A little history so you can understand the talking heads on the evening news.
First, let’s identify where this is all happening. The Gaza Strip
A small strip of land in the Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel.
It is slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC and 64% of its population is under the age of 24.
There are 2 million people living on the Gaza strip and they are 98% Sunni Muslims. (CIA World Factbook)
Israel removed settlers and military personnel from Gaza Strip in September 2005 So there are no Jewish people living there.
Now for the history:
Inhabited since at least the 15th century B.C., Gaza has been dominated by many different peoples and empires throughout its history; it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire (The Turks) in the early 16th century. (Crescent moon story/French crescent rolls)
Gaza fell to British forces during World War I, becoming a part of the British control of Palestine set out by the Treaty of Versailles at the end of WWI.
(Balfour Declaration/Lawrence of Arabia)
Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly formed Gaza Strip; it was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967.
Under a series of agreements signed between 1994 and 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank.
In early 2003, the US, EU, UN, and Russia, presented a roadmap to a final peace settlement by 2005, calling for two states – Israel and a democratic Palestine.
Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT’s death in late 2004 and the subsequent election of Mahmud ABBAS (head of the Fatah political party) as the PA president, Israel and the PA agreed to move the peace process forward.
Israel in late 2005 unilaterally withdrew all of its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip, but continues to control maritime, airspace, and other access.
Now to the Players:
HAMAS
Hamas goal is to create a single, Sunni, Islamic state in historic Palestine, which is now largely divided between Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Hamas, means “zeal” in Arabic and is an acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement.
Hamas’s charter calls for Israel’s destruction, and Hamas has engaged in terrorist activities.
Hamas’s leadership grew up in the late 1940s, mostly as impoverished offspring of Palestinian refugees.
Many of Hamas’s leaders were educated in Cairo during the rule of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. Present members include religious leaders, sheikhs (Arab chiefs), intellectuals, technocrats, businessmen, young activists, and paramilitary fighters.
To cultivate support, Hamas has provided social services to the needy in the 11 refugee camps in Gaza.
Providing social welfare and education through clinics, kindergartens, summer camps, medical services, sports programs, and job programs has tied the Hamas leadership to its supporters.
Mosques and Islamic religious organizations have been Hamas’s most important vehicles for spreading its message and providing its services. Partly funded by its members, most funds come from sympathizers abroad.
The group was founded in 1988 as a militant segment of the Palestinian Arab national movement and was connected ideologically to the Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded in Egypt 60 years earlier.
Hamas is calling for the destruction of Israel and the return to Islamic values.
Hamas firmly opposed the 1993 Oslo Accords, in which the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel engaged in mutual recognition for the purpose of Israel’s gradual transfer of power, land, and limited self-rule to the PLO.
After denouncing the September 1993 Oslo Accords, Hamas increased its strikes against Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as in Israel proper.
It boycotted the January 1996 Palestinian presidential and legislative council elections. The elections were won by the opposing political party, headed by PLO leader Yasir Arafat.
The boycott was in part because Hamas knew it would lose the election, but also Hamas wanted to avoid giving legitimacy to the PLO’s recognition of Israel.
Under the accord, Israel, the United States, and Western European nations asked the newly created Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to suppress Hamas’s attacks.
Arafat periodically restrained Hamas terrorist actions against Israel but he did not suppress them altogether.
In March 2004 Israel Defense Forces assassinated the Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin in a helicopter gunship attack as Yassin left a mosque in the Gaza Strip.
The next month Israel assassinated his successor Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, a cofounder of Hamas.
In both cases Israel claimed that these two men were responsible for killing Israeli civilians. Israel announced it would continue such targeted assassinations as part of its war on terrorism.
The assassinations occurred as Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon said he was ready to unilaterally evacuate some 9,500 Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
In early 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won the Palestinian Legislative Council election and took control of the PA government.
Attempts to form a unity government between the PLO and HAMAS failed, and violent clashes between PLO and HAMAS supporters ensued, culminating in HAMAS’s violent seizure of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip in June 2007.
Israel
Following World War II, the British withdrew from their control of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. (A I said earlier, both sides were promised Palestine by the Brits)
Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides.
In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement to the dispute.
Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the “Oslo Accords”) guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule.
Progress toward a permanent status agreement was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between September 2003 and February 2005.
As I stated earlier, Israel in 2005 unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip, evacuating settlers and its military while retaining control over most points of entry into the Gaza Strip.
The election of HAMAS to head the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006 froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Israel engaged in a 23-day conflict with HAMAS in the Gaza Strip during December 2008 and January 2009.
Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU formed a coalition in March 2009 following a February 2009 general election. Direct talks with the PA launched in September 2010 collapsed.
So in summary, why are Israel and Hamas current enemies?
Hamas won Palestinian elections in 2006 and reinforced its power in the Gaza Strip after ousting West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, in clashes the following year.
While Mr Abbas’ Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had signed peace accords with Israel, Hamas does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and advocates the use of violence against it.
Israel, along with Egypt, has maintained a blockade of Gaza since about 2006, in order, they say, to stop attacks by militants.
Israel and Hamas have gone to war three times, and rocket-fire from Gaza and Israel air strikes against militant targets are a regular occurrence. That is what we are seeing on the news today.
Now here is something you need to keep in mind.
The recent cease fire that President Biden has been bragging about was agreed to between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PLO), not HAMAS.
What is a shame is that people on both sides are being killed simply because Hamas is not willing to join the PLO and Israel in finding a solution.
For its part, I think Israel has shown tremendous restraint. Why? Because their fight is not with the people of the Gaza strip, it is with Hamas who is using the Palestinian people as a shield, setting up their rocket launchers on top of schools, hospitals, and residential buildings.
So, there you have it folks. Think this can be solved by signing treaties, or is this a conflict that can only be settled through force?
It is not going to solve itself. It will probably only get worse in the coming months.
Do you think the US should play a role in any of this?