Ideal way to approach the Israel and Palestine conflict
From the way things are going, the division between the Israel and Palestine is not likely to end in the future. Religion plays a major role in people’s lives in certain countries and because of that, no side would like to give up any inch of land to the opponent. This conflict is simply a religious war, both side trying to remove each other from existence. You as a world traveler need to know how to approach this conflict in case someone ask you for your perspective.
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Understanding a brief history Israel and Palestine
After World War 2, Britain gave the Jewish people the land of Israel, which at the time was part of British Palestine. This land was to be made the homeland of all Jews from around the world in 1948. A land they could call their own. The conflict appears when the native Palestinian were forced to gave up the land they had for generations. British Palestine got cut up into many pieces, against the Palestine people’s will and countries like Israel, Egypt and Jordan got parts of the land that used to be British Palestine. This is one of those events in history where British people on Reddit apologize for this conflict their ancestors created.
The British decision to split up British Palestine awkwardly with Gaza being a lone enclave within Jewish Israel was a big mistake to begin with. The Palestinian were at the mercy of Israel when it comes to goods and services since items often need to go through Israel first before going into Gaza. Many people who live within Gaza’s packed 141 sq mi (365 sq km) said it was like living in a large prison. This kind of environment creates the atmosphere for extremist like Hamas to thrive.
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Even before British Palestine, the region was conquered by these numerous kingdoms and in the region of conflict lies the ancient Kingdom of Israel, Kingdom of Judah and the Philistine States. See map below of how the region was back in 830 BCE. The history behind this area of the world is very deep and complicated. Regardless, these past Kingdoms that once rule the region shouldn’t be forgotten and examine more.
The Gaza strip and its role
Life inside of Gaza wasn’t easy and supplies where limited. Hamas used the hardship and difficulties of living in Gaza to recruit followers in their extremist ideologies and to points the fingers at Israel for making their life less than perfect. Israel setup walls around the Gaza Strip and people in Gaza aren’t giving full citizen rights or benefits of being part of Israel.
With Palestinian land being forced to give to Israel, many Palestinian see Independence as the only way to get their land back and to achieve freedom from what they believe is their colonizer, Israel.
To achieve this freedom and to get their land back, Hamas emerged within Gaza and on a regular basis attempted to crush the Israelite by deadly force.
Why is the land of Israel so important to the Jews and Muslims?
Many of the most important places within the Jewish and Islamic religion are within Israel’s boarder such as the city of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. To see Israel occupying places of such religious importance upsets many Muslims such as those in Palestine. Basically, both the Jews and Muslim population are fighting for the land that was the birthplace of their respected religion.
Recommended traveler approach of the Israel and Palestine conflict
First l would do research before going to the country of your choice where the local people general stand on this subject. Some people may strongly oppose anyone who shows slight sympathy or support for the opposing side and may lead to violence. If you think your life could be in danger based on where you are from or what religious background you have, immediately cancel your travels, and look for someplace safer. The Israel and Palestine conflict divided most the world into two camps.
The table below shows an example of what countries support Israel and what countries support Palestine. For the sake of simplicity, I use the continent of Asian as an example. The pattern here is that if the country is majority Muslim, there is a high chance of the country being strongly pro-Palestine. On the flip side, if the country tends to be a good U.S. ally, chances is that its Pro-Israel. Know the stance of the country you are traveling to so you can be prepared in case the Israel and Palestine conflict discussion comes your way. From my experience, local sometimes are very interested to hear the perspective of an outsider of current major world events.
| Asian countries perspective | |
| Pro-Israel | Pro-Palestine |
| Singapore | Indonesia |
| South Korea | Bangladesh |
| The Philippines | Iran |
What made October 2023 conflict newsworthy?
According to Israel, the attack by Hamas (Palestinian Terror group) was the worst on its recorded history. Over 1,300 innocent people lost their lives by the surprise attacked. Hamas and its soldier breach the Israeli border walls and started mass killing innocent civilians. Hamas also launched hundreds of rockets into the skies of Israel.
As a response to Hamas surprised attack, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu launched Israel biggest assault to Palestine. Israel gathered over 300,000 military reservist and formally launched war against Hamas, a terror group headquartered in Gaza. And who are the people who are stuck in the middle of this terrible bloodbath? You guessed it, everyday civilians just living their normal lives.
As a traveler, learn the basic history of the conflict
When you travel to countries that are affected by this conflict, show sympathy to both sides. Read about the basics, learn how did we get to this point. Blindly going in and picking sides without doing your research and without thinking about the humans’ lives lost on both sides is dangerous. Religion is very powerful in many parts of the world and stepping on one’s religious belief can potentially bring your own life in danger.
Show compassion for both sides
When you think of this conflict from the perspective of all the tens of thousands of ordinary civilians whose lives negatively impacted by this ongoing war, you will see both sides loses. The worst are innocent people going about their day and then something unfortunate happens and then their lives suddenly vanished from the face of this earth by these violence events.
Both sides are experienced horrors that no human should ever experience. On the Israel side, people lost their lives just by walking down the street, relaxing in their own homes, and attending an outdoor concern. On the Palestinian side, air strikes hit targeted buildings and killed nearby innocent people as well. Also in Gaza, supply of food, water and electricity has been cut off and you can imagine the horror that brings.
To see a complete or more accurate information about the Israel and Palestine conflict of 2023, I would recommend getting news source from multiple media from different countries. I see strong bias towards Palestine when I view new source from Muslim majority countries. On the flip side, strong bias towards Israel is strong in the Western countries. All news sources and authors have their biases and it’s up to each of us to get the complete picture.
Remember above any religion, there is humanity
The next time someone randomly ask you for your thoughts on the Israel and Palestine conflict of 2023, its best to show compassion on both sides, know the history of the conflict and stay neutral. You are there to travel and experience the world’s wonderful cultures. There is a place and time to get involved in politics but during your vacation is not the time. If all else fails, you can simply ignore any questions related to the Israel and Palestine conflict.
