Israel’s genocidal war – which has now been going on for 396 days – has claimed the lives of at least 43,314 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Most of them are children and women. The brutal attack also injured more than 102,019 other people. There are many more still trapped under the rubble and their whereabouts are unknown.
The unlimited war launched on October 7 last year has been going on for a year last month. However, the war against Palestinians did not start 13 months ago. The war is rooted in history, in the seizure of their land, the destruction of their homes, the denial of their rights, and ethnic cleansing.
Occupation and apartheid have their roots in the Balfour Declaration in November 1917. In 1917, the then British foreign minister, Arthur Balfour, sent a letter to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a British Zionist public figure, regarding the establishment of Jewish land in Palestine. The contents of the letter, which was drafted on November 2, 1917, became known as the Balfour Declaration.
The declaration was made during World War 1 (1914-1918) and became an important part of the British mandate after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The letter determined the fate of the Palestinian people and opened a new chapter marked by occupation and apartheid, continuing to this day as the Israeli regime, and supported by its Western allies, continues to massacre Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
History of the Balfour Declaration
Awni Abd al-Hadi, a prominent Palestinian political figure, wrote in his memoirs that the declaration was made by a British foreign citizen, who had no claim to Palestine, to a Jewish foreigner who had no rights to the territory.
After World War I, under a controversial system, countries that faced defeat during the war had to cede territory they controlled to countries that emerged victorious.
It is believed that this system was intended to allow the victorious nation to manage the newly emerging nation until they could become independent.
However, the mandate system was not followed in the case of Palestine, instead a very strange and very controversial decision was taken regarding the Palestinian territories.
The Balfour Declaration emerged as a public promise to establish a state for the Jewish people in Palestine.
The British government stated that it aimed to establish a Jewish national home in Palestine at a time when Jews had not yet even reached 10% of the total population of the state of Palestine.
An early draft of the controversial declaration even used the phrase re-establishment of Palestine as a Jewish State. This clearly hints at the plan of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by the British state.
In 1920, the Third Palestine Congress in Haifa rejected the British government’s Zionist project and called the declaration a violation of international law and the rights of the indigenous Palestinian population.
Britain ignored the Palestine Congress declaration. In 1922 Arthur Balfour and then British Prime Minister David Lloyd George held a meeting with Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann and announced that the Balfour Declaration always meant an eventual Jewish state.
The plan was implemented and Britain began facilitating Jewish immigration to Palestine. Between 1922 and 1935, the Jewish population increased by 27% from just 9% before 1922.
The years after the Balfour Declaration
With Palestinian land illegally and forcefully confiscated by the British and handed over to Zionist settlers, tensions increased leading to the Arab Revolt from 1936 to 1939.
In 1939, a general strike was called in Palestine in protest against British colonialism and illegal Jewish immigration. The month-long strike was followed by a British crackdown on Palestinians. After that, the world watched as Palestinian homes were destroyed and their land confiscated according to plans arranged by the British as a form of assistance to Zionist groups in the West.
In late 1939, Britain and allied Zionist groups began a full-fledged campaign to destroy the Palestinians. Villages were destroyed, curfews were imposed, and thousands of people were killed, injured, and thrown behind bars to pave the way for the establishment of the Zionist entity.
Zionist terrorist groups such as the Haganah, Lehi, and Irgun worked under a British-led umbrella organization dubbed the counterinsurgency force. Later, these groups formed the Israeli military forces.
In 1947, the United Nations passed Resolution 181 calling for the partition of the Palestinian state. Jews were not considered part of what eventually became occupied territory.
Resolution 181 was passed at the end of World War II and stated that Palestine should be divided into Arab and Jewish entities by giving 55% of the total land to Jews. This violates international law.
At the end of World War II, the British mandate in Palestine ended. They left and Zionist groups began violent expeditions to expand this illegitimate occupying entity.
Between 1947 and 1949, hundreds of Palestinian villages and towns were destroyed and tens of thousands of local residents killed in a clear example of ethnic cleansing.
Nakba or catastrophe
Those who survived the genocidal campaign were forced to leave their homes and possessions. About 750,000 Palestinians fled their ancestral homes. This massive massacre of Palestinians and their mass exodus led to the Nakba or catastrophe.
Nearly 78% of Palestinian land was illegally confiscated by Zionist forces. Finally, on May 15, 1948, the Zionist entity was officially established.
This was followed by the Arab-Israeli war between Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and the Israeli regime. The Gaza Strip came under Egyptian control and Jordan took over the West Bank.
The Nakba was followed by Naksa or setbacks when the Zionist regime occupied other Palestinian territories including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Syrian Golan Heights, and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula during the Six Day War against Arab countries.
Followed by the regime building illegal settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The apartheid system was created when illegal Jewish settlers were given all the rights and privileges while the native Palestinian population had to live under military occupation and faced discrimination.
This apartheid system led to the first intifada in December 1987 when Palestinians united against Israel’s illegal occupation. The popular uprising continued for six years as the Zionist regime adopted a bone-breaking policy that killed thousands of Palestinians.
During the first intifada, the Gaza-based Hamas resistance group emerged. The second intifada occurred in September 2000 when Aerial Sharon, then prime minister of the regime, made a provocative visit to the holy Al Aqsa Mosque.
During this time, settlement construction on confiscated Palestinian land became widespread. Palestinian infrastructure and livelihoods are destroyed. The regime pushed native residents into remote blocks, even prohibiting them from using ordinary roads.
After the second intifada ended in 2005, Israeli settlements in Gaza were dismantled and legislative elections were held for the first time in a territory where Hamas had a majority.
Hamas’s rise to power in Gaza and the ousting of the Zionist regime from the coastal region led to a crippling humanitarian blockade that has intensified over the years.
For nearly two decades, more than two million people have staggered under the blockade.
During this period, the regime frequently attacked the Gaza Strip. In 2008, 2012, 2014, 2021, and 2023, thousands of Palestinians have been killed by the occupation regime.
What began with the Balfour Declaration 107 years ago continues to this day. Just look at the extermination of Palestinians, regardless of gender and age. (Press TV/Z-2)
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Undamental denial of basic rights for Palestinians, further entrenching their marginalization and oppression.
The Israeli government has systematically maintained policies of separation and discrimination, enforcing a complex web of laws that privilege Israeli settlers while subjecting Palestinians to military rule. This has led to widespread condemnation from various human rights organizations, citing violations of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007 has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis, with severe restrictions on movement, access to essential services, and economic opportunities. The devastation of infrastructure, coupled with continuous military operations, has led to dire living conditions for the population, contributing to a cycle of violence and instability in the region.
In light of the ongoing conflict, many activists and organizations continue to advocate for the rights of Palestinians, calling for an end to the occupation and recognition of their right to self-determination. The international community remains divided on the issue, with some nations supporting Israel’s right to defend itself while others stand in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation.
As the conflict continues, it is vital to remember the historical context and lasting implications of decisions made over a century ago, such as the Balfour Declaration, which set the stage for the enduring struggle between Palestinians and the state of Israel. Recognition and dialogue are crucial steps toward achieving a just and lasting peace in the region.