 During the early hours of October 7, 2023, the world woke up to hear the declaration of war on Palestine by Israel. The reason for this declaration was that Hamas, a militant group in Palestine, had crossed into Israel, breaching the country's heavily fortified border with Gaza. They did not only breach Israel's border, but also went ahead to attack Israeli citizens and soldiers. It is reported that at least 1,200 people were killed with more than 150 people taken hostage. In response to this attack, Israel launched a bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip, leading to the death of more than 500 Palestinians. It has mobilized troops along the Gaza border, apparently in preparation for a ground attack. And on Monday, October 9, Israel announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, stopping the supply of food, fuel, and other essential commodities to the already besieged enclave. While this may be the most deadly conflict between Israel and Palestine, it's only the most recent between the two countries. In fact, Israel and Palestine have been at each other for decades now, even going back to 1948, when Israel first became a nation. In this video, we will do a detailed analysis of the origin of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Prior to World War One, Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire, home to Arab Muslims, Arab Christians, and Jewish communities. After World War One, the League of Nations mandated Britain to govern Palestine. This mandate led to an increase in Jewish immigration, fueling tensions between Jewish settlers and the Arab-Palestinian population. Eventually, due to challenges in governing colonies after the war, Palestine was handed over to the United Nations. Then came the year 1917, where Britain's then Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour wrote a letter addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead of the British Jewish community. The letter was short, just about 67 words, but it was the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The letter expressed support to establish a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. This letter became known as the Balfour Declaration. In 1923, a British mandate was created which lasted to 1948. The year Israel first became a recognized nation. That period saw the British facilitating mass Jewish immigration to Palestine, many of which were fleeing Nazism in Europe. The Arabs were not happy with the increasing Jewish immigrants in their land. The tensions led to the Arab Revolt, which lasted from 1936 to 1939. They tried to make protest by launching a general strike, with holding tax payment to the British and boycotting Jewish products. However, their actions were severely repressed by the British, who launched a mass arrest campaign and carried out punitive home demolitions. In those three years of revolt, 5,000 Palestinians were killed, 15,000 to 20,000 were wounded, and 5,600 were imprisoned. By 1947, the Jewish population had increased to 33% of Palestine land, although they only owned about 6% of the land. It was at this time that the United Nations decided to adopt Resolution 181, which called for the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. The partition plan was accepted by the Jewish but rejected by the Arabs, because it gave about 56% of Palestine to the Jewish state, including most of the fertile coastal region. The UN partition plan led to the creation of Israel as a nation, but it also set the stage for the first Arab-Israeli War, which continues to impact the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War began after Israel declared statehood on May 14, 1948. Arab countries, together with the Palestinians, invaded Israel. The war ended the following year, with Israel emerging as the victor, and the whole territory divide into three regions, which are the State of Israel, which expanded to 60% of the area, which should have been part of the Palestinian state, the West Bank, along the Jordan River, which was controlled by Jordan and the Gaza Strip, controlled by Egypt. Between 1949, after the First Arab-Israeli War to 1978, Israel and its Arab neighbors were involved in a series of clashes starting with the 1956 Suez Crisis. The 1956 Suez Crisis saw Israel, along with France and the UK, launching a military campaign against Egypt over the nationalization of the Suez Canal. Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip, but withdrew under international pressure in 1957. In 1967, Israel launched a pre-emptive strike against Egypt, Syria and Jordan, leading to a quick victory and occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria. This war, known as the Six-Day War, marked a turning point in the conflict since Israel gained territory four times its original size, and over a million Palestinians came under Israeli rule in the occupied regions. The 1973 Yom Kippur War, also known as the October War, began with a surprise attack by Egypt and Syria on Israel during Yom Kippur, the holiest and most solemn day in the Jewish calendar. The conflict led to intense fighting, some territorial changes, and set the stage for subsequent peace negotiations, including the Camp David Accords in 1978. The PLO was founded in 1964 following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which left Palestinians without an independent state. The organization was created in East Jerusalem during the first Palestinian National Congress. They aspired to represent Palestinians and strive towards their national goals, which included self-determination and the establishment of a Palestinian state. The Palestine National Covenant was approved as the PLO's founding document by Ahmed Shukairi. Early efforts included lobbying for international recognition and the formation of the Palestine Liberation Army, PLA, for armed resistance against Israel. Influenced by worldwide liberation movements, the PLO altered its strategy from diplomacy to armed action in the late 1960s. Fatah, led by Yasser Arafat, emerged as the dominant faction driving this transformation. Throughout the 1970s, the PLO engaged in military activities such as hijackings of airplanes and attacks on Israeli objectives. Yasser Arafat's momentous statement to the United Nations General Assembly in 1974 earned universal recognition. In the 1980s, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 resulted in the expulsion of PLO forces from Beirut, although the organization continued to seek foreign assistance. December 1987 saw the eruption of the first intifada, an Arabic word which means shaking off or getting rid of. The intifadas were Palestinian uprisings against Israeli occupation of their land. The first intifada, which lasted until 1993, was marked by civil disobedience and peaceful resistance earning international sympathy and recognition. It contributed to the Oslo peace accords. The historic Oslo accords signed on the White House lawn in 1993 by then Israeli Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat launched a peace process aimed at realizing the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. It established the Palestinian Authority, PA, in areas of the West Bank and Gaza, granting Palestinians some political autonomy. However, there were political disagreements among Palestinians, with some viewing the accords as a betrayal of their cause, particularly those who felt that only armed resistance would liberate their territories from Israeli rule. When it became clear that the Oslo accords would not result in long-term peace, the second intifada erupted in the 2000s. Unlike the first intifada, which was characterized by nonviolent resistance, the second intifada was characterized by violent acts such as suicide bombings and clashes resulting in casualties and destruction in the West Bank and Gaza. It resulted in a breakdown in peace talks and hardened attitudes on both sides. In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip, dismantling settlements and ending its military presence in the enclave densely populated by two million Palestinians. In democratic elections in 2006, the militant group Hamas won a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council, defeating the secular FATA Party and was set to administer all the occupied territories, Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem. However, the international community refused to recognize Hamas rule because of its designation as a terrorist group. This led to civil war between Hamas and FATA, with the former gaining control of Gaza and the latter administering the West Bank. Right from when it was created in 1987, Hamas has always refused to engage with Israel. It considers Israel as an illegitimate state and was part of those who opposed the Oslo Accords. Between 2008 to 2011, there were several clashes between Israel and Hamas resulting in significant casualties. The 2021 clash was the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas, where Hamas and Israel launched and counter-launched a barrage of rockets, each striking civilian populations ending only after 256 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed. That was until Hamas militants crossed the border on October 7th and brought on to quote an Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson, the worst day in Israeli history. Thousands of people have been killed and countless wounded in the latest escalation between both sides and there seems to be no end to the conflict in sight. How this recent conflict would end, no one really knows. Most countries, including the US and India, have outrightly condemned the terrorist attacks by Hamas. However, some have also blamed Israel for the conflict. There you have it, the origin of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comment section below and don't forget to like, subscribe and share.