Editorial
Opinions on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
Editorial Staff
Volume 4 Issue 2
January 16, 2024
Image provided by VOA News
The Israel-Hamas war has affected Muslim and Jewish communities all around the world. As a Muslim myself, it saddens me to see this conflict taking place. Many people don’t know why this war is taking place and what led up to it. You may or may not have heard about Hamas and the IDF, the Israel Defense Force. Many people are being one-sided without knowing the history behind Palestine and Israel. So why did this war break out?
Let’s go back 80 years. During the 1940’s, European Jews made up about 90% of the Jewish population at the time. Around this period, the Holocaust and severe antisemitism towards European Jews was taking place. Overtime, nationalism grew in the Jewish community: Jewish people wanted to establish their own state in what they considered their ancestral homeland. This ancestral land is located in the Palestinian region and referred to as the “Holy Land,” since it is an important site for three major religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Christians refer to this region as their Holy Land since it was where Jesus Christ lived and died. For Muslims, this specific region was mentioned in the Quran, as Allah names it the “Holy and Blessed Land.” It was also the home for many Muslim prophets. For Jews, the region is the birthplace of Judaism.
In 1917, the Balfour Declaration was issued by the British government, which favored an independent state for Jews in the Palestinian region. Later, in 1922, the League of Nations granted Britain complete power over Palestine. Eventually, Jewish migrants started to pour into the region as they were forced out of Europe. However, violence erupted between the Arabs and Jews as Palestinians tried to prevent Jewish migration into their homeland, causing the British government to eradicate their mandate. The United Nations started to pitch in and suggested that the region be split into two separate states, one being an Arab state and the other being a Jewish state. Arabs rejected the proposal completely, whereas the Jews gratefully accepted. Opposing ideas started a civil war between Arabs and Jews in the region. But, in May of 1948, Israel declared its independence, which provoked nearby Arab countries surrounding the region to invade Israel. This occurred multiple times; however, Arab forces failed, and Israel prevailed, gaining more territory than the Partition Plan intended to grant. As the war waged on, 80% of Palestinians fled their homes as Israeli forces conquered their land. These Arabs were not allowed to return home. Ever since, Palestine has been losing its power over the region as Israel gained power and land.
Without permission from Palestinians, the state of Israel was established on their own land. The formation of the State of Israel in May of 1948 resulted in the displacement of 700,000-800,000 Palestinians who ended up migrating to nearby Arab countries. Further, in 1964, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, better known as PLO, was established. It signified Palestinian desire for self-determination and the creation of an independent Palestinian state. It also called for the eradication of Israel. The PLO relied on acts of terrorism against Israel to achieve its goals, later relying on diplomacy. Additionally, in 1987, Hamas was established. The militant group uses arms resistance for the formation of an Islamic Palestinian State in the place of Israel, a Jewish state. After the militant group forced Palestinian Authority out of power, Hamas has maintained control of the Gaza Strip since 2007. Palestinian leadership has been weak; more importantly, these aggressive militant groups do not represent the Palestinian people.
This war has created a lot of sadness for people, including myself. As a Muslim, my heart aches for the Palestinians and the loss they have had to endure. My heart aches for all the children killed on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides; they did not deserve to have their lives taken away. I am neither condemning nor condoning the actions of Hamas or the actions of the Israeli military. I do not support Hamas acts of terrorism. Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. The actions of the Israeli Military do not represent Jews, nor am I anti-Semitic. Israel has the right to fight for the protection of its people, but killing thousands of Palestinians in a matter of two months seems barbaric. Since October 7th, Israeli attacks have killed over 20,400 Palestinians, whereas Hamas’s attack on Israelis have left at least 1,139 dead at the time of this writing. Unfortunately, Hamas built tunnels under hospitals in Gaza and in other densely populated civilian locations, deliberately using civilians as human shields in their planned attack. There have been numerous American and Israeli hostages taken by Hamas. The IDF has also captured Palestinians and made them hostages.
Many individuals created a stance on this topic when they have little to no knowledge about the history of Israel and Palestine. One of the few messages I want readers to take away from this article is to always do some prior research before you take a stance on any topic. However, according to Al-Jazeera, many journalists have criticized media coverage accusing the western media of biased reporting on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. There are so many factors to consider. For example, the nations have urged Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, to curb its power over Gaza. As of this writing, Israel has announced it will start withdrawing some troops. Most of the more than 20,000 people who have been killed in Gaza have been civilians. And now, health authorities and the United Nations report that the delivery of aid is so restricted that almost more than one million remaining civilians in Gaza are at risk of starving.
The United States, by providing arms and aid, is apparently siding with Israel. Again, Hamas is a terrorist organization that does not represent all Palestinians, but what is happening to people in Gaza by Israel’s retaliation for the attack on October 7th is unfair to the Gazans. Where did our humanity go? It might seem as though my Muslim identity is influencing my opinions on this topic, but it isn’t. You do not have to be a Muslim or an Arab to support Palestine; all you need is humanity. My belief system and my Muslim identity teaches us to remain faithful. Indeed, those in Gaza are displaying a tremendous amount of resilience.
SOURCES:
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | Global Conflict Tracker (cfr.org)
Israeli-Palestinian conflict: How Israel became a country - Vox
History of Palestine - Wikipedia
Why is Western media accused of bias on Israel-Palestine? | TV Shows | Al Jazeera
Timeline: Key Events in the Israel-Arab and Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | AJC
National Counterterrorism Center | FTOs (dni.gov)
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/01/01/world/israel-supreme-court-gaza-news