The combat between Israel and Hamas, which launched a surprise onslaught on Saturday, is the latest in seven decades of war and struggle between Israelis and Palestinians, which has dragged in other forces and destabilised the Middle East as a whole.
The conflict puts Palestinian aspirations for their own state against Israeli concerns for security in what Israel has long considered a hostile region.
During the conflict that followed, 700,000 c, roughly half of what was British-ruled Palestine’s Arab population, fled or were pushed from their homes, ending up in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, as well as Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
Israel, a strong US ally, denies driving Palestinians from their homes and points out that it was attacked by five Arab governments the day after it was established. Armistice pacts brought the combat to a standstill in 1949, but there was no real peace.
Palestinians who stayed in the war comprise the Arab Israeli community, which accounts for around 20% of Israel’s population.
What efforts have been made to achieve peace?
Egypt and Israel signed a peace pact in 1979, putting an end to 30 years of hostilities. In 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Accords on limited Palestinian autonomy. Israel and Jordan signed a peace pact in 1994.
President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Yasser Arafat failed to strike an agreement during the 2000 Camp David summit.
An Arab proposal proposed in 2002 offered Israel regular relations with all Arab countries in exchange for a complete withdrawal from the territory it seized in the 1967 Middle East war, the establishment of a Palestinian state, and a “just solution” for Palestinian refugees.
Since 2014, peace attempts have been stopped.
Efforts for Peace:
Throughout the years, numerous peace efforts have been launched, frequently with the assistance of international entities. The following are important landmarks:
The Oslo Accords (1993) were the first direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).
Camp David Summit (2000): US-mediated talks aimed at resolving core concerns but ended without a final agreement.
Arab Peace Initiative (2002): Arab League proposal to normalise relations with Israel in exchange for a two-state solution.
