It has been just over a year since Oct. 7, 2023. Since then, many people in the United States have become more aware that there is a conflict in the area we know as Israel. A whole year has passed since the conflict in the area worsened, and it seems like as good a time as any to take a look back on the history that has led up to this point.
In the late 1800s, the area where the Palestinian people lived was controlled by the Ottoman Empire. Although they allegedly owned the area, their grip on it was not very tight, and their policies mostly agreed with those of the local people. During this time, an emerging group called Zionists—people who believe in the establishment of a separate Jewish state—began to call for the area to be returned to them, as they believed it was rightfully the land of the Jewish people.
During World War I, the British government announced its support for Zionists to move into Palestine (then an Ottoman territory—the opposing country to the British in the war). This encouraged a lot of immigration to the area and eventually allowed for the formation of Israel, a fully Jewish state, after World War II, when pressure increased on behalf of the Jewish people to try and make up for the attempted genocide that had just transpired.
And so, in 1947, Zionists got their wish when an area called Israel was created by the European Union. Unfortunately, Israel was created directly on top of Palestine. The original decision, mostly made by Britain, was that about half of previously defined Palestine would be partitioned off as Palestinian and the other half would be Israeli. The much contested area of Jerusalem would not belong to either side of the partition. Many Palestinians, and their neighbors in surrounding Arab countries, rejected the idea, but it went forward anyway. Only a year later, the partition plan was changed. As approved by the United Nations, there was to be the nation of Israel. It would encompass both sides of the partition, although Palestinians were meant to be able to stay on their sides of the partition.
Less than a year after it officially became a nation, Israel fought its first war. The surrounding Arab countries, predominantly Muslim, felt threatened by the settlement and fresh new government of the Israelis next to them. They stated that the establishment of the Israeli government had unlawfully overthrown the Palestinian government and that they wished to restore order. The war lasted only a year and ended with a huge victory for Israel when they expanded their borders past the partitions into Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and the previously cut-off parts of Palestine. Also, as a result of this war, thousands of Palestinians became refugees and were forced to leave the country. Most of those that remained were granted Israeli citizenship but lived under martial law until the 1960s, when the Six-Day War ended much of the hope for Palestinian militant groups.
Between 1949 and 1966, many attacks on civilians and military alike were carried out by Palestinians and Israelis. Palestinians were supported by the surrounding Arab countries, and Israelis were supported by the Western countries who had voted for their formation (the United States, Britain, Sweden, etc.). In 1967, the Six-Day War began. Again, Israel seized territory from surrounding countries and expelled Palestinians, forcing them to become refugees. When the war ended, Palestinian resistance was tamped down for a short period of time, although it swelled back up with the first Intifada in 1987. During the Intifada, Palestinians attempted to rid themselves of the Israeli government and establish an independent Palestine as outlined by the partitions. By this time, Palestinian territory had been dramatically pushed back from the original boundaries. It eventually ended in 1993 during the Oslo Peace Treaties, managed by then-President Bill Clinton.
Clinton negotiated the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, an independent government for Palestine. Violence in Palestine and Israel continued until 2000, although peace negotiations were attempted. In 2000, a final offer of peace was made by Israel, and ultimately rejected by Palestine. Shortly after, the second Intifada began. This was another period of exhausting and overwhelming violence. Although peace treaties were proposed, they were rejected by both governments.
Between 2005, when the second Intifada ended, and 2019, a resolution was still far off. Hamas, a Palestinian political party and terrorist group, launched attacks against Israel, and in turn, Israel bombed the Palestinian city of Gaza, where the majority of Hamas is located. Israelis claimed that the bombing killed mostly Hamas, while Palestinian humanitarian associations claimed that nearly all of those injured and killed were civilians.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched thousands of missiles at Israel while simultaneously storming the border around Gaza, attacking soldiers and civilians. The casualties numbered around 1,500 killed and kidnapped. Israel launched a counter-strike at Gaza. They launched an airstrike and sent soldiers in on the ground, leading to Palestinian casualties exceeding 40,000 people. Since October 7th, Israel has continued to launch airstrike after airstrike at Gaza and other Palestinian areas. Refugees have attempted to flee, but not many make their way out to Egypt. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have accepted numerous propositions of a ceasefire, but Israel has continually rejected the idea. They have done their best to cut off humanitarian supplies to the civilian city of Palestine.