War between Israeli forces and Palestinian militias in Gaza
A geopolitical explanation of a conflict that affects us all
At 9.46:500 am today, Israel was bombing XNUMX militia targets in Gaza.
At 9.21:4 am oil prices rose XNUMX% due to the war in Gaza.
At 9.18:XNUMX AM Israel activated an emergency order for civilians to arm themselves.
They are showing us the last moment of this conflict, but, as internationalists, or simply as citizens, we must go one step further. Why has this conflict arisen? What are its consequences. How it can affect internationally. Let's see it.
The current Palestinian-Israeli conflict
The Israeli army launched an intense wave of attacks on Gaza this Saturday, October 7, after Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls this territory, surprised with a coordinated assault by launching hundreds of missiles and penetrating southern Israel.
The main objective of this act, by Hamas, specifically, has been boycott the Israeli agreement with Saudi Arabia, who, like the Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, consider the Jewish state a commercial partner of interest and especially attractive, above all, for its technology.
However, they have also sought to humiliate and provoke Israel, as well as remind the world that the conflict is not over. Therefore, it is not a “new” conflict, but one that has marked the Middle East for decades, and without a near resolution.
Origin of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
Palestine, sacred to Muslims, Jews and Catholics, belonged to the early 20th century. XX to the Ottoman Empire, occupied mainly by Muslim communities. However, encouraged by the anti-Semitism that Europe suffered at that time, the Zionist movement gained strength to return to the Jewish State, which would be Israel.
The problem? The territory to which the Jews would return was already occupied (by Palestine), and colonized, at that time, by Great Britain. The latter would be the one who promised the Jews the creation of a State through the Declaration of Balfur, by which, at first, Arabs and Jews lived together, until the Hebron Massacre (1929).
Both Arabs and Jews would end up facing the British. Birth of the Jewish terrorist group Irgun (1930s), which would begin to act in 1937, stopping in 1939 due to the Second World War.
It could be said, then, that the origin of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict It is found in three preliminary ideas:
- The Arabs sought to be independent peoples.
- The Jews sought to have a national home.
- A partition plan was decided which, in principle, involved the creation of Palestine and Israel as States, but which did not work.
This circumstance creates a “breeding ground” that would end with the proclamation of the state of Israel, even against the United Nations; and that it would be recognized by powers such as the United States, at the same time that the Arab States invaded the territory to return it to Palestine.
Palestine, supported by Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, would confront Israel, supported by the US. The latter would be the one who would establish himself as the winner, consolidating his status and appropriating Palestinian territories.
The Six Day War (1967)
Five wars for 75 years. It is not a current conflict.
In 1967 the Six-Day War began, again, over Israel.
Israel detects that it is going to be attacked by the surrounding nations and anticipates it. That is to say, if Israel used Palestinian political instability in the previous war, it will not be able to do so this time. So he decides to anticipate and attack without warning; breaking, once again, UN mandates.
Use the air force and indiscriminately attack Egypt, a country on which the others depend, and Israel, once again, begins to have air control of the region. Win the war in 3 and a half days. Suddenly Israel has multiplied the occupied space by four: Sinai, Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
However, winning militarily does not mean winning politically. So he becomes seen as the oppressor, and not the oppressed.
Second Intifada (2000 – 2003)
Last period of the Palestinian-Israeli question, until the present.
Israel is building a separation wall with the West Bank, located primarily within the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Which gives rise to the conflict and the rise of the Palestinian organization Hamas.
The current situation is a consequence of this event.
Economic consequences of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
International markets, in addition to widely known variables such as inflation, face a new factor of geopolitical uncertainty: the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Although these towns are not oil producers, they do have weight in the region, which raises doubts that the conflict could involve other countries such as Iran.
For this reason, the Tel Aviv stock market fell 6.47% this Sunday, its biggest decline in more than three years, followed by the stock markets of Egypt and even those of Qatar and Kuwait. This occurs because the conflict could impact the supply of oil and gas. Although the latter seems unlikely due to the current magnitude of the conflict. However, it could end up having an impact on supply and prices.
Added to this is Israel's position in terms of the security and technology industry at a global level. It is an important trading partner for countries like the US, or even Morocco. Pegasus, the spy software that Morocco has used against Spain or France, is an Israeli product.
What happens in the world affects us all.
LL.M in International Business Law and Law from ISDE and graduated in Law and International Relations from Loyola University. CEO and business internationalization consultant at Reáculoateypunto.
