Are You Aware?

How much do you know about the Israel-Palestine conflict?

In order to start our new discussion off on the right foot, we’ve put together a brief historical primer of the conflict.

We understand that even histories are conflicting, and therefore this is not meant as a conclusive summary, but rather an evolving introduction to a broader discourse. Feel free to send your 101 suggestions to hello@awarecommunities.org

Brief Historical Timeline

Balfour Declaration: The events of 1831-40 paved the way for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. A British Foreign Secretary proposed establishing a British protectorate in the Ottoman Empire to be settled by Jews as a buffer area. Britain launched a new policy supporting Jewish settlement in Palestine and, consequently, with the rise of nationalism, Zionism appeared as a drastic international solution to the Jewish problem, transforming the Jewish religion into a nationalist attachment to a special Jewish homeland and state. The alliance of British imperialism and Zionism resulted in the birth of what is known as the Balfour Declaration (1917).

The end of World War I brought about the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and the division of land resulted in British military rule in Palestine. Control of the Middle East was divided between France and Britain: France was given the mandate on areas which became Syria and Lebanon, and Britain received the mandate on areas which became Israel/Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq. The violent confrontations between Jews and Arabs in the land of Israel/Palestine in the early 1920s led to the establishment of Israeli military branches which triggered Arab uprising to end the British Mandate. The war that began on November 29, 1947 is known as the War of Independence for Israelis and the Naqba for Palestinians. This resulted in the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948 on the borders of UN Resolution 181 (1947) with the Gaza Strip under Egyptian control and what is known today as the West Bank under Jordanian control.

This would change in June 1967 with the Six-Day War resulting in Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank including the annex of East Jerusalem. In the following years the State of Israel would experience defeat in the 1973 War, a peace treaty with Egypt and, later, Jordan, missile fire with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon, all leading up to the first Palestinian Intifada in 1987 and initiating the schism between the PLO and Hamas. Despite various peace summits and negotiations, the key issues that promulgate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been unaddressed, leading to a second Palestinian Intifada, the construction of a security/separation barrier/wall, continued settlement growth in Israeli-occupied West Bank, and war and blockade of Hamas-led Gaza Strip.

Today, the same issues that were present at the foundation of the State of Israel continue to plague the region and its future peace. These issues certainly overlap in the way they present themselves in modern Israel/Palestine and, in brief, can be summarized as Occupation, Settlements, Status of Jerusalem, Refugee Status/Law of Return, and Faith. For a discussion of these key issues refer to Aware! Resources or contribute questions for our Discussion-Topics page to hello@awarecommunities.org.