Two Nations at War - a Brief Explanation

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict began in the late 19th century with the emergence of significant nationalist movements among both Jews and Arabs, who aimed to establish sovereignty for their respective faiths in the Middle East. 

Germany, and many other nations, chose not to admit Jewish people into their countries after World War 2 and the tragedies of the holocaust. Many states continued to be rife with antisemitism, while still fearing a re-emergence of the Nazi movement that could inflict immeasurable harm on them and Jews around the world. America, having seen what they were going through, provided the Jewish people with a nation they could call home. But, much like a bully on the playground, the Americans stole this land from the Palestinian people, while giving rise to Israel as a nation. The Palestinians, furious at the way their country had been plundered, immediately began an attempt to reclaim it. It’s this feeling of righteousness that led to such antagonism between Israel and Palestine. Fundamentally, the dispute centres on whether Palestinians should be allowed to establish their own independent nation within Israeli-occupied territory. 

Although Palestinians have differing opinions about how best to seek peace with Israel, ending Israeli occupation of the West Bank is their common objective. While some Palestinians are in favour of a one-state solution (either Palestinian or binational) with equal rights for all, others prefer a two-state solution that would combine the West Bank and the Gaza Strip into a single Palestinian state. In this case, Palestinian refugees might be given permission to return to the region from which they were driven into exile during the 1948 Palestinian expulsion. Nonetheless, the peace process has been hampered by pervasive anti-Semitism in Palestinian society and Palestinian militant groups.

In conclusion, Palestine and Israel should have taken a diplomatic approach rather than diving into a fully fledged war. That being said, I think they are now past the time of diplomacy. Both countries have valid claims to the land, but they need to learn from past mistakes and avoid new wars like this one which will have an effect on many, all over the world. The question we all need to ask is: when will they realise their mistake?