Years of conflict: the way to peace in the Middle East remains uncertain

Years of conflict: the way to peace in the Middle East remains uncertain

Gazastreifen, Palästina - The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a tragedy that has been demanding countless human lives for decades and has caused numerous geopolitical tensions. The roots of the conflict go back to the 1947 UN decision when Palestine was to be divided into a Jewish and an Arab state. On May 14, 1948, the state of Israel was proclaimed, which was not recognized by the Arab countries. This led to the Palestine War on May 15, 1948, which lasted until January 1949 and ended with a victory of Israel, which conquered about 40% of the area originally intended for the Arabs. According to estimates, over 6000 Israelis and 6000 Arabs died in this war. A ceasefire contract that was signed on February 24, 1949 was a first step towards de-escalation. Nevertheless, the conflict remained tense, with numerous conflicts such as the six-day war 1967 and the Jom-Kippur War 1973, which was characterized by a surprise attack by Egypt and Syria.

A crucial moment in the history of the conflict was the beginning of the Oslo peace process in 1993 when the Palestinian exemption organization (PLO) led by Jassir Arafat and Israel under Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Washington D.C. signed the first Oslo contracts. These agreements represented a turning point, since Israel recognized the PLO as a representative of the Palestinians and committed to share the area. The basic agreement was based on the principle of "Land for Peace" and should enable interim self -administration of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and in West Bank as well as a staggered withdrawal of the Israeli forces. However, there was also considerable resistance to this process, both by national-religious settlers in Israel and religiously motivated groups in the Palestinian areas.

Osloer contracts and their challenges

The Oslo contracts were named after the Norwegian capital, where the first secret negotiations took place. On September 13, 1993, Mahmoud Abbas and Shimon Peres signed the first agreement, and a symbolic handshake between Arafat and Rabin became known worldwide. However, these agreements did not bring the hoped -for stability. High -ranking politicians, such as Yitzhak Rabin, who was murdered in an assassination in 1995, demanded the peace talks. After Rabin's death, there was a political standstill under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, who destabilized the peace process.

Negotiations on permanent peace were still accompanied by setbacks. The Camp David II hit 2000 on controversial topics such as the status of Jerusalem and the refugee question. With the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000, hopes for peace were further steamed. However, the process was almost revived by a group of international actors in 2002 by the presentation of the "Roadmap". These documents strived for a new revival of the talks without making significant progress.

Current developments and humanitarian crises

The conflict has increased again in the past few months. On October 7, 2023, Hamas started a surprising attack on Israel, which brought terrible consequences, including about 1200 deaths and over 250 hostages. As a result, the Gaza Strip experienced a humanitarian disaster, with tens of thousands of dead, including many women and children, according to official reports. The Israeli military conflict and the repeated violent clashes have further questioned the implementation of the existing Oslo contracts. Despite the agreements and international efforts, a peaceful solution to the conflict remains unreachable and the need for a sustainable solution more urgent than ever.