The Israel-Palestine conflict, often touted as the world's "most intractable conflict" has been widely recognized for its ethno-nationalist character, although most of the western world would disagree regarding its obvious evolution into an imperialist project.
What is ethnic nationalism?
Ethnic nationalism is a form of nationalism that accentuates an ethnocentric mutation of nationalism as a source of tension within a nation's political arena. Some people call ethnic nationalism a factor responsible for irredentism, a political movement which promotes its participants to claim or reclaim territory that they believe belongs to them according to their history.
Towards the end of the 19th century, a relatively nascent conflict came into existence, a conflict between two major nationalist movements - the Jewish nationalist movement, Zionism and the Arab nationalist movement or Arab nationalism.
In the year 1917, the British government announced their support towards creating a "national home for the Jewish People" in the form of a letter from foreign secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild of the British Jewish Community, later named the Balfour Declaration. According to the UN Resolution 181 or the Palestine Plan of 1947, the British Mandate of Palestine, an Arab populated area, was to be divided into Arab and Jewish states, paving the way for the creation of Israel in 1948, which ignited the first Arab-Israeli War. The war ended in 1949 with more than 7,50,000 Arab Palestinians displaced from their homes, and the British Mandate of Palestine was divided into Israel, West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Now you know why ethnic nationalism is ingrained within the foundation stones of this so-called conflict.
“It all started in 1948 when my grandparents were still alive”, said Ghosoun, an 18 year-old Arab citizen living in occupied Palestine, when talking to us about the situation on the ground. “They (Jews) were trying to find a homeland for them and began to migrate to our land from all parts of the world; they called it the ‘migration of youth’ or Aliyah ”, she said.
“Palestinians like my grandfather’s family helped them and took them in, but then the conflict began, and Palestinians were driven out of their houses, often intimidated and killed. My grandmother lived in a village called Berwe, but she was forced out of her house and her village, she had to move to a place called Jadeidi ”.
“The Partition Resolution was well accepted by them, but the Palestinian opinion was hardly taken into consideration. My grandfather told me about the execution of Arab citizens in Al-Ain Square,” said Ghosoun.
“You know what we call Israel?’ we call it the spoiled child of the United States of America”, said Ghosoun in the most discernible tone, expressing her opinion on the role of the United States in the conflict. “Most of the money that we pay as taxes go into buying weapons and military equipment from the US”.
As of Saturday, May 15th, Hady Amr, with the rest of the US Envoy, arrived in Tel-Aviv and were all set to take part in the peace talks between Israel and Palestinian officials. In a recent press brief, President Biden has expressed his concerns about the situation in the region and has also said that “Israel has the right to defend itself when you have thousands of rockets flying into your territory”.
What is happening in Sheikh Jarrah?
Sheikh Jarrah is a Palestinian neighbourhood in East Jerusalem that has been the battleground for Israeli settlers trying to destabilise the region's Arabic stronghold by taking away shelter from Palestinians who were ethically cleansed from their houses in other parts of Jerusalem during the first Arab-Israeli war.
In October 2020, an Israeli district court ruled that 6 Palestinian families would have to leave their homes in Sheikh Jarrah by 2nd May 2021, or the Israeli Law Enforcement authorities will evict them.
According to Peace Now, Israel's "largest and longest-standing movement advocating for peace through public pressure", since the beginning of 2020, the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court has ruled on 14 eviction claims against Palestinian families in Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah. These rulings have caused 36 Palestinian families with about 165 people, including women and children, to leave their homes. All these families had appealed to the district court but were denied any such claims to their houses that they have been residing in for the last 60 to 70 years. This majorly unpopular decision has become the immediate reason behind the recent unrest in the region. In addition, about 550 Palestinians might be evicted from their houses in Sheikh Jarrah following the precedent set by the district court.
This decision also nullifies the agreement between Jordan and the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees), which said that Palestinian refugees after the war of 1948 could exchange their refugee status for houses in Sheikh Jarrah. As a part of this agreement, 30 homes were built by the Jordanian Ministry of Housing in Sheikh Jarrah.
In June 1967, after the end of the famous Six Day War between Israel, Syria, Egypt and Jordan, Israel reclaimed West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan. By then the newly built houses in Sheikh Jarrah were yet to be registered under the names of these refugees allowing Israel to register the houses to Jewish families under the Legal and Administrative Matters Law (1970) which allowed Jewish citizens who lost their homes during the war in 1948 to reclaim their land in East-Jerusalem. However, the same law didn't let the Arabic population to do the same or even claim the land that they have right now.
According to sources, Israel deployed about 7000 army reservists near its border with Gaza to fight Hamas, a militant Islamist group. They have also said that a ground offensive is being considered among multiple other possible options.
The United Nation estimates that 10,000 Palestinians have already left their homes in Gaza since Monday due to this armed conflict between Hamas and the Israeli Army, which has already killed 133 people in Gaza and almost 10 in Israel, including women and children.
During our conversation with Ghosoun, she told us about how the Israeli police use rubber bullets and tear gas against innocent Arabs living in occupied Palestine who went to demonstrations to condemn the violence. “I went to a demonstration to demand our rights and defend Palestine, but the Israeli police started hurting and chasing us and threw tear bombs at us and hit us with rubber bullets”. Israeli demonstrators were carrying knives and guns when innocent civilians like Ghosoun had onions to rub their eyes, to minimise the effect of tear gas.
We can only see so much from afar. What is happening in Israel and Palestine is more than just a conflict; it is ethnic cleansing. The Israeli government is trying to scapegoat the Palestinians for the violence that they have instigated themselves by denying minimum standards of life to Palestinians living in East Jerusalem. Someone needs to take a stand, but who will it be?
(cover image courtesy: newyorker.com)
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