A lot is happening here. Before jumping into the details of each day, we wanted to provide a high level overview of the situation, including key terms and dates.
So Katie and I are going to attempt to give a very basic history of the Israel-Palestine situation for context. Clearly, we are not experts. As you know, this is quite complex. There are many opinions, and many ways to find out more information.
Pre-20th Century: History dating back 20 million years. Things happened.
Early 20th Century: An awkward mix of Zionism and anti-semitism in the US and Europe generates a lot of talk about a Jewish Homeland.
1918: The British take control of Palestine from the Ottoman Empire
1939-1945: Millions of Jewish people are killed in Europe during WWII. Some Palestinian Jewish people help to smuggle Jewish refugees into the area.
1946-1947: Land disputes break out in Palestine. Britain 'gives leadership of Palestine' over to the United Nations. The UN votes on a two state solution, in which Israel receives 56% of the land, and Arab Palestinians receive 44%. Arab leadership is discontent with this arrangement, since they controlled much more before Britain.
1948 (Al-Naqba): The British withdraw from Palestine. Jewish Palestinians declare independence, and the state of Israel is formed. Neighboring Arab states (Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon) invade, based on their own nation's economic interests. The Jewish state wins.
It should be noted that Palestinian Arab leadership had little say in the actions of their neighboring nations , though they were most affected by decisions on both sides. In the end, the lost an additional 20% of their land.
This war is referred to by Israeli Jews as the War of Independence. Palestinian Arabs call it Al-Naqba, or The Catastrophe. Over 600,000 Arabs living in what would become Israel fled their homes or were kicked out by the Israeli army. Many of them took nothing with them, except their keys, expecting to return shortly.
Post 1948: With Jewish immigrants pouring in from Europe and other Arab countries, the population of Israel more then doubled in three years. The US begins a strong relationship with Israel, based on oil interests in the region, although not too publicly.
1967 (The Six-DayWar): Verbal and economic aggression and threats by nearby Arab states, most notably Egypt, create the impression that physical action may be taken against Israel. Fearing the possibility of attack, Israel preemptively attacks bases in Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, thereby taking Sinai from Egypt, the Golan heights from Syria, and the West Bank from Jordan. These areas become part of direct Israeli military control.
1970's and 80's: Attempts at peace and a two state solution. Extremists on both sides (militant Palestinians who want to revoke Israel as a state, and right-wing Zionists who want the entire region to be Jewish, annexing all of Palestine) object.
Many Jewish settlements are built on Palestinian land. This breaks international law, the the UN is powerless, based on the US relationship with Israel (more on this below).
1987-1989 (The First Intifada, "Shaking Off"): Mentally, physically, and economically worn out by the Israeli occupation, Palestinians rise up to get Israel out of their territories.
Though much of the Intifada was nonviolent, there was violence as well, which gained much publicity. Israel's response was harsh, drawing condemnation from other nations for being disproportionate. (We will post more later about how Palestine is occupied, with maps on Areas A, B, and C, etc.)
1990s (Oslo and the Peace Process): Yitzhak Rabin, Israel's Prime Minister, worked with Yaser Arafat and the US (via Clinton) towards peace. There was a lot of hope, as Rabin was respected by both right and left-wing Israelis (he was a leader in the 1948 war, and chief of staff of the military in the 1967 war).
In 1995 Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli who didn't want the country to cede any land back to Palestinians. His death marked the end of much of the peace process. Settlements continue to grow in the west bank and Gaza strip.
2000-2005 (The Second Intifada): As the peace process stalled, and the economic situation for Palestinians grew more dire, there was another uprising against the Israeli occupation. This was more violent than the first, with an increase in suicide bombers. Israel's response was again disproportionate, and often directed as collective punishment towards all Palestinians.
Israel's response to the second Intifada was to build a wall into Palestinian territories, separating all occupied Palestine from the rest of Israel. Though originally intended to be built on the borders of the 1967 war, the wall instead was built deep into Palestinian territory, confiscating farm land, destroying houses, splintering communities, and creating significant economic barriers (more on all of this later).
Into 2000: In 2006, Hamas wins political power through democratic elections in Gaza. Ariel Sharon, Israel's prime minister, begins the process of pulling settlers from occupied area in Gaza Strip. Fatah, the other major political power, retains power in the West bank.
No progress on the peace process in the last decade. Israel has refused to stop building settlements in the West Bank.
A few more things of note:
Economics: The GDP per person in Israel is $29,900/year. The GDP per person in the West Bank is 2,900/year.
Religion/Ethnicity: Palestinians are overwhelmingly Arab, though there is a mixture of ethnicities. Not all Arabs are Muslim. There is a significant Arab Christian population (about 30% where we're at).
Like their Muslim neighbors, 1 million Palestinian Christians were displaced during The Catastrophe.
Settlers: Generally, there are two reasons Jewish people settle in Palestine. There are economic settlers, who relocate for the government's significant economic incentives. Housing, land, and other expenses are much cheaper than in Jerusalem and other Israeli towns.
The second are ideological settlers, primarily Zionists who see it as their right to live on all land that was historically part of Israel. We have heard that both Israeli soldiers and Palestinians are more frightened of extremist ideological settlers than they are of each other. Clearly, not all settlers or Zionists are violent.
Refugees: Palestinians make up the largest refugee population in the world (about 5 million). They are spread throughout neighboring countries, like Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, as well as in occupied territories in the West bank and Gaza Strip.
In a song...
There is no denying that significant violence has been done on both sides of this conflict. There are tactics for causing terror used by both Israelis and Palestinians. There is fear, pain, exhaustion. There is also peaceful, kind, generous, and loving people everywhere we go. Lots of them!
We will try to show the nuances of both sides, but since most of what we hear in the US slants towards the Israeli side, and because we are currently located in (hosted by, meeting people from) Palestine, we will give more time and attention to the Palestinian experience.
