A day after the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war, Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack that left Israel stunned after 240 hostages were taken and about 1,200 killed. Israel declared war on the Palestinian-based militant group the next day, restarting a 75-year long long feud.
1917: Balfour Declaration
British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour sent a letter to a wealthy banking family, the Rothschilds, declaring the British intent to establish an Israeli state in the Palestine area. Planning for the fate of Palestine had begun in 1914 immediately after Britain had declared war on the Ottoman Empire in WWI. The Balfour Declaration represented the Pro-Zionist sentiment that had taken over in Britain.
1948: First Arab-Israeli War / Nakba
This would come to fruition in 1948 when Israel declared their independence.
As a result, a coalition of Arab nations attacked Israel in the First Arab-Israeli War. The Arab coalition suffered massive losses, losing a large part of Palestine to Israel.
Palestinians called their displacement from the occupied territories as the Nakba, or Catastrophe. Over 700,000 Palestinians were displaced, leaving their homes and culture to be destroyed.
1967 – 1973: Second Arab-Israeli War / Naksa
A Second Arab-Israeli war occurred in 1967 due to lingering issues from the first war. This led to the Naksa, or Setback, or the second displacement of the Palestinian people.Palestinian extremists angered by the occupation of their home, snuck into the 1972 Munich Olympic village, attacking the competing Israeli athletes. Although hostages were initially taken, the nine captured athletes were killed. Eleven Israeli athletes were killed in total, turning the Western world on Palestine. The conflict would continue in 1973 with an Arab attack on Israel during a Jewish holiday. Known as the Yom Kippur War, after the holiday that was being celebrated at the time, was the Third Arab-Israeli war.
1978: Camp David Accords
The series of clashes would be interrupted when U.S. President Jimmy Carter got Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to hold negotiations in America. The signed documents, the Camp David Accords, laid foundations for future peace talks. It set the process for Palestinian self-governance in Gaza and West Bank as well as Israeli deoccupation of some Palestinian territories.
1987-1993: First Intifada and Oslo Accords
Tension between the two sides culminated again in 1987 during the first Intifada, or Shaking Off, which was the Palestinian uprising against their Israeli occupiers. There were many casualties on both sides, with the bulk of them coming from the Palestinians. The First Intifada would spurn the international community to find a resolution to the occupation. The Arab League recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization as the representatives of the Palestinian people. The PLO would sign a series of pacts with Israel called the Oslo Accords. Based on previous U.N. Resolutions, they expanded limited Palestinian self-governance. The accords left two major issues unresolved: Palestine’s desire for Jerusalem to be their capital and the status of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank.
2001-2014: Second Intifada
A second Intifada started in 2001 after a controversial visit by Israeli right wing figure Ariel Sharon’s visit to an important Islamic compound in Old Jerusalem. In response to the second Palestinian uprising, Israel reoccupied territory underneath the Palestinian government. The second Intifada influenced the results of Palestine’s national election in 2006. The militant group Hamas won control of the government, which caused the opposing Fatah party to start a civil war. Hamas defeated the opposing party and assumed total control in 2007. Due to Hamas’s military ideals, Israel placed a strict blockade on Gaza. The blockage worsened the humanitarian crisis for the Gazans, most of whom were on U.N. rations and aid. In 2008 Hamas launched a rocket barrage into Israel, which sparked retaliatory airstrikes, leaving over 1,000 Palestinians dead. In 2012, Israel assassinated Hamas’s military chief, resulting in more rocket barrages and airstrikes. Tensions rose again in 2014 when Hamas militants killed three Israeli teenagers outside a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. This resulted in seven weeks of fighting that left 2,200 Palestinians and 73 Israelis dead.
2023: Israel-Hamas War
The current conflict between Israel and Hamas is a result of historical occupation and modern mismanagement. Current Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, selected a bloc of far-right politicians to ascend to power, empowering Jewish settlers to occupy Palestinian lands. Netanyahu encouraged and defended Jewish settlers in the West Bank, causing increased disputes between the Jewish settlers and the Palestine residents they displaced. Starting the day after the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, Oct. 7, this is the latest conflict in a 75-year long turmoil. Over 17,000 Palestinian and 1,400 Israeli citizens have been killed since the start of the conflict.
Israel and Hamas have reached a temporary agreement to release hostages from the Oct. 7 raid which came into effect on Nov. 24 and has since been extended multiple times. The deal allowed for the release of 105 hostages in return for 210 Palestinian prisoners. In addition both parties let humanitarian aid, including food and fuel, enter Gaza in significant numbers for the first time since the start of the conflict. After seven days, the ceasefire ended on Dec. 1 and fighting has resumed.