Why Israel is interested in occupying the Gaza Strip. Analysis
Rumors are spreading in the Israeli press that the country's authorities are ready to completely occupy the Gaza Strip. It is claimed that the initiative comes from the Israeli government, which does not take into account the position of the country's military leadership. At the same time, the Israeli Prime Minister's office says that in the near future the authorities will take new measures to achieve the goals of the war in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible. Why Israel needs the Gaza Strip and what consequences its occupation may lead to — in the Izvestia article.
Why does Israel need the Gaza Strip
• The Gaza Strip is conveniently located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Israel and Egypt. The region is promising in terms of tourism and agricultural development — 41% of the territory is currently occupied by it, and the shelf is rich in natural gas. At the same time, the region depends on electricity and water supplies from Israel. In addition, Palestinian land is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, so its seizure also pursues religious goals.
• For Israel, the occupation of Gaza and the expulsion of the local population is an opportunity not only to expand its territory, but also to get rid of a troubled neighbor. Due to the blockade of the territory by Israel, the economy of Gaza slowed down, and young people joined the ranks of the Hamas movement. The region has a very high population density — before the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent Israeli military operation, about 2.5 million people lived here, most of them minors.
• The idea of the occupation of the Gaza Strip was previously expressed by far-right figures in Israel, but it was difficult to implement it without the support of the West. Conducting a ground military operation in a densely populated area could lead to too many losses for the Israeli army, and for air attacks the country will use weapons supplied by Western countries, primarily the United States.
Reaction to the occupation
• The seizure of the Gaza Strip and the expulsion of its population will not entail the imposition of serious sanctions against Israel. The United States will not abandon the support of its main ally in the region, and Europe is not interested in saving Palestine. Despite separate statements by the heads of European states about their intention to recognize the independence of Palestine, the main goal of the European Union is access to the arsenals of the United States, which are being depleted as a result of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
• The capture of Gaza will be another demonstration of the West's double standards. The United States and Europe support Israel's right to defend its security by force and do not impose any sanctions against the country, while Russia is denied the right to defend itself in the conflict in Ukraine. In general, the events in the Middle East region show that the former peace, which was built on agreements, is collapsing and an era is coming when international disputes will be resolved by the right of the strong.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict
By the beginning of the 20th century, Palestine, which included the Gaza Strip, was under Turkish rule, and after the end of the First World War and the division of the world, it came under the mandate of Great Britain. The mandate was issued for a transitional period, during which Palestine was to achieve the status of an independent State. At the same time, according to the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917, Great Britain promised to create a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine, contrary to the interests of the Arab population.
• After the First World War, mass migration of Jews to the territory of Palestine began — the Jewish population in the region more than doubled, which led to clashes between Arabs and Jews. During the Second World War, the migration of the Jewish population to Palestine increased, and the number of conflicts in these lands increased, and in 1947 Britain abandoned the mandate, entrusting the solution of the Palestinian question to the United Nations (UN).
• Palestine was divided into eight parts — the Arab enclave of Jaffa (annexed by Israel and renamed Tel Aviv) and Jerusalem were to become separate units, and the remaining territory was divided between the Jewish and Arab states: Gaza was to be ceded to the Arabs. But the Palestinians did not accept the UN resolution. Shortly after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the Palestinian War began in the territory and the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt, and in 1967, as a result of the Six-Day War, Israel seized the territory.
• Currently, the State of Palestine, whose statehood has been recognized by 142 countries, including Russia, consists of two territories that do not border each other — the West Bank of the Jordan River (under Israeli occupation) and the Gaza Strip. In order to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in 1993-1995, the Oslo Accords were concluded: self—government was introduced in the territory of the Arab state - the Palestinian National Authority, and in 2005 Israel withdrew troops from the Gaza Strip.
• It is believed that during this period, the Islamic resistance movement Hamas began to strengthen in Gaza, which now serves as the government in the strip, while the Palestinian National Authority still governs the West Bank. Since 2007, the coalition between these Palestinian governments has collapsed: Hamas does not recognize the Oslo Agreement and calls the destruction of Israel its goal. Israel, in turn, calls its goals the release of all remaining hostages who were captured on October 7, 2023, the removal of Hamas power and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.
During the preparation of the Izvestia material, we talked and took into account the opinions of:
- political scientist Bogdan Bezpalko;
- Dmitry Drobnitsky, an American political scientist.
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