Muhammad Ahsan Afraz
In the latter part of the 13th century, Pharaoh Merneptah reported a decisive victory over a group known as “Israel” in the Middle East, which was part of the region then referred to as “Canaan”. In the subsequent centuries, this area eventually became home to two distinct kingdoms, “Israel” and “Judah,” with the latter being the origin of the term “Jew.” According to Babylonian historical records, there was evidence of a unified monarchy in the region known as “Israel” prior to its division into two kingdoms. Around 722 BCE, the Neo-Assyrian Empire, based in modern-day Iraq (ancient Mesopotamia), established the Kingdom of “Israel”. As a result, the concept of “Israel” as a distinct geographical entity ceased to exist in the ancient Near East. Several eras later, the Neo-Babylonian state, another Mesopotamian power, conquered the Kingdom of Judah and its capital city, Jerusalem, in the 6th century BCE. Following their defeat in the Jewish-Babylonian War and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, a significant number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were taken captive to Babylon, the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. This period of Jewish history is known as the Babylonian Captivity or Babylonian Exile. Subsequently, during the first Roman Jewish War, also referred to as the Great Jewish Revolt, the Jewish population in the Eastern Mediterranean suffered a dramatic decline. The Jewish majority was reduced to a scattered and persecuted minority. Cities like Jerusalem and others experienced significant casualties during the First Jewish-Roman War. From an Islamic perspective during the seventh century, the Middle East witnessed a significant transformation as a result of the Islamic conquests. Arabs migrated and settled in the region in large numbers. With the exception of a relatively short period of Crusader control, Palestine remained under Muslim governance for nearly 12 centuries, and the majority of its population was Arab. In the year 1516, the Ottoman Turks invaded and established their rule in Palestine, which lasted for 402 years (1516-1918). There was a brief interruption in this Ottoman rule, lasting 9 years, from 1831 to 1840, when the Egyptian Governor Muhammad Ali dispatched his troops, led by his son Ibrahim Pasha, to capture and administer Palestine. “Zionism” and Jewish return. Until the 19th century, no nation, particularly Christian-majority countries, showed willingness to accept Jewish populations due to the reasons that follow. • Jews consume human blood (The Blood Libel): The Blood Libel is a well-known anti-Semitic trope that falsely accuses Jews of ritual murder and the consumption of human blood in food. The Blood Libel is one of the oldest forms of antisemitism and has led to many instances of persecution against Jews across Europe. • The Jews killed Jesus:The concept of Christian deicide, that Jews killed the Christian prophet Jesus, emanates from the four gospels reflecting on Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. Jesus was arrested by the Jewish council, or tribunal, and accused of blasphemy for claiming to be the “King of the Jews.” • Jews have horns and big noses: Racial or biological antisemitism, which assumes Jews possess inferior and negative physical attributes, are racist stereotypes and caricatures. Many of these false anti-Semitic stereotypes include the idea that all Jews have big noses and that Jews have horns. The idea of the ‘Jewish nose’, one that is large and hooked, was proved categorically false in a study by anthropologists. • Jews have polluted blood. In addition to biological antisemitism, which accuses Jews of having horns, big noses, and a distinct smell, Jews have also been accused of having contaminated blood. • Jews are descendants of the Khazars. The Khazars were a multi-ethnic group who lived on a large swath of Eastern Europe, the Caucus, and Central Asia from the seventh century until the tenth. The Khazars were a Turkic people, and the theory claims that Ashkenazi Jews are their descendants. Considering the aforementioned reasons, “Theodor Herzl”, an Austrian-Hungarian journalist and political activist, who is often referred to as the father of modern Zionism, initiated the political movement known as “Zionism.” The concept of Zionism took a political direction under Herzl’s leadership. He believed that assimilation was the ideal goal for Jews, but given the prevailing anti-Semitism, he saw this as an unattainable objective. Herzl argued that, under external pressures, if Jews were compelled to establish a nation, their only path to leading a normal life would be through the concentration of their population in a single territory. In 1897, Herzl organized the inaugural Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, where the Basel program of the movement was adopted. This program articulated the mission of Zionism as striving to create a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine, secured by international law. As World War I began in 1915, the Ottoman Empire was already experiencing a decline in its power and influence. In 1914, the Ottoman army aligned itself with the Central Powers, which included Germany and Austria-Hungary. However, they suffered defeat in October 1918. After the Armistice of Mudros was signed on October 30, 1918, the majority of Ottoman territories were partitioned among Britain, France, Greece, and Russia. The Sykes-Picot Agreement. A confidential treaty in 1916, was struck between the United Kingdom and France. This accord effectively partitioned the Ottoman territories outside of the Arabian Peninsula into regions of British and French influence and control. The demarcation line known as the Sykes-Picot line separated the areas administered by these two powers. Under this agreement, the United Kingdom gained authority over what is now southern Israel, Palestine, Jordan, southern Iraq, and a small region encompassing the ports of Haifa and Acre to ensure access to the Mediterranean. France, on the other hand, was assigned control over south-eastern Turkey, the Kurdistan Region, Syria, and Lebanon. The respective governments of the UK and France ratified this agreement on May 9 and 16, 1916. Balfour Declaration. The Balfour Declaration, released by the British government in 1917 during World War I, was a public statement expressing its endorsement for the creation of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire and had a relatively small Jewish population. This declaration was conveyed through a letter dated November 2, 1917, written by the British Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour, and addressed to Lord Rothschild. The content of the declaration was subsequently made public in the press on November 9, 1917. Hitler Era/Migration of Jews(WWII). The Holocaust, a tragic event during World War II, involved the systematic genocide of European Jews. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators orchestrated the deliberate and organized killing of approximately six million Jews, which amounted to about two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population. This heinous campaign of extermination involved mass shootings and the use of poison gas in extermination camps, with Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Belzec, Sobibor, and Chelmno in occupied Poland serving as some of the primary locations where these atrocities took place. Following the Holocaust, many Jews migrated to the United States and Palestine. Mandatory Palestine, Britain Exile, Nov, 1947. Following the United Nations resolution, the period from 1947 to 1948 saw the outbreak of the Civil War in Mandatory Palestine between the Arab and Jewish communities, accompanied by a breakdown in British authority. On December 16, 1947, the Palestine Police Force withdrew from the Tel Aviv area, where more than half of the Jewish population resided, and transferred the responsibility for maintaining law and order to the Jewish police. Throughout the course of this civil conflict, British military forces gradually withdrew from Palestine, although they occasionally intervened in support of one side or the other. Many regions of the territory became war zones. While British forces continued to maintain a presence in Jerusalem and Haifa, Jerusalem was besieged by Arab forces and became a battleground with intense fighting. The British sometimes intervened in these clashes, primarily to secure their evacuation routes, including the declaration of martial law and the enforcement of truces. The Palestine Police Force was largely non-functional, and essential government services like social welfare, water supplies, and postal services were suspended. In March 1948, all British judges in Palestine were repatriated to Britain. In April 1948, the British withdrew from most of Haifa but retained a small enclave in the port area for the purpose of evacuating British forces. They also held onto RAF Ramat David, an airbase close to Haifa, to cover their retreat. A volunteer police force was left behind to maintain order in the region. 1948 Arab–Israeli War (First War) The Arab-Israeli War of 1948 erupted as five Arab nations invaded the territory of the former Palestinian mandate immediately following the declaration of the independence of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. In 1947 and once again on May 14, 1948, the United States had offered de facto recognition of the Israeli Provisional Government. However, during the course of the war, the United States enforced an arms embargo against all the warring parties. As a result of the conflict, the State of Israel gained control over the area designated for the Jewish state by the United Nations, as well as nearly 60% of the land allocated for the Arab state. This included regions like Jaffa, Lydda, Ramle, Upper Galilee, some parts of the Negev, and a significant strip along the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road. Israel also assumed control over West Jerusalem, which was originally intended to be part of an international zone for Jerusalem and its surroundings. Concurrently, Transjordan took control of East Jerusalem and what later became known as the West Bank, eventually annexing it the following year. The Egyptian military took control of the Gaza Strip during this time. Second War (1956) The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab-Israeli War, was an invasion of Egypt and the Gaza Strip in late 1956. It was initiated by Israel, followed by the United Kingdom and France. The primary objectives were to regain control of the Suez Canal for Western powers and to remove Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser from power. Nasser had recently nationalized the foreign-owned Suez Canal Company, which managed the canal. Israel’s primary goal was to reopen the blocked Straits of Tiran. Once the conflict had begun, political pressures from the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Nations led to the withdrawal of the three invading nations. This episode resulted in humiliation for the United Kingdom and France while strengthening Nasser’s position in the region. Third War (1967). The Six-Day War (War of 1967′) or June War, also known asthe 1967 Arab-Israeli War or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from June 5 to 10, 1967. Egypt and Jordan agreed to a ceasefire on June 8 and Syria on June 9, and it was signed with Israel on June 11. The Six-Day War resulted in more than 20,000 fatal Arab casualties, while Israel suffered fewer than 1,000 fatal casualties. Alongside the combatant casualties were the deaths of 20 Israeli civilians killed in Arab forces air strikes on Jerusalem. At the time of the cessation of hostilities, Israel had seized Syria’s Golan Heights, the Jordanian-annexed West Bank (including East Jerusalem), Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. The displacement of civilian populations as a result of the Six-Day War would have long-term consequences, as around 280,000 to 325,000 Palestinians and 100,000 Syrians fled or were expelled from the West Bank and the Golan Heights, respectively. Yom Kippur War (Fourth war). The Yom Kippur War, known by various names such as the Ramadan War, October War, 1973 Arab-Israeli War, or Fourth Arab-Israeli War, transpired from October 6 to 25, 1973. It pitted Israel against a coalition of Arab states, chiefly led by Egypt and Syria. The majority of the fighting occurred in the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights, both of which had been occupied by Israel in 1967, with some skirmishes taking place in African Egypt and northern Israel. Egypt’s initial objective in this conflict was to establish a foothold on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal and subsequently use these territorial gains as leverage for negotiations to secure the return of the Israeli-occupied Sinai Peninsula. The war commenced on October 6, 1973, with a joint surprise attack by the Arab coalition against Israel, timed to coincide with the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, which happened to fall on the 10th day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan that year. After hostilities broke out, both the United States and the Soviet Union launched extensive resupply efforts to support their respective allies (Israel and the Arab states), leading to a confrontation between the two nuclear-armed superpowers. Egypt-Israel Peace treaty The Egypt-Israel peace treaty was formally signed in Washington, D.C., United States, on March 26, 1979, as a result of the 1978 Camp David Accords. This significant treaty was inked by Anwar Sadat, the President of Egypt, and Menachem Begin, the Prime Minister of Israel, with the witnessing of Jimmy Carter, the President of the United States. This peace treaty between Egypt and Israel came after 16 months of intense negotiations, particularly following Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Israel in 1977. The key provisions of the treaty included the mutual recognition of both nations, the cessation of the state of war that had persisted since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, normalization of diplomatic relations, and the Israeli withdrawal of its armed forces and civilians from the Sinai Peninsula, which had been captured during the Six-Day War in 1967. Egypt agreed to keep the Sinai Peninsula demilitarized. The agreement also established the free passage of Israeli ships through the Suez Canal and recognized the Strait of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba as international waterways, which had been blockaded by Egypt in 1967. In recognition of their efforts, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, and Jimmy Carter were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978. Oslo Accord. On September 13, 1993, at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Negotiator Mahmoud Abbas formally signed a significant agreement known as the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, more commonly referred to as the “Oslo Accord.” This historic accord marked Israel’s recognition of the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people, while the PLO, in turn, renounced terrorism and acknowledged Israel’s right to exist in peace. The agreement outlined a plan in which a Palestinian Authority (PA) would be established and gradually assume governing responsibilities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over a period of five years. Subsequent talks on permanent status issues, including borders, refugees, and the status of Jerusalem, were to be conducted. While President Bill Clinton’s administration played a limited role in facilitating the Oslo Accord’s creation, it dedicated significant time and resources to assist in its implementation. Regrettably, by the end of Clinton’s term in office, the peace process had stalled, and a new cycle of Israeli-Palestinian violence had erupted. Establishment of “Hamas”. Hamas is a Sunni Islamist organization with both political and military arms. It currently governs the Gaza Strip within the Palestinian territories. While its headquarters are in Gaza City, it also maintains a presence in the West Bank, which is the larger of the two Palestinian territories, and is under the control of Fatah. Hamas is widely regarded as the dominant political force in the Palestinian territories. Founded in 1987, shortly after the start of the First Intifada against Israel, Hamas originated from the Mujama al-Islamiya, a religious charity established in Gaza in 1973 with ties to the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood. Over time, Hamas became increasingly involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It opposed the Israel-PLO Letters of Mutual Recognition and the Oslo Accords, which saw its secular rival Fatah renounce terrorism and violence while recognizing Israel as part of a two-state solution. In contrast, Hamas continued to advocate for Palestinian armed resistance. Hamas achieved a significant political victory by winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, gaining a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Subsequently, it took control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah in 2007. Hamas had boycotted the 1996 Palestinian general election and the 2005 Palestinian presidential election but chose to participate in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, which occurred after the death of Yasser Arafat. During the run-up to the election, there were concerns expressed by the U.S. administration, Israel, and the UK’s Tony Blair about allowing Hamas to participate in the democratic process. Hamas campaigned on a platform of clean governance, administrative reform, and addressing issues like corruption and lawlessness. The Palestinian Authority, known for corruption, ran Marwan Barghouti as its leading candidate, even though he was serving multiple life sentences in an Israeli prison. The U.S. provided financial support to improve the image of the Palestinian Authority, and Israel facilitated interviews with Barghouti in prison for Arab television. Additionally, Israel permitted 100,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem to participate in the election. The Battle of Gaza, also known as Hamas’s takeover of Gaza, occurred between June 10 and 15, 2007. It was a military conflict between Fatah and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, stemming from a power struggle after Fatah’s loss in the 2006 parliamentary elections. Hamas fighters seized control of Gaza and ousted Fatah officials, resulting in the dissolution of the unity government and the de facto division of Palestinian territories into two entities: the West Bank, governed by the Palestinian National Authority, and Gaza, governed by Hamas. From 2007 to 2021. Starting in February 2008, the Israeli government began reducing the amount of electricity it directly supplied to Gaza. This decision followed a ruling by Israel’s High Court of Justice, which related to the quantity of industrial fuel being provided to Gaza. The court indicated that the amount supplied was reasonable and sufficient to meet vital humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip. During the delivery of fuel to the Nahal Oz fuel depot, Palestinian militants killed two Israelis. With regard to Israel’s plan, the Court explained that it entailed a five percent reduction in power supply along three of the ten power lines delivering electricity from Israel to Gaza, lowering the output to 13.5 megawatts in two of the lines and 12.5 megawatts in the third line. The court was convinced that this reduction did not violate Israel’s humanitarian obligations in the context of the armed conflict with the Hamas organization in control of Gaza. The court’s conclusion was partly based on the respondents’ affidavit, indicating that Palestinian officials had the capability to reduce the load if limitations were placed on the power lines, a capability they had utilized in the past. On June 20, 2010, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a new system for governing the blockade, allowing most non-military or dual-use items to enter the Gaza Strip. Israel planned to expand the transfer of construction materials for approved projects by the Palestinian Authority, including schools, health institutions, water, sanitation, and more, as well as projects under international supervision. Despite the relaxation of the land blockade, Israel continued to inspect all goods bound for Gaza by sea at the port of Ashdod. In anticipation of a Gaza visit in April 2013, Turkey’s Prime Minister RecepTayyip Erdogan outlined three conditions necessary for resuming friendly relations between Turkey and Israel: an apology for the May 2010 Gaza flotilla raid (an apology was conveyed to Erdogan by Prime Minister Netanyahu on March 22, 2013), compensation for the families affected by the raid, and the lifting of the Gaza blockade by Israel. Erdogan emphasized that the promises made would be monitored during the April 2013 Gaza visit. At the same time, Netanyahu clarified that Israel would only consider exploring the removal of the Gaza blockade if there was an achievement of peace or “quiet” in the region. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict experienced an upsurge in violence commencing in the fall of 2015, extending into the first half of 2016. This period was referred to as the “Intifada of the Individuals” by Israeli sources, the “Knife Intifada,” the “Stabbing Intifada,” or the “Jerusalem Intifada” by international sources due to numerous stabbing incidents in Jerusalem, or “Habba” by Palestinian sources. In the latter half of 2015, there were an average of three Palestinian attacks per day, which decreased to one per day in 2016, persisting at that level for several months. Between October 2015 and March 2016, there were 211 reported stabbings or attempted stabbings of Israelis by Palestinians, in addition to 83 shootings and 42 car-ramming attacks, resulting in the deaths of 30 Israelis and two Americans. Over 200 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces during this period, with 130 of them allegedly involved in attacks on Israelis. In May 2018, another round of conflict erupted between Hamas and the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), marking the most significant period of violence since 2014. Prior to a ceasefire agreement, militants in Gaza launched over a hundred rockets into Israel, prompting Israel to respond with strikes on more than fifty targets in Gaza during a twenty-four-hour escalation.During the Donald J. Trump administration, efforts were made to achieve peace in the region, but these initiatives faced challenges. In late April 2021, Palestinian demonstrations began in the streets of Jerusalem to protest impending evictions, particularly in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. Residents of Sheikh Jarrah, along with other activists, initiated nightly sit-ins to voice their opposition. As early May approached and a court ruled in favour of the evictions, the protests expanded. Israeli police used force against demonstrators, further intensifying tensions. On May 7, following weeks of daily protests and mounting tensions between protesters, Israeli settlers, and police during the month of Ramadan, violence erupted at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. Israeli police employed stun grenades, rubber bullets, and water cannons in a clash with protestors that resulted in hundreds of Palestinians being wounded. After the clashes in Jerusalem’s Old City, tensions escalated across East Jerusalem, compounded by the celebration of Jesus Day. On May 10, after several consecutive days of violence in Jerusalem and the use of lethal and nonlethal force by Israeli police, Hamas, the governing militant group in Gaza, along with other Palestinian militant groups, launched hundreds of rockets into Israeli territory. In response, Israel carried out artillery bombardments and airstrikes, which resulted in the deaths of over twenty Palestinians. Israel claimed to be targeting Hamas and other militant groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well as their infrastructure such as tunnels and rocket launchers. However, Israel’s aerial campaign expanded to strike non-military infrastructure, including residential buildings, media offices, and refugee and healthcare facilities. A ceasefire was brokered by Egypt on May 21, 2021, with both Israel and Hamas declaring victory. The conflict resulted in more than 250 Palestinian deaths and nearly 2,000 injuries, along with at least 13 Israelis killed over the eleven days of fighting. Authorities in Gaza estimated tens of millions of dollars in damage, and the United Nations reported that over 72,000 Palestinians were displaced as a result of the conflict. 7 October, 2023. The conflict between Israel and Hamas that erupted on October 7, 2023, saw a strong statement of support from President Joe Biden for Israel. Simultaneously with Israel’s declaration of war on the terrorist group, the United States announced renewed arms shipments and the relocation of its Mediterranean Sea warships closer to Israel. While the UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting to address the renewed violence, its members failed to reach a consensus statement. Given the history of brutality in past clashes between Israel and Palestinian extremist groups, international organizations promptly expressed concerns for the safety of civilians in Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as for those held hostage by militants in Gaza. In the first two days of fighting, approximately 800 Israelis and 500 Palestinians lost their lives, and the increasing loss of life remains a primary concern in the ongoing conflict. In a surprise attack on October 7, thousands of militants from Gaza breached security barriers into Israel through land, sea, and air, resulting in the deaths of numerous Israeli citizens and soldiers. More than a thousand Israelis and Palestinians were reported killed in the attack and Israel’s subsequent airstrikes on Gaza cities. Hamas, the political organization in control of Gaza, claimed responsibility for the attack, which involved terrorist tactics such as targeting outdoor concertgoers, families in their homes, and taking civilian hostages. Amid heavy fighting and bombardment following the largest Hamas attack on Israel in decades, over 800 Israelis and around 500 Palestinians have been killed. In Israel, the death toll has reached 800, with over 2,200 wounded. The Israeli military reported targeting more than 1,000 locations in Gaza, including air raids that devastated much of the town of Beit Hanoun, known as Erez to Israelis, in the northeast corner of the enclave. The United Nations reported that more than 123,000 Palestinians in Gaza had been displaced due to the intense bombardment.