Wars and conflicts in history are often like a chess game with no end, and every step affects the fate of countless people. In the smoke of World War I, Palestine became the focal point of the confrontation between the Entente powers (including Britain) and the Ottoman Empire. After the war, the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the question of the ownership of the Palestinian areas were like an unresolved chess game, triggering a series of disputes. Here, once the homeland of the Jews and the homeland of the Arabs, the entanglement of the two peoples is like the fate of history, entangled. However, with the passage of time, the power game in this land seems to be quietly changing.
At that time, the Ottoman Empire was engaged in a fierce contest with the Allies in the Palestinian region. After the war, the fall of the Ottoman Empire left Palestine terra nullius under British trusteeship. And the Jews, a people who had endured hardship, began to find their home in the wave of anti-Semitism on the European continent. Their eyes were set on the biblical Canaan, which is the area of present-day Palestine.
With the return of the Jews, the Arabs in Palestine are feeling unprecedented pressure. In 1937, the British government established the Peel Committee to resolve the increasingly bitter conflict in Palestine. The Committee proposed a partition proposal, proposing the division of Palestine into an Arab State and a Jewish State. This plan was not shared by the Arabs, who were unwilling to accept the partition of their homeland.
Fast forward to the end of World War II, Britain's power was greatly reduced, and the Palestinian question was thrown to the United Nations. In 1947, the United Nations adopted Resolution 181, recommending the establishment of Arab and Jewish states. This resolution did not bring peace, but only intensified the contradictions between the two sides. In 1967, the Arab-Israeli war broke out, and Israel occupied areas such as the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, which were originally planned Arab territories.
By 1993, the signing of the Oslo Accords had given Palestine a glimmer of hope. Israel agreed to cede part of its land in exchange for Palestinian peace. However, the Palestinians are not satisfied, and they feel that their rights and interests have been compromised. Israel's high-pressure policy has further aggravated the contradictions between the two sides. The Palestinians began to seek independence, but Israel responded with tighter control.
In 2006, Hamas won elections and became the ruling party of the Palestinian National Authority. The incident further exacerbated internal divisions in Palestine, with the Fatah-controlled West Bank and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip forming two regimes. Hamas's armed struggle, with its occasional rocket attacks, has put pressure on Israel like never before. Israel's retaliation, often ten times as many attacks as the other side, has provoked widespread condemnation from the international community. However, instead of backing down, Israel has tightened its grip on Palestine.
On October 7, 2023, a large-scale operation by Hamas made Israel's Netanyahu government determined to eradicate Hamas completely. This time, Israel's response has sparked widespread concern and condemnation from the international community. Palestinian land went from 80 percent to 45 percent, then to 30 percent, and finally only 10 percent left, and with each struggle, there was less and less land in Palestine. Now, the Palestinians' desire to return 30 per cent of the land seems out of reach.
The wheels of history are rolling forward, and the fate of Palestine seems to be at a crossroads once again. This land, which once gave birth to countless civilizations, is now synonymous with conflict and strife. "Don't forget the past, the teacher of the future", Palestine today is a historical choice, but also a realistic helplessness. However, no matter what the direction of history, the call for peace and justice has always been the common pursuit of mankind. May this land of many disasters usher in the dawn of peace as soon as possible, so that all ethnic groups can find their own homes in this land.