6 keywords to understand why Israel and Palestine became a feud? What conflicts existed over the last century? What role does the international community play?

RTI Radio Taiwan International RTI Radio Taiwan International

In the early morning of October 7, the Palestinian militant organization Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. They sent more than a thousand armed fighters across Israel's heavily fortified border wall and attacked 22 towns along Israel's southern border. They not only injured and killed soldiers and police, but also kidnapped civilians to become their hostages. This attack called "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" has been recognized as Israel's version of the "911 Incident", the largest disaster since the founding of the country. Israel's retaliatory "Operation Iron Sword" intensively bombed the Gaza Strip, where even civilians were not spared. In less than a month, there have been more than 7,000 casualties from both sides, making it the bloodiest battle in the 50-year history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The resulting destruction and casualties are rooted in years of historical tensions and deadlocks that have persisted between Israel and Palestine over land and sovereignty. In order to understand the current situation, let’s take a step back and look at how the years of resentment were fueled by 6 keywords.