Feb 19, 20214 min read

Current situation in the Israel-Palestine conflict

The Middle East has long been an area of intense and incessant conflict and civil unrest, and although some situations have come and gone, one dispute that has lasted for almost an entire century, and doesn’t show signs of stopping any time soon, is the Israel-Palestine conflict. The self-determination movement triggered by centuries of disdain towards Jewish people has escalated and led to human rights violations against the Palestinians, and today more than ever, the situation seems to be rather stuck, with very little sway occurring in any direction. This article will explore the current situation that the two states face, especially in the context of the long-awaited Palestinian elections that were announced in January (for a more in-depth analysis of earlier events, we recommend that you check out our last article).

The current territorial situation

Even after a long history of annexations and treaties to determine the exact territory of Israel, many borders are still unclear. At the moment, there are de facto borders between the recognised Israeli land and the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank, however, they are not set in stone. In addition, the Golan Heights area between Syria and Israel is still disputed over, with the USA being the only country to recognise Israel’s annexation of this area, and East Jerusalem’s occupation is also up for debate, with each side of the conflict claiming that it is rightfully theirs.

Violence in the last decade and the 2018 “nation-state” law

Violent demonstrations and displays of brutality between the two states have occurred regularly, even in the past decade, caused especially by the hostility between Israel and Hamas, the leading power of the Palestinian parliament and the occupants of the Gaza Strip (whom the USA have classified as a terrorist organisation). In 2014, Hamas shot almost 3,000 rockets, causing a fight that killed more than 2,300 people. Then, in 2018, a series of mostly-peaceful protests in the Gaza Strip led to another escalation of events, whereby more than 6,000 people were hurt. Military action was taken by both sides, before thankfully reaching a cease-fire. Although these seem to be isolated incidents, they are flare-ups of regular bitterness and antipathy that can be seen constantly at the borders between these regions.

These negative feelings were further incited in 2018 when Israel passed a new “nation-state” law that imposed some limitations on Palestinians’ rights. It stated that only Jewish people can self-determinate, ruling out non-Jewish citizens’ right to democracy, which some have gone as far as to even compare with apartheid in South Africa. Not only that, but it also demoted Arabic from an official language to a “special status”, which further infuriated people, and even included a clause that could potentially encourage the settlements in the West Bank - which are considered illegal under international law and by all countries other than the USA.

The 2020-2021 Israeli and Palestinian elections

In March 2020, Israel held the third round of elections in one year, which ended in an agreement between the incumbent prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his biggest rival, Benny Gantz, to each serve as prime minister for 1.5 years. However, because a budget had not been passed by December (upon explicit requests from both politicians to the finance minister to not hurry when making it), the parliament was dissolved and another round of elections will be held in March 2021. This is in Mr Netanyahu’s clear advantage, since he may be able to secure a majority in these following elections, that would provide him with immunity against the corruption charges that are being brought against him at the moment.

More exciting news, however, comes from the fact that in January, Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority (essentially the leader of Palestine), announced that there would be 3 rounds of elections held this year, from May to August, on both legislative and presidential matters. This would be the first election to be held since 2005, even though Mr Abbas’ term has been expired for almost 12 years; the inability to host elections until now was determined by an unstable political situation between the two leading parties of Palestine, and uncertainty about the conflict with Israel overall. Though, many criticise the president’s decision as simply a stunt to please the new Biden administration, and a response to the increasing international pressure to hold democratic elections. Not only this, but the authoritarian nature of both Hamas and Fatah (the two leading parties) means that the elections will probably be far from fair: it seems quite strange and almost unreasonable for Mr Abbas to encourage elections where he is very unlikely to win another term, unless he could do something to turn it around.

Potential solutions

Most of the proposals so far have been for a two-state solution, whereby Israel and Palestine would separate as two different states; this is because a one-state solution seems highly unlikely when considering the mutual hatred between Israel and Hamas, and the feelings that the Jews and Arabs in the area have for each other. However, this has proven more difficult than it seems, because as the conflict drags on, the lines become more blurred, and hope for any solution at all seems to slowly fade away. The key issues that need to be tackled before the two-state solution can be put in practise are where to place the borders, what to do about the Palestinian refugees driven out during the creation of Israel, how to split Jerusalem (if at all), and how to ensure that security and peace are kept after Israel withdraws its troops from the West Bank and other occupied territories. The Trump administration has proposed its “Peace to Prosperity” plan, but this wasn’t accepted by Palestine, since it would allow Israel to annex the West Bank settlements.

Overall and in conclusion, the Israel-Palestine conflict is ever-changing and evolving, and although its end cannot be seen anywhere in the near future, we can only hope that measures will be taken to stop the human rights abuses resulting from the illegal Israeli settlements, and that the upcoming elections in both states will be as democratic as possible in the current conflictual context. When faced with such a dynamic and complex issue, one can only hope that it will resolve itself as soon as possible, even though expectations are quite bleak at the moment.