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Writer's pictureSara Shibly

356 Days of Genocide: The Origin of Conflict and Possibility of Peace

The ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict began in 1948 and has greatly intensified in scale over the past eight months. This article discusses the necessity and possibility of achieving peace in Palestine with context to the history of the conflict. This possibility will be deliberated from the legal, political, economic, social, and humanitarian perspectives. 

Origination of the States of Palestine and Israel 

The term “Palestine” was first written in the Histories of Herodotus in the 5th century BCE to replace the entire region formerly known as “Canaan” in ancient Mesopotamian scripture, trade records from the 18th century BCE, and biblical literature (Mark, 2024). Palestine has a recorded history of over 4000 years.

The State of Israel was created on the 14th of May 1948 and was recognized by the then President of the United States, Harry Truman, on the same day. The conflict between the two states traces back to the early 1900s.

History of the Conflict 

The Balfour Declaration

The Balfour Declaration of 1917, a public statement made by the then British foreign secretary Arthur Balfour to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a Zionist leader, guaranteed “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” (Kramer, 2017). However, this declaration is legally void since Britain had no sovereign rights over Palestine, which was then under the Ottoman Empire, thus having no authority to alter its borders. This document is often downplayed by the United Nations (UN) partitions of 1947 and 1967 in hopes of justifying the occupation of Palestine. 

Figure 1: The original Balfour Declaration (Universal History Archive/UIG/ Getty Images)

Occupation of Palestine and Palestinian Resistance 

The occupation of Palestine began in 1917 following the Balfour Declaration and the intensity of it increased after the 1947 UN Partition Plan. The nakba of 1948 is the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians through the destruction of property, occupation of land, and suppression of culture, nationality, identity, and rights, which displaced over 750,000 Palestinians. The first Intifada, a civil uprising, began in 1987 as a result of Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and on account of the twentieth anniversary of the Arab-Israeli War in 1967. This revolution concluded in 1993 with the signing of the Oslo Accords. The second Intifada began on September 28th, 2000, after over 1000 soldiers stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque (Araj & Brym, 2024)

Figure 2: The loss of Palestinian land and UN Partition plans (progressispossible.org, 2024)

The Conflict at Present 

The ethnic cleansing of Palestine is a major concern, with over 43,000 civilians dead and an estimated 10,000 missing (McCready & Quillen, 2024). According to an investigation carried out by Associated Press, more than 60 families report that they have lost more than 25 family members (Deeb, 2024), and 902 families have been “wiped out” over the past year (Democracy Now!, 2024), removing entire generations from history.  Additionally, Save The Children reported that over 20,000 children are unaccounted for, with 17,000 separated from their families, detained by Israeli forces, or buried in unmarked or mass graves, and over 4000 still trapped under the rubble. 

Israel has also employed several inhumane forms of torture such as systematic raping, forced sexual intercourse with animals, humiliation, organ removal, forced starvation, physical assault, and psychological torture. In addition to its war crimes, Israel has also committed extreme violations of basic human rights (The Guardian, 2024)

There are approximately only 800 Palestinian Christians, one of the oldest Christian communities in the world surviving over two millennia, remaining in Gaza, putting this ethnicity at a severe risk of endangerment and extinction (Sayegh, 2024). This debases the “moral” Israeli army that justifies its occupation of Palestine using Judaism and Christianity. 

Israel’s Plans for the Future 

An Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldier was seen wearing a badge of “Greater Israel”, revealing plans to expand Israel to all of Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon, and parts of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia (“‘Greater Israel’ Map Display; ‘Israeli’ Soldier’s Uniform Patch Raises Alarm,” 2024). This expansion is a colossal threat to all neighbouring nations of Israel since its occupation of Palestine will only continue. Israel’s repeated bombings of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Egypt are also a cause for major concern.

Figure 3: Badge worn by IDF soldier (Muraselon News, 2024)

The idea of “Greater Israel” is based on the biblical boundaries of King David’s land and is perhaps a deliberate misinterpretation of a verse from Genesis 15:18 in which God promises Abram, “I will give to your descendants the land between the river of Egypt and the great river of Euphrates” (Staff, n.d.). It must be noted that international law is secular and legal concepts are designed to stand above all religious beliefs. Thus, the “religious” basis of Israel’s expansion is undoubtedly illegal and unjustifiable in the modern world.

Expansion of Israel in Lebanon

Hezbollah was formed in 1982 as a result of Israel’s invasion of Southern Lebanon which began the 1982 Lebanon War, also known as the Second Israeli Invasion of Lebanon on June 6th that year, with an estimated 19,000 Lebanese and Palestinian citizens killed (Al-Qutob & Fischbach, 1982). The war was ended through the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for a permanent ceasefire and an end to “all attacks” by Hezbollah and “all offensive military operations” by Israel (United Nations, 2024). Thus, as the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mentioned in a statement, “any crossing into Lebanon is in violation of Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a violation of resolution 1701” (Bernama, 2024)

On October 1st, 2024, almost a year after its invasion of Palestine, Israel began its ground offensive on Lebanon following the explosion of pagers, killing over 2000 people, wounding 6000, and displacing more than a million Lebanese citizens in two weeks (Ioanes & Narea, 2024). The state of Israel claimed that the attack was against Hezbollah leader Hasan Narallah, who was assassinated on September 27th, 2024 by an Israeli airstrike. 

Classification of the Conflict

Israel’s infringement of Palestinian territorial sovereignty can be classified as an “occupation” according to Article 42 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which states: “Territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army.” The occupation of Palestine goes beyond territory. For instance, from June 1967 to date, the Israeli military has complete control over all water resources and water-related infrastructure in Occupied Palestine. This means that Palestinians have restricted and inadequate access to water and require a permit from the Israeli army, which is almost impossible to obtain, to build wells, have access to the Jordan River or springs, and collect rainwater (“The Occupation of Water,” 2022)

As of October 7th, 2023, the Israeli-Palestine War can also be termed a “genocide” since it has violated three of five acts listed under the UN Genocide Convention. UN expert Francesca Albanese issued a report justifying the “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israel is committing genocide (Al Jazeera, 2024).

The Necessity and Possibility of Peace in Palestine 

This 76-year conflict threatens world peace and the UN Sustainable Development Goal for 2030, no one left behind. The vast human and physical destruction caused by this war is immeasurable and would take decades for reparation. 

The main need for peace is because, like all humans, Palestinians deserve the right to live and to live in peace, which is the most basic human right. The lack of publicity and outrage of this conflict exposes the Western monopolisation of media and the underlying racism of certain governments and supra-national organisations. 

The long history of Christians in Palestine since the 5th century under the Byzantine Empire bears witness to a peaceful shared history by Palestinian Christians, Muslims, and Jews, proving that peace can be restored.

Ways to Achieve Peace in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

Sustainable Peace

Sustainable peace entails permanently ending the conflict, addressing the root cause of the conflict, and preventing any tensions from arising through a successful and in-depth conflict resolution process. In his 1992 report An Agenda for Peace by former Secretary General of the UN Boutros Boustros-Ghali, he argues that post-conflict peace-building, the final stage of conflict resolution, is vital to “strengthen and solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse into conflict” (Boyce, Koros, & Hodgson, 2002).

Considering that the basis of a Jewish national homeland in Palestine is legally void, the state of Israel must not exist and should never have existed. Nonetheless, dissolving the state of Israel will displace millions and create a new category of refugees despite the majority of the Jews, including Israelites, having European ancestry (Costa et al., 2013). Hence, the pathway to peace must include both the states of Palestine and Israel. 

However, having acknowledged Israel’s continuous unwillingness to abide by UN Partition Plans or orders of the International Criminal Court, allowing the continuation of the state of Israel within Palestinian territory through a two-state solution is a massive risk. Thus, Israel lacks any credibility to uphold or maintain any legal decision such as an agreement or treaty.

In order to achieve sustainable peace with consideration of the risk, we must look at the conflict from legal, political, economic, social, and humanitarian perspectives. 

Legal and Political Measures

In-depth peace treaties must be signed and ratified by Israel and Palestine. Bans and sanctions could also be imposed on Israel to ensure no military and nuclear development including arms deals, with the support or abstention of the United States in the UN Security Council, to eliminate the possibility of waging another war as done by Germany during World War 2. 

Although the International Court of Justice has binding decisions, it has been proven ineffective since it is entirely based on the consent and willingness of the nations involved, has no consequences for non-compliance, and has limited jurisdiction. Thus, arbitration is a more effective method of resolution in which parties submit their case to an agreed-upon impartial third party or tribunal. This is a more feasible option for arbitration since it is more flexible. The Permanent Court of Arbitration has “greater potential” to resolve inter-state issues since it offers not only binding judicial decisions and advice but also mediation and other alternatives (Sorah, 2022).

Article 14 of The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention of 1989 grants rights of ownership and possession over land natives “traditionally” occupy and use for subsistence (“Convention C169 - Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989  (No. 169),” n.d.). This emphasises the rights of the indigenous population of Palestine over the Canaan region. However, due to the complexity of the conflict, the borders and resources can be discussed during arbitration.

The UN peacekeepers could be deployed to both Palestine and Israel to strengthen security and reduce the risk of violence. 

Moreover, Palestine should be given membership to the UN with voting rights. They can also be internationally recognized as an independent state since they are prerequisites to peace and would fortify the democratic authority of the Palestinian Authority. The two-state solution, or any solution, can only be possible with the recognition of both states.

Economic Measures

Palestine can obtain loans from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank with a debt-restructure plan that can boost its infrastructure and trade development and increase revenue. Such provisions and plans could eventually lead to an era of prosperity and stability. 

Social and Humanitarian Measures

The people of both Palestine and Israel should be allowed to re-integrate in mediated environments to ensure limited hostility. Victims could be offered mandatory therapy and counselling to help them cope with the psychological trauma of the genocide.

Humanitarian aid such as food, medicine, means of starting agriculture, education for children, shelters, access to sanitation, and water purification are urgent needs that could be met through the funds and donations collected. 

Judicial Measures

Justice must be served to ensure a successful conflict resolution process and build sustainable peace. Officials of the Israeli Defence Forces and the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, along with the Israeli War Cabinet and others who are complicit in this genocide, should be arrested for their war crimes and for committing genocide in Palestine. All nations may abide by ICC’s arrest warrant against Netanyahu to facilitate this process and the UN peacekeepers too may be deployed to Israel to make these arrests. Other political figures who were complicit too could be held accountable. 

An in-depth investigation may be conducted by independent bodies to analyse the various human rights violations committed during this period. Justice is integral to fortifying long-lasting peace.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, peace in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is possible and necessary, yet given its complexities, it can only be decided by the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority through arbitration or mediation. To ensure that sustainable peace is established, Palestine could be given international recognition, conflict enablers could be held accountable, the Palestinian economy could be assisted in its revival, and mandatory counselling could be given to victims. Further legal, political, economic, social, and humanitarian measures that can be taken to achieve peace in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been discussed in this essay.


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