The conflict between Israel and Hamas has its origins in a dispute over territories that were once occupied by different peoples, such as Hebrews and Philistines, from whom Israelis and Palestinians descend. At various times, wars and occupations they were displaced, reclaimed, expanded and lost lands.
According to Danilo Porfírio Vieira, professor of law and international relations, since the 19th century, the Jewish community, especially in Europe, began to mobilize around an idea of nationality and a return to what they considered their “biblical” territory considers The Roman Empire.
When the Ottoman Empire lost World War I, this region of the Middle East was divided between the French and the British. The region of Lebanon and Syria came under French control and regions such as Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Palestine came under British colonization. During this period, the idea of returning to Palestine to establish a Jewish state gained traction among Jewish refugees around the world.
“The original project was the purchase of property areas within a region that had been under the control of the British Empire (British Mandate for Palestine) since the 1920s,” says the researcher, who holds a doctorate from the University of São Paulo (USP). the “Muslim Brotherhood,” an organization that ultimately gave rise to Hamas in Palestine.
During World War II, with the Holocaust, the international community again discussed the idea of a state that would offer protection to the Jewish people. After the founding of the United Nations (UN), the State of Israel was founded. This happened with the support of the Americans and even Brazil. International representatives also defended the establishment of the Palestinian state.
During the negotiations, the north coast was under Israeli control and the south coast was under Palestinian control. The inland area south of Palestine went to the Israelis. Because of its historic nature and because it was sacred to Arabs, Jews and Christians, Jerusalem became an autonomous city within Palestine and under the yoke of the British.
Israeli territory has expanded over the years. At the same time, the Palestinians lost ground in the region. Per Art/EBC
Israel wins wars
Faced with several dead ends, the War of Independence broke out in 1948, which Israel won with the support of mainly Americans. The tension didn’t let up. Israel now controls 75% of the territory. The exodus of Palestinians has increased and millions remain refugees in other countries.
In the second half of the 20th century, other wars with neighboring states in this region, such as Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Libya, the socalled Arab Union, gave Israel greater strength, which was to gain military status and power. Victories include the Six Day War (between June 5 and 10, 1967), when Israel faced and suffocated its neighbors.
Six years later, in 1973, the Yom Kippur War broke out between Egypt and Syria against Israel. Israel’s territorial conquests amid wars doubled its territory. But it left its mark.
That is why the Palestinian people demand their independent state and autonomy. In 1993, with American and European mediation, a new agreement (Oslo) was reached between Israelis and Palestinians in which the recognition of the Palestinian Authority was agreed.
Hamas
In 1987, a Palestinian political group called the Muslim Brotherhood, linked to the Sunni Islamic political movement, founded the Hamas movement.
This group does not accept the presence of Jews and Israelis in this region, so much so that Hamas defended the annihilation of the State of Israel in the 2000s. Hamas even staged a coup in the Palestinian Authority and seized control of the Gaza Strip. an area of just over 360 square kilometers, overpopulated with more than 2.6 million residents.
Therefore, the Palestinian Authority does not reach Gaza. Another Palestinian territory, the West Bank, is under the control of the Fatah party, with the areas occupied by Israeli settlers and the Israeli government under military control.