Israel-Palestine Conflict; What's going on exactly?

Nobody wins when the family feud is incomprehensible to Jews and Arabs. I can't seem to get my mind around the increasing friction between them. It's crazy! I spent some time trying to find out what went wrong, and this is what I found. The entire issue can be dated back to World War I when the British Empire conquered the Ottoman Empire. The British took control of Palestine, a land inhabited by Jewish communities and Arab majorities.

The violence all started in 1947 when the international community charged the British with creating a national home for Jews in Palestine. This effectively divided Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. While Jerusalem, the holy land for both, will be designated as an international city.

The city of Jerusalem in question is the Jewish people's ancestral home, but also considered to be the capital of the future state of the  Arabs. It has brought series of wars over the years, most notably in 1948–49, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982, and 2006. The year 1948 is remembered as the year of disaster, when British rulers tired of the conflict, left the two brothers to deal with their problems. This prompted Jewish leaders to declare Israel to be an independent Jewish state. Palestine objected to the declaration, which was quickly followed by a destructive war known as the Al-Nakba (catastrophe).

For over a century, the bitter enemies have been at war with each other; these acts of violence have escalated into violent protests, assassinations, and suicide bombing; if you have seen the movie Munich, you will see how deeply the Jews and Arabs hate each other and will go to any length to draw blood. The movie is about the Munich massacre of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. A terrorist extremist group, reportedly Palestinians, abducted and killed eleven Israeli athletes, despite the fact that both religious sects advocate peace. I reviewed the figures on deaths and damages incurred by these conflicts for all sides, and they share six wars, over 11,000 fatalities, over 750,000 displaced Palestinians, and over $20 billion in damage.

Peace talks have been held on and off for more than 25 years, but have yet to resolve the conflict. From the Oslo Accord to Camp David and other peace treaties, I assumed that war was an antiquated method of conflict resolution until Israel and Palestine proved me wrong.

Why is there so much violence?

The ongoing violence is the result of more than a century of conflict. Tensions are frequently high between Israel and Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank.

Gaza is ruled by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group that has frequently clashed with Israel. Israel and Egypt tightly control Gaza's borders to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas. Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank say Israeli actions and restrictions are causing them pain. Israel claims it is acting solely to protect itself from Palestinian violence.

Since the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in mid-April 2021, there have been nightly clashes between police and Palestinians. The looming eviction of some Palestinian families in East Jerusalem has also sparked outrage  (check the viral video). The Al-Aqsa Mosque, built on a hilltop compound revered by Jews and Muslims alike, was a focal point, with police firing tear gas and stun grenades at protesters who threw chairs and stones at them. The delayed hearing of Palestinian family eviction also contributes to this current conflict. In the name of protecting Jerusalem, Hamas fired a barrage of missiles at the capital, and the death toll has since risen. A media tower was bombed, and women and children are quickly becoming casualties of this ill-fated conflict.

On a personal level, I believe the conflict has political interest for Benjamin Netanyahu the Israeli Prime minister. After inconclusive parliamentary elections in March, he was unable to form a government coalition, and his political rivals had three weeks to do so and were courting a small Islamist Arab party. The more the conflict goes on, the more difficult it would be for them to form an alliance. It might also favor Netanyahu if another election were called, as protection is one of his best arguments for winning the public's support. What do I know? I'm just an amateur blogger and not a political analyst.

I pray for peace and hope that they will have a long-term solution to this dispute. Nobody succeeds when the family feud, death, and ruin are enough!