Palestine: An Outside view

With the recent conflict starting up on October 7th, 2023, Israel and Palestine are once again at war. What separates this one from the countless other conflicts between the 2 is that this one may be Palestine's final stand against the Israeli war machine. Israel is conducting themselves much more aggressively, levelling entire neighbourhoods in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian resistance, as feeble as they may seem, are fighting back and holding on, at least as much as a state that is heavily controlled and influenced by a terrorist organization can against a nation whose history revolves around everyone around them hating their existence can. Another important difference is how this conflict started. The terror group Hamas, with strong influence in Palestine, attacked Israel in a move that can be seen as poking the sleeping bear. Israel's retaliation, and the resistance Hamas and Palestine are once again presenting, is the start of this current conflict. Whilst it is easy to look at this conflict and choose sides, as naïve as that view may be, I would like to focus on my angle, as someone from Azerbaijan, a Shia Muslim country with Israel as one of their close allies.

To understand this current situation, it is important to take a look at the past, specifically the period before October 7th:

1. Early History: The conflict has deep historical roots, with both Israelis and Palestinians laying claim to the same land. The Zionist movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries sought to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine, then part of the Ottoman Empire.

2. British Mandate: After World War I, the League of Nations granted Britain the mandate to govern Palestine. The British Mandate period saw tensions between Jewish immigrants and Arab Palestinians, leading to violence and riots.

3. UN Partition Plan (1947): The United Nations proposed a partition plan that would divide Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an international city. The plan was accepted by Jewish leaders but rejected by Arab leaders, leading to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

4. Creation of Israel (1948): Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948, leading to a war with neighboring Arab states. This resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs, a key issue that remains unresolved.

5. Post-1948 Conflicts: The conflict continued with multiple wars, including the Six-Day War (1967) and the Yom Kippur War (1973), further shaping the territorial boundaries and disputes between the two sides.

6. Occupation and Settlements: Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem during the 1967 war, leading to the construction of Israeli settlements in these territories. This issue remains a major point of contention.

7. Palestinian Resistance: Palestinian groups, including the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Hamas, have engaged in armed resistance and political activities to achieve self-determination and statehood.

8. Peace Processes: Several attempts have been made to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians, including the Oslo Accords (1993) and the Camp David Summit (2000), but a lasting resolution has proven elusive.

9. Gaza Strip: In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip, but the region has been marked by conflict and multiple wars, most notably the 2008-2009 Gaza War and the 2014 Gaza War.

10. Recent Developments: Leading up to October 7, 2023, the conflict had seen periods of relative calm and increased tensions, with occasional outbreaks of violence and hostilities. Efforts to resume peace negotiations remained stalled, and the status of Jerusalem, borders, and the right of return for Palestinian refugees continued to be major sticking points.

It is important to understand that the current conflict that is happening isn't exactly between Israel and Palestinian civilians, it is more aimed at Hamas, the terrorist organization that has major control of the region. Is the right to self-determination and self-rule violated by those self-rulers being a terror group? That is the key question. Israel believes so, and the main argument against this and all war in general is the simple fact that innocent people from both sides are caught in-between this conflicts, like pawns in this fierce game of chess. The only end to this conflict and the most possible end to this conflict now would be the elimination of Hamas from Palestine. Only time will tell whether if that will happen and more importantly, what would happen if Hamas was truly taken out of Palestine. Would Israel lay claim to the West Bank and Gaza? Would there be some sort of new border agreements, overseen and negotiated by some bigger Western powers? The what ifs are endless, and the future is very uncertain and doomed in some aspect. Is it perfectly fine for Israel to defend themselves from terrorists such as Hamas? Absolutely. Is it worth it doing it at the expense of innocents? The answer to this question is sure to make a few hands red.

The biggest issue regarding Western coverage of the conflict in my opinion is the failure to distinguish between Hamas and the innocent Palestinians. By backing Israel's right to defend itself, they are inadvertently giving Israel a green light to kill civilians in the region, almost like breaking a few eggs to make an omelette. The outrage for supporters of Palestine is the continual war crimes committed by Israel in their quest to rid the region of Hamas. It's almost like the killing of civilians, levelling of lands, and everything short of full on extermination of the Palestinians from the region is their main objective, not dealing with Hamas. Considering how fast Israel has expanded in the region, it isn't hard to see why people are concerned at this modern-day colonization happening in front of the world's eyes.

When it comes to my point of view as an Azerbaijani, it's a very hard impasse I find myself at. On the one hand, a nation's right to exist in this world without having a brutal overseer in Palestine's case is admirable, but seeing Palestine be represented by terror groups is almost reminiscent of the illegitimate Artsakh government that set up post in Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. The government and a bigger public opinion is backing Israel, due to Israel's support in reclaiming Azerbaijani lands that were under Armenian control for over 30 years. Despite being secular, a big percentage of Azerbaijan's population considers themselves Muslim, and seeing a fellow Muslim country getting systematically eradicated makes some consider their position on this conflict. Whilst it is an easy point to get, the fact that this religious brotherhood has never been enforced when Azerbaijan was under attack just shows flaws in this belief. Where was the Arab world when Azerbaijanis were being massacred in Khojaly? Why was it only Türkiye and Pakistan backing Azerbaijan in our own conflict against Armenia? When put in this zoomed out view, it is easy to see why more people are inclined to back Israel

I will end this blog here for now. The final things I want to say before finishing is this: Does the ends justify the means? When does one group's rights start and another group's rights end? The answers to these questions, and one's political view on these questions is what will navigate outsiders on this conflict.