Unpacking the Complex History of Conflicts in Israel: A Comprehensive Overview

Throughout the past year, the war against Israel and Hamas has been a huge point of contention in the global news. Many look at the events with resentment and disgust by the actions of either party, while others argue it was in the right of one party or another to defend or attack. One thing for certain though is the crisis in Gaza is dire. The situation has been dubbed a humanitarian crisis as thousands struggle to survive the shattered and crumbled remains of Gaza city and Rafah. This has left many wondering who is truly in the right and what has caused such hatred between both groups of people. The conflict between these two nations has been a long lasting rivalry that has been present since the first ever groups of both religions entered the region. This rivalry only grew larger in 1948 when the two state system was put into place and Israel was formed as a nation and ever since then continues to be an ongoing struggle in the region.

Israel has been a very contentious spot in the word for centuries. The region has swapped rulers a significant amount of times but the most notable and long lasting rivalry between the rightful owner of the region is between the Jewish and the Arabs(Arabs are the Arabian nations IE. Syria, Jordan, Egypt ect.). Fighting over the area lasted for hundreds of years until the Ottomans Empire took the land in 1516 and held on to the land for 402 years. The land was taken by the British in the aftermath of World War one. It remained under British control throughout the interwar period and up until the aftermath of the Second World War. In 1947 the U.N created a new plan for the region. In response to the Holocaust and the devastation it left in its wake for millions of Jews in Europe, the U.N created Resolution 181 to officially create a two system in the British territory of Palestine into two split states. Palestine would be the state for Arabs, and Israel would be the state designated for Jews. In 1948 the first borders of Israel were drawn and agreed upon by the UN, creating the modern scene we see today.

Problems between the Arabs and the new Jewish inhabitants were almost immediate. The Arab nations surrounding Palestine were vehemently against the creation of the Israeli state. A day after the initial British mandate in November of 1947, Zionist forces took territories for the new state in preparation of the mandate. When the Zionist declared Israeli independence, the British mandate was terminated the following morning. Following the complete removal of British jurisdiction in the region, Egyptian, Transjordan, Syrian, and expeditionary forces of Iraq entered the territory and took over the Arab regions and attacked Israeli forces and several smaller settlements. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War went on for 10 months with several truces made during the fighting. By the end of the conflict 700,000 Palestinians were displaced and about 60% of the territory arab territory now belonged to Israel. The refugee crisis deeply impacted Palestine.

The two new states lived under a very shaky and unstable peace. Relations between Arabs and Israelis were extremely volatile. Displaced Palestinians to this day continue to struggle to leave and become citizens of other Arab nations. Refugee status has been passed down as a hereditary title. Much of modern Palestine is the remnants of the original Arab state that was annexed by other Arab nations to keep a hold of some of the land and not completely lose the holy land becoming Palestine today. Palestinians stayed due to not being able to move to other nations and much of Palestine was refugee camps. Today more than 1.4 million Palestinians still live in 58 recognized refugee camps.

Israel in 3 years after the war gained 700,000 people. Most settled on the borders and in the former Arab state. Israel faced problems of safely getting Jews from other Arab states to Israel. Many faced persecution, were forced to stay in the Arab nation they resided, and faced political instability. Most Jewish that moved to Israel moved hoping for security and protection from persecution and the hope for better opportunities in their own nation.

The region had a fragile peace for roughly 19 years. In 1967, a dispute between Egypt and Israel began to heat up. The debate over Israeli shipping going through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea caused both Nations to argue. As tension rose, Israel feared an imminent strike from the surrounding Arab nations and saw troop movements supporting the idea the Arabs were preparing an attack. On June 5th 1967, Israel began the Six Days War and launched a preemptive strike on Egypt, Syria and Jordan. The war lasted 6 days, leaving the Arab nations crippled and their power over the Palestinian territories in the two states removed and replaced with Israeli occupation.

The territory remained very tense after the war for 6 years. The region was at a standstill until 1973 when the Yom Kippur (Judaism Day of Atonement) War began on October 6th. Led by a surprise attack by the Arab Coalition the war lasted 19 days. The vast majority of the fighting occurred in the Sinai and the Golan Heights. The war ended in an Israeli victory with the complete encirclement of the Egyptian Third, and the capture of the Egyptian Peninsula and a very costly defense and holding of the Golan heights against the Syrian armed forces. A peace talk was held and a ceasefire was agreed upon on terms of the Egyptian Peninsula being returned to Egypt from Israel’s captured territory. The war left Israel, Egypt, and Syria weakened significantly.

Israel has not had a major war against several other powers ever since the Yom Kippur but has had war against the smaller nation of Lebanon in 1982. Due to the increasing tension between Palestinians and Israelis, Israel bombed Beirut, the capital of Lebanon on June 5th 1982 due to holding a large amount of strongholds for the Palestine Liberation Organization or PLO. The PLO has been recognized as a terrorist group by the U.S since 1987 and has been confirmed to have fought Israel throughout 1967 to 1971 with the passive support of the Jordan launching attacks of IDF and firing artillery into Israel. The 1982 Lebanon War lasted mainly until June 14th when Israel forces fully encircled PLO forces in Beirut. After the PLO evacuated the city undermultinational forces, Israel slowly left Lebanon. By 1985 they had withdrawn from the North and in 2000 they had completely left. Due to the war a terrorist organization known as Hezbollah was formed and fought the invading IDF in guerilla warfare and continues to attack Israel to this day. 

During the first Lebanon war more tension rose in Israel as Palestinians grew more upset. This powder keg went off on December 9th, 1987 when an Israeli truck driver collided with a Palestinian car killing 4 workers. The West Bank and Gaza had mass protests, violence and civil unrest. This is known as the first Intifada. The unrest lasted until 1993 leaving hundreds dead. Roughly 47 Israeli civilians and 44 IDF forces were killed by militants out of the control of the UNLU (Unified National Leadership of the Uprising.) Due to photos being released of soldiers beating adolescence. The adoption of semi-lethal plastic rounds was adopted by the IDF. Roughly 1,087 Palestinians were killed throughout the six year long intifada. 240 of which were children. Roughly 359 Palestinians were killed by other radical Palestinians under the belief they may have been collaborators.

The Second Intifada began in September of 2000. After the failures of Camp David Summit, and the controversial visit of the Israeli politician, Ariel Sharon, to the Temple Mount.The visit itself was peaceful, but soon after protests and riots were sparking up all over the region. The Second Intifada was characterized by extreme violence. The IDF fired rubber rounds, live ammo, and tear gas, and within a few days the IDF fired off over a million rounds of ammunition. Roughly 136 suicide bombing were performed by Palestinian militants beginning in march of 2001. Gunfights, airstrikes, and tank attacks. The Second Intifada was much more violent from the first and led to the founding and taking over HAMAS in the Gaza Strip. The end of the Intifada led to the end of the occupations of Israeli forces and leads into the modern war in Israel today.