One of the worst and most controversial middle-east crises has finally resorted to an unconditional ceasefire. The terms of ceasefire may turn out to be fragile but it definitely seems to be an end of 11 days long conflict with continuous airstrikes and rebellion killing about 240 people, mostly the civilians of Gaza strip. In the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there are only two ways to deal with Hamas, the radical militant at Gaza – either by conquering Gaza or by establishing deterrence. The 11 days of violence has been nothing but a way to deter in the backdrop of complete violation of human rights and humanitarian laws. 

The latest violence followed a month of rising tensions in Jerusalem when the Israeli troops entered the premises of Al-Aqsa (mosque) and terrorized people offering prayers. Finally on 10th May, Hamas strictly warned Israel to withdraw the troops from Al-Aqsa compound and Sheikh Zarra but the warning was ignored which initiated the loop of violence. The incident in May 2021 has humongous past, some of which can be revisited in certain bullet points starting with major causes leading to conflicts:

1. World war II and recognition of Israel: After the defeat of Ottoman Empire during World war I, Palestine was placed under British control which was a land of both Jews (minority) and Arabs (majority). After the world war II, post Hitler era, the sufferers of persecution during Holocaust, the Jews, started returning to their areas of Israel and Palestine which was considered their homeland. The Arabs who were in majority also considered the area as their homeland. In 1917, Britain was entrusted with the task to provide a home-state for Jews and now it was the time to enact it which resulted in an overtly tense situation.

2. Jerusalem: The holy land of Jerusalem is a epicenter for three major religions i.e. Christianity – Church of Holy Sepulchre; Muslims – The Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque; Judaism - The Western wall (considered as the holy of the holy amongst the Jewish culture). Thus, both Israel as well as Palestine claims Jerusalem as their capital which is a major point of conflict. According to organisations like Human Rights Watch, Israel is moving towards pushing muslims out of Jerusalem to preserve Jewish majority and resultantly change the demography.

3. Neighboring Arab nations: When Israel was declared an independent nation in 1948, the next day a war was waged against Israel by Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon to protest against the ‘Jewish Nation’ which they wanted to be an ‘Arab Nation’. 

These three being the major reasons, resulted into many agreements and disagreements. Some of the major incidents as per the timeline can be highlighted:

1. United Nations vote for division -1947: In 1947, after the end of second world war, United nations was in favor of two separate states i.e. Israel and Palestine which was absolutely opposed by the Jews and later, opposed by Arabs as well.

2. Formation of Israel – 1948: On May 14, 1948, Israel was officially declared a nation state, marking the first Jewish state in over 2,000 years which was also a desire of World Zionist Organization during 1847. Just one day later, war broke out between Israel and five Arab countries—Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. At the end of this conflict, known as the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt was given control of the Gaza Strip. Israel emerged victorious.

3. Suez Canal Crisis – 1956: Egypt nationalized Suez Canal which was under the British control. Thus, the British with the help of French and Israelis waged war against Egypt. Though Egypt emerged victorious, it increased the tension between Israel and the Arab world Nations.

4. The Gaza Strip and the Six day war – 1967: Egypt controlled Gaza until the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel seized the strip, along with several other important areas of land like the West Bank. After this, the tension between the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organisation under Yassar Arafat), the radical organization in Palestine and Israel intensified further.

5. Yom Kippur war – 1973: Sadaq, leader of Egypt wanted to destroy Israel due to historical reasons mentioned above. There was significant pressure from Yassar Arafat as well. Thus, Egypt + Syria attacked Israel but Israel could not be defeated again. This war further proved the dominance of Israel in military affairs.

6. Treaty of Camp David – 1978: Finally Egypt agreed that Israel could not be defeated by war and thus resorted to negotiation. Israel agreed to withdraw forces from Senai peninsula (at Egypt) and in return Egypt agreed not to wage war against Israel in future and also allowed use of Suez Canal. But this negotiation could not be done in case of Syria because Israel refused to return Golan Heights (a land that erstwhile belonged to Syria but is now with Israel after the Six Day War). Thus the tension continued.

7. Intifada – 1987: Large scale civil disobedience movement (non-payment of taxes, boycott of Israeli products began at West Bank and Gaza (the two claimed territory for Palestine). Israel responded with a massive crackdown, which was condemned globally.

8. Oslo Accords – 1993: Oslo Peace Accords between Palestinian (Yassar Arafat) and Israeli leaders negotiated for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and West Bank, which happened in 2005 under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. However, the Oslo Accord could not get a massive success because the terms were not satisfactory to the extremists of Palestine, as it did not give sovereignty or self-rule to Palestine.

9. Al-Aqsa Intifada II – 2000: Al Aqsa is a mosque in Jerusalem. A wall was being created across the borders of West Bank which has sidelined certain Arab populations and Jews started building their own infrastructure over there. This is still one of the ongoing issues of conflict.

10. Rise of Hamas – 2006: An Islamist political group called Hamas won elections and took control of Gaza in 2006. Since then, Hamas has occupied the strip, which has become a site for protests, bombings, land assaults and other acts of violence. Israel and the United States, as well as several other countries, consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Palestinians in Gaza don’t have an official army, but they do possess thousands of guns, rockets and other weapons. Since Israel controls the Gaza coastline and all entry points into the region, experts believe many of these weapons are smuggled into the region or provided by anti-Israeli allies in other countries, such as Iran.

Three major conflicts between Israel and Hamas have taken place in Gaza since 2005. Operation Case Lead (2008-2009) and Operation Pillar of Defense (2012) were in response to rocket fire over the Gaza-Israel border, while the kidnapping and murdering of three Israeli teenagers by two Hamas members sparked a seven-week conflict known as Operation Protective Edge in 2014.

 After 2014, the recent conflict was the worst conflict between the two where Hamas has rain-rocketed the Israeli territory and resultantly Israeli forces have bombed Gaza buildings. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli PM, has clearly disagreed and taken a hardline stand against the two state settlement which has divided the globe into two poles.

While the violence seems to be arising from the conflict with respect to land and religion, the story runs far deeper. India, right from the time of independence has been in ardent support of Palestine and people of Palestine and always voted in favour of two states in the United Nations. However, with the growing intimacy with Israel from the time of Narsimha Rao Government, India has maintained a neutral stand in this matter. Indian foreign policy with Israel for military and international affairs has substantially neutralized the stand of India for the issue. However, the traditional ties and stand for Palestine has never been completely pulled off.

With the ceasefire, we are hopeful for a brighter side. We are hoping that unlike 2014 ceasefire, this one proves to be stronger and satisfactory towards both the sides.