The War in Israel Throughout History
Israel has a long history of conflict, with ongoing tensions between the people of Israel and Palestine. These issues are about land disputes, security concerns, and the goal of a peace agreement. Both sides have very serious concerns and aspirations but finding a solution that satisfies both sides is incredibly challenging. Conflicts between Israel and Palestine date back all the way to 1948 when Israel was established as a homeland for the Jewish people.
The Arab-Israeli war resulted in Israel winning and becoming its own country. Palestine didn’t like this and immediately started conflict with Israel but had not yet started a war. In 1967, the six-day war broke out between Israel and three bordering Arab countries. These countries were, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. Israel had defeated all three armies and had gained territory nearly four times its original size. This victory made Israel the preeminent military power in the region. The 1967 Six-Day War is probably the most important and most researched event in the Middle East since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
The next main conflict that occurred was in the 1990’s and was an agreement between Palestine and Israel that will last 5 years. This was called the Oslo accords, it was not a peace treaty
; rather, its aim was to establish interim governance arrangements and a framework to facilitate further negotiations for a final agreement. In 2000 and 2008, a wave of violence erupted, known as the second Intifada, with increased tensions between Israelis people and Palestinians. It led to a significant loss of life on both sides. Israel has engaged in several military operations in the Gaza Strip, including Operation Cast Lead.
Current Events in Israel
There had been a 13-year gap from 2008 to 2021 without any conflict but in May of 2021 conflict started back up. There was an escalation violence between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group. It resulted in a conflict that lasted for several weeks, causing casualties and destruction on both sides. The war has now fully evolved to major conflicts with airstrikes killing many soldiers and civilians. Last Wednesday, Israeli airstrikes hit a number of military sites in southern Syria although they were meant to target the Daraa countryside. Since the war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7, raising tensions in the region, Israel has carried out several reported strikes in Syria including two on the Damascus airport and three on Aleppo’s airport that put them out of service. Israel has targeted airports and seaports in the government-held parts of Syria in an apparent attempt to prevent arms shipments from Iran to militant groups backed by Tehran, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Israel is vowing again to destroy Hamas, rejecting calls for a cease-fire from the United Nations chief, the Palestinians and many countries at a high-level United Nations meeting and saying the war in Gaza is not merely its own but “the war of the free world.” Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also dismissed calls for “proportionality” in the country’s response to Hamas’ surprise attacks Oct. 7 that killed 1,400 people.
