The last week has witnessed some of the most intense hostilities in West Asia in recent years, which has brought to fore the age-old Israel-Palestine conflict, with Gaza and Jerusalem in the limelight for all the wrong reasons. Though the stimulants for the current events are relatively recent, the fuel that has kept this fire blazing is generations old.

Israel and Palestine have a shared history spanning more than seven decades, including multiple wars and acts of violence that have time and again led to the loss of countless lives. It began with the 1947–1949 Palestine war which culminated with the establishment of the State of Israel by the Jews and the displacement of around 700,000 Palestinian Arabs. Presently, the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory run by Hamas, is considered to be a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel, which has direct external control over movement in the area. This ongoing struggle is a continuation of the bitter strife in the region that has resulted in violence on both sides of the border over the years—tensions that have only escalated due to new grievances and cumulative injustices.

Palestinians protest during an Israeli celebration of Jerusalem Day outside Damascus Gate, May 2013 [Image Credits: Reuters]

The Conflict at Gaza

The lives of the people of Gaza have been blighted by its conflict with Israel and the infighting between the Palestinian factions for its governance. Gaza has also been facing a fierce socio-economic disaster over the past few years, as per the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Since 2018 their healthcare system has been on the verge of collapse, with degrading public health aggravated due to inadequate sanitisation, infrastructure, excessive pollution, and subsequent environmental breakdown.

The economy of the Gaza Strip has been severely hampered by the ever-tightening blockade and corresponding restrictions maintained by Israel, which makes Gaza dependent on them for all aspects of public life including trade, basic amenities such as water, electricity, and telecommunications. Their financial crisis exploded in 2018 when the then-President of the United States, Donald Trump, cut up to $300 million of annual donations to Palestinian refugees. According to the head of the UN Agency for Palestinian refugees, Gaza had reached unprecedented levels of poverty in 2020, with youth unemployment rates of about 70% in 2019. All these factors have contributed to the accumulation of deep-rooted resentment among the Palestinians, who have been engaging in confrontations and protests against its occupation by Israel over many years.

The Sheikh Jarrah Dispute

The Sheikh Jarrah dispute, which is predominantly a property dispute, is seen as another key juncture in the current situation. Sheikh Jarrah is a neighbourhood in present-day East Jerusalem. In 1948, thousands of  Palestinians were forced out of their homes when the State of Israel was formed in what was, historically, Palestine. The creation of Israel was accompanied by a war fought with its Arab neighbours and ended with a predominantly Israeli victory, barring the Jordanian conquest of the region now known as West Bank.

Protesters leading a march proclaiming their mission of saving Sheikh Jarrah. [Image Credits: Al Jazeera]

In 1956, when East Jerusalem was ruled by Jordan, there was a resettlement agreement between the Jordanian government and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) through which 28 refugee families were given housing units in Sheikh Jarrah. Nearly five years later, Jewish agencies started demanding the families to leave the land. During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured West Bank from Jordan and the entirety of Jerusalem along with it. By the 1990s, Jewish citizens began to stake a claim to several Palestinian properties in Sheikh Jarrah, citing their purchase of it on migrating to historical Palestine during the early stages of the Zionist movement. Under Israeli law, Jews who can prove a title that predates the 1948 war can claim back properties in the city.  However, no similar law exists for the many Palestinians who lost their homes. These tenants, who are almost exclusively Palestinian, are now facing a legal challenge from their landlords, who are recognised as the owners of the properties as per multiple rulings by Israeli courts.

Recently, the Jerusalem District Court stated that six more Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah must leave their homes. Israeli Supreme Court was scheduled to hear a case on the Sheikh Jarrah dispute—an appeal from the tenants against their landlords—on May 10. This got postponed due to the violence ensuing the protests during Ramzan and remains unresolved, potentially intensifying the issue.

Protests, Clashes, and Disruption 

The Damascus Gate is a symbol of the Palestinian struggle, owing to its accessibility by the Palestinians and its use as a connecting point for markets and worshippers. Citing agitations at the nearby Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, the Israeli police set up barricades at the gate. This led to tensions ever since the start of Ramzan on 13th April as the barricades restricted Palestinians from gathering at the steps of the gate, which has for long been a tradition after evening prayers during the Holy month.

On 18th April, hundreds of Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Gate to demonstrate against these constraints. The clashes took a violent turn as Israeli police in riot gear used stun grenades and water cannons to disperse the protesters, who had resorted to reckless methods such as throwing stones, lighting fires, and tearing down police barricades.

A chart depicting the human lives that have been affected in the Israel-Palestine conflict over the years. [Image Credits: Statista]

On the 8th of May, thousands of Arab worshippers faced restrictions in the vicinity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a site considered holy by both Muslims and Jews. The authorities cited rising tensions for this blockade. Two days later, Israeli forces barged into the mosque and used stun grenades and other non-lethal weapons to oust the worshippers, who in retaliation pelted stones at the police personnel. This incident seems to have been the tipping point of what has now escalated to an all-out civil war-like situation with Hamas retaliating by launching hundreds of missiles into Israel’s territory, who in return carried out multiple airstrikes into Gaza.

On the 14th of May, the death toll was recorded to be 83 on the Palestinian side and 7 on the Israeli side, with hundreds wounded on both sides of the clash. By the 16th of May, the number of casualties in Gaza had risen to 181,  52 of which were children.

Several buildings in Gaza have since been bombed by Israeli forces. This includes a thirteen-storey residential block on May 12th and a fifteen-storey block containing the offices of media organisations such as the Associated Press and Al Jazeera three days later. Both buildings were evacuated shortly before their destruction and were alleged to contain Hamas operations, a reason frequently quoted by Israeli authorities.

The Impact of Israel’s Elections

Israel has seen 4 elections in the last 2 years and might be headed for a fifth. Upon the failure of Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to form a coalition government within the 28-day deadline, a fifth election is the only hope the Israeli strongman leader has of remaining in power. Netanyahu’s hard-line stance on Palestine is one of the main planks on which his party’s electoral success lies. Amid massive charges of corruption and fraud, it is seen as critical for Netanyahu to leverage this image to gain electoral success, should Israel go to vote for the fifth time in the past 24 months.

The police had to resort to using water canons to disperse off protesters who were campaigning against Netanyahu’s reign as the Prime Minister of Israel and his apparently ineffective policies. [Image Credits: The Times of Israel]

The Israel-Palestine conflict has been a long-standing issue spanning over half a century now. Attempts to broker peace by international organisations and the United States have failed miserably, with the fault lines between the two sides getting deeper year after year. An asymmetrical balance of power—Israel having one of the most advanced militaries in the world and Palestine depending on rudimentary guerrilla groups—leaves the Goliath that is Israel with no incentive to discuss a compromise with Palestine. Summing up the complications of a hung Israeli election, a visible fragmentation of the Palestinian leadership, and allegations of rampant corruption and abuses by the UNRWA—the life of the average Palestinian is looking dark at the moment, with no signs of improvement in the near future.

Featured Image Credits: Getty Images