A Report On Israel & Palestine

Conflict
To understand the present-day ongoing bloody conflict
between Israel and Palestine, it is necessary to
understand the background of the place and the
people associated with it. Although the present conflict
has its roots in the 20th century, a brief background of
the region with respect to ancient history will help one
understand the religious and historical significance of
the place, especially to the chief stakeholders in the
conflict.
ISRAEL’S CONDITION
• Israel today is a small country in West Asia, about
the size of one of India’s northeastern states,
Meghalaya or Manipur.
• Israel is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to its
west, Egypt to the south, Jordan and Syria to its east
and Lebanon to the north.
• Israel has many sites that are of religious
significance to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike
and has a complex history.
• Today, the population of Israel is mostly Jewish,
though there are minorities of Christians and
Muslims.
Ancient History

• Most of what is known about the ancient history of

Israel is sourced from the Hebrew Bible.
• Israel can be traced back to the biblical figure
Abraham, who is deemed the father of Judaism
(through his son Isaac) and a patriarch of Islam
(through his son Ishmael).
• The descendants of Abraham were thought to be
enslaved by Egyptians for hundreds of years before
they settled in Canaan (approximately in modern-
day Israel).
• Around 1000 BCE, King David ruled the region. His
son, Solomon, built the First Temple (Solomon’s
Temple) in ancient Jerusalem around 957 BCE.
• In about 931 BCE, the region was divided into two
kingdoms, namely, Israel in the north and Judah in
the south.
• Around 722 BCE, the kingdom of Israel was invaded
and destroyed by the Assyrians.
• In the sixth century BCE, Jerusalem was conquered
by the Babylonians, who took control of Judah. The
First Temple was destroyed and the Jews were
expelled to Babylon.
• In 538 BCE, the Babylonians were conquered by the
Achaemenid Empire whose emperor Cyrus allowed
the Jews to go back to Judah, where they rebuilt
Solomon’s Temple (Second Temple).
• In 70 CE, the Romans destroyed the Second Temple
marking the end of the first Jewish-Roman War. The
gold and materials looted from the Second Temple
is thought to have contributed towards the building
of the Roman Colosseum.
• Following the Bar Khokba Revolt of 132-136 AD,
Roman Emperor Hadrian expelled all Jews from
Jerusalem, which had from time to time been at the
center of anti-Roman revolts.
 • Hadrian went a step further by eliminating any
traces of Jewish presence in the province renaming
it from Judea to Syria Palaestina.
• By destroying the association of Jews with Judea
and forbidding the practice of the Jewish faith,
Hadrian aimed to root out a nation that had
inflicted heavy casualties on the Roman Empire.
• For the next many centuries, the region of Israel was
conquered and ruled by many groups such as the
Persians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Fatimids, Seljuk
Turks, Crusaders, Egyptians, Mamluks and finally the
Ottomans
Modern History

• From 1517 to 1917, the Ottoman Empire ruled over

much of West Asia including the region of Israel.
• In the 19th century, the population in the region of
Israel/Palestine was almost 87% Muslim, 10%
Christian and 3% Jewish. From all accounts, the
communities lived in peace with each other. In the
city of Jerusalem, the population of the three
communities was roughly equal.
• In the 19th century, an Austro-Hungarian Jewish
journalist, Theodor Herzl, propagated the idea of a
Jewish homeland in Palestine for the Jews. This idea
came to be known as Zionism, which found many
followers among the Jews in Europe, where Jews
were facing discrimination and even pogroms.
 • In 1917, the British government announced
the Balfour Declaration, hoping to gain Jewish
support for World War I, which promised: “the
establishment in Palestine a national home for the
Jewish People”.
o This was problematic because in 1916, the
British had secretly made a deal with the
French according to which after the war, the
Arab territories would be divided and Palestine
would be in control of the British.
o Moreover, the British had also promised the
ruler of Mecca, Sharief Hussain, in 1915 that
Hussain would rule over the region including
Palestine if he led an Arab revolt against the
Ottomans, which he did in fact.
• The Arabs in Palestine vehemently opposed the
declaration fearing that a Jewish homeland in the
region would mean subjugation for the Palestinians.
Mandatory Palestine

• The British, after the First World War, established a

colony in Palestine maintaining that they would rule
the area until the Palestinians were ready to govern
themselves. This was called Mandatory Palestine as
it was according to the League of Nations mandate.
• Even before this time, there was a massive influx of
Jews from Europe into Palestine in the hope of
 creating their homeland after being expelled from it
for centuries.
• Meanwhile, in the 1920s and 1930s, the Jewish
population in Palestine increased by hundreds of
thousands, facilitated by the British (who were
honouring the Balfour Declaration).
• During this time, tensions between the growing
Jewish communities and the Arabs were
increasing.
• In 1936, the Palestinian Arabs revolted against the
British as a result of the Palestinian Arabs viewing
themselves increasingly as a nation.
• This revolt was suppressed by the British with help
from Jewish militias.
• After the revolt, however, the British issued a white
paper that limited Jewish immigration into
Palestine and called for the establishment of a joint
Jewish-Arab state in Palestine within ten years.
• During the course of World WAR II, many Jews
escaping Europe from the Holocaust were brought
to Palestine illegally (because of the immigration
limit) by Jewish organisations.
• Tensions escalated and the British handed over the
problem to the newly established United Nations.
• In 1947, the UN voted to establish separate
Palestinian and Jewish states in the region dividing
Palestine. This plan was rejected by the Arabs.
Formation of the state of Israel

• In May 1948, Israel was declared an independent

state with David Ben Gurion as the Prime Minister.
• Following this declaration, in 1948, the Arab-Israeli
War broke out with five Arab states, Iraq, Syria,
Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt invading Israel.
• A ceasefire was announced in 1949 and as part of
the agreement, the West Bank was given to Jordan
and the Gaza Strip became part of Egypt. Israel,
having won the war, though, now controlled more
area than they would have under the UN plan. East
Jerusalem was under the control of Jordan. Over
700000 Palestinians fled the region and became
refugees in neighbouring Arab countries. The
Palestinians call this war the Nakba, or catastrophe,
as they became stateless.
• Tensions escalated again in 1956 when Gamal
Abdel Nasser of Egypt nationalised the Suez Canal.
This led to the Suez Crisis. Israel attacked the Sinai
Peninsula and retook the canal with British and
French support.
Further wars

• In 1967, the Six-Day War started in which Israel won

control of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, the Golan
Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula. Israel captured
East Jerusalem also.
 • The Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973 when Syria
and Egypt launched airstrikes against Israel. The
fighting stopped after two weeks by a UN resolution.
• In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon and ejected the
Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO).
o The PLO was formed in 1964 to fight for the
“liberation of Palestine” through armed
struggle.
• Meanwhile, Israel was creating Jewish settlements
in areas that were considered Palestinian territory
including in East Jerusalem.
First Palestinian Intifada

• In 1987, there was an uprising of Palestinians

against the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West
Bank.
• Hundreds of people were killed and this is called the
First Palestinian Intifada (Arabic word meaning
‘shaking off’).
• The Intifada came to an end with the Oslo Peace
Accords signed in 1993 and a second accord
signed in 1995 between the then Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, the leader
of the PLO.
• After this, the Palestinian Authority formed and took
control over some territories in Israel.
Second Palestinian Intifada
 • The Israeli army withdrew from parts of the West
Bank in 1997. However, the Accords could not bring
permanent peace to the region and the Second
Palestinian Intifada was launched in 2000.
• The trigger of the violence was a visit to the Al Aqsa
Mosque in Jerusalem by Israeli politician Ariel
Sharon.
• There was widespread rioting and violence which
lasted for years.
• A ceasefire was finally announced and Israel
planned to withdraw all troops and Jewish
settlements from the Gaza Strip by 2005 end.
First Lebanon War

• The First Lebanon War took place from 6 June 1982

– 5 June 1985.
• It was an invasion by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF)
of Southern Lebanon to root out the Palestinian
Liberation Organization (PLO) operating from there.
• From its base in southern Lebanon, the PLO carried
out attacks on Israel, thus the invasion was to put a
stop to these attacks
• The war ended in a tactical victory for Israel but
was a strategic failure overall. The PLO was expelled
from Lebanon but Israel’s enemy, Syria increased its
influence and occupied Lebanon until 2005.
Second Lebanon War
 • This conflict started in July 2006 between Israel and
Hezbollah in Lebanon, Golan Heights and Northern
Israel.
• It ended after a couple of months through a UN-
brokered ceasefire.
• Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party
and militant goup.
Hamas Wars

• Hamas, a Sunni Islamist militant group won the

elections in Palestine in 2006.
• In 2007, Hamas defeated Fatah (political group that
controlled the PLO) in 2007 in fighting that started in
2006.
• Hamas (which many consider a terrorist group) has
been fighting with Israel with particularly significant
battles in 2008, 2012 and 2014.

The Gaza strip which divides ISRAEL

and EGYPT IS NOW RULED BY
HAMAS
Current Situation

• Hamas rules over Gaza.

• Gaza’s borders are tightly controlled by Israel and
Egypt.
• The West Bank is still occupied by Israel.
 • Most Palestinian refugees and their descendants
live in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jordan, Syria and
Lebanon.
• Tensions run high between Israel and Palestinians
living in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
• According to Israel, allowing Palestinians to return
to their homes would overwhelmingly threaten its
existence as a Jewish state. (Israel is the only
Jewish state in the world).
• The whole of Jerusalem is claimed by Israel as its
capital. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the
capital of a future Palestinian state.
• Though Israel does not recognise Palestine as a
state, over 135 UN member countries do.
o In 1988, India became one of the first countries
to recognize the Palestinian State.

Israel Palestine Conflict Latest Developments

The renewed violence in the region started on May 6,
2021 when Palestinians protested against an anticipated
decision of the Israeli Supreme Court over the eviction of
six Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah in occupied
East Jerusalem. The next day, Israeli Police stormed the
Al Aqsa mosque. A few days later, Hamas and other
Palestinian groups started firing rockets from Gaza into
Israel to which Israel retaliated.
Significance of Jerusalem
Jerusalem is an ancient city and claimed by both Israel
and Palestine as their own. Israel claims the whole
undivided city as its rightful capital while Palestinians
refute this, stating their right of freedom and self-
determination. The city is also considered a holy one
having many places of religious importance to the three
Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

• Jerusalem was divided into two – western and

eastern parts after Israel declared its
independence in 1948.
• West Jerusalem became Israel’s capital while East
Jerusalem became part of Jordan.
• In the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel captured East
Jerusalem, among others.
• Shortly after the Israeli takeover, East Jerusalem
was absorbed into West Jerusalem, together with
several neighbouring West Bank villages.
• The same year, the UN passed a resolution asking
Israel to retract from occupied places.
• In 1980, the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) passed the
Jerusalem Law that declared that “Jerusalem,
complete and united, is the capital of Israel”.
• Much of the international community considers
Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem as illegal.
 • While both Israel and Palestine declared Jerusalem
their capital, the Palestinians usually refer to East
Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine.
• In 2017, the then US President Donald Trump
recognised the whole of Jerusalem as the capital of
Israel.
Jerusalem is significant for both Jews and Muslims, as
well as, Christians.

• The Old City of Jerusalem is in East Jerusalem. It

has four quarters – Muslim, Jewish, Christian and
Armenian.
• The city is significant for the Jews chiefly since it
was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Israel
established by the biblical King David.
o Also, the First Temple was believed to have
been built by King Solomon there, although
there is no archaeological evidence of this.
o The Old City also contains the Western Wall,
which was originally built as part of the Second
Temple. This place is sacred for Jews.
• For Muslims, Jerusalem is the third holiest city after
Mecca and Medina.
o The third holiest site for Muslims, the Al-Aqsa
Mosque, is in the Old City.
o Muslims believe that Prophet Mohammad was
transported to this place from Mecca during
the ‘Night Journey’.
• For Christians also, the city is significant as in it is
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
o It contains the two holiest sites in Christianity,
the place where Jesus Christ was crucified and
the place of his empty tomb.
• Temple Mount, known as Haram al Sharif in Arabic,
is a site holy to both Jewish and Muslim people. It is
in the Old City.
o The present site includes the Western Wall, the
Al Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, and the
Dome of the Chain.
o Currently, Israel controls the security in the
Temple Mount area with control over who has
access to the site, whereas the religious
aspects are dealt with by the Jordanian Waqf.
Only Muslims are allowed to pray at the Dome
and the Al Aqsa Mosque (sites which are
revered by Jews as well for various reasons),
while Jews can pray at the Western Wall.
• Jerusalem is central to the peace talks between
both groups as the holy sites are in the same land.

OPINION ON THE WAR

What is India’s stand on the Israel-Palestine Conflict?

• India traditionally believes in the 2-state solution and

supports the establishment of a sovereign
independent and the viable state of Palestine.
• India’s support for Palestine has not deterred its
growing relationship with Israel.
• However, over the years, the Indian government has
diluted its reaction to Israel’s treatment of the
Palestinians.
• In 2014 India favoured a UN resolution which
established a Commission of Inquiry to investigate a
violation of international humanitarian and human
rights law in the ‘Occupied Territories’ during ‘
Operation Protective Edge’. But our Government was
reluctant to pass a resolution in Parliament
condemning the Israeli action deviating from its
earlier practice.
• In 2015 India abstained at the UN Human Rights
Commission (UNHRC) on a resolution welcoming the
report of the same Commission of Inquiry. It was the
first time India refused to vote against Israel.
• Later on, our Government clarified that there was no
change in India’s traditional support to the Palestinian
cause and it was the reference to the ICC
(International criminal court) which made India
abstain from voting.
• However, with an increased focus on closer ties with
Israel, there is little doubt that India has diluted its
support to Palestine.