The Israel-Palestine Conflict: A Historical and Geopolitical Overview
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: International Relations (Israel-Palestine Conflict, Two-State Solution, International Bodies), World History (Balfour Declaration, Oslo Accords).
Mains:
GS Paper 1: History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization, decolonization.
GS Paper 2: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests; India and its neighborhood- relations; Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India.
Key Highlights from the News
Historical Background: The modern roots of this conflict lie in the British Mandate era, the 1947 UN Partition Plan, and the 1948 formation of Israel. Palestinians refer to this event as Nakba (the Great Catastrophe).
Major Wars: The 1948 War and the 1967 Six-Day War led to Israel capturing entire regions of historical Palestine.
Basis for Peace Talks: The border of the independent state demanded by Palestinians is the 1967 border (Green Line). This is the basis of the Two-State Solution.
Key Peace Efforts:
1978 Camp David Accords.
1993, 1995 Oslo Accords. These divided the West Bank into Areas A, B, and C.
Failure of the Peace Process: The assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the rise of right-wing politics in Israel, and the emergence of organizations like Hamas undermined the peace process.
Main Argument of the Article: The October 7, 2023, Hamas attack shattered Israel's perception of a "manageable conflict." This brought the Palestinian issue back to the center of global politics.
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