Monday September 22, Emmanuel Macron officially recognized Palestine as a state. On this occasion, we return to 5 major dates concerning the State of Palestine.
“I declare that France today recognizes the State of Palestine,” Emmanuel Macron told the UN gallery on Monday, September 22. This statement led to that of 4 other countries last Sunday: the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Portugal. In addition, still 5 other countries, namely Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta and Saint-Marin should continue this momentum soon. In this context of war which does not end between Israel and Palestine, we focused on 5 important dates in the construction of Palestine.
1897: The Basel Congress
In 1897, the first Zionist congress in Basel in Switzerland was held. Faced with the rise of anti -Semitism in Europe, the Zionists, including Theodor Herzl who published in 1896 “the State of the Jews”, report the impossible coexistence between the Jews and the other confessions in Europe. Thus, they affirm the need to create a Jewish State, the objective being“To assure the Jewish people a home in Palestine guaranteed by public law”, recommending“Systematic encouragement to the colonization of Palestine” And “Procedures (…) In order to obtain governments the consent necessary to achieve the purpose of Zionism“. From this congress results in the Basel program, created by the world Zionist organization which aims in particular to organize Judaism in different bodies on the local and general level.
1947: The Palestine sharing plan
In 1947, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) developed a plan to share Palestine in 3 entities, approved in New York by the vote of the resolution 181. This plan created a Jewish State (out of 56 % of the territory) and an Arab State (out of 42 % of the territory). In addition, Jerusalem and its suburbs are placed under international control. Thus, this plan is accepted by the leaders of the Yichouv (Jewish community in Palestine) but is rejected by the virtual enthusiasm of the leaders of the Arab community. On this point, the High Arab Committee declares to take “all the measures necessary to prevent the execution of the resolution” and the Arab States speak of attacking the Jewish State. This plan will lead to the 1947-1948 civil war which will be several thousand people.
1993: Oslo agreements
In 1993 in Oslo in Norway, secret negotiations between the OLP (Palestine Liberation Organization) and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to try to resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine led to “Oslo Agreements”. Following these agreements, the Declaration of principles is signed in Washington on September 13, 1993 by Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli Prime Minister, Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO and Bill Clinton, President of the United States. The purpose of this declaration is to establish an autonomous authority (the elected council) for the Palestinians of West Bank and the Gaza Strip for a period which will not go beyond 5 years.
2008: the “hardened lead” operation
On December 27, 2008, the Israeli army launched the “hardened lead” operation, an air and terrestrial offensive of 3 weeks against Hamas, an Islamist movement which led the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government aimed to stop arugula shots that struck the southern part of Israel. This offensive was very deadly, causing nearly 1,400 dead (mostly civilians) on the Palestinian side and 13 Israeli dead. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that this military operation led to 5,000 injured in the Gaza Strip. Finally, this offensive did not manage to put an end to the arugula shots, which was the initial objective.
2023: Israel’s attack by Hamas
On October 7, 2023, Hamas sparked the operation “deluge of Al-Aqsa” against Israel, attacking Israel by land, sea and air. Fighters enter Israeli territory, massacre civilians, and take hostage -taking. At that time, Israel retaliated by the operation “Iron swords” by bombarding the Gaza strip, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of reservists. Thus, this attack will make hundreds of victims and thousands of injured. Since then, bombings have persisted and restricted access to humanitarian aid trucks in Gaza has caused the state of famine to Gaza by the UN on August 22.
