There has never been a time in history when there was complete peace on Earth. Since humans learned to write history, there have been numerous major and minor conflicts taking place throughout the world. While it is impossible to include them all here, we will mention a few of the enduring ones before delving deeply into the Palestine-Israel dispute that has the entire world on edge.
Territorial disputes have been raging in the South China Sea for decades now. China, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan have competing claims over islands and waters. In fact, some claims date back centuries.
The civil war in Syria has been going on since 2011 between the government forces of President Assad and various rebel groups. It has been one of the 21st century’s deadliest conflicts so far.
The war in Afghanistan started in 2001 and lasted for 20 years between US-led forces and Taliban insurgents and warlords. US forces withdrew in 2021, but the conflict remains unresolved. This is because the Afghans are not prepared to accept Pakistan’s hegemony.
In the Somali civil conflict, various factions have vied for power since the collapse of central authority in 1991. Many foreign powers have been interfering on behalf of one competing group or another.
Colombia’s civil conflict has been going on for over 50 years between government forces and rebel groups. These conflicts have resulted in over 200,000 deaths and millions of people being displaced.
In Mexico, there are regular clashes among various drug cartels as well as between the drug lords and government security forces, resulting in high homicide rates.
Gang violence is widespread in such Latin American countries as El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. These have taken a high toll on human life.
The Northern Ireland conflict, also known as “The Troubles”, lasted for 30 years over the status of Northern Ireland. Although it ended with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, some tensions remain.
Since 2014, Eastern Ukraine has endured violent conflict in the disputed Donbas region between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists who formed self-declared republics in Donetsk and Luhansk. Over 14,000 lives have been lost in these clashes. Despite periodic ceasefires, the enduring conflict stemming from political and ethnic tensions after Russia’s annexation of Crimea remains unresolved and exacts severe human costs.
The roots of Kosovo-Serbia tensions can be traced to the long-running disputes between Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority and Serbian minority. This has caused instability in the Balkans since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974 between a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north following disputes between the ethnic groups.
The Basque conflict in Spain is decades old. It started in 1959 between the Spanish government and Basque separatist groups.
However, today we shall have a look at the Palestine-Israel situation, which has become an immediate cause for global alarm. The conflict is one of the most enduring and contentious in the Middle East. At its heart is the dispute over land and rights to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. This area includes the territories known as the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
The roots of the conflict date back to the late 19th century, when Zionism emerged, seeking to establish a Jewish homeland. Zionist Jews immigrated in waves to Palestine, a land that had been under the control of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. Rising Jewish immigration and land purchases stirred tensions with Arab Palestinians living in the same area.
Initially, the Palestinian Arabs did not strongly resist growing Jewish immigration and land purchases. However, by the 1920s, alarm spread amongst Palestinian Arabs as more Arabs were being displaced. This turned to outrage after the UN partition plan of 1947, which proposed dividing Mandatory Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. In 1948, tensions boiled over into war following Israel’s declaration of independence, resulting in the mass displacement of Palestinians. Nearly 750,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled. Israel barred their return. They became refugees across the West Bank, Gaza, and neighbouring countries. For Palestinians, this event is remembered as the Nakba—the “Catastrophe”.
At the end of this war, Israel controlled more land than was allotted to it under the UN plan, including the western half of Jerusalem and territory that was meant to be part of an independent Arab state. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced and became refugees in neighbouring countries.
After the 1948 war ended, Egypt controlled Gaza while Jordan annexed the West Bank of the Jordan River. Because of the boundary modifications that Israel insisted on after the war, the 1972 borders of these territories were not the same as those defined by the UN partition plan. The situation remained stable until the 1967 Six-Day War, during which Israel captured the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Israel established settlements in these occupied territories. This fuelled Palestinian anger and the emergence of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), promoting Palestinian nationalism and self-determination.
Tensions erupted into the First Intifada from 1987 to 1993, a mass Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule. Years of diplomatic stalemate followed until the Oslo Accords were signed secretly in 1993. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat agreed to mutual recognition and a phased process leading to a permanent settlement. But Rabin was assassinated two years later, hindering peace efforts. A succession of Israeli governments continued settlement growth, and resistance from Palestinians continued as well.
Major outbreaks of violence occurred with the Second Intifada from 2000 to 2005. In 2005, Israel withdrew settlements from the Gaza Strip but maintained control of Gaza’s coastline, airspace, and border crossings. Gaza remains isolated by an Israeli blockade. Hamas later seized control there, resulting in an Israeli blockade restricting the flow of goods and people.
Since then, issues remain unresolved, and violence has periodically flared. Repeated attempts at final status negotiations have failed to produce a two-state solution—Israel and Palestine existing peacefully side-by-side.
Key obstacles blocking a settlement have persisted for decades:
Borders/Settlements: There is no consensus on borders for the two states, complicated by Israeli settlements and security infrastructure in the occupied West Bank.
Jerusalem: Both sides claim Jerusalem as their capital. There are arguments around borders in the city and control of holy sites.
Palestinian Right of Return: A major Palestinian demand is the right of return for original Palestinian refugees and their descendants displaced in 1948–1949, numbering around 5 million today. Israel rejects this as undermining Israel’s Jewish character.
Security: Israel gives utmost importance to its security and points to continued hostile acts and violence from militant Palestinian groups.
Recognition: Some Palestinian factions still do not recognise Israel’s fundamental right to exist.
Today, the Palestinian territories remain fragmented geographically and politically between the Fatah-controlled Palestinian National Authority administering pockets of the West Bank and the militant Hamas controlling Gaza. This compounds difficulties on the Palestinian side in negotiating or implementing peace agreements.
The West Bank remains occupied by Israel. Today, there are over 600,000 Jewish settlers across 250 settlements, connected by roads largely prohibiting Palestinian movement. Palestinians face home demolitions, land confiscation, restricted freedom of movement, military raids, and arrests. Calls for formal annexation of large parts of the West Bank have increased. Palestinians are divided between supporters of Fatah in the West Bank and supporters of Hamas in Gaza, hindering reconciliation.
Palestinian hopes are vesting in a “two-state solution” involving complete Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza. However, because of expanding settlements and disagreement on the status of East Jerusalem, many now fear prospects are fading for a viable independent Palestinian state. The ongoing conflict continues to negatively impact the human rights, self-determination, and economic development of the Palestinian population. The ongoing bloodbath further highlights the volatility of the situation and tensions that persist.
As the conflict continues past the 70-year mark, a just solution that resolves these complex issues and establishes permanent peace remains elusive. Generations of mistrust continue to stifle diplomatic efforts as facts on the ground shift for both Israelis and Palestinians. With political will lacking on both sides, the cycle of claim and counterclaim endures around historical wrongs. Progress seems unlikely in the present situation, which reflects what the UN warned of in 1947—that partitioning Palestine without economic union or the transfer of minority populations would neither achieve stability nor justice.
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