In 1948 the United Nations made a decision that created the state of Israel. It is probable that this vote was heavily influenced by sympathy for the Jews murdered in Nazi concentration camps during the second world war, but in creating a homeland for the Jewish diaspora it disposed the Palestinian people who lived there for hundreds of years.
The Palestinian people call it " nekba ", their word for " catastrophe " and this seventieth anniversary of the creation of Israel is being celebrated by what is little better described as open warfare between the two sides. The site of this clash is Gaza, a piece of land occupied by Palestinians with a fortified border with Israel. Thousands of angry Palestinians have been trying to tear down that fence and return to where they lived before Israel was formed. The Israelis have defended that border with gunfire and tear gas and at least 58 Palestinians have been killed and 2700 others have been injured.
Gaza is administered by Hamas and it is sacrificing Palestinian lives to keep this grievance in the public eye. Protesters are burning tyres to create thick black smoke and forays to breach the border defences are accompanied by missiles from slingshots and stone throwing. The throwing of fire bombs is common and those trying to dismantle razor wire barriers are being summarily shot.
This anniversary would be sufficient cause for demonstrations but the accelerant is the move of the American embassy from TelaViv to Jerusalem. Donald Trump is supportive of Israel and his sponsorship of Jerusalem as the Jewish capital was an unexpected move. The Palestinians want Jerusalem as their capital if they ever achieve their own state alongside Israel.
That has long been the dream of the peacemakers and several times it has seemed close to achievement. One of the stumbling blocks is the refusal of the Palestinians to recognise the Israeli state and steady encroachment of Israeli settlements on land won in earlier wars is making such a settlement unlikely.
It seems likely that Hamas is trying to capitalize on the rejection by other Arab states of the American embassy move to Jerusalem to bring the lack of a Palestinian state to the fore. Gaza is an island of Palestinians surrounded by a fortified Israeli presence and movement in and out is strictly controlled. Life within Gaza is hand to mouth and the main occupation seems to be digging tunnels to access contraband denied by Israel.
It seems that Hamas is prepared to condone the death of Palestinians killed by Israeli bullets to keep the world news cameras recording this clash, and it is evident that many Palestinians are prepared to face death by repeatedly attacking the border. It is a fight for world opinion and it has been going on for seventy years - and it is no nearer reaching a point of settlement.
The point is near where Israel will have annexed what is needed for a Palestinian state and it is improbable that the United Nations will ask Israel to vacate, disband its country and move somewhere else. Some Palestinians will continue to live within the state of Israel but many others will eventually need to find accommodation with surrounding Arab countries.
The sad thing is that this merciless war will continue indefinitely because a settlement that suits both sides is clearly impossible.
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