Fernando Alcoforado*
This article aims to demonstrate the urgent need to celebrate peace between the State of Israel and the people of Palestine to avoid the escalation of the civil war in Israel between Jews and Palestinians, a regional war between Israel and Iran and other Arab countries and , even, of a new world war involving the great powers. The current events in which Palestinians from the Gaza Strip launch rockets on Israeli cities and Israel retaliates by launching bombs and rockets on the Gaza Strip, which could evolve into its occupation by the Israeli Army and the massacre of the population in Gaza, need to be stopped. Unlike past conflicts, the current conflict is also contributing to the outbreak of a civil war in Israel involving Jews and Palestinians. Peace needs to be celebrated between the State of Israel and the Palestinian people to end the violence between the two brotherly peoples, Jews and Palestinians, and end the bloodbath taking place in the region since the end of the First World War in 1918.
To better understand the Jewish and Palestinian conflict, it is important to know its history from the 2nd millennium BC onwards. At this time, Palestine was organized into city-states under Egyptian hegemony for much of the 2nd millennium BC. In the last centuries of this millennium, successive waves of immigrants or invaders arrived in Palestine from the north and northwest, from the islands or from the other side of the Mediterranean, who were known as Philistines and settled, especially in the southwest (west coast of the Negev and Chefella ), where they founded several small kingdoms (Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gat and Ekron). Parallel to the Philistine kingdoms, the kingdom of Israel was established in the north of Palestine and then the kingdom of Judah in the low mountainous area of the south. Among the ancient peoples of Palestine, the Philistines had the greatest influence until the last centuries of the pre-Christian era. It was not by chance that the name Palestine was given to the entire region, that is, the country of the Philistines.
The various Palestinian, Philistine and Israeli kingdoms coexisted for centuries. At times they fought against each other, at other times they allied themselves to combat the yoke of some great power of the time. The first victim of this process was Israel, conquered and annexed by Assyria in 722 BC. C. From then until 1948 there was no political entity called Israel in the region. Judaism always retained the hope that one day all the dispersed Jewish people would return to what it called “the Land of Israel”. In their history, Jews have faced several Diasporas that involve several forced expulsions around the world and the consequent formation of Jewish communities outside of what is known today as Israel. Generally speaking, the beginning of the first Jewish diaspora is attributed to the year 586 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar II, emperor of Babylon (located in ancient Mesopotamia, located about 85 km south of Baghdad in Iraq), invaded the Kingdom of Judah, destroying Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple, in addition to deporting the Jews to Mesopotamia.
In the 1st century, the Romans invade Palestine and destroy the temple in Jerusalem. In the following century, they destroyed the city of Jerusalem, causing the second Jewish diaspora, sending Jews to other countries in Asia Minor, Africa and southern Europe. With the Roman Empire’s rule over Judea, most of the Jews who lived there emigrated to Babylon, which became the largest Jewish community center in the world until the 11th century. With the triumph of nationalist ideologies in Europe and the idea of creating a national state, a nationalist movement emerged in the 19th century among the Jews of central and eastern Europe whose objective was the creation of a Jewish state, which was considered the only means of ensuring the identity and survival of the Jewish nation, as well as guaranteeing it a place in the sun among other nations. Jewish nationalism took the name Zionism, a word that derives from Zion, one of the names of Jerusalem in the Bible. Initially religious in nature, Zionism preached the return of the Jews to the “Land of Israel”.
Contrary to Israel’s formation of religious utopia, the state projected by Jewish nationalists at this time did not necessarily have Palestine as its setting. Jewish nationalists were quick to opt for Palestine. This choice was natural and quite mobilizing, because of Judaism’s connection to Palestine and the attraction it exerts even on many Jews who are not religious or originally from this region. The First World War had tragic consequences for Palestine. The defeat of the Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey), an ally of Germany defeated in the First World War (1914-1918), which exercised domination over Palestine, had decisive consequences for the future of this region. After the world conflict, it was created, by the article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations on June 28, 1919, the Mandate system that was intended to determine the status of colonies and territories that were under the control of the vanquished nations. The British Mandate that included Palestine was approved by the Council of the League of Nations on July 24, 1922 (Figure 1).
Figure 1- British Mandate for Palestine and Transjordan
Source: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/when-churchill-severed-transjordan-from-palestine
The British Mandate for Palestine no longer considered its objective to bring the population that then inhabited it, that is, the Palestinian population, to full independence. Instead, he promoted the creation of a Jewish national home, that is, the creation of a Jewish state with people who, for the most part, were still scattered around the world and, therefore, had to be brought in from outside. Great Britain, the hegemonic power at the time, promised the Zionist Federation that it would do everything possible to establish “a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine with the so-called Balfour Declaration. The territory that the Zionists intended to establish their state in was much larger than Palestine. It encompassed the entire western part of Transjordan, the Golan plateau and the part of Lebanon south of Sidon. The obstacle that prevented the process of Palestinian independence was, therefore, the privilege given to the Jews to create the “national home for the Jewish people” in this region.
The Palestinians saw the sponsorship given first by Great Britain and then by the League of Nations to the Zionist project of creating a Jewish national home in Palestine as a denial of their right to independence. Palestinians felt dispossessed. Naturally, the Palestinians opposed the project of creating a Jewish national home in Palestine from the first moment – as soon as they became aware of the Balfour Declaration and tried, by all means, to prevent its realization, as they feared that it would result in their submission, not only political, but also economic to the Jews, thus passing from the domination of the Ottoman Empire to the Jewish domination, with an interval of British domination. Palestinians lodged protests against the Balfour Declaration with the Paris Peace Conference and the British Government. The first popular demonstration against the Zionist project took place on November 2, 1918, the first anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. This demonstration was peaceful, but Palestinian resistance soon turned violent, expressing itself in attacks against Jews that degenerated into bloody clashes.
Generally speaking, outbreaks of violence were increasingly serious as the Mandate prolonged and Jewish colonization in Palestine extended and strengthened. Events unfolded in a sequence that became customary. Palestinian resistance also occurred in the 1936-1939 uprising. In April 1936, local disturbances between Arabs and Jews degenerated into a widespread Palestinian revolt. The revolt was no longer just opposed to Jewish colonization. It was directed, above all, against the British authorities, the foreign power, from which the Palestinians demanded the constitution of a national government. Having reached the conclusion that the Palestinians would not renounce their independence, in 1937 the British considered the possibility of dividing Palestine into two states, one Arab and the other Jewish. Both parties rejected this solution. The Jews, who saw this plan as a deviation from not only British but also international official policy, did not accept the idea of creating the Jewish state only in a part of Palestine, which would apparently mean renouncing the claim to the entire region. The Palestinians, in turn, did not renounce their territory. This divergence continues to this day.
It is important to note that the conflict between Jews and Palestinians began in the 19th century, when Zionist Jews expressed the desire to create a modern state in their ancestral land and began to create settlements in Palestine, at the time still controlled by the Ottoman Empire. Both Israelis and Palestinians claim their share of the land based on history, religion and culture. The great powers that won the First World War decided the fate of Palestine in favor of the Jews, using the League of Nations to do so, thus configuring the arrogance that has always characterized international relations throughout history. The Palestinians saw the sponsorship given first by Great Britain and then by the League of Nations to the Zionist project of creating a Jewish national home in Palestine as a denial of their right to independence.
Since then, there has been much violence and controversy surrounding the issue, as well as several peace negotiations during the 20th century. The State of Israel was founded in 1948, following the Partition Plan drawn up by the UN, which divided the region, then under British rule, into Arab and Jewish states (Figure 2). Because of this partition, the territories occupied by Israel at the end of World War II constituted about 78% of Palestine. They became, in fact, the territory of the State of Israel. With the formation of the State of Israel, in May 1948, there was the occupation of Palestine by the Jews when many displaced people and Jewish refugees from the Second World War migrated to the new sovereign state. The chain of low mountains in central and southern Palestine, the so-called West Bank, as well as the Gaza Strip, remained outside Israel. Jerusalem was divided: the western part of the city outside the walls sided with Israel; the old city and the extramural neighborhood to the north were on the Palestinian side.
Figure 2- UN Sharing Plan
Source: https://ensinandodesiao.org.br/artigos-e-estudos/historia-e-significado-de-palestina-e-palestinos/
Palestinians demand to establish a sovereign and independent Palestinian State. Most Palestinians accept the West Bank and Gaza Strip regions as territory for a future Palestinian state. Many Israelis also accept this solution. A discussion around this solution took place during the Oslo Accords, signed in September 1993 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which allowed the formation of the ANP (Palestinian National Authority). Despite the return of the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank to Palestinian control, a final agreement still needed to be reached. To do this, it would be necessary to resolve the main points of contention, which are the dispute over Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the end of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Despite several other agreements and peace plans, such as those at Camp David and the negotiations of the so-called Quartet for the Middle East (United States, European Union, Russia and UN), the situation is still at an impasse.
One fact is evident: Israel’s history has revolved around conflicts with Palestinians and neighboring Arab nations that have been shaken by wars and clashes between Jews and Arabs who do not agree with the territorial division of the former Palestinian lands, as established in the current moment. Since the creation of the State of Israel, the conflict opposing it to the Palestinians has been the epicenter of a conflict between Israel and all Arab countries, with strong global repercussions. There were wars with Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, but without the tension in the region decreasing. During this period, Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights and southern Lebanon after the Six-Day War against Egypt, Syria and Jordan in 1967 (Figure 3).
Figure 3- Israeli achievements in the Six-Day War (1967)
Source: https://www.curso-objetivo.br/vestibular/roteiro_estudos/questao_palestina.aspx
Figure 4 presented below shows that the evolution of the conflict between Jews and Palestinians led to Israel progressively conquering the territory of Palestine from 1947 to the present. This situation cannot continue because it generates permanent conflict between Jews and Palestinians. The map of Palestine has changed over the years with Israel’s advance into Palestinian territory. Peace between Jews and Palestinians will hardly be concluded if these conditions are maintained.
It can be said that there is only one solution to the conflict between the State of Israel and the Palestinians: on the one hand, Israel needs to accept the constitution of the Palestinian State, seek a fair and negotiated solution regarding Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees and end the settlements Jews in the West Bank and, on the other, Palestinians need to recognize the State of Israel because neither Palestinians nor Israelis can impose their will on each other. Neither Zionists nor Palestinian extremist groups will be able to impose their will by force of arms in Palestine. The thesis of Clausewitz, a great military strategist, does not apply to the Israel-Palestine conflict because neither Israel can annihilate the Palestinians, nor vice versa. There is only one solution to the conflict in the region: Jews and Palestinians celebrate peace and conciliation.
Figure 4- Israel’s advance on Palestinian territory
Source: https://www.todamateria.com.br/conflito-israel-palestina/
The construction of peace can only happen if the Jewish people in Israel and throughout the world, as well as the Palestinians, politically repel the extremists who exercise power in their territories and establish governments that seek conciliation between the Jewish and Palestinian peoples. This would be the way to avoid the continuation of the conflict between the State of Israel and the Palestinian people, which could evolve into a regional war involving all countries in the region. The transition from a regional war to a global conflict can also happen with the involvement of major military powers with the United States and the European Union alongside Israel and Russia and China alongside the Palestinians. We need to prevent the conflict between the State of Israel and the Palestinian people from becoming the epicenter of a new World War. Only peace between Palestinians and Jews will avoid the worst for their people and for humanity.
REFERENCES
BARTON, John; Bowden, Julie, Wm. B. Eerdmans. The Original Story: God, Israel and the World. Publishing Company. 2004.
BREGMAN, Ahron. A History of Israel. Palgrave Macmillan. 2002.
COMISSÃO DE JUSTIÇA E PAZ. A Palestina. CNIR/ FNIRF, Portugal. 2002.
FRIEDLAND, Roger; HECHT, Richard. To Rule Jerusalem. University of California Press, 2000.
GELVIN, James L. The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
* Fernando Alcoforado, awarded the medal of Engineering Merit of the CONFEA / CREA System, member of the Bahia Academy of Education, of the SBPC- Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science and of IPB- Polytechnic Institute of Bahia, engineer from the UFBA Polytechnic School and doctor in Territorial Planning and Regional Development from the University of Barcelona, college professor (Engineering, Economy and Administration) and consultant in the areas of strategic planning, business planning, regional planning, urban planning and energy systems, was Advisor to the Vice President of Engineering and Technology at LIGHT S.A. Electric power distribution company from Rio de Janeiro, Strategic Planning Coordinator of CEPED- Bahia Research and Development Center, Undersecretary of Energy of the State of Bahia, Secretary of Planning of Salvador, is the author of the books Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova (Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado. Universidade de Barcelona,http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of the Economic and Social Development- The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe Planetária (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011), Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012), Energia no Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2015), As Grandes Revoluções Científicas, Econômicas e Sociais que Mudaram o Mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2016), A Invenção de um novo Brasil (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2017), Esquerda x Direita e a sua convergência (Associação Baiana de Imprensa, Salvador, 2018), Como inventar o futuro para mudar o mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2019), A humanidade ameaçada e as estratégias para sua sobrevivência (Editora Dialética, São Paulo, 2021), A escalada da ciência e da tecnologia e sua contribuição ao progresso e à sobrevivência da humanidade (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2022), a chapter in the book Flood Handbook (CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida United States, 2022), How to protect human beings from threats to their existence and avoid the extinction of humanity (Generis Publishing, Europe, Republic of Moldova, Chișinău, 2023) and A revolução da educação necessária ao Brasil na era contemporânea (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2023).
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