Palestine and Israel: The Crisis
It's time to discuss Palestine and Israel.
The History Behind the States
For those of you unaware, #FreePalestine has been trending all over social media. Palestine and Israel have issues spanning decades, going back to WWI. Britain was tasked with establishing a national home in Palestine for Jewish people after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The land was inhabited by a Jewish minority and an Arab majority; the Arabs claimed the land and opposed the move. Palestine was supposed to split in to two separate Jewish and Arab states in 1947 when the UN voted for it. Jewish leaders agreed but Arab leaders did not, so it never happened. In 1948, British rulers left and Jewish leaders created Israel, a separate state. The Palestinians objected to this and thus a war followed.
The Contentious Issues
The main issues that the two sides cannot agree include:
- Should Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank stay or be removed?
- Should Palestine and Israel share Jerusalem?
- What should happen to Palestinian refugees?
Why Now?
This has been in recent news because Israeli forces stormed a Jerusalem mosque, leaving more than 300 Palestinians injured. Since this incident, violence has escalated on both sides and the UN has warned about a possibility of a war.
This conflict is one that has provoked a lot of support for the Palestinians, who are being oppressed by Israel. What I want to emphasise is that it isn't Jewish people who are oppressing Palestinians, but the Israeli government. It is wrong to blame all Jews for Israeli actions and all Muslims for Palestinian actions.
Anti Zionism is not anti-semitism
You can be anti-Zionist but not anti-semitic. There are Palestinians living in Israel who are not recognised as citizens, whose children will never be able to progress to political ranks, because they are 'denied equality under Israeli control'. Israel should be inclusive of its people and stand for equality; this doesn't suddenly mean they are not protecting the Jewish people.
It is hard to talk about this topic because wording can be misconstrued. Peter Beinart puts what I want to say perfectly in a Guardian article here:
"Silencing Palestinians isn’t a particularly effective way to fight rising antisemitism, much of which comes from people who like neither Palestinians nor Jews. But, just as important, it undermines the moral basis of that fight. Antisemitism isn’t wrong because it is wrong to denigrate and dehumanise Jews. Antisemitism is wrong because it is wrong to denigrate and dehumanise anyone. Which means, ultimately, that any effort to fight antisemitism that contributes to the denigration and dehumanisation of Palestinians is no fight against antisemitism at all."
International Response
The US is Israel's main ally, so international communities have called on President Joe Biden to take a tougher stance towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The US has just signed a $735 million weapons deal with Israel, but now Biden has told Netanyahu to de-escalate the tensions with Palestine. It seems odd to secure a deal that will inevitably worsen the conflict. Surely, if the US was serious about de-escalating tensions, they would not sell weapons to a country on the brink of war? And a country currently oppressing millions of people?
The UN has called for greater aid access for Gaza, and believes that mediation efforts need to be intensified immediately to end the current violence between Israel and Palestine.
Conclusion
The conflict will not be resolved anytime soon. There was a temporary peace truce, which Netanyahu hailed the 'deal of a century', but the Palestinians dismissed it as one-sided. With the help of mediators and other countries, Palestine and Israel may be able to reach a ceasefire in a few days, but the deeper historical issues still remain. Other countries play a larger role than you may think. Using the US as an example, their tie with Israel means that they still do not recognise Palestine as a state in its own right. So how can Israel and Palestine solve their issues if one country is not even seen as a country by a leading Western state?
Like many conflicts in the world, we can only hope for an immediate ceasefire in the short term, to limit the loss of human life. At the end of the day, these governments are focused on politics and money, when the priority should be humans and being treated equally, regardless of religion, race or beliefs.
We stand with Palestine.
Further Reading:
- Context to Gaza and the Israel/Palestine situation:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-44124396
- Very insightful article on anti-zionism not being anti-semitism:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/mar/07/debunking-myth-that-anti-zionism-is-antisemitic
- Details of the upcoming US/Israel Arms Deal:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/17/power-up-biden-administration-approves-735-million-weapons-sale-israel-raising-red-flags-some-house-democrats/
Follow on Instagram:
- @peopleforpalestine.mcr
-@letstalkpalestine
- @youthstrikemcr (helpful roundup info on the situation)
*disclaimer: I receive no money from affiliate links, these are recommendations if you want further information.
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