To fully understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I will first briefly summarize the history of the Jews, first as it is taught in Israel, and then as it is generally established by historians. In Israel, the history of the Jews is mainly inspired by biblical texts. According to this account, the Hebrews were enslaved in Egypt. During their flight to Sinai, they received the Torah from God, and a promised land in Canaan. After conquering it, the Kingdom of David and Solomon was founded, and Solomon's Temple was built in Jerusalem. The kingdom then split to form the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. But in the 6th century BC, the region was conquered by the Babylonians, who destroyed Solomon's Temple, and took the people into exile in Babylon. Fifty years later, they were allowed to return to Jerusalem, where they built the Second Temple. In 70 AD and again in 132 AD, while the region was under Roman control, two major revolts were violently suppressed. Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jews were expelled from Judaea, condemned to live in exile, far from their land. If we now rely solely on historical facts, confirmed notably by archaeological discoveries, in the 13th century BC, the New Kingdom of Egypt dominates the region called Canaan. But the empire is weakened by the Hittites to the north, and by the Philistines, sea peoples who settle on the coasts. Egypt gradually withdraws from the region, and the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah appear, probably founded by local populations. In the 6th century BC, the Babylonians conquer the region, raze Jerusalem, and forcibly take the elite to Babylon. After conquest by the Persians, they
are allowed to return to Jerusalem. The Second Temple is then built, and it is likely that the Torah is written during this period, based on ancient texts and orally transmitted stories. In 333 BC, Alexander the Great conquers the region, which is then divided into Hellenistic dynasties. The Torah is then translated into Greek, which is spoken throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. After a Jewish revolt, the Hasmonean dynasty is founded, which conquers neighboring territories and converts the people there to Judaism. Hasmoneans are then conquered by the Romans, who, in 70 AD, suppress a major revolt in Jerusalem and destroy the Second Temple. In 132, another revolt is violently suppressed. Jerusalem is renamed Aelia Capitolina and Jews are banned from it, but they are not expelled from Judaea, now called Syria-Palaestina. However, it is well established that by this time there are already many Jewish communities all around the Mediterranean basin, resulting from migrations and conversions. In the 4th century, Emperor Constantine converts to Christianity and spreads the religion throughout the empire. Jews are progressively marginalized. In the 7th century, during the Arab conquests, Jews and Christians in the conquered territories are tolerated and allowed to practice their faith, provided they pay an additional tax. In the 8th century, the Khazar King Bulan and his elite convert to Judaism. In the Iberian Peninsula, after the Catholic reconquista, a significant Jewish community, called Sephardic, must convert to Catholicism or leave the territory. Many go to the Maghreb and the Ottoman Empire, where they are tolerated. In Europe, starting from the period of the Crusades, Jews are regularly persecuted. Many take refuge in Poland, where they are well-received, and where they form what is called the Ashkenazi Jews. By the 18th century, there are about one million Jews in the world. Most live in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but the country is threatened by its powerful neighbors Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Between 1772 and 1795, Poland-Lithuania is entirely partitioned among its three neighbors. The majority of Jews now find themselves in Russia, where they are tolerated but heavily controlled. In 1881, following the assassination
of Tsar Alexander II, his son and heir Alexander III ascends to the throne and begins to implement authoritarian and repressive policies, targeting Jews in particular. As a result, about a hundred pogroms - meaning violent and often deadly attacks against Jews - break out across the country, with no reaction from the state. Many Jews then flee to the United States and Western Europe. But some consider migrating to Palestine. There they form the group “the Lovers of Zion”, Zion being a hill in Jerusalem. At that time, about 25,000 Jews, mainly Sephardic, live in the major cities of the Ottoman Empire, close to the holy places of Judaism. They form what is called the "Old Yishuv." From 1882, the new migrants, mainly Ashkenazi Jews from Europe, form the "New Yishuv". They arrive in waves of migration called Aliyahs. However, the vast majority of Jews fleeing the pogroms in Russia prefer to go to the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. In France, Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish captain, is falsely accused of providing secret information to the Germans. The affair gains prominence as anti-Semitism rises in the country. In 1895, Dreyfus is publicly cashiered in Paris. Among the crowd is Theodore Herzl, an Austrian-Jewish journalist. The following year, the latter publishes a book in which he unites Jews worldwide into a single People who are not assimilable, and who, to escape persecution, must establish their own state, in Palestine or Argentina. On August 29th, 1897, he organizes the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, with the goal of preparing for the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people. Herzl then goes to Constantinople to defend his cause with the Ottoman Sultan, but without success. London then offers to provide lands in
British East Africa for a Jewish colony, but the offer is refused, with the Zionists now interested
only in Palestine. At the same time, in Russia, a new wave of very deadly pogroms occur, prompting new departures. This time, over roughly 10 years, about 40,000 Jews settle in Palestine. On the coast, they found Tel Aviv, and in the countryside they buy lands and marshes, which they develop to form autonomous agricultural communities without private property. Additionally, Hebrew, which for nearly 15 centuries has been used only for religious worship, is gradually modernized, so as to be spoken again within the Jewish community. In 1914, World War I begins. The Ottoman Empire sides with the Central Powers. Several fronts open against the United Kingdom, one towards the strategic Suez Canal, another in the Dardanelles, where an Allied landing is repelled, and a third in Mesopotamia, where a significant British army is defeated. Finding itself in a difficult situation, the United Kingdom searches for new support in the region. On the one hand, the country encourages Hussein bin Ali, the Sharif of Mecca, to revolt against the Ottoman Empire, promising him an independent Arab state. On the other hand, a secret agreement is signed with France for the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after its defeat. And finally, in 1917, as the British army is about to enter Palestine, the Foreign Minister, Arthur Balfour, publishes an open letter in which he announces that the country is favorable to the creation of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. At the end of the war, the Ottoman Empire is dismantled, mainly to the benefit of France and the United Kingdom. Winston Churchill then places two sons of Hussein bin Ali at the heads of Transjordan and Iraq, and retains Palestine west of the Jordan to establish a national home for the Jewish people, despite the opposition of the 600,000 Muslims and 70,000 Christians living there. Although in the minority, the 80,000 Jews living in Palestine organize themselves. They create a union for Jewish workers, set up the Haganah, an armed self-defense group, and create the Jewish Agency for Palestine, which serves as an unofficial government for the Yishuv. Jewish immigration from Europe accelerates with the support of the United Kingdom. However, the Arabs perceive these new migrants as invaders and organize demonstrations that often degenerate into massacres of Jews. But, although largely in the majority, the Arabs do not have a strong common structure, and are divided by conflicts between influential families. In 1933, in Germany, Hitler comes to power, and begins a policy of persecution of Jews with the aim to excluding them from society. Many then flee to Palestine. Faced with this new influx, the Arabs come together to create the Arab Higher Committee, with Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti
of Jerusalem, at its head. He organizes a general strike against the British administration and demands the immediate end of Jewish immigration. The strike rapidly degenerates into guerrilla warfare, and a series of attacks are organized against the British and the Jews. In reaction, the Irgun, a military organization founded by the most radical members of the Haganah, avenges the assaults by organizing its own attacks. On its side, the United Kingdom sends significant military reinforcements to violently suppress the revolt. But the country realizes that it would be complicated to create a state that encompass both communities, and considers for the first time dividing Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state, while retaining under British mandate a strip of land up to Jerusalem. But, for the first time, neighboring Arab countries unite and announce that they oppose the partitioning of Palestine and the creation of a Jewish state. However, on the eve of World War II, the United Kingdom needs allies in the region to maintain control of the Eastern Mediterranean through which Iraqi oil passes, and also to protect the Suez Canal. The country then radically changes its policy and commits to create, within the next ten years, a unified state which will not be comprised of more than one-third Jews. As a result, Jewish immigration is now heavily restricted. While this turnaround eases tensions with the Arabs, and ends the revolt, on the other side it provokes the anger of the Jews, who feel betrayed. At the start of World War II, Italy bombs Palestine, and launches an offensive from Libya towards Egypt. But after being repelled by the British, significant German reinforcements land and take the upper hand. Fearing an invasion of Palestine, the Haganah creates the Palmach, an elite unit trained for war. Finally, the Germans are repelled from Egypt. Around 1943, information about the genocide of Jews by Nazi Germany begins to circulate. David Ben-Gurion, the president of the Jewish Agency, prepares a plan to allow the immigration of one million Jews to Palestine, with the main goal of strengthening
the Zionist project. At the end of the war, at least 250,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors want to join Palestine, but the United Kingdom maintains its policy and blocks their arrival. The Haganah then clandestinely organizes Jewish immigration. Those intercepted by the British
are sent to camps in Cyprus. Faced with British intransigence, the Palmach, the Irgun, and the Lehi, a new armed terrorist group dreaming of establishing a Jewish state between the Nile and the Euphrates, organizes a campaign of sabotage and bombings against the British. On July 22, 1946, in Jerusalem, the Irgun commits a very deadly attack against the British administration. Put in some difficulty, the United Kingdom fails to forge an agreement between the Zionists and the Arab nationalists, and decides to transfer the Palestinian problem to the UN, which had just been created. The latter set up an international committee that proposes dividing the territory into two states, with Jerusalem under international control. The plan, which is supported by the United States, is adopted, despite the opposition of Muslim countries. For the Zionists, this is an important victory, as they obtain their first international recognition. But on the other side, the entire Arab world opposes this plan and the creation of a Jewish state. In major cities, violence quickly escalates between Jews and Arabs, and turns into a civil war. Ben Gurion, aware that the Arab States will enter the war after the departure of the British, prepares the Yishuv for war. The population of fighting age is conscripted, emissaries are secretly sent to Europe to buy arms, immunition, and surplus equipment from World War II. And finally Golda Meir, an influential woman originally from Kyiv, is sent to the United States, where she obtains - from the very important Jewish community there - nearly 30 million dollars in donations for the war. Quickly, the conflict moves from the cities to the countryside. With the Jewish community scattered, the Arabs attack supply convoys and take control of the roads. The 100,000 Jews living in Jerusalem find themselves besieged, while the first volunteers from the brand new Arab Liberation Army enter the territory. Faced with the escalating violence, the United States contemplates reconsidering the UN partition plan. For Ben Gurion, there is urgency, and he initiates a military plan aimed at establishing territorial continuity. The idea is that no Arab village behind the line should be an internal threat or a support point for future Arab armies. Therefore, they must be destroyed, or their populations expelled, or strictly controlled. There is still debate today as to whether this plan is solely military, or whether it has a purpose of ethnic cleansing. The Haganah, which begins to clandestinely receive arms from Czechoslovakia, goes on the offensive. It regains control of the road to Jerusalem, and takes over the Arab villages that overlook it. The Irgun and Lehi then commit a massacre at Deir Yassin, which provokes terror among the Arab population, pushing many to flee. On their side, the neighboring Arab countries prepare for war, but each defends its own interests. Abdullah I wants to integrate Palestine into Jordan, promising to protect the Jews living there. The other states insist on control of their own armies, meaning the attack will not be coordinated. On May 14th, 1948, in Tel Aviv, Ben-Gurion proclaims the independence of the State of Israel. At midnight, the British mandate ends, and the next day, Arab armies enter the war against Israel. Ben-Gurion, now Prime Minister, unifies all Jewish armed forces into a national army called the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF. On June 11th, the UN secures a truce that primarily benefits Israel, as the country continues to import arms, notably heavy weaponry from Czechoslovakia, with Moscow's support. At the end of the ceasefire, over just 10 days, the IDF captures major cities between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, expelling the Arab populations eastward. Nazareth in the north is also taken, this time without expelling its important Christian population. A second truce then begins, during which a Palestinian government is formed in Gaza, supported by Arab countries with the exception of Jordan, which still wants to annex the territory. Separate negotiations start with Israel leading to the signing of different armistices. Israel gains numerous territories, including West Jerusalem. Egypt takes control of the Gaza Strip, and Jordan integrates the West Bank into its territory. Approximately 700,000 Arabs were displaced or fled the war, and are now refugees in camps in Gaza, the West Bank, and neighboring countries. The Arab League and the UN want to allow their return, but Israel refuses. Only 150,000 Arabs now live in Israel. The country opens up to Jewish immigration, notably from Yemen and Iraq, where ancient Jewish communities are targeted. Within just three years, Israel's population doubles to about 1.4 million people. With the new border being porous, some Arab refugees attempt to return to their former villages, while others organize looting raids, or attack Jews. Israel then creates Unit 101, led by Ariel Sharon, to organize retaliations. On October 14, 1953, this unit launches a nighttime raid against the village of Qibya, which is razed, its population massacred. In the south, tensions are also high around the Egyptian border, where many raids and attacks occur. In 1956, Egypt's new president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, nationalizes the Suez Canal, to the detriment of France and the United Kingdom. In response, these countries secretly approach Israel to organize an offensive against Egypt. The Israeli army quickly conquers the Sinai. However, in the context of the Cold War, the USSR and the United States intervene to put an end to the offensive. Israel must return the Sinai to Egypt, but gains a significant alliance with France, which provides weapons, and helps build a nuclear reactor. In 1963, this reactor is inaugurated, allowing for the production of plutonium. But Israel maintains ambiguity about
its nuclear program, leaking no information. In 1964, the Arab League unites the main Palestinian groups to form the Palestine Liberation Organization, or PLO. It begins an armed struggle against Israël via terrorist attacks. One target is the brand-new aqueduct
that diverts some of the waters from the Sea of Galilee to help develop agriculture and
populate the country's center. Arab countries try to block this project by starting construction of canals to divert the lake's sources. However, taking advantage of a border incident, Israel bombs this construction site. Tensions rise again, and Nasser deploys his troops to the border with Israel, and organizes the blockade of the Straits of Tiran, closing access to the port of Eilat. Israel sees this as a declaration of war, and launches an offensive against Egypt and its allies Syria and Jordan, who are bombing Israel. In just six days, Israel wins and takes control of the Sinai, the Golan Heights, and Palestinian territories. The first Israeli settlers begin establishing communities there, despite the UN's call for withdrawal from what it calls the occupied territories. Yasser Arafat, the new strongman of the PLO, takes refuge in Jordan, where he intensifies attacks against Israel. He gains power, and even attempts to overthrow the Jordanian king, but without success. The latter then attacks the Palestinians in the country. Yasser Arafat then flees to Lebanon, where he continues the armed struggle against Israel, including terrorist attacks worldwide. In 1972, during the Munich Olympics, a Palestinian commando team takes the Israeli delegation hostage and kills 11 athletes. On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria launch a surprise attack against Israel, with the goal of recovering the Sinai and the Golan Heights. Initially, Israel is at a disadvantage, but within a week manages to gain the upper hand, notably with the support of the United States, which sends weapons via an airlift. In response, Arab oil-producing countries reduce production to raise the price of oil, and also impose an oil embargo on Israel's allies. A ceasefire is then signed, and initial negotiations take place between Israel and Egypt. In 1977, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat becomes the first Arab head of state to make an official visit to Israel. Two years later, the two countries sign a peace treaty. Egypt recognizes Israel, in exchange for which the country regains the Sinai. With the southern border secured, Israel now focuses on Lebanon, where political instability benefited the PLO, which continues its attacks against Israel, with Syria's support. Israeli forces invade southern Lebanon, and after the siege of Beirut, obtain the departure of the PLO to Tunisia. But in 1985, Israel bombs the new PLO headquarters in Tunis. At the end of 1987, in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian population revolt against the Israeli occupation, armed with stones and Molotov cocktails, marking the start of the First Intifada. The violence quickly escalates, and spreads across all occupied territories. The spontaneous revolt is taken over by more radical organizations, such as Hamas, an islamist organization created for the occasion by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, advocating jihad against Israel. In contrast, Yasser Arafat softens his policy. In Algiers, he proclaims the State of Palestine, recognizes Israel, and renounces all forms of terrorism against it. Within a year, 87 countries recognize Palestine. Initial meetings then take place, and culminate in 1993 with the signing of an historic first agreement between Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli Prime Minister. They mutually recognize each other, and Israel commits to gradually withdrawing from major Palestinian cities. However, radicals from both sides oppose this rapprochement, seeking to thwart any agreement. On February 25th, 1994, in Hebron, an Israeli terrorist kills 29 Palestinians in a mosque. The following year, a Jewish extremist student assassinates Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv. Conversely, Hamas, which opposes the recognition of Israel, organizes a wave of terrorist attacks across the country. In 2000, U.S. President Bill Clinton invites
the new Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, and Yasser Arafat, for new negotiations. This time, they fail on more sensitive issues, such as the return of Palestinian refugees, the status of Jerusalem, which each wants as their capital, and the control of the city's holy sites. Muslims control the Temple Mount, which houses the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque. But the place is also a Holy site for Jews, as the ruins of the Second Temple and perhaps those of Solomon's Temple are located there. On September 28th, 2000, Ariel Sharon, now a politician, visits the site. For Palestinians, this is seen as a provocation. Protests are organized and quickly
degenerate. Faced with violent Israeli repression, a new wave of terrorist attacks is organized across the country. The Arab League then offers Israel peace, the recognition of the country, and the normalization of their relationship, in exchange for a complete withdrawal from the occupied territories. But Ariel Sharon, now Prime Minister, refuses, and even instructs the Israeli army to retake full control of the West Bank. Concurrently, he begins the construction of a separation barrier all along the border, officially to protect against terrorist attacks, but its route incorporates new territories. The barrier is widely condemned, including by the UN and the International Court of Justice. To ease tensions, Ariel Sharon dismantles the 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and evacuates the territory. In 2006, Palestinian elections are held. Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, wins, and its leader Ismail Haniyeh becomes Prime Minister. But soon, armed conflict breaks out between Hamas and its main rival Fatah. The latter takes control of the West Bank, while Hamas takes full control of the Gaza Strip. Israel then imposes a blockade on the territory, supported by Egypt. Two million people are trapped on a strip of land 365 kilometers square, without international aid, and in the hands of Hamas, which regularly fires rockets into Israel. In retaliation, the Israeli army bombs and then invades the Gaza Strip. After destroying any infrastructure that could be used by Hamas, including public facilities, the IDF withdraws. In 2012, Palestine obtains the status of a non-member observer state at the UN. The following year, new peace negotiations are organized at the call of U.S. President Barack Obama. But these fail, partly because during the negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accelerates colonization of the occupied territories, and additionally because Fatah and Hamas attempt to reconcile, which angers Netanyahu, who ends the negotiations. Netanyahu then launches a new offensive against the Gaza Strip in response to rockets fired into Israel by Hamas. 18,000 homes are destroyed, along with much public infrastructure, including the only power plant. After the war, Israel begins the construction of a wall along the entire border, which also reaches tens of meters deep into the ground to prevent tunnel passage. In 2017, Donald Trump becomes President of the United States. That same year he recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and prepares to move his embassy there. For Palestinians, this is seen as a new provocation. In the Gaza Strip, an officially peaceful march is organized, also demanding an end to the blockade, and the return to their land for the many refugees. But Israel retaliates to some attacks by firing on the crowd. In 2020, Trump achieves the normalization of relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. But the Palestinians are ignored during these meetings and gain no advantage. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launches a major offensive against Israel. The security wall is breached and the terrorists massacre 1,139 people and about 250 people are taken hostage. It takes Israel a week to regain
control. It then retaliates by massively bombing the entire Gaza Strip, and begins an invasion of the territory. As of the writing of this text, at least 32,000 Palestinians have died. Today, more than ever, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems to be without resolution. Many questions remain unresolved. First, there is the status of the 5,9 million refugees, 1,5 million of whom still live in camps with the hope of one day returning to the land of their ancestors. There is also the status of Jerusalem, which each side would like as its capital, as well as control of the holy sites located there. Some Jews today dream of building a Third Temple on the Temple Mount. There is also the question of the 700,000 Jewish settlers living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They are subject to Israeli law and therefore have more rights than Palestinians, who, for example, risk 10 years in prison if they demonstrate. In the event of peace, what will happen to the settlers, and how will the border between Israel and Palestine be defined? In the Gaza Strip, the current humanitarian situation is catastrophic, and everything will need to be rebuilt. Internationally, the United States and the European Union remain Israel's biggest allies. Conversely, Iran is its greatest enemy. The country militarily supports Hezbollah, which regularly attacks from Lebanon, the Houthis of Yemen who target Israeli and its allies’ ships in the Red Sea, and Palestinian groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Hamas also receives significant
support from Qatar, which hosts its leaders.
