The History Behind Israel's Genocide in Palestine

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Oct 16, 2023
8 min read

Updated: Oct 1, 2024

On the 7th of October 2023, The Islamic Resistance Group, or more commonly, Hamas, launched a surprise attack by air, sea, and ground just before dawn [1]. Thousands of missiles were fired whilst hundreds of armed fighters breached the barriers between Gaza and Israel. Civilians were slaughtered in their homes and others were dragged back to Gaza. Since the attack, Israel has proclaimed that the country is at war, with protests sprouting across the world, crying solidarity for either Palestine or Israel. However, misinformation regarding the origin of the conflict and its nature has made its way through those who support either faction. As such, we at Politdigm considered that an article exploring the history behind the attack and its reasons might help shed light on a complex and sensitive topic. This article will focus on the history of the State of Israel and its relation with Palestine as well as the reasons behind the attack launched by Hamas.

PHOTO CREDIT: Image by hosny salah from Pixabay

The end of the 19th century and Zionism:

The Jewish people are both an ethnoreligious group as well as the descendants of the Israelites and Hebrews, of Israel and Judah respectfully. Their name originates from the former, The Kingdom of Judah, which had its center in Judea with its capital being Jerusalem. Nevertheless, in the 2nd century CE, the Jewish people were driven out of Jerusalem, murdered, and sold into slavery by the Romans. The subsequent emigration of the Jewish people would be known as the “diaspora”. As a result of the Jewish belief that Israel is a land given from God, based on the Torah, a return to Israel, or Zion, would occur in the messianic age. Resulting in a shared theme that would propagate for generations [2].

Even so, it was only in the 19th century that an ideological and political current in Judaism supporting a return to Zion began to grow in popularity. The idea of returning to Israel was refused by the council of rabbis held during that epoch, but, with the rise of antisemitism in Europe many individual attempts to support emigration groups were made. Consequently, by the end of the 19th century, a small settlement of Jewish people was already established in Palestine. All the while, in the 1890s, Theodor Herzl became the father of political Zionism and the belief that the Jewish people weren’t just united by religion, but all by nationality. Infused with a new practicality and urgency, The First Zionist Congress was held at Basel in 1897, resulting in the creation of the Zionist Organization [3].

In the following years, several possible alternatives were considered for the establishment of a Jewish state, but later, Palestine was solidified as the focus of the efforts of the organization. Be that as it may, in 1917 as a result of several factors, the British government declared its endorsement of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine. And so, in 1918 the Jewish legion [4] aided the British in the occupation of Palestine, ending 400 years of Ottoman rule over Palestine [5].

Early years and Arab opposition:

After the end of WW1, Britain became the one in charge of the territory that constitutes modern-day Israel, which at the time was named Mandatory Palestine [6]. In consequence, in 1920 the Arab population that constituted the majority of Mandatory Palestine revolted against British rule and the influx of Jewish immigrants [7]. On the other hand, the Jewish militia known as “Haganah” was formed, from which other Jewish paramilitary groups sprouted [8]. Tensions only worsened, when in the following decades over 350 thousand Jewish people immigrated to Mandatory Palestine [9], as the anti-Semitism in Europe reached a boiling point. As a result, a nationalist uprising by the name of the Arab Revolt took place between 1936 and 1939. The revolt, fueled by the large number of Jewish immigrants that were subsequently buying and occupying land, was stomped out by the British security personnel and Jewish militia. At the end of the conflict, around 10% of the male Arab population of Palestine had either been killed, imprisoned, or exiled.

In an attempt to prevent future violence and complications, the British prohibited the migration of Jews to Palestine, which was officially achieved with The White Paper. Nevertheless, during WW2, the Jewish population of Palestine accounted for 31% of the population [10].

The Independence of Israel:

With the end of WW2, the British found themselves in opposition with the “Haganah” as they sought to help the thousands of Jewish refugees who sought to leave Europe. This resulted in an armed conflict that lasted from 1946 to 1947. Whilst the British did try to negotiate a solution with representatives from the Arab and Jewish factions, an agreement was never reached. As the Jewish people were adamant that a division of Palestinians into Arab and Jewish states was non-negotiable, the Arabic people considered that a Jewish state in Palestine was unacceptable and the only solution was a united Palestine under Arab rule. This resulted in the British turning to the newly formed United Nations for a solution. Which did little to stop the conflict, even though the UN proposed the separation of Palestine into Arabic and Jewish states, the Jewish insurgency soared in the summer of 1947, which resulted in the British leaving Palestine and declaring that the British Mandate was no longer tenable and it would expire on the 15th of May 1948. On the 29th of November of the same year, it was proposed by the United Nations that Israel would distribute around 50% of Mandatory Palestine to the Jewish people. Which at the time only held around 6% of land compared to the 20% held by the Arabic population [11].

The Jewish representatives accepted the proposal. However, the Arab League and Arab Higher Committee of Palestine rejected it. Days after violent rioting and uprisings were seen throughout Palestine, which spiraled into civil war. In the end, the Jewish militias came out on top, as over 250 thousand Palestinian Arabs had to flee Palestine.

On the 14th of May 1948, a day before the expiration date of the British Mandate, the head of the Jewish Agency, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, which would be known as the State of Israel. In response, Siria, Iraq, Egypt, and Transjordan invaded Palestine, kicking off the Arab-Israeli war. In the following year, a ceasefire was declared and the temporary border of the Green Line was established. It is estimated that over 700 thousand Arabic Palestinians fled Palestine, as Israeli forces pushed past the UN-given borders, conquering Palestinian territory, with only Gaza and the West Bank remaining. On the 11th of May 1949, Israel was admitted as a member of the UN [12].

Second Half of the 20th century:

In 1967, another war was fought between Israel and the neighboring Arab countries. After the end of the conflict, which would become known as the 6-Day War [13], Israel seized territory from Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, while also conquering Gaza and the West Bank. Nonetheless, in 1978 Israel and Egypt signed the Camp David Accords, which saw that Israel return the conquered territories to Egypt. As a result of these accords, the conflict between Israel and the other Arab countries subsided, even if they never signed peace accords. However, the Israeli military kept its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. All the while, Israelis were moving into the Palestinian territories, may it be for religious or economic reasons. And as these settlements grew, more and more Palestinians were driven off their land in favor of Jewish occupation.

By the late 1980s, Palestinian frustration exploded into a series of armed revolts called “the first intifada” [14]. The conflict lasted from 1987 to 1993 and saw the death of hundreds of Israelis and thousands of Palestinians. Around the same time the group called “Hamas” [15] began forming in the Strip of Gaza”.

In an attempt to make peace in the face of rampaging violence, leaders from both sides signed the Oslo Accords [16]. The accords established the Palestinian Authority, handing back some freedom to the Palestinians within some territories of the West Bank. Still, even extremist groups from both sides attempted to sabotage the peace accords. Hamas sent suicide bombers whilst the Israeli right protested during peace talks, claiming that the Prime Minister was a traitor and a Nazi. Soon after the accords were signed, a far-right Israel extremist assassinated the Prime Minister [17].

Modern days:

For Israel and Palestine, the 21st century was marked by the “second intifada” [18], as it began in 2000 and continued until 2005. As a result, Israeli politics shifted right, leading to the construction of walls and fences, separating and segregating Palestinians within their territories. Checkpoints were created to control the movements of the Palestinian people and the notion of peace and independence for Palestine faded from public perception. As a consequence, when in 2005 the Israeli army left Gaza, Hamas took control, becoming the governing body and splitting from the West Bank. Consequently, Israel put Gaza under a brutal blockade, which turned Gaza into a glorified prison, with an unemployment rate of over 40% and inhumane living conditions [19].

At this point and time, Palestinians live under Apartheid enforced by Israel. Their lives are purposefully dominated and controlled, with movement and housing restrictions as well as voting rights only being available to certain members of the population. They are systematically oppressed as their rights are ignored by Israel. Palestinian communities are encircled by walls with no way to expand, cutting them from one another [20]. There is little to no political will for peace, either from Israel or the extremist groups of Palestine. And it's that systematic oppression of the Palestinian people that has led to the assault made by Hamas.

Conclusion:

At the time of writing this blog, the conflict is still in its early stages, but atrocities have already been committed by both sides. Whilst Hamas has slaughtered civilians including young children, in the strip of Gaza, Israel has cut off all power, water, and sanitation to the Palestinian living in Gaza. As with all wars, in the end, it is the innocents that are suffering the most, as millions of Palestinians are trying to flee Israel, and as the Israeli population has suffered the indiscriminate wrath of the soldiers of Hamas.

Here at Politidigm, we allied with Palestine and their right to independence, but even though we can understand the motives that have led to the crimes and atrocities committed by Hamas, are not acceptable, and we condemn them. We only hope that a population that has been oppressed by generations, can regain its right to live freely and independently.

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