Background
The Israel-Palestine war is one of the oldest and most persistent wars in the world, with its origin dating back to 1947. The war stems from the United Nation’s decision to partition the British mandate of Palestine into two states, one Arab and the other Jewish (Ishmali & Ibiang, 2023). A decision the Palestinians and the neighbouring Arab countries were against as the partition plan allocated a significant portion of the land to modern Israel, which was an unjust practice to them. The founding of modern Israel led to a massive war in 1948, ending in 1949 with Israel as the victor and the territory was divided into three parts, that is, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the State of Israel (Yarchi & Ayalon, 2023). However, the war also led to the displacement of about 700,000 Palestinians and approximately 85 percent of the Arab population being held captive by Israel (Yarchi & Ayalon, 2023). Arabs who remained citizens there were subject to discrimination, with their lands being expropriated, their civil rights denied and, deliberately underfunded and kept poor. These incidents have, to date, put the Palestinians and Israel under wars marked with territorial disputes and humanitarian crises, with both sides putting a religious and historical claim to the land.
Present Conflict
In 2023, October, another war broke out between the Hamas (the militant Islamist group) and Israel, leading to the death of more than 1,300 and 3,300 injured Israelis and the Hamas taking hundreds of hostages (Ishmali & Ibiang, 2023). Following this incident, the Israel cabinet declared a war formally against the Hamas with a directive to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) from the defense minister, and from this day, both sides have been trading rocket fire. Israel ordered an evacuation on October 28th, 2023, of more than one million Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza, with Israeli forces surrounding Gaza City (Yarchi & Ayalon, 2023). The war ended up killing 10,000 Palestinians, including 4,000 children, while the territory is currently in desperate need of water and supplies as Israel has limited the amount of aid that can enter, rejecting humanitarian aid (Haifa et al., 2023). The ongoing negotiations have only resulted in 1,100 individuals exiting Gaza, and the other 1.5 million displaced Gazans are stranded with nowhere to go, facing security risks and dire living conditions.
Relevant Intervening Geopolitical Elements
National Interest
The Palestinians’ national interest lies in their quest to seek statehood and self-determination. The struggle they have been passing through yearns for freedom from oppression, exile, and settler-colonialism (Yarchi & Ayalon, 2023). Ever since the creation of the state of Israel, they have sought to fulfill their right to return their land, enshrined in UN resolution 194 (Ishmali & Ibiang, 2023). Linking self-determination with statehood has given the palatines a concrete political meaning in a system that recognizes the legitimacy of their struggles (Ben‐Meir, 2023). Establishing Palestine as an independent state is therefore seen as essential in order to preserve its identity, culture, and rights (Yarchi & Ayalon, 2023). It is meant to rectify the injustices they have faced over a long time, ending the occupation of the Israelis and ultimately safeguarding the aspirations and national interests of self-governance.
Power Dynamics
Evaluating Palestine and Israel’s position in terms of power indicates a great power imbalance. Israel has in its possession one of the most modernized armies in the world, well-equipped with a nuclear arsenal. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has an active military personnel amounting up to 170,000, with more than 3 million females and males ready for army services. Additionally, the army has different kinds of weapons, including 684 fighter jets, eight missile boats, four corvettes, five submarines, and two support ships (Yarchi & Ayalon, 2023). On the other hand, Palestine lacks any real state or regular army, and the Palestinian resistance groups of 30,000 to 50,000 troops have less manpower than the Israeli army (Ishmali & Ibiang, 2023). Although groups like Hamas have the aim of building their own rockets and other equipment in Gaza, Palestine has no national defence industry. Consequently, Palestinians put much reliance on international support, diplomacy, and nonviolent resistance strategies to equalize Israel’s military dominance.
World Order
Considering the Israel-Palestinian war from the Palestinian narrative, the existing world order is critiqued. Palestinians perceive injustice and double standards applied by the international community, and this has been the main reason for more injustices (Haifa et al., 2023). The Israelis have long caused the deaths, injuries and displacement of Palestinians, yet, at the time, the world was silent. However, the Hamas-led massacre of the Israeli people sparked global outrage (Yarchi & Ayalon, 2023). For this reason, Palestinians are wondering why the world only woke up to this decade-long war when Israeli lives were lost. The disinformation spreading across the media giving false facts regarding the war has increased the long practice of marginalizing Palestine voices and rights (Ben‐Meir, 2023). According to the Palestinians, despite the numerous attempts of the United Nations resolutions, which have affirmed their rights and condemned the actions of the Israelis, the se resolutions have not been enforced or implemented. For this reason, Palestinians advocate for equity and a just world order, one that respects their rights and principles of self-determination.
Sovereignty
Over the past seven decades, the Palestinian yearning for sovereignty has failed to yield some reasons, such as the lack of a stable government and Israel’s occupation. This has prevented the Palestinian territories from developing public policies and exercising their sovereignty (Indriasandi & Wargadinata, 2023). However, a total of 139 of the 193 member states have recognized it as a sovereign state; this excludes the United States and the major European countries (Sirayon, 2024). The states with leadership positions in the global area, including Israel, which is protected by the US, have achieved their positions of power and influence, undermining Palestine’s authority (Ben‐Meir, 2023). Palestine claims a right to sovereignty over the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, territories that have been occupied by Israel since 1967, and until they achieve their aspirations, they cannot achieve their independence.
International Law
The Palestinians criticize how international law has been used to cover up the Israeli setter-colonialism. According to the law, Israel’s attack against the Palestinians is an act of self-defence, justifying Israel’s actions against the conventional armed forces of another state (Sirayon, 2024). The vagueness of international law has made Israel believe that Israel adheres to the laws, while many human rights organizations claim it does not (Noah, 2023). The Hamas are officially seen as a threat to Israel, and Israelis have been given the legal authority to attack without considering the large number of Palestinian civilian casualties. Based on these assertions, Palestinians have put a lot of emphasis on the vitality of international law in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Indriasandi & Wargadinata, 2023). Basing their argument on the Fourth Geneva Convention, which highlights the need to protect civilian persons, Palestine highlights the illegal nature of Israeli’s attack while advocating for a just system that will see through their struggles and resolve the ongoing conflict.
Human Rights
The concept of apartheid means the maintenance and implementation of a system where segregation and denial of political and civil rights have been used in relation to the Occupied Palestinian territory and Israel (Noah, 2023). The continual practices and policies towards Palestinians by Israelis, if continued, would become a crime of exercising control and persecution, which may lead to apartheid. Israeli has continually violated human rights, includingarbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings, and restrictions on freedom of movement, and still no solid action has been taken against them (Akgül-Açıkmeşe & Özel, 2024). This makes the Palestinians advocate for their rights to freedom, equality, and self-determination, and upholding these rights is very vital for peace and sustainable solutions to the ongoing conflicts.
Conclusion
In summary, the continuous and persistent war between Israel and Palestine has been of concern for decades, affecting the Palestinians hugely. An assessment of the Palestine narrative and position reveals quite intriguing findings. Firstly, in terms of national interest, the Palestinians seek statehood and self-determination in response to the continual oppression, settler colonization, and exile that has exposed their people to the worst living conditions. This is meant to rectify the injustices they have faced over a long time, ending the occupation of the Israelis and ultimately safeguarding the aspirations and national interests of self-governance. Secondly, Israel exhibits much power compared to Palestine, as evidenced by the modernized armies, large numbers of military personnel, as well as a large number of weapons, including fighter jets, missile boats, corvettes, submarines, and support ships. On the other hand, Palestine lacks any real state or regular army, and the Palestinian resistance groups have less manpower than the Israeli army.
The Palestinians critique the existing world order, perceiving it as unjust and double standards favouring the Israelis over them, yet the Israelis have long caused the deaths, injuries and displacement of Palestinians. Despite the numerous attempts of the United Nations resolutions, which have affirmed their rights and condemned the actions of the Israelis, the resolutions have not been enforced or implemented. Palestinians, therefore, advocate for equity and a just world order. Palestinians have been recognized by some member states as sovereign states; however, they still feel the need to develop their own public policies and exercise their sovereignty over the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem territories. In addition, the Palestinians criticize how international law has been used to cover up Israeli setter-colonialism. Basing their argument on the Fourth Geneva Convention, which highlights the need to protect civilian persons, Palestine highlights the illegal nature of Israeli’s attack while advocating for a just system that will see through their struggles and resolve the ongoing conflict. Overall, addressing the Israel-Palestine war is crucial for peace and sustainability.
References
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Ben‐Meir, A. (2023). Psychological impediments are at the core of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Politics & Policy, 51(3), 488-503.https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12535
Haifa, A. A., Zineb, O. T., & Ziad, Q. (2023). Good governance: Concept, basics, and relationship to sustainable development from a Palestinian perspective. Sustainable Development, 31(4), 2122-2136.https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2530
Indriasandi, I. B., & Wargadinata, W. (2023). Palestine-Israel Conflict Resolution Analysis Study in the Perspective of Islamic History. Jurnal Al-Azhar Indonesia Seri Humaniora, 8(2), 102-112.https://jurnal.uai.ac.id/index.php/SH/article/view/1742
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Yarchi, M., & Ayalon, A. (2023). Fighting over the image: the Israeli− Palestinian conflict in the Gaza strip 2018− 19. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 46(2), 123-136.https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2020.1751461
Sirayon, H. (2024). Critical analysis of the dynamics of Israel-Palestinian conflict based on theories of international security. Journal of Diplomacy, Peace and Conflict Studies, 1(1), 5-9.https://quantresearchpublishing.com/index.php/jdpcs/article/download/20/30
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