February 8th, 2018
Written By - Sophia Gumbs '18
The conflict that has existed, in myriad and shifting forms, for decades between Israelis and Palestinians is loaded with personal connections, valid arguments, and invalidation of the narrative of the opposite side. For a bit of background, the conflict that has taken the lives of too many individuals, both Palestinian and Israeli, and that has robbed the Palestinian people of their right to a Palestinian state is a conflict about land. While religion is a part of the vast majority of occurrences between groups of human beings, this conflict is, essentially, not one that is between Arab Muslims and Jews. The Palestinian people belong to a distinct ethnic group, made up of myriad religions, originating in the territory bordering on the east the Mediterranean sea. The conflict I will discuss in this article is, essentially, over what this territory is and to whom it rightfully belongs. The very land mass that the Israeli people claim and treat as a Jewish state (Israel) is, to Palestinians, the land to which they have an inherent home (Palestine).
Let’s rewind a bit. The territory over which there has been consistent and unceasing disagreement was, in the early end of the 1900s, a part of the British (formerly Ottoman) Empire. The war in 1948 forced 700,000 Palestinians into refugee status and statelessness: Nakba (Arabic for catastrophe). In its early days of existence, the United Nations attempted to break up the territory between Israelis and Palestinians into relatively “equal” parts, which failed miserably, in part because the way the territory was split up was haphazard and messy. It is worth noting, as well, that when the UN attempted this “equal” partitioning, the Arab population was two times the size of that of the Jews. After the “Six-Day War” in 1967, Israel effectively took control of both the Gaza Strip and West Bank, in which Palestinians live in high numbers: West Bank holds 2.6 million Palestinians, to give you an idea of just how many. Israel is currently occupying the West Bank, a move considered illegal occupation by Palestinians, posing a serious threat to the autonomy and freedom of the Palestinian people living there. Israeli troops restrict countless aspects of Palestinian life in the West Bank, and about 500,000 Israelis have been spreading themselves across the area to an increasing degree, effectively squeezing the Palestinian population. Seven million Palestinians are now considered displaced refugees, as were their families in 1948. Jerusalem, a site immensely meaningful in both Islam and Judaism, is claimed by Israelis as their capital, albeit in a declaration unrecognized by most of the world; Israel annexed East Jerusalem during the “Six-Day War” as well in a move condemned by the United Nations. The Gaza Strip, populated mostly by Palestinians, is not currently being occupied by the Israeli military, but it is simultaneously under Israeli blockade and the ruling of Hamas. The Israeli blockade of Gaza is immensely threatening to the Palestinians living there, as it has denied the population access to basic, essential goods. Hamas and other groups have fired at Israeli targets, and Israel has invaded and bombed Gaza multiple times in the past decade alone. Hamas, which, separately from the Palestinian Authority, governs Gaza, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization have not been able to come to a united front in defense of the Palestinian people.
Zionist ideology, based on the concept that Judaism is a nationality as well as a religion, says that Jews deserve their own Jewish state. To Palestinians, Zionism can feel like a threat, as it can imply that Jews deserve a recognition in “Israel” that is not offered to Palestinians in the same region.
The two intifadas, the first in the 1980s and the second in the 2000s, were Palestinian resistance efforts against Israeli occupation and abuse. The first involved both nonviolent demonstrations and attacks. Israel responded with “fire and fury,” as some would call it. The second intifada, however, began with demonstrations by Palestinians that were met with excessive force by the Israeli military. This spun out, eventually creating a bloody situation and killing 3,200 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis.
To get into more of the specific abuses of the Israeli government on the Palestinian people, Human Rights Watch did an analysis of the situation. The prominent organization came to the conclusion that “fifty years after Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip, it controls these areas through repression, institutionalized discrimination, and systematic abuses of the Palestinian population’s rights.” It has been widely agreed upon that the Israeli government has repeatedly broken international human rights law in its occupation of largely Palestinian territory, specifically “unlawful killings; forced displacement; abusive detention; the closure of the Gaza Strip and other unjustified restrictions on movement; and the development of settlements, along with the accompanying discriminatory policies that disadvantage Palestinians.” This is not to say that Palestinians have not broken international law as well; in fact, some armed groups have attacked groups of Israeli civilians. However, the humanitarian abuses by Israeli military committed in the name of security have surpassed what would ever be necessary in that sense. More than 2,000 Palestinian civilians have been murdered by the Israeli military in the Gaza clashes of only the past decade or so. War crimes have been committed, and the Israeli military has repeatedly made Palestinian civilian areas targets in strikes.
In demonstrations in the West Bank, the Israeli military has consistently employed excessive force to police Palestinian demonstrators, some of whom have been assailants and many of whom have not posed any threat.
In terms of illegal settlements of Jews in the West Bank, Israel increased the number from 2 to 237 since 1967, breaking the rules of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel provides settlers with civil law benefits: “infrastructure, services, and subsidies,” denying Palestinians in the same region those same benefits and, even worse, subjecting them to military law. This is, effectively, “creating and sustaining a separate and unequal system of law, rules, and services.” Countless Palestinian individuals have been displaced only to have their land and homes be destroyed and replaced with Israeli settlements. The Israeli government has heavily restricted the movement of Palestinians in Gaza as well; this has created a devastating state of poverty, forcing seventy percent of Gaza’s population to live off humanitarian aid alone. Thousands upon thousands of Palestinians, including many nonviolent protesters and children, have been imprisoned and are subject to inhumane treatment while detained.
In conclusion, it is undeniable that there have been abuses of civilians and violations of international law on both sides of this contentious conflict. However, when looking at the wider picture, we see not only that more Palestinians have been murdered or displaced at the hands of the Israeli military than the other way around, but also that, at the end of the day, Israelis were granted (or took) a territory with their name on it, while Palestinian civilians have been left stateless, often leaderless, and at the mercy of the Israeli government. In analyzing the power structures at play here, we can see that it is the people of Palestinian descent who have been denied their autonomy and, often, their very basic human rights.
Sources -
https://www.vox.com/cards/israel-palestine
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/20436092
http://ifamericaknew.org/history/
https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/politics/israel-two-state-explainer/index.html
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