On October 7th, 2023, the extremist Palestinian terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel, murdering 1,200 innocent Israelis and taking more than 200 hostages. Since then, Israel has retaliated with a ground invasion of Gaza, killing thousands of Palestinains in an attempt to eradicate Hamas and its leaders. A brief cease-fire at the end of November facilitated a hostage trade of 180 jailed Palestinians for 110 of the Israelis taken hostage on October 7th. The October 7th Hamas attack was not an isolated event, however, and it was the peak of a very intense, drawn out conflict between Israel and Palestine that has extended over generations.
Let’s look at the history.
The area that is now Israel and Palestine was originally part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1922, the League of Nations officially divided the Ottoman Empire into separate British territories that eventually became independent states, however Palestine was the only territory that never became an independent country. Even though Palestine was still under British administration, the UK encouraged “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” in the Balfour Declaration of 1917. From 1922-1947, there was a widespread migration of Jewish people into Palestine. Many of the Palestinians already in Palestine felt that their home was being threatened, sparking deadly anti-Zionist riots over Jewish immigration and land ownership.
The UN attempted to resolve tensions in 1947, proposing the partition of the area that is now Israel and Palestine into two separate states: one Jewish and one Muslim. The separate state of Israel declared their independence in 1948, and a war between Israel and Palestine broke out. The United States was the first country to recognize Israel as a sovereign nation after that war. Israel claimed over 77% of the territory that was originally set aside for the Palestinian people including Jerusalem, expelling over half of the Palestinian Arab population. A major part of the conflict arises from each territories’ claim on the Holy Land of Jerusalem because the city holds great significance in both Judaism and Islam.
Over the next 50 years, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon became embroiled in the conflict over the occupation in Palestine and power in the Middle East. During the Arab-Israeli war in 1973 (also known as the Yom Kippur War), the United States rushed to support a struggling Israel with weapons against Egyptian and Syrian forces. This foreign policy decision by the US caused other Arab countries to impose oil embargoes against the US and brought the US— who backed Israel— and the Soviet Union— who backed Egypt and Syria— closer to a nuclear conflict.
In 2002, the US, Russia, EU and UN got involved in the conflict once again, publishing a Road Map to a two-State solution for Israel and Palestine. A two-State solution would make Palestine an independent, democratic, Muslim state that could live peacefully next to a Jewish Israel. That roadmap proved to be of little help, as Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist group associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, was elected to power in Palestine in 2006. In 2011, Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, applied for Palestine to become part of the UN. UNESCO admitted Palestine, but only 135 of the 193 nations in the UN recognize Palestine as an independent country. The US is one of the countries that will not recognize Palestine as a country, partly because Palestine has two governments: Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Bombing, strikes, and Israeli occupation in Palestine has continued off-and-on until the conflict erupted again on October 7th, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel.
Where do we go from here?
It seems like an impossible task for both sides to forgive one another. As horrible and unfathomable as the Hamas attack on October 7th was, Israel has also inflicted violence against the Palestinian people. And while many Palestinians are fed up with Israel’s brutality and occupation of Palestine, much of the Palestinian population does not support Hamas and their terrorist campaigns.
How can we ask an entire people to set aside their weapons and their decades of pain in order to find common ground?
I don’t have a great answer. Many US administrations have attempted to create road maps to a two-state solution similar to the solution in 2002. However, former President Donald Trump reversed the United State’s historical role as a mediator in the conflict. Trump supported a two-State solution that gave Israel 30% of the land that is now part of Gaza and the West Bank as well as complete control over Jerusalem. He also recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, making a political statement by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Trump’s actions undermined Palestine’s desired equality with Israel and compromised the US’ role as a peace negotiator in the conflict. While President Biden has reversed many of the Trump-initiated policies against Palestine, many of them still remain in place. The United States still does not recognize Palestine as an independent country, and Palestine will not be considered a full member of the UN until the US supports them as an independent state.
I believe that the United States should recognize Palestine as an independent country. The power struggle between Israel and Palestine will only continue until Palestine is treated with respect from the rest of the world. However, I also believe that Hamas cannot be in control of Palestine. Yes, they were elected to power in 2006, but that was almost twenty years ago. The world needs to understand that Hamas does not encompass all Palestinians, and being pro-Palestine does not equate to being pro-Hamas.
So, should the war continue until Hamas is completely destroyed? Well, no, and it’s not that simple. Israel clearly does not have great military plans, as they have made little progress destroying Hamas while making aggressive progress destroying Palestinian society. Only ten of the 24 Hamas battalions have been destroyed, and thousands of innocent Palestinian citizens have been obliterated in the process. While Hamas is a radical terrorist group, I think a two-state solution with Hamas in Palestine is better than a drawn out, brutal war.
And most importantly, we cannot forget that there are actual people living through this war in both Israel and Palestine. While there is intense anger and hatred on both sides, most Israelis and Palestinians are innocent civilians who have done nothing to harm their supposed enemies. Yet, 20,000 people have already died in the Israel-Hamas war. That is 20,000 people with families, friends, spouses, and children. 20,000 people on both sides of this war, who are more similar to each other than they are different. The Israeli government and Hamas need to remember that there are more important things than territory, no matter how much baggage their feud carries. The relief and joy brought by the release of family members held hostage by Israel and Hamas has proven to be more valuable than power or any plot of land. A peace agreement as soon as possible is the only way to protect the dignity, sanity, and sense of community in Palestine, Israel, and the rest of the world.
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