BEFORE discussing the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel, a brief summary of the Palestine-Israel conflict, as presented by Al Jazeera News, dated 9 October 2023 is as follows. On 2 November 1917, Britain’s then-foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour’s letter addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead of the British Jewish community, confirmed the commitment of the British government to “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” and to facilitating “the achievement of this objective”. At that time, Palestinian Arab natives’ population was more than 90 per cent.
A British Mandate for Palestine was created in 1923 after World War-1 and the end of the Ottoman Empire and the Mandate lasted until 1948. Before the British Mandate for Palestine, Jews made up approximately 6 per cent of the total population. Between 1923 to 1948, the British facilitated mass Jewish immigration from Europe and about 375000 Jews were settled in Palestine by forcefully confiscating the local Arab’s land.
According to the Global Conflict Tracker, in 1947, the United Nations adopted Resolution 181, which sought to divide Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. That plan was rejected by the Arabs as it gave 56 per cent of the Palestine’s land to Jews. On May 14, 1948, when Israel declared its independence, the first Arab-Israeli War started, which ended in a stalemate. From 1948 to 1950, the Zionist military expelled about 750,000 Palestinians and captured 78 per cent of Palestine. The remaining 22 per cent was divided into the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In June 1967, Israel preemptively attacked Egypt and Syria, starting the Six-Day War. After the war, Israel gained territorial control of the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt; the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan; and the Golan Heights from Syria.
In October 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel to regain their lost territory. Although Egypthad captured the far bank of the Suez canal from Israel, the war ended in a stalemate. In 1979, Israel and Egypt signed the Camp David Peace Accord and Israel returned the Senai Peninsula to Egypt, but the question of Palestinian self-determination remained unresolved.
In 1987, the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip started their uprising, called the first intifada. The 1993/1995, Oslo Accords gave a framework for the two-state solution in the long term and Palestinians to govern themselves in the West Bank and Gaza for five years. The Accords enabled mutual recognition between the newly established Palestinian Authority and Israel’s government and the Palestinians ended the first Intifada.
In 2000, due to Palestinians’ grievances over Israel’s control over the West Bank, Israel continued settlements, a stagnating peace process and Israeli PM Sharon’s visit to the al-Aqsa mosque, Palestinians launched the second intifada, which lasted until 2005. In response, the Israeli government retook the control of West Bank and Gaza. From 1948 to 2022, the Jews migration/settlements continued by suppressing the Arab’s resistance with a brutal force. While from 1948 to 1950, Israel’s population had swelled to 33 per cent from 6 per cent in 1917, now in 2023, Israel’s population has risen to 67 per cent and local Arabs’ population has gone down to 33 per cent.
When Hamas won the Palestinian Authority’s first parliamentary elections in 2006 and long time majority party Fatah lost, mutual differences brewed violence/split. Hamas seized control of Gaza and by 2018 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party was controlling the West Bank and Hamas had become the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip. In 2005, Yassar Arafat died and the second Intifada ended. Due to bloody clashes between Hamas and Israel over the years, in 2007, branding Hamas as a terrorist organization, Israel enforced blockade of the Gaza. It also launched four major ground/air assaults between 2007 and 2021 and caused human/material losses to the Gaza civilians.
Frustrated out of Israel’s blockades, its destructive attacks and its recent violence on the Muslim preachers in Al Aqsa mosque, on 7 October 2023, Hamas attacked Israel by infiltrating its fighters across the border fence to more than 20 locations by achieving a total surprise. The Hamas fighters attacked Israeli targets and have killed more than 1400 and injured above 4000 Israelis and also took about 150 Israeli Army men/civilians as prisoners.
Israel, responding to the Hamas attack by bombing Gaza residential areas, has dropped 6000 bombs, killing about 4000 and injuring 13000 citizens, including the children so far since the violence started on 07 October. It is even targeting the hospitals/schools. Israel has also enforced blockade of Gaza by cutting supplies of water, food/medicines and power. It has also amassed its tank force around Gaza to seize it permanently. The US and the UK have supported Israel and deployed their naval assets near Gaza. The US Secretary of State has met the Arab leaders, probably to caution them to stay away from the conflict. The Muslim countries have responded diplomatically. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Iran have condemned the Israeli bombing of the civilian population of Gaza and its blockade and have demanded the end of the blockade, bombing of civilians, likely ground attack on Gaza and favoured a two state solution to end the conflict. Saudi Arabia/other Arab countries have freezed the ongoing peace talks with Israel.
The Muslim countries have responded diplomatically. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Iran have condemned the Israeli bombing of the civilian population of Gaza and its blockade and have demanded the end of the blockade, bombing of civilians, likely ground attack on Gaza and favoured a two state solution to end the conflict. Saudi Arabia/other Arab countries have freezed the ongoing peace talks with Israel.
The OIC has condemned the ongoing Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, killing/injuring thousands of civilians and destroying residential buildings/infrastructure, including hospitals/schools and mosques. The OIC’s Executive Committee, is also convening an urgent extraordinary meeting at the ministerial level, to address the escalating military situation in Gaza that endangers the lives of civilians and the security/stability of the region.
In view of the above discussed war scenario, the Muslim countries need to get together and issue a joint statement, condemning the Israeli bombing of the Gaza’s civilian population, its blockade, cutting the supply of water, food/medicines and power to Gaza people and asking for the stoppage of these actions by Israel, end the war and Israel to agree on a two-state solution. The Muslim countries should also convince the major powers to pass a resolution at the UNSC to stop the war and UNSC to mediate a two-state solution to attain a permanent peace in the region.
—The writer is also a former Research Fellow of IPRI and Senior Research Fellow of SVI Islamabad.
Email: hanifsardar@hotmail.com
