How will the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians be settled? The world is still reeling from the heinous attack on the morning of the Last Great Day, an Annual Holy Day. Israel’s response has leveled much of Gaza. At this writing some of the hostages have been released, but the majority remain captive. Their stories contain unimaginable horror. These months of turmoil have brought cultural and religious tensions to a boil around the world, spilling over into actual violence at times.
Israel has vowed to utterly destroy Hamas, the ruling faction of Gaza. They have been in power since elections held after Israel’s withdrawal in 2005. Peaceful reconciliation has never been part of their agenda. Nor are they alone. Groups like Islamic Jihad have come into the spotlight over their role in the murderous raid. If you believe their own statements, there are those who will never make peace under any circumstances. With this in mind, how can there ever be a settlement that satisfies all sides?
It is really remarkable to consider how many major powers are involved in trying to answer that question. Others use the conflict to their own advantage. Throughout the Arab Muslim world there are strong feelings of solidarity when it comes to confronting Israel. Indeed, the struggle is their own if we date our current crisis to the inception of Israel in 1948. This is particularly true of the nations that share land borders. Conversely, they have also been the first to make peace, though often over violent protests from their own citizens.
That is a factor in the current situation. Tensions being what they are, there is still the potential for a wider war. In the politics of the Middle East, it is dangerous to be perceived as “soft” on Israel. It is easy for radical elements to fan popular hatreds amid the scenes of destruction in Gaza. This can pressure governments to take actions more likely to result in conflict.
Jordan has stationed troops along its border with Israel. Egypt has the uncomfortable task of managing the only open border crossings into Gaza. Rockets fly into Israel from southern Lebanon and are answered in kind. Hezbollah (a projection of Iranian influence) has played a large role in the government of Lebanon for decades. Another Iranian proxy, the Houthis in Yemen, have actually declared war on Israel. Likely due to physical distance, their actions have been limited to drone and rocket attacks and a couple of instances of piracy against vessels with real or perceived connections to Israel. The US military has struck back against them in some instances.
Widespread protests across the Middle East have illustrated popular discontent and an appetite for war with Israel. Reuters reported a crowd of tens of thousands in Baghdad, Iraq. Most were draped in white shrouds, a symbol of their willingness to fight to the death. Tapping into this fervor and blood-lust creates an opportunity for radicals, themselves hungry for power. Resisting it can be dangerous for Arab rulers.
King Abdullah I of Jordan was assassinated by a Palestinian man in 1951 while attending prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Riad al Solh, had been gunned down only days before. Both were thought to be negotiating peace with Israel. The killing of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981 was on account of the Camp David Accords, a peace agreement with Israel. During the First Intifada, which lasted into the 1990s, Palestinians executed nearly 1,000 of their own people for “collaborating” with Israel.
Unfortunately, it is against this backdrop that we must consider any future attempts at peace. Will they be successful? Let us briefly consider both Israeli and Arab viewpoints. The Jews have maintained a presence in the area that stretches back to the history described in the Bible. Following Roman rule and the rise of Islam, the Jews were by no means a ruling majority, but usually maintained a tolerable coexistence. Naturally there are exceptions to such sweeping summaries, but history furnishes us such oddities as Jews and Muslims fighting side by side against Christian crusaders.
Of course there are underlying tensions between Judaism and Islam. These began to flare up in the late 1800s while the land was still a dominion of the Ottoman Empire. Many Jews, having spread abroad and multiplied for centuries, began to face persecution. This was particularly true in eastern Europe. They fled, and tens and even hundreds of thousands would eventually seek refuge in their ancestral homeland. This development was not well received by Arabs in the area.
Their anger was also exacerbated by the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and the oversight of the British during the Mandate period from 1922-1948. The end of WWII, as the world came to grips with the horrors of the Holocaust, brought a flood of desperate Jewish refugees out of Europe. The United Nations’ solution was to create independent states of Israel and Palestine, with Jerusalem as an internationally administered city. In its main points it was the same as the “two-state solution” many still clamor for today.
The Arabs of that day rejected it violently. War immediately followed and both sides recruited officers from Europe. Sympathies between the Arabs and the Axis powers led to some German officers fighting on their side. Israel emerged victorious thanks to abundant foreign aid and support. Can we even imagine the experience of those who survived the slavery and degradation of the concentration camps having to again fight for their very existence?
These facts are burned into the Israeli consciousness. They have been reinforced as successive generations have faced sporadic violence as well as major regional wars in 1967 and 1973. Military service is mandatory for men and women. Israel lives in perpetual danger of attack, recent events bear that out.
Most Arab nations still do not formally recognize Israel. The most radical elements are still bent on its destruction. The problem goes far deeper than any sort of just settlement for the Palestinians. It is politically convenient to claim that, to say there must be a two-state solution for peace. It allows blame to be placed on Israel for not making enough concessions or giving up enough territory. It is a false pretense. Even Jordan only gave up its claim to the West Bank in 1988.
Previous withdrawals have not brought peace. Pulling out of Gaza in 2005 only led to the election of Hamas, rocket attacks, fighting, and the unspeakable atrocities of October 7, 2023. What guarantee of security can there be if Israel should withdraw to its pre-1967 borders? None that a nation missing over 100 hostages, sickened by the still emerging stories of murder, rape and dismemberment, will accept.
Anger and emotion run just as hot on the Arab side. Even if they repudiate the actions of Hamas, many have lost parents or children, family or friends. The death toll in Gaza at this writing has surpassed 15,000. Will the survivors be inclined to make peace? It will be only too easy to blame Israel for their grief. Another chapter in a long running historical grievance with no shortage of tragedies to galvanize each side.
This is not a recipe for peace. Not the combined efforts of the most influential nations, nor all the skillful diplomats, not money, land or autonomy will heal these wounds. We hope they are successful, as far as they are able, in ending the current conflict and preventing it from engulfing the entire region. We pray for those who have spent the last months in captivity. We pray for all those caught up in a quarrel they want no part of.
Would that peace were possible. Even a temporary settlement would be a relief, but we are forced to acknowledge that the root of the problem is virtually irreconcilable. At least by human means. The region lies at the heart of the end-time events described in the prophecies of Matthew 24, Luke 21 and the book of Revelation. From this we know the issues surrounding it will not truly be solved short of God’s kingdom. It is the reason we watch the events that transpire there.
