Tag: Israel Palestine Conflict

The Never Ending War

The Never Ending War

By Jasdev Singh Rai

It will be misguided to think that the current bloody war in Middle East started on 7th October. It also didn’t start in 1948 when the modern State of Israel was set up. These are just battles in a long war, perhaps the longest war in history of the world.

The Jews have had a very complex history since the first lot of exiled Jews in some 770 BC from the Kingdom of Israel and later Kingdom of Judea. Most of Jewish history and narratives have been of exile, persecutions and yearning for a return to a peaceful land of Israel. Israel is the land promised to Abraham by God.

Palestinians are also descendants of people who lived in these lands. Over the centuries there have been migrations into and out of the land. Palestinians became Muslims under Islamic rule but were of Christian, Jewish and other indigenous faiths before then. There are still a lot of Christian Palestinians.

Christians also believe in the idea of the Promised Land and Paul is considered to have said that the Land was promised to Abraham for the seed of God, meaning followers of Christ.

And then there is Jerusalem, a small piece of earth holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims. The holiest of land in there is only about 3000 feet (900 m) quadrangle in each direction. In there is the Western Wailing Wall, the Al Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of The mount, the Temple Mount and the Church of Holy Sepulchre. There is also the oldest Armenian settlement with parts of this small real estate divided into Jewish Quarter, Christian Quarter and Armenian Quarter as well as of course the Muslim part.

Without going into the history of bloody conflicts between the three religions for control of this small piece of earth and why it is important to each of them and the reasons for the wars over the larger Promised land, it is not difficult to see why the war has been going on for well over two and a half thousand years.

Since the exiles, of which there have been a few, the Jews have also maintained their cohesion through a vision of taking back the Promised Land. Sometimes they went back, only to be pushed out again.

ALSO READ: Israel-Hamas Conflict And How India Is Impacted

Christians have waged crusades to take back the land where Jesus grew up and Muslims have defeated the Crusaders to regain control over the area where Prophet Mohammed rose to heaven.

When Israel was formed in 1948, it was land of hope and peace for Jews who had just suffered the worst form of European antisemitism at the hands of Germans, the holocaust. Israel was carved out of land where Palestinians lived. The Botching British as usual were behind this and just as everywhere else the British have carved States without regard to regional communities, they didn’t consult Palestinians, but left a legacy of bitterness and conflict. India and Pakistan are still not reconciled to their borders and neither are many tribes in ex colonial States in Africa to their countries. Not surprising, Israel and Palestinians are not the best of neighbours either.

The rhetoric on both sides is unrealistic when transposed on the longest tapestry of history. Jerusalem is more than 5,000 years old! The Promised Land is also one of the oldest narrative over which conflicts and more conflicts have influenced people.

Efforts to eliminate one or other, of depriving one or other of access to this land and of destroying ‘forever’ one movement or other have just been pendulating from one side to the other. Even today, Christian Evangelists in USA dream of retaking the land, but first letting Jews take it all and then either to make a pact with them or some think, drive them out.

When Netanyahu and members of his Government and some western countries say that Hamas must be destroyed and eliminated, neither history nor reality is on their side. Hamas is an idea of resistance against what it perceives as Israel oppression and deprivation of its land. It can be called terrorist etc, but the idea will carry on.

When Hamas and its backers say that Israel must be wiped from the land, they too are talking nonsense. A yearning, a hope and a vision  that has been deeply embedded in the religious, cultural and national narrative of Jews for thousands of years, isn’t going to rest or be ‘wiped out’ if it hasn’t so far.

Currently both are pawns in power games of others. The United States is desperate to show a win after disastrous ventures in Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine. A win in Israel-Hamas conflict, even if diplomatic, will be seen by it as a road to regaining its posture in the world. Obviously America does not want to expend much resources, as it considers a looming conflict with China could be very draining. Moreover it is already stretched in Ukraine and seeking an end to that conflict.

On the other side is Iran which is seeking dominance in the Muslim world. It is often shunned by many Sunni Arab countries both for being non Arab and being Shia. Iran sees Israel a major obstacle and exploits Israel’s unpopularity among Muslims as a leverage to dominate the Israel-Arab relations.

Almost all Arab States are dictators or Monarchies. They don’t have any appetite for wars as long as they are comfortable in their Kingdoms and not under threat from Israel. But their populations are unhappy with Israel, so they have to show anger and support for Palestinians.

Ultimately, just as it is up to Indians and Pakistanis to find peace with each other to escape enslavement to the narrative left for them by the British, it is for wiser Israeli Jews and Palestinians to sit and find areas of compromise and settlement.

Otherwise this is an ever ending war. In the short run, Israel can indeed push all Palestinians out, given its colossal firepower. However Hamas has learnt a lot from previous conflicts and is trained by Iran. It will weaken Israel if not resist it altogether. So far Iran has been deft at winning conflicts through very clever manoeuvrings and tactics.

A weakened Israel can face great danger. Judaism is not a proselytising religion as Christianity or Islam is. The Jews are surrounded by millions and millions of Muslims with huge resources. If Muslims rise en masse, the history of exile and conflicts will return. Let not history repeat itself. This is an opportunity to find long lasting peace. That is the only desirable final solution. There are no other final solutions that have worked in history.

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A Guide to Israel-Hamas Conflict and What it Means for India

By Sanjoy Narayan

The conflict between Israel and Hamas is a complex and long-standing one, involving historical, religious, political, and territorial issues. For over a hundred years, Arabs and Jews have been conflicting over ownership of the Holy Land, which is a region in the Middle East that is sacred to adherents or followers of four religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Baháʼí.

Where is the Holy Land? It is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River. In modern day, it includes parts of Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt. It is called the Holy Land because it is where God is believed to have interacted with his people in various ways throughout history. For Jews, it is the land that God promised to Abraham and his descendants. For Christians, it is the land where Jesus was born, lived, preached, died and resurrected. For Muslims, it is the land where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven from Jerusalem, and where many holy sites are located. For Baháʼís, it is the land where Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of their faith, lived and died.

What is the background of the conflict? Israel is a Jewish state that was established in 1948 in the Middle East, following the end of the British mandate and the United Nations partition plan that divided the land between Jews and Arabs. The Arab states rejected the plan and attacked Israel, but Israel defended itself and expanded its territory. Since then, Israel has fought seven major wars with its Arab neighbours and faced resistance from Palestinian groups that claim the right to self-determination and statehood in the same land.

Hamas is an Islamist militant group that emerged in 1987 as a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood was founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, an Egyptian schoolteacher, who preached implementing traditional Islamic Sharia law in all aspects of life, from everyday problems to the organisation of the government. Hamas emerged during the first Palestinian uprising (intifada in Arabic) against Israeli occupation. Hamas rejected Israel’s existence and wanted its destruction through armed struggle and terrorism. Hamas also opposes the moderate Palestinian Authority (PA) that governs part of the West Bank. Unlike Hamas, the PA wants a negotiated settlement with Israel.

What is Gaza? It is a coastal strip of land that borders Israel and Egypt and is home to about 2.3 million Palestinians, most of whom are refugees or descendants of refugees who fled or were expelled from their homes in what is now Israel during the 1948 war. Gaza has been under Israeli blockade since 2007, when Hamas seized control of the territory from the PA after winning parliamentary elections in 2006. Israel says the blockade is necessary to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons and rockets into Gaza, while Palestinians say it amounts to collective punishment and violates their human rights.

When did the current conflict start? On October 7, Hamas, in a surprise attack on Israel, fired thousands of rockets at Israeli cities and towns; and also breached the border with Israel, sending in hundreds of gunmen who killed and kidnapped civilians and soldiers. Hamas claimed its assault was in response to Israel’s continuing oppression of Palestinians and its plans to annex parts of the West Bank.

As a counter-offensive, Israel declared war on Hamas and launched a massive aerial campaign against Gaza, targeting Hamas leaders, hideouts, infrastructure, and media outlets. Israel also warned Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate their homes or face imminent destruction. Israel said that its goal was to restore deterrence and security for its citizens, and that it held Hamas responsible for all casualties and damages.

What has been the impact of the conflict? It has had a devastating impact, both on the Israeli side as well as the Palestinian. And, as expected, the ripples have affected the rest of the world. Latest estimates say more than 1,200 Israelis have been killed, mostly civilians, while more than 1,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza, many of them children. Many thousands have been injured or displaced by the violence. The situation in Gaza is dire, as electricity, water, fuel, and medical supplies are running low. The international community has condemned the escalation and called for an immediate ceasefire, but so far no diplomatic efforts have succeeded in ending the hostilities.

How has it affected the global economy and India? The Middle East is a vital source of energy and a key transit route for global commerce. Instability in the region could have serious consequences for oil supply and demand, as well as for consumer prices and inflation.

India, as one of the world’s largest importers of crude oil, is particularly vulnerable to such shocks. A sustained rise in oil prices could hurt India’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, increase its fiscal deficit and current account deficit, weaken its currency, and trigger social unrest.

There are other complexities for India because of its strong ties with both Israel and Palestine. This poses a diplomatic challenge for India’s foreign policy. India was one of the first countries to recognize Palestine as a state in 1988, and has supported its cause at several international forums. But India also maintains cordial relations with Israel, which is a major partner in defence, agriculture, technology, and innovation.

India has expressed its concern over the violence and urged both sides to exercise restraint and resume dialogue. India has also pulled out of a chess tournament in Egypt due to security reasons, while some Indian pharma companies have faced difficulties in exporting their products to Israel due to trade disruptions. If the conflict continues or blows up into a bigger war, things could get worse.

The bottomline: The conflict between Israel and Hamas is complex and has a long history. It has huge implications for regional stability, global security and the state of the world economy. While the damage and devastation on both sides is immense and can get worse if the conflict blows into a larger war, for countries such as India, which have trade ties and depend on oil imports from the region, it could spell serious economic damage. The international community must work together to end the violence and facilitate a lasting peace based on a two-state solution that respects the rights and aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians.