Israel-Palestine Conflict

Israel-Palestine Conflict

News: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel would “crush and destroy” all Hamas members, as the country continued its strikes in Gaza in response to the weekend assault by Hamas.

Instructions:
• Before you understand the conflict in detail you must observe the map and understand things keeping map in the background.

What is Gaza Strip? Who controls it?
• The Gaza Strip is a narrow piece of land located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, bordered by Israel to the east and north, and Egypt to the southwest. It is one of the two Palestinian territories, alongside the West Bank.
• The Gaza Strip has a population of about 2 million people, making it one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
• The Gaza Strip is currently controlled by Hamas, a militant Islamist group that won the Palestinian legislative election in 2006 and ousted the rival Fatah faction from the territory in 2007.

What is West Bank? Who controls it?
• The West Bank is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of Western Asia that forms the main bulk of the Palestinian territories.
• It is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel to the south, west, and north.
• It has an estimated population of 2,747,943 Palestinians, and over 670,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, of which approximately 220,000 live in East Jerusalem.
• The West Bank is currently controlled by different actors, depending on the area.
• According to the Oslo Accords, signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel in 1995, the West Bank was divided into three areas: Area A, which is administered exclusively by the Palestinian Authority (PA); Area B, which is administered by both the PA and Israel; and Area C, which is administered exclusively by Israel. Area C accounts for over 60% of the West Bank’s territory.

About Jerusalem:
• West Jerusalem has been Israeli territory since 1948 with Jews in the majority. East Jerusalem, which houses the Old City of Jerusalem including the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, is Palestinian majority and was occupied by Israel in 1967.
• The whole of Jerusalem is claimed by Israel as its capital. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

What are the reasons for the Israel-Palestine conflict? (In present and near past context)
• Unresolved issue of Jerusalem, increased Israeli settlement in West Bank and unresolved border disputes.
• The Palestinians remain politically divided between Fatah and Hamas, and thus are unable to negotiate jointly. Further, Israel is unwilling to negotiate with the violent group Hamas.
• Improving relations between Israel and some Arab and Gulf nations.
• The signing of Abraham Accords between UAE, Bahrain and Israel and later Morocco, Sudan also formally joined the Abraham Accords. This has not gone well with many nations who consider Israel to be an enemy nation.
• A peace deal was apparently about to announced between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
• The Palestinian Authority (PA) which is the official government of the Palestinians failed to deliver on its mandate of promised Palestinian state. Hamas has taken on itself to complete the unfinished task.
• Hamas is being provided logistical, technological and intelligence support by terrorist organizations like Hezbollah operating in Lebanon and funding by Iran and Qatar.

What has been India’s stance on the conflict?
India’s stand on the Israel-Palestine conflict has evolved with time and changing dynamics in the region. It needs to be understood with a timeline. 

What will be the impact of Israel-Hamas war on India?
• India has in the recent past successfully co-ordinated with both Israel and Palestine owing to Dehyphenation policy but recent events has put India in a diplomatic tight-spot.
• India was hoping to reap rewards from the on-going developments in the West Asian region (Abraham accords) through it’s India-Middle-east-Europe economic corridor but that looks uncertain at least in near future.
• More than 50% of India’s energy imports are sourced from West-Asia. The war will impact energy prices and further push inflation.
• Depreciation of Indian rupee
• Evacuation of 90 lakh strong Indian community in West Asia will be challenging in event of a full-blown war.


Way Forward
• The world has witnessed and suffered a lot since the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war. The world as much as citizens in Palestine and Israel aren’t prepared another war which will disrupt global supply chains.
• United Nations Security Council must intervene and broker a peace talk between the 2 sides.
• India, which shares good relations with both Arab countries and Israel can act as a mediator as well to prevent further escalations.