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Shawwal 9, 1442 May 21, 2021
IS R A E L - P A L E STI N E CO N F LICT
Israel-Gaza violence: The conflict explained
n escalation of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians has led the UN to warn of a “full-scale war”. The latest violence followed a month of rising tensions in Jerusalem, though the conflict has gone on for decades.
How did it start?
A 100-year-old issue
Britain took control of the area known as Palestine after the ruler of that part of the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire, was defeated in WW1. The land was inhabited by a Jewish minority and Arab majority. Tensions between the two peoples grew when the international community gave Britain the task of establishing a “national home” in Palestine for Jewish people. For Jews, it was their ancestral home, but Palestinian Arabs also claimed the land and opposed the move. Between the 1920s and 40s, the number of Jews arriving there grew, with many fleeing from persecution in Europe and seeking a homeland after the Holocaust of WWII. Violence between Jews and Arabs, and against British rule, also grew. In 1947, the UN voted for Palestine to be split into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem becoming an international city.That plan was accepted by Jewish leaders but rejected by the Arab side and never implemented.
The creation of Israel and the ‘Catastrophe’
In 1948, unable to solve the problem, British rulers left and Jewish leaders declared the creation of the state of Israel. Many Palestinians objected and a war followed. Troops from neighbouring Arab countries invaded. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced out of their homes in what
the country and threaten its existence as a Jewish state. Israel still occupies the West Bank, and although it pulled out of Gaza the UN still regards that piece of land as part of occupied territory. Israel claims the whole of Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinthey call Al Nakba, or the “Catastrophe”. ian state. The US is one of only a handful of By the time the fighting ended in a ceasefire countries to recognise Israel’s claim to the the following year, Israel controlled most of whole of the city. the territory. Jordan occupied land which became known as What is Hamas? Mums fear for children in Israel-Gaza conthe West Bank, and Egypt occupied Gaza. Jerusalem was divided between Israeli forces flict in the West, and Jordanian forces in the East. In the past 50 years Israel has built setBecause there was never a peace agreement - tlements in these areas, where more than each side blamed the other - there were more 600,000 Jews now live. wars and fighting in the decades which fol- Palestinians say these are illegal under international law and are obstacles to peace, but lowed.
The map today
Israel denies this. In another war in 1967, Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as most of the Syrian Golan Heights, and Gaza and the Egyptian Sinai peninsula. Most Palestinian refugees and their descendants live in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in neighbouring Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Neither they nor their descendants have been allowed by Israel to return to their homes - Israel says this would overwhelm
What’s happening now?
Tensions are often high between Israel and Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. Gaza is ruled by a Palestinian militant group called Hamas, which has fought Israel many times. Israel and Egypt tightly control Gaza’s borders to stop weapons getting to Hamas. Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank say they’re suffering because of Israeli actions and restrictions. Israel say it is only acting to
protect itself from Palestinian violence. Things have escalated since the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in midApril 2021, with nightly clashes between police and Palestinians. The threatened eviction of some Palestinian families in East Jerusalem has also caused rising anger.
What are the main problems?
There are a number of issues which Israel and the Palestinians cannot agree on. These include what should happen to Palestinian refugees, whether Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank should stay or be removed, whether the two sides should share Jerusalem, and - perhaps most tricky of all - whether a Palestinian state should be created alongside Israel. Peace talks have been taking place on and off for more than 25 years, but so far have not solved the conflict.
What does the future hold?
In short, the situation isn’t going to be sorted out any time soon. The most recent peace plan, prepared by the United States, when Donald Trump was President - called “the deal of the century” by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu - has been dismissed by the Palestinians as onesided and never got off the ground. Any future peace deal will need both sides to agree to resolve complex issues. Until that happens, the conflict will go on. Source: bbc.com/news
‘I feel helpless’ … Canadians with ties to Israel watch escalating conflict with dread By Nicholas Keung Immigration Reporter The latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict has caught Canadians who have ties with Israel by surprise and many say what everyone wants is peace. iolence on Israeli streets and in Gaza has many Canadians concerned for family members abroad. Here, the Star spoke with a woman with ties to Israel. The companion piece, on Palestinian Canadians marking Eid amid Mideast violence, is here. Find the latest news here. Elana Carr has been in contact with her family in Israel every day this week, checking in for updates on their well-being via WhatsApp. The Toronto woman, who has an aunt and uncle and many cousins living in Israel, is one of many Canadians watching with dread the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “They sent me photos and you can see the
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rockets. For me, I feel helpless. We all have been worried about the (COVID-19) lockdown. But my family and others who have families in Israel, they are in bomb shelters. I have cousins with little kids. It’s terrible and there’s nothing we can do. “One of them just sent me a picture of a missile landed right outside of their house.” Born and raised in Canada to Holocaust survivors from Poland, Carr fundraises here for the United Hatzalah of Israel, which runs a network of 6,000 volunteer medics there. She said her organization is made up of volunteers from all backgrounds, with members who are Orthodox Jews, Christians and Muslims. “People have this stigma that Israelis and Arabs can’t get along and there’s no future for peace,” she said. “It’s sad …. We can live in harmony. When this happens, it’s hard.” She said the latest violence has caught many off-guard. For months, most international media attention focusing on Israel has been about the country’s success in vaccinating its population against COVID-19. “Our government in Israel can’t seem to get themselves together, so there was a joke in
Israel that they were able to solve the vaccine crisis, but couldn’t form a government,” she told the Star on Thursday. “It’s been relatively quiet. I’m surprised and I think Israelis are surprised, too.” Canadians who have worked to foster friendships and peace between Jews and Palestinians said they, too, are saddened by the heart-wrenching violence in Jerusalem and Gaza, just before Eid al-Fitr, traditionally the happiest occasion of the Muslim calendar. “We mourn the loss of lives and trust between Jews and Palestinians, both here and in the Middle East,” said Barbara Landau, co-chair of the Canadian Association of Jews and Muslims. “My fear is that much of our goodwill and decades of constructive effort will be undone by political interests that do not serve the majority of Jews or Palestinians.” Neora Snitz, who moved to Canada from Israel 23 years ago, said she has been in touch with her parents and two siblings back home, but tries to stay away from media reports about the escalating violence in her homeland. “I talk to my family, but I try to just carry on. But it’s quite overwhelming. I check the news a few times a day, but I’m not glued to it, as a
way just to keep breathing and functioning,” said the Vancouver trauma therapist. “That does impact me strongly. I’m less interested about the specific things, but just how they are doing and what’s happening from their perspectives. I don’t need to see images of suffering in order to connect with suffering. I know what’s happening in this chaos.” Growing up in Israel, Snitz said she’s familiar with the tension between the two peoples. “It’s always ready to ignite. All it takes is a spark. I feel people wanted it to be avoided. We need leadership,” she said. “As a therapist, I know people in a state of trauma stay in black and white. They are unable to see humanity in a state of fear and survival. It hurts.”Source: thestar.com
