Bridge of Wills

Global stability has always been fragile, like fine china in the hands of men: there has never been an era when humanity has not entered into conflict with fellow humans and disrupted the balance of peace. The events of October 7th, when thousands of missiles were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, highlighted the delicacy of world affairs. This conflict is not new; its roots can be traced back to the late 19th century, and if one considers biblical texts, it stretches back even further. Attacks and missiles raining from the Gaza Strip have become a part of life for those living within Israel, and people approach it with a nonchalance that might make it seem like constant attacks on one’s homeland are normal – they’re not. The fact that there was an attack on Israel is not particularly significant, but the sheer scale is astonishing. According to the Israeli government, more than 5,000 rockets¹ were fired in the span of twenty minutes, completely overwhelming their Iron Dome missile defense system due to the sheer numbers. Following the initial attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war against the group responsible, Hamas, and is currently waging a campaign of total war to “wipe them off the face of the earth.” What will happen next in the conflict is uncertain and subject to geopolitical factors and considerations.

Origins

The Middle East has always been a region where control over territories changed hands frequently. However, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict largely has its roots in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the emergence of nationalist movements among Jews and Arabs contributing to the downfall of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. In 1917, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration, announcing support for establishing a Jewish state in Palestine. This conflicted with previous promises to recognize the establishment of a unified Arab state, which was the primary objective of the Arab Revolt that aimed to end the Ottoman occupation of Arab territories. For the next three decades, conflict would ensue between Jews and Arabs in British Mandatory Palestine. Waves of Jews immigrated and established settlements, leading to violence with Arabs, some of which sought collaboration with Nazi Germany. In 1948, in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust, the State of Israel was established, and a majority of Palestinian Arabs were displaced in the Nakba. That same year, war ensued between Israel and its Arab neighbors, the first of four that would characterize the wider Arab-Israeli conflict. Starting in the 1970s, efforts were made to normalize relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors, most of which have been successful. Nonetheless, the increased Jewish settlement of lands populated by Palestinian Arabs continues to spark instances of violence. Today, the State of Palestine is fractured between two political factions. Fatah, the traditionally dominant faction, retains control in the West Bank, while Hamas, a militant Islamist group, has held control over the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Current State

The war is reaching a climax, with Israel dramatically expanding military operations into Gaza through a ground invasion. There has been no refrain from either side as they rush to outwit the other, coming at the cost of innocent lives. According to the United Nations, there has been “clear evidence”² of war crimes committed by both Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces. As Hamas launched its invasion into Israel, it conducted massacres on civilian populations, with the most notable occurrence being the killing of around 270 civilians at a music festival in Re’im. About 250 people have been taken hostage, 200 of which are estimated to have been kidnapped by Hamas, while 50 are estimated to have been kidnapped by other Palestinian militant factions. UN experts have strongly condemned³ the hostage-taking but have also extended criticism to Israeli action, especially their indiscriminate bombing of civilians, notably airstrikes on hospitals, refugee camps, and media facilities, coupled with executions of surrendered Palestinians. Logistically, Israel’s decision to evacuate Northern Gaza, whose population numbers above a million, in a mere 24 hours greatly exacerbated the scramble to save lives as hundreds of foreign nationals are still trapped and over a million Palestinians displaced. With Israel pushing further into Gaza and encircling its largest city, it’s clear that whoever the victor, it will come at the undeserved detriment of human life.

Global Implications

The war has attracted reactions from global actors and common people alike, sparking protests around the world and a spike in antisemitic⁴ and Islamophobic⁵ violence. Global actors have opined on the situation, aligning themselves behind their respective allies without real consideration of who is the affected party, innocents. We have entered an era of geopolitics where clear violations are watered down, and rational decision is replaced with impulse. The post-World War II rules-based order has drifted further into irrelevance as global actors ignore signed international agreements for convenience. As seen in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict, blatant violations of sovereignty and self-determination are becoming increasingly tolerated, and opposition is reluctant.

What’s clear is that the era of relative peace afforded after the end of the Cold War is coming to a close; the pot is just beginning to boil: a new age of global instability and distrust may be upon us. Global order will never be the same.

Written by Daniel Castañeda and Daniel Nuñez

1. https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2 ↩︎
2. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/31/have-war-crimes-been-committed-in-israel-and-gaza-and-what-international-laws-apply ↩︎
3. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/israeloccupied-palestinian-territory-un-experts-deplore-attacks-civilians ↩︎
4. https://www.reuters.com/world/how-surge-antisemitism-is-affecting-countries-around-world-2023-10-31/ ↩︎
5. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/muslim-americans-spike-hate-incidents-feels-reminiscent-post-911-islam-rcna122570 ↩︎