Israel Palestine Conflict : History & Summary

What is Israel Palestine Conflict?

The Israel Palestine Conflict has its roots deeply inhabited in world history. The dispute is centuries old and has resulted in nothing but bloodshed and destruction for both sides. To categorically understand the Israel-Palestine issue, it is mandatory to know the grounds for the clashes. Below are historical events that are related to the Israel Palestine Conflict and continue to trigger the fire of conflict.

Israel Palestine Conflict UPSC Notes

Israel Palestine Conflict History

The Israel Palestine Conflict is considered to be the most intractable conflict ever in the world. Its roots point toward the dispute over the land between the Jews and Palestinians. According to them, the land is the biblical birthright of the Jews. This can be better understood by considering the history of Israel Palestine Conflict. The key points include:

• The most widely accepted reference to the history of bygone Israel is the Hebrew Bible. The holy book mentions the description of the origin of religions like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

• In ancient times, Solomon’s temple was built in Jerusalem by King Solomon during his rule in primitive Israel in around 957 BC. This kingdom was bifurcated into realms in the year 931 BC. The northern province was named Israel, while the southern province was given the name Judah.

• Jerusalem was attacked and crusaded in the 6th century by the ruler of Babylon while the Jews were forced to take refuge in Babylon. The temple of Solomon was also destroyed.

• The Jews built the second temple of Solomon in the year 538 BC when the Achaemenid ruler Cyrus defeated the Babylonians and permitted the Jews to reside in Judah. The second temple of Solomon was looted and destroyed by the Romans in the first Jewish-Roman war in the year 70 BC.

• The Roman ruler Hadrian threw all the Jews out of Judah and renamed the place Syria Palaestina, in order to delete all the pieces of evidence of Jewish existence. And it resulted in Israel Palestine Conflict.

New Version of Israel Palestine Conflict

Israel has been constantly exploited by rulers in history. Israel continues to be the victim and this can be seen clearly by the new version of the Israel Palestine Conflict:

• The last kingdom known to have control over Israel, including the largest part of western Asia, was the Ottoman Empire, which ruled there for a long period starting from 1517 to 1917.

• During this time, Jews were the minority in the region, with 3 percent of the population, while Muslims were the dominant group, with about 87 percent of the population, and the remaining 10 percent of the population was Christians.

• Zionism was a principle promulgated by Theodor Herzl, a Jewish journalist, in which the demand for retaining the Jewish homeland was raised.

• The British dualism caused a blunder in the history of the Israel Palestine Conflict when the British betrayed several empires and nations either offering the same piece of land or control over the same land.
• The British offered “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,” while they had already dealt with the French on an agreement that confirmed British control over Palestine. The Britishers have also offered control of Palestine and the other regions to the Arab rulers as well.

• This dual policy by the British caused havoc in the region and worsened the Israel Palestine Conflict.

Israel Palestine Conflict: Palestine after World War 1

Palestine has always been exploited. The influence of World War 1 and the Ottoman Empire over Palestine can be summarised as:

• The Ottoman Empire ended in 1917, and after the First World War, the Britishers made Palestine their colony and it was named Mandatory Palestine. In the next decade, the British helped the Jews to recenter in Palestine, resulting in the Jewish population keeping on increasing in the region, simultaneously increasing the conflicts with the Arabs.

• In the year 1936, a revolt broke out from the Arabs against the British, demanding Palestine as a nation for themselves, which was crushed by the British with the help of the Jewish army.

Israel Palestine Conflict: Palestine After World War 2

World War 2 had proven to be more hazardous to the Palestine state than the previous one. Here is what happened in Palestine After Second World War:

• At the time of the Second World War, Jewish organizations sheltered a large number of illegal Jewish immigrants from European nations into Palestine.

• Citing the seriousness of the matter, the British government sought the help of the United Nations, which intervened with a solution to divide the countering the Israel Palestine Conflict.
• After the Second World War was over, Palestine also achieved independence from the Britishers in the year 1948 and was named Israel.

Causes of Israel Palestine Conflict

There has been a constant fire between the two of them that resulted in a harmful conflict. The following factors triggered the Israel Palestine Conflict even more:

• Political Instability: this has been a matter of concern and one of the causes of Israel Palestine Conflict. There has been stagnation and incapability in the leadership structure of both, leading to a lot of violence Also, Israel had undergone 4 elections in the last 2 years.
• Hamas in Rule in Palestine: Palestine has been under the eye of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which wants to overrule Palestine and raise the banner of Allah via violent jihad. Moreover, the Palestine President is quite old and they are not conducting any elections. Terrorism in Israel and Hamas has become a serious limitation. It is another reason for Israel Palestine Conflict.
• Division of the state: There is no unity in the state of Israel and people are highly divided. Only 20% of the Israelis are Arabic and are considered to have the same ethnicity as the Palestinians. This division has resulted in interstate wars.
• Loss of US significance: The US is on the way to preventing the UNSC from the Palestinian cause meeting and has shed off its role from the same saying that it is Israeli’s duty to defend themselves. Also, The US, under President Joe Biden, does not have much leverage over Israel. It is one of the major causes of Israel Palestine Conflict currently.
• Conflict of thoughts: Most of the Palestine people are against the two-state solution. However, the division of rule between Hamas and Fatah is not yet decided

Israel Palestine Conflict UPSC

The Israel Palestine conflict is a very important topic covered under the syllabus of International Relations and Current Affairs. That’s why it becomes imperative to know all the information related to Israel Palestine issues such as its history and its causes. In this article, we have covered the Israel Palestine Conflict UPSC Notes that would help to gather all the information required for UPSC Exam preparation. You can also get the International study notes and study material for USPC to prepare for the IAS Exam.

Israel Palestine Conflict UPSC Questions

Question: Which of the following countries have its/their control over the West Bank region?

1. Israel
2. Palestine
3. Jordan
4. Egypt

Select the correct answers from the codes given below.

A) Only Palestine

B) Israel and Palestine

C) Only Israel

D) Jordan and Egypt

Answer: Option C

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