Why we shouldn’t analyse the recent events in Israel and Palestine in a vacuum
Photo courtesy of Alisdare Hickson Protestors march in the Whitehall area of London to show support for Palestinians
On 7th October in the early morning, Hamas launched a barrage of rockets from Gaza to Israel, hitting several cities including Tel Aviv and Ashkelon. This was followed by land, sea, and air invasions on Israeli soil which are considered to be the biggest in 50 years.
Militants entered various kibbutzim breaking into homes, indiscriminately shooting residents and taking others including women and children as hostages. Militants also infiltrated a music festival, killing at least 260 partygoers and abducting many others. Israel has since fought back with a series of airstrikes as well as a complete blockade of Gaza with Netanyahu declaring war against Hamas. Housing blocks, neighbourhoods, schools, hospitals, Churches and Mosques in Gaza have been destroyed and entire families have been killed.
The combination of casualties and blockade has meant that hospitals are overwhelmed and on the brink of collapse. The blockade has also meant that there is a complete halt of all food, drink and aid entering Gaza, further exacerbating the plight within the region. There are talks of an imminent ground invasion by Israeli forces, but this is affected by the hostage situation. At least 1400 Israelis and 4300 Palestinians have been killed with numbers constantly rising. Despite the devastation that Israelis and Palestinians are experiencing, I can’t help but notice that what's happening right now is being viewed by some as separate from the Israeli/Palestinian geopolitical situation.
Decontextualising these actions from the ongoing conflict and pushing this notion of ‘unprovoked’ creates a skewed image of what’s actually happening - violence like this does not occur in a vacuum. While the horrific murders committed by Hamas should be condemned in no uncertain terms, ignoring this context and not accounting for the 70+ years of geopolitical uncertainty within the region prevents a resolution of the conflict and an end to the violence.
Israel has been allowed to function as an ethnically segregated and unequal state with little consequence. The Gaza Strip is entering its 17th year of Israeli-enforced blockade, catastrophically impacting the Palestinians living there. According to Oxfam, approximately 1 million Palestinians in Gaza don't have enough food to feed their families. Water and electricity are heavily restricted. Gaza has been described as an open-air prison with reports of it being a testing ground for Israeli weapon technology.
In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, illegal annexation takes place and has been called out by various international organisations including the United Nations. Furthermore, only 31% of Palestinians in Gaza are connected to a proper sewage network, leaving the remaining 69% with contaminated water sources and denying most Palestinians basic hygiene and dignity. Just this year, 250 Palestinians including 47 children have already been killed at the hands of Israel, before any of this violence took place.
Palestinians are denied basic freedom and human rights at the hands of the Israeli government and IDF. Hence, framing the recent events as unprovoked attacks is highly misleading. History and past resistance movements have demonstrated that when members of a community have been continually persecuted and violated for decades, violence is the main form of action used when attempting to mobilise against this. Contextualising these attacks also means acknowledging the power dynamics between the two territories. Israel is a country with sophisticated intelligence, weaponry, one of the most powerful militaries in the world, and billions of international funding, is positioning itself against a territory that has none of this, nor a unified leadership. Between 2008 and September 2023, 6407 Palestinians were killed during the conflict, in comparison to 308 Israelis. Not acknowledging these unequal power dynamics is choosing to be blissfully ignorant of the harsh reality faced by many Palestinians.
Including the context of the conflict is so important in understanding why this violence is taking place (not justifying, but understanding). This is more than just an ‘unprovoked’ terrorist attack by Hamas.These horrific acts of violence can be framed by Hamas as an act of resistance to decades of abuse and oppression by the Israeli government. The motivations for Hamas’ recent attack must be examined when analysing what’s happening and condemning the brutal violence to which Israeli civilians have been subjected to. Not accounting for this could enable further bloodshed.
Both Israelis and Palestinians are losing loved ones at an alarming rate and this will only escalate. That is why now more than ever, we need to contextualise these outbursts, denounce violence of any form, and advocate for Palestinian liberation. Palestinians deserve to be free and safe, just as Israel has the same right to exist. Any sort of peace and co-existence between the two states is not going to happen without the freedom and liberation of Palestinians - otherwise, we will sadly continue down this slippery slope of mutual violence and destruction.