacuation of people living in northern Gaza to the South. Leaflets fell from the sky over Gaza to notify civilians. 1 million people had to evacuate their homes in 24 hours- it was an impossible feat.

In the past 2 weeks, Israel has dropped more than 6000 bombs on Palestine, the equivalent of which was used over 1 year in the Ukraine war.

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