Israel and Palestine: 3 months or 75 years?

Since early October, when the Islamic Resistance Movement better known as Hamas launched an attack on the south of Israel, and then early November, when Israel began the siege and saturation bombing of Gaza, flurries of news about the situation between Israel and Palestine have picked up traction—both from official news outlets and from people involved with and/or living in these locations.

One thing that has become prominent is the argument of who is in the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’: is Israel the bad guy? Is Palestine? Is it the Israel Occupation/Offensive Forces (IOF) and Israel Defense Forces (IDF)? Is it Hamas?

There are decades of history that must be unpacked before these questions can be answered—specifically beginning with the Nakba, which occurred between 1947 and 1949, and involved the displacement of over 750,000 Palestinians as well as the killing of 15,000 by Zionist forces (1).

This article will not delve into the extensive history between Israel and Palestine, and its people, but other resources can provide information, such as books (e.g. Arabs and Israelis as well as Gaza in Crisis and its sequel On Palestine) and news sites (e.g. Al Jazeera and UN News). There are also frequent updates about the current affairs of both states on various social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.

While researching, however, remember to of course double check information and what sources they come from, especially on social media, and be mindful of confirmation bias. This is especially important as other countries are getting directly involved due to things such as UN meetings regarding discussions for a ceasefire. Propaganda is widespread and, as it tends to be, extremely easy to believe when one takes the information at face value instead of thinking critically.

There are additionally platforms to donate to the victims of this armed conflict, which can be found with little research; one free platform, for example, is arab.org, where you can donate without spending money just by clicking on a button once a day. A primary and easy way to help, however, is to inform yourself.

I strongly encourage you to explore the resources linked above and seek out further information regarding the situation.

Featured image source.

Published Dec 15 2023.
Revised Jan 25 2024.