Palestine-Why History and Context Matter

The roots of conflict

“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.  We’ve all heard it, but what does it mean?  The astounding number of people joining voices against Israel want you and I to believe that Palestine  is an Arab state, and Arabs residing in Palestine are a population held captive by an apartheid colonizer, Israel.  Their words also whisper a darkly sinister endpoint—Expectantly awaiting the day Israel is destroyed, and the removal from Palestine of every Jew, and every aspect of Jewish culture and history by any means possible.  So what do those means look like?  You only have to look at the historical record over decades.  Israel has defended itself through six major wars, and since 1994 endured 166 suicide bombings, of which most targets were civilians—-And now October 7th, 2023.  There is nothing noble, good, or justifiable that defends this rhetoric.   The voices that speak these words of hate, and the hands that perpetrate unrelenting terrorist actions against Israel represent the heart of evil in this conflict.

If you’re like me, unravelling and understanding Palestine requires some time diving into the perspective gained from Palestine’s history.  If not, the debate devolves into opinion, assumptions, and emotional bias informed positions.  A rudderless ship that goes nowhere.

I admit—I’ve struggled finding my way, cobbling together Palestine’s place in history from a patchwork of bits and pieces of old testament readings, and the flyover gotten from news accounts of Hamas shot rockets and failed peace negotiations.  It didn’t make much sense, and I didn’t think much about it.   The change was in 2019 during a visit to Israel with friends, like me, who also wanted to stand where Jesus’ ministry took place, and to  understand Palestine.  In Marika our guide, we now had the weaver to bring the pieces together. Her knowledge and passion was not only a lesson in history, but a personal commentary from one who had made Aliyah; who came home.  A story of the challenges of living in Israel, and why it was worth it.   

I was different returning home.  I paid attention to a variety of primary resources.  I revisited the old testament readings, and read other accounts of the region including Bruce Feiler’s book “Walking the Bible”, a personal quest to understand the land and people through Palestine’s history.  Nourishing his own spiritual awakening as an American secular Jew seeking to know his people’s story. 

Palestine is a region. It is not a state, not a country, and not the sole province of any single ethnic or political faction.  Palestine’s dominant population has varied across time, never having been the sole province of Jew, Arab, or Christian.  It has always been a shared landscape.  The biblical legacy of Palestine is the nation of Israel; the land promised through everlasting covenant given by God to the descendants of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob as recorded in Genesis, Exodus, and Deuteronomy.  Islam believes God meant the land for the descendants of Ishmael.  These different views of God’s promise are central to Israel's claim to it, and the fight against that claim. The result is the crucible of misery that is Palestine today, and in which the nation of Israel finds itself.  

Over millennia Palestine has been a place of passage and settlement for Jews, Bedouins, Arabs, Christians, and many others. It has been conquered, ruled, and lost by Philistines, Persians, Assyrians, Romans, and Ottomans. More recently the conflict over the right to Palestine, and who shall live there has been shaped by history, religion and the political influence of British and European policy through the League of Nations and the Balfour declaration which was ambiguous in it’s terms, leading to arbitrary boundaries in an attempt to maintain proxy governance in the region by European powers.  Consequentially these boundaries were contested, significantly inflaming existing tensions between Jew and Arab. The outcome was upheaval and displacement of Jewish settlers even as Jewish migration accelerated in the early 20th century.

Control and governance of Palestine by British installed rule unravelled inwardly as challenges increased against the British Mandate from those put in charge by Britain.  Britain heavily influenced the governance in the region including the Hashemite lineage of Transjordan, as well as neighboring Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.  Arab alliances grew more unified against British influence and became formalized as the Arab League.  The outfall was the Alexandria Protocol expressing resistance against the Jewish presence in Palestine, and which challenged further Jewish settlement.  British policy also opposed growth of Jewish settlement in Palestine as Britain saw it’s influence in the region eroding.  Britain, hoping for regional stability chose to align itself with Arab interests, though this would change quickly. Countercurrent to the anti zionist positions taken above was an accelerated Jewish migration to Palestine from those fleeing persecution in Europe, those with economic interests, and Zionists who were committed to the foundation of a Jewish nation.  A flashpoint was inevitable.  This was the stage on which fighting erupted before, during, and after WWII, and included the zionist revolt against Britain following WWII.

In 1948 the United Nations intervened, replacing the British Palestinian Mandate with resolution 181 recognizing Israel as a nation and dividing Palestine into the nation of Israel and the area of Palestine under Jordanian and Egyptian control, with Jerusalem being administered under UN oversight.  Immediately upon declaring statehood Israel was attacked by the combined forces of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria.   While being driven out of the historic Jewish quarter in Jerusalem, Israel prevailed in defending itself as a nation, expanding it’s control outside Jerusalem for the purpose of Israel’s own defense and  security, finding itself forced into occupying  territory that had been held previously under Arab control.  Subsequent hostile actions resulted in Israel controlling, and settling areas in the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan heights.  Jordan, under UN consent oversaw the West Bank beginning in 1950, but after years of conflict, disengaged itself in 1988. Arab residents who remained lost Jordanian citizenship, becoming stateless refugees.  

Now enter the PLO and other terrorist groups which have, and continue to instigate attacks against Israel domestically, and internationally.  It’s  involvement in bombings, suicide attacks using Arab children, hijacking of civilian airliners, and the massacres at the Munich Olympics in 1972, Rome airport, and throughout Europe seem to be forgotten in the current dialogue  around Israel’s actions to defend itself. 

Today Arab occupied Palestine is neither colonized, nor ruled by Israel.  Israel’s presence and action has been a response to defend itself.  Israel has offered and given assistance, but has been rebuffed uniformly over attempts to achieve peace through a two state solution.  The legacy of decisions made by Arab leadership against a lasting peace has created a West Bank and Gaza that continues to suffer within a vacuum of weak governance and corrupt leadership; an Arab population divided between Gaza and the West Bank, and which had spawned the PLO, and now Hamas.  Today’s political alignments were cemented in 2006 when Gaza fell under control of Hamas, the aftermath of elections that resulted in a bloody power struggle with Fatah.   Palestinian areas were then split between Fatah, which administers the West Bank under the Palestinian authority, and Hamas which controls Gaza.  

The reality is that Israel, rather than a colonizer and apartheid state, is held captive within it’s own land.  An honest examination of history should strip away the myopic view that Palestine’s history validates, and it’s future should hold to the claim that Palestine is an Arab state, and that there is no right for the nation of Israel to statehood, or the existence of a Jewish presence in Palestine.

The dominant authority  within Hamas is the militant arm.  It is one faction among many terrorist groups aligned with the Muslim brotherhood, the PLO, and Hezbollah which are now embedded in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinian controlled West Bank sectors.  Hamas and these other terrorists organizations are dedicated to the complete and total destruction of Israel.  Hamas has leveraged their quasi political window dressing as a representative government of Palestine to divert international aid as it funds it’s goal of annihilation of Jews and the nation of Israel.  Their diversion of funds meant for humanitarian aid has been the catalyst driving the agony of Arab suffering within Gaza.  Hiding their terrorist activities within the civilian population has turned their own people into pawns in the war to destroy Israel.  Hamas has only one interest. It will sacrifice everything and anyone in their pursuit of the destruction of Israel, and the annihilation of the Jewish people. 

Since the 2006 Palestinian elections factional infighting between Fatah and Hamas has upended all potential peace negotiations not only offered by Israel, but brokered through international diplomacy efforts involving both the west, the Arab world, and the UN.  Hamas is no friend to the surrounding Arab countries.  Beyond the over reaching logistics of creating an infrastructure to  absorb refugees, neither Jordan or Egypt have any desire to risk destabilizing their governments through allowing immigration or conferring citizenship to stateless Palestinian Arabs.  Aside from the economic impact, a greater concern is that those actions would be a conduit for Hamas and other groups to expand within their own borders. To that end, Israel remains stuck in the middle figuratively and literally, and Palestinian Arabs remain stateless victims of the Jordanian policy beginning in 1988 revoking citizenship rights to refugees; a non racial form of apartheid in it’s own right.

What might the future of Palestine look like?  Politically the way forward to peace can never be driven unilaterally by Israel.  It will only happen if Israel seeks expansion of  treaty agreements with Jordan and Egypt, and  negotiates agreements with a broader pan Arab coalition.  To move towards peace Israel must accept that on Israel’s part it will require concessions which would include removal and resettlement of Israelis currently living in illegal settlements in the West Bank, which are estimated to comprise 15% of the Jewish population in the area. The allowed expansion in recent years of illegal settlements has not added to Israel's security, but rather has been a political move that further destabilizes the situation, and has stretched the capacity of the IDF to protect those residents as Israel failed to do on October 7th.  In relocating and consolidating these settlements this would not be a reduction in the Jewish West Bank presence, but it would restore land to Arabs previously displaced.   Conversely further attempts to expand settlements would have little effect towards a significant population shift in favor of Israel as these contested areas are, and likely will remain predominately Palestinian Arab.  If Israel moved towards settlement restructuring in the West Bank it would be a significant bridge towards improved relationships with the Arab states, and serve to validate Israel’s past commitment towards creating a two state solution.

Jordan, Egypt, and a pan Arab coalition in concert with Israel must not waste the chance to restructure leadership in the region.  Lives lost both past and present, demand a new way forward to craft a unified governance of Gaza and the West Bank under an Arab and Israeli alliance that is committed to peace.    A new era that would guarantee security for Israel, provide for safety and the end of Hamas oppression of Palestinian Arabs, and would create a  pathway for citizenship to the stateless residents in Gaza. 

Jordan and Egypt need to accept this premise.  That in doing so it is to both countries benefit to take the lead on this. Israel can be a partner, but in the end, the task of peace will be driven through Arab initiative, but they must also understand there is no alternative for Israel now but the destruction of Hamas.   Soon, however the sword needs to laid down.  If not, Israel’s relationship with it’s neighbors will be one of domination, fear, and the rebirth of hostilities.  Should Israel prevail with eradicating Hamas terrorism, the future then holds out opportunity not seen in Palestine in this modern era.  New leadership that builds trust and cooperation in the region can only succeed if Israel endorses, and  participates in economic development; contributing to the rebuilding of a civil society and infrastructure as a partner in Gaza and the West Bank.  The moderate leaders in the Middle East have to understand the reality that Israel must survive.  If not, they will live under the larger threat of a dominant Iran in the region which will lead to a potential greater conflict not only with Iran, but Russia, China, and possibly North Korea, whose joint  actions throughout the Middle East would not be contained as a regional conflict, but likely spread to the west.

Unless a new way forward is adopted by all parties there is no hope for peace.  Without peace there is no replacement for hopelessness, and no chance of a new Palestine. A Palestine without Hamas, a Palestine where economic development, improvements in health and education, and peace could be the future of the West Bank and Gaza. That Israel would be accepted and remain safe and independent as the nation promised through God’s covenant to Abraham.  That this region called Palestine would flourish and become interdependent with Israel as their neighbor, not their enemy.