Cause of Palestinian Statelessness
- In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled over most of the Middle East. During this time, a nationalist movement called Zionism emerged among some Jews in Europe, who sought to establish a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine, where they had historical and religious ties. They began to immigrate to Palestine and buy land from the local Arab population, who were mostly Muslim or Christian.
- After World War I, the Ottoman Empire collapsed and Palestine came under the control of Britain, which had promised to support both the Jewish and the Arab national aspirations in the region. However, Britain failed to reconcile these conflicting promises, and instead issued the Balfour Declaration in 1917, which declared its support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. This angered the Arab population, who felt betrayed and threatened by the increasing Jewish immigration and settlement.
- In 1947, after World War II and the Holocaust, Britain decided to end its mandate over Palestine and referred the issue to the United Nations, which proposed a partition plan that would divide Palestine into two states: one Jewish and one Arab. The plan was accepted by the Jewish leadership, but rejected by the Arab leadership, who considered it unfair and unjust. The plan was also opposed by some neighboring Arab countries, who supported the Palestinian cause.
- In 1948, as Britain withdrew from Palestine, a war broke out between the Jewish and the Arab communities, as well as between Israel and several Arab states that invaded to prevent the establishment of a Jewish state. The war resulted in the creation of Israel on 78% of historic Palestine, while the remaining 22% was divided between Jordan (which annexed the West Bank) and Egypt (which occupied Gaza). About 750,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes and became refugees in neighboring countries or within Palestine.
- In 1967, another war erupted between Israel and its Arab neighbors, which ended with Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, Sinai Peninsula (later returned to Egypt), and Golan Heights (later annexed by Israel). Since then, Israel has maintained a military rule over the Palestinian territories, where about five million Palestinians live today. Israel has also built illegal settlements and infrastructure on Palestinian land, confiscated Palestinian resources, restricted Palestinian movement and rights, and subjected Palestinians to violence and human rights violations.
- In 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which was founded in 1964 as an umbrella group for various Palestinian factions that sought to liberate Palestine from Israel by armed struggle or diplomacy, declared the establishment of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders. However, this declaration was not recognized by most countries or by Israel, which continued to deny the Palestinian right to self-determination.
- In 1993, after decades of conflict and resistance, Israel and the PLO signed a peace agreement known as the Oslo Accords, which aimed to establish a Palestinian interim self-government in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and to negotiate a final status agreement on issues such as borders, Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, and security. However, the Oslo process failed to achieve its goals due to various reasons, such as Israeli violations of the agreements, Palestinian violence and terrorism, lack of trust and political will on both sides, and external interference .
- In 2007, after a violent power struggle between Fatah (the dominant faction within the PLO) and Hamas (an Islamist movement that won the 2006 legislative elections), Gaza was taken over by Hamas, which does not recognize Israel or the Oslo Accords. Since then, Gaza has been under a land, sea, and air blockade by Israel (and Egypt), which has created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Hamas has also engaged in armed conflict with Israel several times over issues such as rockets fired from Gaza into Israel or Israeli incursions into Gaza.
