The Arab-Israeli conflict from the beginning until now / الصراع العربي الاسرائيلي
In the crucible of history, the Arab-Israeli conflict has been a persistent ember, casting a long shadow over the sands of the Middle East, where the flames of tension and resolution have danced for generations
1917: The Balfour Declaration
The 1800s bore witness to a sweeping epoch of imperial expansion, where European powers fiercely vied for global supremacy, with the epicenter of their ambitions residing notably in the Middle East. Amidst the 1840s, the British, in a climate of fervent rivalry with the French and Russians, discerned a strategic opening in Palestine. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until the crucible of World War I, when the British confronted the Ottoman Empire’s dominion over Palestine, that they wholeheartedly championed the notion of establishing a Jewish state in the region.
In the pivotal year of 1917, the British government unilaterally proclaimed the Balfour Declaration, advocating for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, despite the fact that Jews constituted a minority, accounting for less than 15 percent of the population at that time. Although the declaration held forth the assurance of safeguarding the civil and religious rights of the pre-existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, it glaringly omitted the specifics regarding these communities, their individual rights, and the requisite protective measures. Furthermore, it paid no heed to their perspectives on the utilization of their land.
This declaration found favor with the Allied powers in the aftermath of the war, leading to the subsequent conferral of a mandate upon Britain by the newly established League of Nations to govern Palestine temporarily until the establishment of a Jewish state.
Consequently, the British enacted immigration policies that actively facilitated the arrival of over 100,000 Jewish immigrants in the ensuing two decades.
1930s: Jews seek to flee Nazi rule, but have nowhere to go
For centuries, Jews in Europe endured persistent persecution, but in the early 1900s, antisemitism reached its peak, gripping the entire continent, with Germany at its core. By the 1930s, it had transformed into a potent tool of populism and the official doctrine of the Nazi regime. As the Nazi Party solidified its control over the German government, it enacted numerous decrees and laws, labeling Jews as “enemies of the state” and systematically escalating its attack on Jewish rights.
Initially, the Nazis barred Jews from multiple sectors, including civil service and the arts. Subsequently, they prohibited Jews from marrying individuals of “German or German-related blood,” denied them German citizenship and means of livelihood, and ruthlessly seized Jewish properties, selling them to Nazi party officials at low prices. The Nazis aimed to inflict severe suffering on Jews to compel them to leave their homeland, and by 1938, nearly a quarter of German Jews had already emigrated.
In that fateful year, on the brink of World War II, Germany annexed Austria, subjecting an additional 185,000 Jews to Nazi oppression. Despite their desperate search for refuge, few nations extended a welcoming hand. Representatives from 32 countries convened in Evian, France, to discuss resettlement. While many expressed sympathy for Jewish refugees, most hesitated to accept them, including countries like the United States and Britain.
Seeking sanctuary, Jewish refugees turned to Palestine, and the Zionist movement, fervent proponents of a permanent Jewish homeland, actively promoted immigration to the region. For years, prominent Zionists had passionately advocated for a Jewish state in Palestine, emphasizing its profound religious and historical significance to the Jewish people. The region attracted significant interest, with the Jewish population of British-ruled Palestine increasing by over 160,000 between 1932 and 1935.
This influx strained the British administration and ignited clashes between Palestinian residents, British forces, and immigrant militia allies, often escalating into violence. In response to the surge in immigration prompted by Nazi persecution of Jews in 1935, the British imposed strict new immigration quotas, which remained in effect throughout the war, sealing the tragic fate of many among the six million Jews who would ultimately fall victim to the Holocaust, left with no refuge.
Meanwhile, Revisionist Zionist extremists, advocating for a forceful expansionist Jewish state and dissatisfied with British efforts to control violence through immigration restrictions, further exacerbated the chaos. This tumultuous situation eventually led Britain to seek an exit strategy from Palestine.
1948: The formation of Israel and the “Nakba”
After the cataclysm of World War II, tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors embarked on a poignant journey to Palestine, galvanized by a resurgent Zionist movement. The United Nations sanctioned the partition of Palestine into two distinct states, one destined for its Jewish inhabitants and the other for the Arab populace, while the sacred city of Jerusalem was to be administered by a special international body. Nonetheless, vehement objections arose from local Arabs and Arab nations.
Amidst a turbulent period characterized by pervasive violence before, during, and after the war, notably attributed to Zionist militias, British forces withdrew from Palestine. On May 14, 1948, Israel boldly declared its independence, setting the stage for the onset of the first Arab-Israeli conflict. In response to this declaration, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, as staunch opponents of Israel’s newfound independence, launched an invasion. The United States swiftly acknowledged the nascent Israeli government but opted not to engage militarily in the fray. Israel emerged victorious, laying claim to 77 percent of the former Palestinian mandate territory, including the lands initially designated for the Arab population by the UN.
Throughout the course of the Arab-Israeli war, and the militia offensives that preceded it, over 700,000 Palestinians were tragically uprooted, while approximately 15,000 lost their lives in what the Palestinians hauntingly recall as the “Nakba” or “catastrophe.”
1950s: The Lavon affair and the Suez Crisis
In 1954, Israel clandestinely initiated a daring operation against Egypt, famously known as the “Lavon affair,” named after Israel’s then-defense minister. This covert mission involved planting explosive devices inside properties owned by Egyptian, American, and British civilians, with the sinister intent of triggering these explosives after the facilities had closed. The elaborate plan aimed to shift blame onto nationalist agitators, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Israeli operatives even recruited Egyptian Jews to execute this audacious scheme.
Their overarching goal was to incite significant turmoil, strategically urging the British to retain their presence in Egypt. At the time, Israel and Britain were in negotiations regarding Britain’s withdrawal from the Suez Canal. Israel feared that Britain’s departure would empower Egypt militarily in the region, posing a grave threat to the fledgling state. However, their clandestine plot unraveled when the operatives were apprehended. Two of them took their own lives in prison, while Egypt executed two others, and the rest faced protracted prison sentences.
Egypt’s handling of the saboteurs prompted Israel to mount a retaliatory incursion into Gaza, which was then under Egyptian control. In response, Egypt bolstered its military capabilities, leading to strained relations with Israel. When the US and Britain rebuffed Egypt’s appeal for military support, Egypt turned to the Soviet Union, which readily supplied the requested assistance. In retaliation, the US and Britain, driven by anger, withdrew their funding for Egypt’s ambitious Aswan Dam project in 1956, then the largest dam project along the Nile. Egypt responded by nationalizing the Suez Canal, impeding Western nations’ access to crucial trade routes and their colonies. This ignited what we now know as the “Suez Crisis” or the “Tripartite Aggression.”
This conflict saw Israel, followed by Britain and France, launch an invasion of Egypt and Gaza with the dual objectives of regaining control of the Suez Canal and ousting the Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser. However, under mounting pressure from the United States and the United Nations, these forces eventually withdrew, leaving Nasser firmly in power. The conflict concluded without a formal peace treaty, leaving Egypt and Israel in a state of heightened tension, setting the stage for future confrontations. Additionally, the UN deployed peacekeeping forces along the Egypt-Israel border to help maintain stability in the region.
1967: The Six-Day War
The year 1967 marked the eruption of a seismic conflict, famously known as the Six-Day War, an event that forever altered the landscape of the Middle East and catapulted Israel into a position of undisputed military dominance in the region. It served as the dramatic crescendo to long-standing tensions between Israel and neighboring powers, unleashing a maelstrom of geopolitical significance.
The tinderbox of this conflict was ignited when Egypt, in a contentious dispute with Israel over water rights, closed the vital Straits of Tiran to Israeli vessels. However, the cast of actors embroiled in the conflict extended beyond this initial spark. Syria, entangled in territorial disputes with Israel over the Golan Heights, provided support to Palestinian guerillas, who brazenly infiltrated Israeli territory. Jordan, in a show of solidarity with Arab states against Israel, entered into a defense pact with Egypt, with aspirations to reclaim territory lost in the 1948 war.
In a spectacular display of military prowess, Israel triumphed over all these nations, incurring relatively minimal casualties. It accomplished this feat with minimal external assistance and managed to seize substantial new territories, including Gaza, the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula, parts of East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. This was achieved through a daring preemptive strike on Egypt, which effectively neutralized a significant portion of Egypt’s air force, bestowing upon Israel an invaluable aerial advantage.
The United States had been apprehensive about Soviet influence in the region, particularly within Egypt, and had concerns about the conflict evolving into a Cold War proxy struggle if it escalated further. Israel, however, swiftly curtailed the conflict, transforming itself into an appealing ally at a time when the United States was determined to combat communism worldwide, although it was preoccupied with the Vietnam War and lacked the capacity to engage militarily in the Middle East. The culmination of the Six-Day War marked the inception of a close alliance between the United States and Israel.
At the conclusion of the war, the United Nations ratified a pivotal resolution, UN Resolution 242, calling upon Arab nations to acknowledge Israel’s right to “live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force.” Simultaneously, it demanded that Israel withdraw from the “territories occupied” during the conflict. Israel, Egypt, and Jordan eventually came to terms with the resolution, serving as the cornerstone for peace talks in the subsequent decades, albeit with incomplete implementation.
However, the accord failed to find favor with Palestinian militants, who, in the ensuing decade, turned to terrorism as a means to resist Israel. In a chilling manifestation of this tactic, in 1972, Palestinian “Black September” gunmen ruthlessly took the lives of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, casting a long shadow of violence and conflict over the region.
1973: The Yom Kippur War
Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated, surprise attack on Israel on October 6, 1973, with the aim of compelling Israel to negotiate and relinquish control of the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. Israel had occupied the Golan Heights, situated on its eastern border with Syria, and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, along its southern border, since the Six-Day War. This assault marked the commencement of what is known as the Yom Kippur War, so named because it began on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism.
The Yom Kippur War caught Israelis off guard, as they had defeated their Arab neighbors handily just a few years earlier. Some have drawn parallels between the Yom Kippur War and Hamas’s attack in 2023, in terms of the element of surprise.
As their ammunition reserves rapidly dwindled, the Israelis turned to the United States for assistance. Initially hesitant to get involved, then-US President Richard Nixon provided Israel with supplies and equipment when he learned that the Soviet Union was aiding in resupplying Egypt and Syria. A UN-brokered ceasefire ended the hostilities a few weeks later.
However, it wasn’t until 1978 that Egypt and Israel, with the mediation of then-US President Jimmy Carter, established a framework for a lasting peace through the Camp David Accords. These accords served as the blueprint for the peace treaty signed by the two countries the following year, in which Israel agreed to withdraw from the Sinai, and Egypt reopened the Suez Canal to Israeli ships, which had previously been blocked.
1982: The First Lebanon War
In the turbulent 1980s, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a coalition of Palestinian nationalists, became embroiled in a prolonged, intense conflict with Israeli forces along the Lebanese border. Lebanon, home to a substantial Palestinian exile community, served as their operational hub from the 1960s to the early 1980s, despite the absence of formal affiliations with the Lebanese government.
The pivotal year of 1982 witnessed a momentous event when the Iraq-based Abu Nidal group, a merciless and militant offshoot of the PLO, orchestrated a daring assassination attempt on Israel’s ambassador to Britain, a fervent advocate for the Israeli state. Using this failed assassination as a pretext, Israel launched a sweeping campaign to expel all Palestinian factions from Lebanon.
At a tremendous human cost, Israel launched a full-scale invasion of southern Lebanon, imposing a prolonged siege on the heart of Lebanon, Beirut. The outcome was a devastating toll on civilian lives and widespread destruction. Simultaneously, Israeli authorities granted access to allied Lebanese Christian militias into the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila in Beirut, ostensibly to eradicate PLO fighters. As Israeli forces tightened their grip around the camps, these Christian militias, driven by a deep-seated animosity toward their Muslim Palestinian counterparts, perpetrated a gruesome massacre, claiming the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent civilians. These heinous events provoked a passionate international outcry and condemnation.
The war officially concluded through a US-mediated agreement in 1983, allowing the PLO to relocate to Tunisia. Nevertheless, Lebanon continued to grapple with persistent instability. American and French peacekeeping forces, initially deployed to ensure the safe departure of the PLO and protect the remaining Palestinian population, withdrew from the country following the devastating 1983 bombing of their barracks in Beirut by Islamic Jihad, a militant Lebanese Shia group. In parallel, Israel initiated a phased withdrawal from Lebanon, starting in 1985, and established a security zone in the south, which they occupied for several years. This region ultimately transformed into a volatile epicenter of terrorist activities, serving as the crucible for Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia militant organization staunchly opposing Israel.
1987–1993: The First Intifada, culminating in the Oslo Accords
In 1987, Palestinian frustrations reached a boiling point after the conflict in Lebanon, the expansion of Israeli settlements, and heightened repression by Israeli security forces in the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinians initiated an intifada, which translates to “shaking off” in Arabic, as a means of resisting Israeli oppression. They engaged in nonviolent mass protests that often escalated into violent clashes with Israeli security forces.
This uprising persisted until the early 1990s, resulting in approximately 2,000 casualties. Supported by the US and other nations, Israeli and Palestinian leaders commenced negotiations for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. In 1991, representatives from the US, Soviet Union, Israel, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, alongside non-PLO Palestinian delegates, convened in Madrid for the first time. These negotiations laid the foundation for the peace process.
This process eventually led to the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, granting Palestinians self-governance in the West Bank and Gaza and establishing the Palestinian Authority as the governing body for these regions. Israel agreed to withdraw its security forces from these areas, while the PLO recognized the state of Israel and the right of its citizens to live in peace.
The Oslo Accords were designed to pave the way for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within five years. However, that solution never came to fruition.
2000–2003: The Second Intifada
The Second Intifada marked the conclusion of the 1990s era of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. It was ignited by a visit to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem by Ariel Sharon, the leader of Israel’s right-wing Likud party. This holy site holds deep significance for both Muslims and Jews, known to the latter as the Temple Mount. Sharon’s visit was viewed as a provocation by Palestinians, particularly due to the presence of Israeli police accompanying him, reinforcing his stance on Israeli sovereignty.
Initially, Palestinian protests began, leaning towards peaceful expressions of discontent. In response, Israel employed rubber bullets and, later, live ammunition against protesters, deploying tanks and helicopters into Palestinian areas. Within a month, these protests transformed into violent resistance, culminating in suicide bombings and shootings within Israel’s internationally recognized borders. In retaliation, Israel re-entered Gaza and the West Bank, dismantling the post-Oslo status quo and erecting a fortified security barrier.
Although a ceasefire was declared in 2003, it came at a significant cost in terms of lives lost. The Second Intifada resulted in the deaths of over 4,300 individuals, predominantly Palestinians, and inflicted billions of dollars in economic damage. Numerous peace initiatives during this period, such as the Mitchell Report, the Tenet Plan, and the road map to peace, failed to gain significant traction.
2005: Israel temporarily withdraws from Gaza
Sharon became prime minister in 2001, and in 2005, his government announced an Israeli “disengagement plan” for Gaza that involved the complete unilateral withdrawal of Israeli settlements and military forces. Approximately 8,500 Israeli settlers — some of whom had lived there for decades and resisted the plan — were removed from their homes, and some of them were compensated. Israel ceded control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas. It also vacated four Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The objective of the withdrawal was to improve Israel’s security and create the conditions for lasting peace. Essentially, the idea was that removing soldiers and settlers from the equation would deescalate the situation and allow for real peace talks. But that wouldn’t come to pass.
2006: The Hamas takeover of Gaza and the Second Lebanon War
Within the framework of the Oslo Accords, the previously occupied territories of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem were designated to be partially governed by the legislative arm of the Palestinian Authority. This legislative body held jurisdiction over civil affairs, internal security, and public order. Traditionally, the Palestinian Authority was firmly controlled by the secular Fatah party, which, following the renouncement of armed resistance in the 1990s, acknowledged the existence of Israel and engaged in negotiations with it. However, this equilibrium was disrupted in 2006 when Hamas secured the majority of council seats in the elections.
Given Hamas’s history of armed conflicts with Israel and its goal of dismantling the Israeli state, the international community refused to acknowledge the Hamas-led government. Subsequently, the United States orchestrated a violent coup against Hamas, pledging $86 million in military support for the forces commanded by Mohammed Dahlan, a Fatah leader. When efforts to establish a lasting power-sharing arrangement between the two factions faltered, a brief civil war erupted involving the military wings of both Hamas and Fatah, along with their affiliated militias.
Ultimately, Hamas emerged victorious over Fatah’s forces. Consequently, the democratically elected legislators associated with Fatah were expelled from the legislative council, and Hamas took control of Gaza while Fatah retained authority over the West Bank. In response, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza.
During the same year, 2006, another conflict unfolded in Lebanon. Hezbollah, with the purported aim of advancing the Palestinian cause, launched an attack on Israeli soldiers. In response, Israel conducted airstrikes targeting Hezbollah’s operations in Lebanon, accompanied by limited ground incursions into southern Lebanon. In turn, Hezbollah, designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, retaliated with a barrage of rockets that struck several northern Israeli cities. This exchange of fire persisted for a month, displacing hundreds of thousands of Israeli and Lebanese civilians from their homes and causing more than 1,150 casualties on both sides.
The hostilities ultimately came to an end with a United Nations resolution that mandated the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. Subsequently, 30,000 Lebanese and UN peacekeeping troops assumed control of the region to prevent Hezbollah from rearming. In response to this conflict, Israel began developing its Iron Dome short-range missile defense system.
2008–2014: Wars in Gaza
Just months after agreeing to a ceasefire with Hamas, Israeli soldiers initiated a raid into Gaza in November 2008 with the intent of eliminating Hamas militants. This action escalated tensions and prompted Israel to launch Operation Cast Lead, a protracted assault on Gaza characterized by aerial bombings and ground invasions. The precise casualty figures are a matter of dispute, but the conflict resulted in the deaths of at least 1,000 Palestinians and 12 Israelis. Furthermore, it caused extensive damage to residential areas, businesses, and electrical infrastructure in Gaza.
Subsequently, UN officials conducted an investigation and determined that the Israeli military had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during the operation. These included the use of white phosphorus in densely populated areas and the deliberate targeting of civilians. The UN also stated that Palestinian militants had committed war crimes by launching rockets at Israeli civilians.
In 2012, violence erupted once more due to an increase in Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. In response, Israel carried out eight days of airstrikes, resulting in the death of the head of Hamas’s military wing. The conflict claimed nearly 180 lives, primarily civilians. Once again, both sides were found to have committed war crimes by the UN. Although a ceasefire was brokered with the assistance of Egypt, it proved to be short-lived.
In 2014, Hamas kidnapped and killed three Israeli teenagers from the West Bank, leading to Israeli airstrikes, ground operations, and naval blockades in Gaza. While Israel claimed to be targeting Hamas militants and their infrastructure, the fighting lasted for seven weeks and resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinians. Hamas also launched rockets into Israel, with most being intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system.
Another ceasefire mediated by Egypt brought an end to the conflict, but Gaza was left with extensive infrastructure damage and shortages of essential resources, with no resolution to the Israeli blockade in sight. Tragically, at least 2,200 people lost their lives, with the vast majority being civilians in Gaza. Outbreaks of violence continued in the years that followed.
2021: A major escalation in East Jerusalem and Gaza
Another major outbreak of violence occurred in 2021, after Israel threatened to evict Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem — home to holy sites of significance for Jews, Christians, and Muslims — and Israeli police imposed restrictions around the al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Palestinian protesters and Israeli police violently clashed in East Jerusalem, giving way to a broader conflict. Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem, and Israel responded with airstrikes on Gaza. Again, Israel stated it only wanted to target Hamas and its infrastructure, but its offensive resulted in more than 200 civilian casualties.
After 11 days, the fighting ended with a ceasefire brokered by Egypt and Qatar. But Palestinian frustrations were left unaddressed, and outbreaks of violence between the Israelis and Palestinian militants continued.
2023: Attempts at normalization in the Middle East falter amid a new war
In recent years, Israel has been a key pillar of the US’s stated goal to create an “integrated, prosperous, and secure Middle East” as it looks to move on from long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to turn its focus to other parts of the world, including Russia and China.
Though US-led talks between Israel and the PA froze in 2014, the Trump administration facilitated agreements to “normalize” relations between Israel and several of its Muslim-majority neighbors, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. These normalization efforts are aimed at establishing diplomatic and economic channels between the countries. The Biden administration also sought to normalize relations between Israel and its main regional rival Saudi Arabia so that they could form a united front against Iran, a common adversary that financially supports Hamas.
Hamas’s attack on October 7 and Israel’s brutal response in Gaza, however, seem to have derailed that progress toward stability in the Middle East. This Israel-Hamas war has been the deadliest yet for both sides. Both Israel and Hamas seem to have already committed war crimes. Israel, projecting strength in the face of its failure to thwart Hamas’s attack, wants to eliminate Hamas for good and has proved willing to claim civilian lives to achieve that.
Mass protests have broken out worldwide, including in neighboring Arab nations that see the US as complicit in Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians. There are fears that the war could broaden to Lebanon as violence with Hezbollah flares up along Israel’s northern border. And Iran has threatened “preemptive action” by the “resistance front,” seemingly referring to Islamist militant groups such as Hezbollah, against Israel as it gears up for a ground invasion.
It’s hard to see a way out now. Any ceasefire may hinge on the US exercising its influence over Israel to stop the violence and keep the conflict from escalating further.
