The United Nations, international human rights organizations and many legal scholars regard the Gaza Strip to still be under military occupation by Israel. This is disputed by Israel and other legal scholars.
Is blockading a hostile territory the same as occupation? Israel asserts it isn't. Generally, occupied lands means the occupying force installs the leadership, like in Vichy France, or has their military in charge. Israel didn't do this after they withdrew. They removed their troops from within Gaza's borders, forcibly relocated their settlers, and let Gazans elect their own leadership, (they chose Hamas, who as cited above is dedicated to Israel's complete destruction.) Giving Gaza more leeway and freedom by withdrawing didn't seem to work out well for Israel, and they understandably have refused to lift the blockade while Hamas remains in power there.
While it's true that the IDF remains in control of many things in Gaza due to the blockade and Gaza's reliance on Israel for power and supplies, if one sees Gaza as an unyielding belligerent that remains hostile rather than an already conquered foe, it changes the situation somewhat. This isn't punishing those who have already surrendered. They have lost every war yet keep killing Israelis, militarizing to the best of their abilities, refusing to concede, despite being aware of these dependances on Israel and the obvious consequences of attacks. If one sees Gaza as a hostile enemy that refuses to surrender in a war that has been ongoing for over a century now then blockades, sanctions, and all manner of economic carrots and sticks are acts of self-defense, tactics that are common in wartime. While they undoubtedly lead to civilian suffering that's not the point. Pacification with carrots and sticks is the point, like other nation-states often do.
According to Eyal Benvenisti, occupation can end in a number of ways, such as: "loss of effective control, namely when the occupant is no longer capable of exercising its authority; through the genuine consent of the sovereign (the ousted government or an indigenous one) by the signing of a peace agreement; or by transferring authority to an indigenous government endorsed by the occupied population through referendum and which has received international recognition". source
What's happened in Gaza certainly seems to be a loss of effective control, and Israel has transferred authority to an indigenous government endorsed by the occupied population through referendum and which has received international recognition, (Hamas.)
And that is quite some revision to the 1948 arab israeli war. It was palestinian territory and israel were the invaders
They didn't like the UN partition plan, so they declared war on their Jewish neighbors, then lost spectacularly:
The United Nations resolution sparked conflict between Jewish and Arab groups within Palestine. Fighting began with attacks by irregular bands of Palestinian Arabs attached to local units of the Arab Liberation Army composed of volunteers from Palestine and neighboring Arab countries. These groups launched their attacks against Jewish cities, settlements, and armed forces. The Jewish forces were composed of the Haganah, the underground militia of the Jewish community in Palestine, and two small irregular groups, the Irgun, and LEHI. The goal of the Arabs was initially to block the Partition Resolution and to prevent the establishment of the Jewish state. The Jews, on the other hand, hoped to gain control over the territory allotted to them under the Partition Plan. source
DarkGamer@kbin.social 10 months ago
Diaspora Jews would be better classified as refugees than invaders before hostilities began. They started out legally purchasing land in Palestine, not killing and exiling people for it.
As for the source of those initial hostilities:
An accidental death that could have been resolved legally instead resulted in mob violence by Arab Palestinians against Jews.
In fact, most of the early conflicts between Jews and Arabs in mandatory Palestine were instigated by Arabs.
Then there's the Jaffa riots of 1936, started by the robbery and murder of Jews at a roadblock. This violence spilled out into a general revolt against the British occupation of Mandatory Palestine which convinced the Peel commission and the diaspora Jews in Palestine that a two-state solution was needed, and eventually led to Britain's withdrawal from the area.
They could have lived together in peace but Arab Palestinians started civilian violence, refused to make concessions, and outright rejected this two-state solution. (Look at the map and see how much more land they would have today had they accepted this plan instead of going to war.)
So, in summary, Arab Palestinian Nationalists took a hardline position early on, blamed Jewish immigrants for their problems, instigated violence against them, refused a two-state solution, then went to war over with the Zionists, losing spectacularly. While they have successfully portrayed themselves as victims to many on the internet who have more sympathy for the underdog, the realpolitik situation of the conflict they started does not seem winnable. There were many points in this conflict where diplomacy, restraint, and concession would have led to a different outcome.
Once the conflict was started atrocities happened on both sides, (most notably by Irgun on the Zionist side,) but let's not forget how it started, or for that matter who can end it today without more lives lost.
Not well, at this rate their constant belligerence and hostility seems to be leading to them losing everything.
Again, if modern Israel wanted extermination, they have had the means to do so for some time. I believe you are misrepresenting their position and their goals.
blazera@kbin.social 10 months ago
Refugees should have been taken in by allies, they all went to one place due to Zionism, from the beginning with a goal of claiming their holy land. From your link, most of the land purchased was not from Palestinians, the area was under British mandate. From the beginning Palestinians resisted Jewish immigration, they did not consent to any of this, and all of their fears have proven true with time.
DarkGamer@kbin.social 10 months ago
Does that make the purchases any less legal? One need not be Palestinian to own land there.
Is Jewish immigration really the cause of all this, or is it the intolerance and inability for some to peacefully coexist? The 20% of Israeli Palestinians descended from those who stayed and remained peaceful in 1948 are doing relatively well and have full citizenship rights there. These fears were only realized for those who refused to put down the sword, it was a self-fulfilling prophecy for them. I find it ironic that they themselves are now the refugees that their neighbors will not take in.
blazera@kbin.social 10 months ago
I mean legality doesnt mean much when youre talking about unwanted colonialist rule
And 100% all of this stems from zionism. They had to live in the holy land, people were there already, so they killed or exiled hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.