The Palestinian Conflict
The ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is both simple to understand, yet deeply complex. At the heart of this conflict is a basic idea that both sides believe: The Israelis believe that they are entitled to the land now known as Israel, while the Palestinians believe that they are entitled to the land they call Palestine. Unfortunately, both sides claim the same land; they simply call the land by different names. For religious Jewish Israelis and religious Muslim Palestinians, the belief is deeper still, for both sides believe that God (called Jehovah by the Jews and Allah by the Muslims), gave them the land, and that to give it away or to give it up to another people is an insult to God and a sin.
The history of the conflict is much more complex than that simple explanation, but the religious and historical differences are very important to this story. On another level, the reasons for the continual fighting is easy to understand. They have been fighting for over 60 years, and each war, each death, each act of terrorism, only deepens the hatred and the reluctance to give in to the other side.
Historically, the ancient Jews from Biblical times called their land Israel, Canaan, Judea, Samaria, Galilee and other long-ago names. Modern Jews, and quite a few Christians, believe that in the days of the Bible and the Torah, God gave this land to the ancient Jews (also known as Hebrews), led by men such as Abraham, Moses, David, and others. About 2,000 years ago, the Roman Empire ruled this area, and in suppressing several Jewish rebellions, the Romans destroyed the Jewish temple in the city of Jerusalem, killed large numbers of Jews, and forced many others to leave their homeland in an exodus called "The Diaspora." Some Jews remained in the area, but large numbers of Jews did not return until the 19th and 20th Century, especially after World War Two and the Holocaust.
This is where the real trouble began between the Jews, who began calling themselves "Israelis" after their old name for their ancient homeland of Israel, and the Arab population of the area who came to be known as "Palestinians," after the old Roman and Greek name for the area. In the two thousand years after most of the Jewish population was killed off by the Romans or forced to leave, Arabic-speaking Muslims became the dominant ethnic group. According to records of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Palestine for several centuries, in the year 1900, the population of Palestine was 600,000, of which 94% were Arabs. While many Arabs were willing to sell land to the incoming Jews, many other Palestinian Arabs were worried about becoming a minority in a country they considered their own.
In the 1930s, the Great Arab Revolt took place against the British, who ruled Palestine after 1918. The Arab Revolt was directed at both the British and the growing Jewish population. It should be noted that while large numbers of Jews moved to Palestine in the 1940s, a movement called "Zionism" began in the late 1800s, which influenced many Jews from around the world to move to Palestine to reclaim their ancient "homeland" of Israel. Thus, by the 1930s, the numbers of Jews had risen to a point that alarmed many Palestinian Arab leaders. The British put down the revolt with the help of Jewish militias, but the fighting and hostility never really ended between the Jews and Arabs. From that point on, both the Jews and the Palestinians formed militias and other military units to fight each other and to prepare for the day when the British would leave.
In 1948, the British did leave, and the Jews in Palestine declared the independence of the new State of Israel. The neighboring Arab nations of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invaded Israel to aid the Palestinian Arabs who were fighting to create their own nation. The Arabs lost that war (see Arab-Israeli Wars), and the Palestinian diaspora began, as hundreds of thousands of Arabs fled the new nation of Israel and moved to neighboring Arab nations to live as refugees, awaiting the day when they could return to their homeland. This loss and the exile of these Palestinians is known in the Arabic world as "al-Nakba," or "The Cataclysm."
Two significant parts of the old Palestine did not become part of the new Israel; the a small, crowded coastal area around the city of Gaza, which came to be called the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank. The West Bank is a section of the old Palestine on the west side, or bank, of the Jordan River. The Arab nation of Jordan sits on the east side, or bank, of that river. After the war ended in 1949, Egypt took over the Gaza Strip, while Jordan took control of the West Bank.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Palestinians conducted cross-border raids into Israel, often with the aid of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. These attacks prompted Israeli military reactions, and the entire border area, especially around Gaza and the West Bank, was often the scene of violent warfare. (see Arab-Israeli Border Wars).
The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians reached a new level of intensity and complexity on December 31, 1964, with the first al-Fatah raid into Israel from Lebanon. al-Fatah is a Palestinian political and military group formed in the late 1950s with the aim of retaking Palestinian land from Israel. Led by Yasser Arafat, the group joined the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in June of 1964.
After the formation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, Palestinian guerilla/commando/terrorist groups began a series of organized and increasingly violent attacks on Israel itself and on Israeli targets around the world. Israel responded in various ways, including commando raids of their own, assassinations of PLO leaders and operatives around the world, and, at times, full-scale invasions of neighboring countries, such as Lebanon, which gave the PLO aid and sanctuary.
January 2, 1965, a three-man commando unit from the Palestinian faction known as Fatah crossed into Israel from Jordan and planted explosives at the Israeli National Carrier water canal in the Beit Netopha Valley. The commandos then slipped back across the border. An Israeli water company worker found the explosives and disarmed them. The three commandos encountered a Jordinian patrol on the other side of the border and, when refusing to turn over their weapons, were fired on by the Jordanians, resulting in one Palestinian death. This commando raid into Israeli territory marks the beginning of the military conflict between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israelis. Fatah was (and still is), a major faction in the PLO. The Palestinian commandos called themselves "Fedayeen," which means "one who sacrifices himself." The term is applied to all Palestinian commandos or guerrillas regardless of which Palestinian military faction they belonged to.
January through March, 1965, Fatah conducted ten raids into Israeli territory, seven from Jordan, and three from Egyptian-controlled Gaza.
Throughout 1965, Fatah launched a total of 35 raids into Israel from the neighboring Arab states.
1966: A total of 66 raids were conducted into Israel by various Fedayeen groups.
1967: A total of 37 raids were conducted into Israel by various Fedayeen groups from the beginning of 1967 to the beginning of the Six-Day War in June.
December 26, 1968 --two Palestinian gunmen traveled from Beirut to Athens, and attacked an El Al jet and killed one. On December 28,1968, Israel troops landed in Beirut, Lebanon and destroyed 13 civilian aircraft at Beirut International Airport.
May 8, 1970: Three Palestinian gunmen crossed the Lebanese border into the agricultural community of Avivim and ambushed the local school bus, killing nine children and three adults, and wounding 19 other children.
September 4, 1972: Munich Olympic's Massacre--Members of "Black September," a PLO offshoot, attacked the Israeli Olympic team in their dormitory at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in Germany. As a result of the hostage-taking and the bungled attempt by the Germans to rescue the prisoners, eleven Israeli athletes and one German policman were killed. This attack prompted Israel to launch "Operation Wrath of God" and "Operation Spring of Youth."
Beginning in the Fall of 1972: Israel's launched "Operation Wrath of God" to track down and kill members of the PLO involved in the Munich attack. This operation continued for several years and resulted in the assassinations of several members of the PLO around the world.
March 1, 1973: Eight members of Black September took over the Saudi Arabian embassy in Khartoum, Sudan. Among the hostages were two American diplomats, Ambassador Cleo Noel, and Deputy Ambassador George Curtis Moore. Both Americans and Belgian diplomat, Guy Eid were killed.
April 9-10, 1973:Israel's "Operation Spring of Youth" was launched as part of the Israel's overall response to the Munich Olympic Attack. Special units of the Israeli Defense Forces attacked several PLO targets in Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon.
In this operation, three of the PLO leaders (Yusef Al Najjar, Kamal Adwan and Kamal Nasserin), were killed, along with several dozen other PLO personnel. Several Lebanese security people and civilians were also died in this operation. Israel suffered two casualties in this attack.
April 11, 1974: three guerillas of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), infiltrated the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Shmona from Lebanon, killing eighteen residents of an apartment building, including nine children. The attackers died in battle with Israeli troops.
May 15, 1974: Fighters of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) entered the Israeli border town of Ma'alot from Lebanon, killed five adults and seizing hostages in a school building. All of the attackers died in battle with Israeli forces, but not before they killed 21 of the school's students.
June 27-July 4, 1976: "Operation Entebbe": On June 27, an Air France flight from Tel Aviv was hijacked by four terrorists, two from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — External Operations (PFLP-EO) and two from the German terrorst group, "Revolutionäre Zellen." The plane eventually ended up at Entebbe Airport in Uganda, which was then ruled by dictator Idi Amin. Amin was friendly to the Palestinian cause, and aided the terrorists. Once on the ground, three more Palestininans joined the hijackers. Demands were made for the release of prisoners held by Israel.
Israel responded with a commando raid on the night of July3/July 4. Around 100 Israeli troops in four military transport planes landed at night and rescued the hostages. As a result of the rescue operation,100 of the 103 hostages were freed. Three hostages died. One Israeli soldier died, while 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed eleven Ugandan Army Air Force fighter planes were destroyed on the ground to prevent them from following the Israeli air planes carrying the rescued hostages and the troops.
March 5,1975: A force of eight PLO fighters sailed from to Tel Aviv by sea from Lebanon. Once inside Israel, they entered the Savoy Hotel, and took dozens of hostages. In the ensuing battle for the hotel, seven of the eight Palestinians and three Israeli troops died, while eight civilians were killed and 19 wounded.
March 11, 1978: Eight Fatah guerillas entered Israel from Lebanon. After killing an American tourist on the beach, the guerillas hijacked a bus on the coastal road near Haifa. In the ensuing bus chase and battle, six Palestinian guerillas and 35 of the passengers died. Seventy-One civilians were wounded. Israel's response to this "Coastal Road Massacre" was to launch a full-scale invasion of South Lebanon in order to root out the PLO forces based there.
March 14, 1978: Israel launched Operation Litani,a full-scale invasion of South Lebanon with 25,000 troops in an effort to force the PLO away from Israel's vulnerable northern border
July 27, 1980: Attack on Jewish school in Antwerp, Belgium by terrorists associated with the Palestinian Abu Nidal.
July 27, 1980: Abu Nidal claimed responsibility for the murder of an Israeli commercial attachee in Brussels, Belgium.
May 1, 1981: Assassination of Heinz Nittel in Vienna, Austria by Abu Nidal's forces. Nittel was President of the Austrian-Israeli Friendship Association.
June 3, 1982: Attempted assassination in London of Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov. Israel accused the PLO of the attack, and the Argov attack was one of the incidents which provoked the Israeli invasion of Lebanon on June 6, 1982 called "Operation Peace in Galilee. Argov survived the attack, but was permanently disabled.
September 25, 1985: Three Israeli civilians were killed on their yacht off the coast of Larnaca, Cyprus by commandoes of al-Fatah's elite "Force 17."
Oct. 1, 1985: Israel's "Operation Wooden Leg," attempted to kill PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat with an air raid on his headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia. Arafat survived, though at least 60 members of the PLO died. Israel said this attack was in response to the yacht attack off Larnaca, Cyprus.
Oct. 7, 1985: The hijacking of the passenger cruise ship Achille Lauro. Members of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), led by Abu Abbas, killed Jewish American tourist Leon Klinghoffer. After several days, the hijackers agreed to a deal in which they would release the ship in return for a flight to Tunisia. The Egyptian airliner carrying the hijackers was intercepted by U.S. Navy fighter planes on Oct. 10 and forced it to land at a military base in Italy, where the terrorists were arrested by Italian authorities.
December 27, 1985: Rome/Vienna Airport Attacks--Abu Nidal's Fatah - the Revolutionary Council (FRC) staged two attacks in Europe which killed 18 civilians and wounded 140. The terrorists attacked passengers at airports in Rome and Vienna. The FRC claimed these attacks were in response to the October 1st Israeli air raid on Tunis.
First Intifada (1987-1993)--Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule in the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Intifada ended with the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and the PLO.
The small strip of land between Egypt and Israel known as the Gaza Strip, has been a battleground in the ongoing Arab-Israeli Conflict since the 1940s. After the 1st Arab-Israeli War ended in 1949, Egypt annexed Gaza. In the 1956 and 1967 wars between Israel and Egypt, Israeli forces conquered the crowded urban Gaza area, returning it to Egyptian control after the 1956 war, but keeping it after the 1967 war. The peace treaty between Egypt and Israel effectively ceded control of Gaza to Israel, but Gaza became a battleground in the Palestinian uprising against Israel known as The Intifada in the late 1980s. This uprising led to the peace agreement known as the Oslo Accords. Under this treaty, the Palestinian Authority (Palestinian government dominated by the Fatah movement), took over the administrative authority of the Gaza Strip (other than the established Israeli settlements and military areas) in 1994.
In the summer of 2005, Israel unilaterally evacuated its last military outposts in the Gaza Strip, hoping that would ease ongoing tensions with the Palestinian forces in Gaza. On June 25, 2006, Palestinian militants crossed from Gaza into Israel, kidnapping an Israeli soldier. Israel responded on June 29 with an invasion of the Gaza Strip. This campaign continued until Nov. 26, 2006, with a cease-fire. Despite the cease-fire, Palestinian rockets have been launched with some regularity into Israel, with Israel often responding with air and missile attacks on Gazan targets.
In June of 2007, a short civil war between the two main Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, resulted in the expulsion of Fatah forces from Gaza. Hamas is considered the more militant of the two groups, and Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to exist and seeks to reclaim all Palestinian lands from Israel.
This stage of the ongoing warfare in Gaza consisted of a series of battles between Palestinian militants and the Israel Defense Forces beginning in mid-May of 2007. Palestinian forces fired more than 220 home-made Qassam rockets at the Israel town of Sderot and the western Negev region over the span of a week. The Israeli warplanes responded with air-to-ground missiles and bomb, targeting Hamas military and political infrastructure targets. On February 29, Israeli ground forces entered Gaza, killing nearly 100 Hamas militants. Israel also halted the transfer of electricity, fuel, and other supplies into Gaza in an attempt to weaken Hamas. Despite all attempts at contolling the violence, Hamas forces continued to launch missile attacks at Israel. It must be noted that Hamas, like the Hezbollah army in Lebanon, is allied with, and supplied by, Iran, which is a declared enemy of Israel. In June of 2008, Egypt, acting as the go-between, managed to arrange a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. This cease-fire was broken several times by both sides, but largely brought a measure of peace to the Israel-Gaza border. Israel maintained closed borders with Gaza, hoping to pressure the Hamas regime economically. While Israel indicated a willingness to extend the cease-fire, Hamas began increasing its Qassem rocket attacks on Israel, forcing the Israeli government to make a decision on how to respond.
On December 27, 2008, Israeli forces launched a major air attack on Hamas political and military targets in Gaza. Early reports indicate that between 200 and 255 Palestinians died on the first day of the attacks. News reports also indicated that Israeli ground forces were moving toward the Gaza border. Hamas forces responded with more Qassem rocket attacks, with some newer, longer-range rockets reaching the Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod.
Mid East analysts view the massive Israeli response as a means of showing its enemies that Israel is still a military force to be reckoned with. After losing the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Israel felt that Hezbollah, Hamas, and their Iranian patrons no longer feared Israel. Ever since independence in 1948, Israel has existed surrounded by enemies and literally has fought nearly continuous wars along its borders ever since. To many Israelis, appearing weak, or acting weak in front of its mortal foes only invites further attacks. Thus, while the Qassem rocket attacks are a real danger to the quarter-million or so Israelis within range of the Gaza border, these Hamas rockets pose no immenent threat to Israel's existence. By responding so forcefully, Israel hopes to ward off other enemies whose attacks could be more deadly, in particular, Iran, who its developing nuclear ambitions.
The timing of Israel's attacks is rather interesting, but actually somewhat predictable. It is no secret that President George W. Bush is a fervent ally of Israel, and the Dec. 27 attacks began as President Bush had only 24 more days as President of the United States. Both in the media and in the United Nations, the United States under the Bush Administration has been an unwavering ally and supporter of Israel, blocking key votes in the UN, which called for a cease-fire. Unsure of how the incoming Obama Administration may perceive an attack on Hamas, Israel likely decided to act to secure its southern border while their good friend George W. Bush was still in office and able to provide moral and diplomatic assistance.
As of January 5, United Nations officials, as well as media outlets estimate that the Gaza War has seen 524 Palestinians killed and 2,600 wounded since the Israel began "Operation Cast Lead" on December 27, the majority of these casualties among members of Hamas security forces, but at least 200 of the dead were civilians. Israel reports one soldier and three civilians killed since December 27, with 30 civilians wounded by Hamas rocket attacks. Israeli artillery joined in the attacks on January 3, 2009. Despite the massive air attacks, Hamas was still able to launch over 400 rockets and missiles into southern Israel. It became apparent that air power alone would not achieve the stated Israeli goal of halting the cross-border attacks by Hamas upon Israel's civilian population.
On January 3, thousands of Israeli troops, in three brigade-size formations, backed by tanks and attack helicopters, launched the expected ground invasion of the Gaza Strip in what Israel calls the "second stage of Operation Cast Lead." The Israeli military reported 30 soldiers received wounds in the opening hours of the offensive, and also reported "dozens" of cas ualties among the defending Hamas forces. It was also reported that Israeli naval vessels assisted with the invasion, providing fire into the Gaza Strip in support of ground troops.
By the end of the first day of the ground offensive, Israel announced that its forces had bisected the Gaza Strip and surrounded the city of Gaza. Heavy combat war also reported near the northern Gaza towns of Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanun and Jabaliya.
On January 6, Israeli forces fired mortar rounds at what they say was a launching area for Hamas rockets. The Israeli mortar shells struck a United Nations-run school at which hundreds of Palestinian civilians had taken shelter. The UN reported approximately 40 dead civilians in this attack. The bombing of the school brought a large amount of criticism on Israel from around the world. Though Israel justified the attack by claiming Hamas launched rockets from that area, Israel took a hit in terms of world public opinion.
On January 8, Hezbollah forces launched rockets into Israel from Lebanon, raising the possibility of a second front in the new war.
Israeli troops pushed into a heavily populated area of Gaza City from the south on January 11 in hard fighting, in which Israeli and Hamas forces engaged in vicious unconventional asymmetrical warfare house to house, and street by street.
On January 17, Israeli announced a unilateral ceasefire, deciding to halt operations without first securing an agreement with Hamas.
The next day, January 18, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian militia groups declared they would halt the launching of rockets into Israel for one week, while demanding that Israel withdraw from Gaza within the week.
In 2011, the more-or-less quiet Gaza front exploded into action as Israel responded to a resumption of Hamas rocket attacks into Israel.
On August 18, 2011, squads of heavily-armed Popular Resistance Committee (PRC) guerrillas from Gaza travelled about 120 miles through Egyptian Sinai to attack Israeli citizens near the southern Israeli city of Eilat, killing eight Israelis. Israel retaliated with airstrikes on targets inside Gaza. The PRC is a relatively small Palestinian resistance group that has at times served as an ally of Hamas.
