From the Ottoman Empire, to the colonies, and until now, Palestine has experienced many torments. Even today, two communities dispute the territory.
More than a century ago, a conflict was born which is today one of the most complex and controversial in the world. A conflict between two peoples over one and the same territory. Since the October 7, 2023the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has intensified. Currently, Israel continues its offensive in Rafah despite international pressure. Recently, attacks were launched on displaced persons camps causing more than 70 deaths in the two strikes… The clashes over this small territory are not ready to stop. Its history goes back several decades.
Also read: Where does the slogan “All Eyes on Rafah” come from?
Palestine under the Ottoman Empire
At the time and for more than four centuries, neither Israel nor Palestine existed. At this time, Palestine is part of the Ottoman Empire. But the latter is less and less respected by the Arab people who mainly populate Palestine. Beyond that, European forces are trying to establish themselves in this territory. It is a high place of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Thus, several religious communities coexist in the Ottoman Empire. But Jews and Christians, who are minorities, suffer many injustices. At the same time, anti-Semitism is skyrocketing in Europe. For example, the Dreyfus affair comes as a shock to many.
In 1897, the program of First World Zionist Congress establishes the fundamental principles for finding the Land promised to the descendants of Moses. THE Zionism aspires to achieve for the Jewish people in Palestine a publicly recognized and legally guaranteed home. “With England as our starting point, we can be assured that the Zionist idea will advance further and higher than ever before. “, declared Theodor Herzl, founder of political Zionism and author of “The State of the Jews”, in 1904. The Zionists are therefore ready to abandon centuries of cultures to take refuge in a promised land that their ancestors left them. In 1914 then, the Great War began, the French and English colonial powers opposed the German colonial empire. From year to year the war gets bogged down and Allies seek financial support. They will therefore try to turn towards the American Jewish community.
The Balfour Declaration in 1917
More than a century ago, right in the middle of the First World War, THE November 2, 1917, Arthur Balfour, British Foreign Minister, sent a letter to Lord Lionel Walteer Rothschild, the honorary president of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain. He provided the support of Her Majesty’s Government for the establishment of a “Jewish home in Palestine”while ensuring that the rights of non-Jewish communities would be respected. This letter, of around a hundred words, became a important diplomatic document in the history of the Middle East in the 20th century. But it was much more than that. It was also one of the first steps in the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In a tense political context, this declaration allowed the British to rally Jewish communities to obtain funds from English and American Jewish banks. They believe them extremely rich and think they can contribute to the war effort. The problem is that other promises were announced in parallel. The British have already assured recognize and support Arab independence in exchange for their participation in the war against the Turks. The situation is then delicate, it is starting point of a long conflict very well described in the words of Arthur Koestler: “ One nation has solemnly promised to a second the territory of a third.”
Palestine under British Mandate
At that moment, the League of Nations decides to place the territories of the Ottoman Empire under mandates while delegating to civilized countries. If the League of Nations matters 30 members, these territories will be shared between the French colonial empire and the English colonial empire. Instead of allowing the creation of an Arab kingdom, the settlers will draw their own borders creating Lebanon and Palestine, under British mandate. Britons face growing tensions between Jewish and Arab communities, exacerbated by the increase in Jewish immigration which benefits from the Western colonial system. Several Arab revolts broke out after they felt betrayed and devalued.
But it became a nightmare with the Second World War. The extermination of the Jews begins in Europe. The more Europeans persecute the Jews, the more they arrive in Palestine. Russians, Poles and Germans settle in Palestine, increasing the Jewish population 20 percentage points. In this instabilityTHE European countries are gradually losing control of their mandated territories. Everyone takes their independence except the Palestine. Migrants continue to arrive. On site, the Arab Palestinian anti-colonialists fight against settlers whether French or English. But they also attack Jews. If the latter have the European nationalitythey still flee their country of departure while waiting for a Israeli nationality. But the Arabs of Palestine do not feel concerned by these crimes and wish to obtain a total sovereignty over the territory. Dissatisfied with the situation, Arab nationalists revolt. Conflicts intensify.
The UN highlights its sharing plan
Faced with the inability to manage the situation, Great Britain hands over the Palestinian question to the United Nations. In 1947the UN responds by proposing a Palestine partition plandividing the territory into two sovereign states. There will therefore be a Jewish state and an Arab state. But the UN also chooses to place the holy places like Jerusalem under international regime. So, 56% of the surface area of the territory will be granted to Jews And 44% to the community Arab. This inequality of sharing will accentuate the disputes already in progress. Wishing for total sovereignty over the territory, the Palestinians refuse this plan, while the Jewish leaders accept it. A civil war will begin immediately.
The proclamation of Israel
“By virtue of the natural and historical right of the Jewish people, and the resolution of the United Nations, we hereby proclaim the creation of the Jewish State of Palestine which will take the name of Israel. » This is what the declaration states proclaims the independence of the State of Israel. Indeed, the May 14, 1948THE British mandate officially ends. THE president of the Jewish National Council, David Ben-Gurion then announce the independence of the State of Israel. Immediately the Arab states in the region attacked Israel, perceived as a danger to the possibility of true Arab autonomy. But Jewish Zionists feel comfortable in this new territory and refuse to turn back and suffer another massacre. The day after the proclamation of Israel, the first war Israeli-Arab breaks out. A conflict which will lead to the creation of the State of Israel and the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, the Nakba.
