Not a curse

The continuing discord primarily revolves around the land of historic Palestine, to which both Israelis and Palestinians have deep historical and religious connections.

The flare-up of the Israel-Palestinian conflict provides a reminder to the world about the absolute value of bringing all disagreements to the negotiating table. It doesn’t matter if it’s a disagreement on boundaries dating back to biblical times or if it is based on historic territorial claims, the use of force proves to stoke crises that progressively worsen.

“When friction between countries is allowed to fester, bloodshed is guaranteed,” a geopolitical analyst said in a British Broadcasting Corporation interview.

The root of the contemporary conflict was the Balfour Declaration which was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.

The declaration was contained in a letter dated 2 November 1917 from the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland.

The declaration was a product of a strong Zionist movement that emerged in the early 20th century.

The continuing discord primarily revolves around the land of historic Palestine, to which both Israelis and Palestinians have deep historical and religious connections.

After World War I, the League of Nations, the precursor of the United Nations, granted Britain a mandate to administer Palestine.

The British attempted to reconcile the conflicting aspirations of Jews and Arabs in the region but faced tough challenges.

The State of Israel was declared on 14 May 1948. Arab states opposed Jewish immigration and the establishment of the new state, leading to a series of wars and conflicts.

The establishment of Israel resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, who became refugees which became the central issue in the rift, with Palestinians demanding the right of return for themselves and their descendants.

Also in 1947, the UN proposed a partition plan for Palestine, recommending the creation of separate Jewish and Arab states but Arab nations rejected the plan, while Jewish leaders accepted it.

By 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization, or PLO, was founded, representing the quest for a Palestinian homeland.

In 1973, the Yom Kippur War between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria broke out.

Oslo Accords were signed between Israel and the PLO in 1993 in which a framework for peace negotiations and the creation of a Palestinian interim self-government was agreed on. The Palestinian Authority was established in 1994 in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip as provided under the Oslo Accords.

Several attempts were made, including US-mediated talks in the so-called Camp David Summit in 2000, to end the feud but a final agreement proved elusive.

Israel, in 2002, began constructing a security perimeter, referred to as the “Israeli West Bank barrier” or “separation wall,” in the West Bank.

Hamas, an Islamist political and military organization, won in 2006 a majority in the Palestinian legislative elections. The hard-line group then took control of the Gaza Strip after violent clashes with rival Palestinian factions.

The incursions by Hamas had increased in intensity since 2008, which Israel responded to with several military operations.

The deaths on either side of the protagonists resonate, not as a warning, but as a reminder that in an increasingly complex and challenging world, co-existence is necessary.

The historical foundation of disagreements does not mean that it is a curse imposed on humanity. Reason is more powerful than self-consuming pride and the use of might in the pursuit of principled peace.

Credit belongs to: tribune.net.ph