By Ada Jolly
The Israel-Palestine conflict is currently one of the world’s most debated subjects. But where did the issues begin? And how has the relationship between the two countries changed? Who really has a claim to the land? And how have borders shifted over time?
Balfour Declaration (1917)
In 1917, the British Foreign Secretary wrote a letter confirming the British government’s support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”. The letter also said that in this process “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities”. At the time, Arab Palestinians believed this to be a betrayal on behalf of the British government, as, in exchange for the support of the Arab nations in the region during World War One, Palestinians believed the British would support their independence from the Ottoman Empire.
However, for Palestine’s Jewish community, the letter was providential and boosted rising Zionism in Europe. Essentially, the declaration voiced support for the creation of a Jewish state in the region, yet, the same efforts for an internationally recognised Palestinian state were being undermined.
British Mandate (1920-1948)
In 1922 at the close of World War One, the Ottoman Empire was dissolved and many of its former territories were placed under the control of the United Kingdom by the League of Nations. All these territories became fully independent except for Palestine, which remained under British control. This gave rise to the official British Mandate in Palestine, which was to last from 1920 to 1948, championing the creation of a Jewish state as per the Balfour Declaration. Although, as England would later require Arab support against the Nazis, they had to limit their implementation of the declaration.
After the First World War and throughout the Second, Palestine saw a mass influx of Jews fleeing from Europe due to increasing anti-semitism. This led to the 1937 rebellion of the Arab population in Palestine who saw the influx of migrants as another attempt at European colonialism. Over the coming years, violence ensued and in 1947 the UK ceased to control the conflict. Instead, they turned to the United Nations to solve the issue and the termination of the British Mandate was set for May of 1948.
UN Partition Plan (1947)
After the British government announced its departure from Palestine, the UN put together a plan to partition the land into two separate states for the respective Jewish and Arab communities. This was formally titled Resolution 181 and saw Palestine become two independent states. Based on demographics and the spread of the communities, the UN awarded 56% of the territory to the new Jewish state (shown in blue)and 44% of the territory to the Palestinian Arabs (shown in orange). Jerusalem was to be an internationalised zone run by the UN as both communities had claims to the area and the plan was to take effect once the British Mandate ended. Israel accepted this plan and established itself as a nation on May 14th, 1948 and they were soon recognised by many other nations such as the US. The Palestinians, however, disagreed with the resolution, saying it was just another attempt to push Arabs out of their land, so they fought. Almost 650,000 Jews moved to the partitioned Jewish state, while double that number of Arabs migrated to the Palestinian partitioned areas.
Israeli War of Independence (1948-1949)
In the immediate aftermath of the UN Partition Plan, conflict broke out between the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and neighbouring Arab states fighting on behalf of the Palestinians. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq declared war on Israel but eventually, the Israeli military defeated the Palestinian militias. The war saw 700,000 Palestinian refugees as more than half of their population fled or was expelled. The UN Partition Plan – which was to give 56% of the territory to Israel – was completely disregarded and after a year of fighting Israel had taken 77% of the total land along with the larger part of Jerusalem. Only the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (controlled by Jordan and Egypt respectively) belonged to the Palestinians along with the tiny Eastern Jerusalem enclave. The maps changed once again, with Israel an internationally established nation, and with Palestine unrecognised.
Six-Day War (1967)
In 1967, Israel launched an attack to claim the remaining Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip and West Bank including East Jerusalem which they later annexed. These attacks saw another 500,000 people forced to migrate and the UN eventually intervened, developing the Security Council Resolution 242 for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories. But East Jerusalem remained annexed and once again the borders were redrawn.
Oslo Accords (1993-1995)
In 1991, at a peace conference in Madrid, negotiations between Israel, Palestine, and other Arab states took place. The conference resulted in mutual recognition between the government of Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. In 1993, this agreement was followed by the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements – also known as the Oslo Accords. The bottom line of this agreement included the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Palestinian territories.
Second Intifada (2000-2005)
The Second Intifada began in 2000 as many violent protests broke out in occupied Palestinian territories. The violence included large-scale attacks such as suicide bombings and left the cities in a state of unrest. As a response, Israel began constructing a border to separate the West Bank from Israel, which was deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice soon after. At the same time, facing much international scrutiny from 2002-2003, Israel finally withdrew its settlers from Gaza but continued to keep control of its borders, airspace, and seashores.
Hamas Rule (2007)
In 2007, Hamas – an extremist terrorist group – took control of Gaza and deemed themselves the official government authority over all of Palestine. This was refuted by the Palestinian Authority (PA) which dismissed the Hamas government and effectively limited Hamas control to just Gaza and not West Bank or Jerusalem. Israel reacted to the takeover by imposing a blockade around Gaza. Since 2007, fighting between the IDF and Hamas militants has continued, and peace talks between Israel and Palestine have faltered. Despite Hamas leaders’ attempts to establish authority, The UN recognised the PA as the official government of Palestine.
Ongoing Tensions
Now, the conflict in the region continues and has escalated further after the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel. The IDF persists in their bombardment of the Gaza Strip and Israel has declared a state of war. As the tensions build it is more important than ever to understand the roots of this issue before taking any stance or action.