The Middle East Conflict: What You Didn't See on Social Media

A few weeks ago everyone was an expert on the Middle East. Social media was flooded with memes, videos and other forms of short content offering “facts” and “summaries” of recent events (and history) to those who wanted to understand what was going on and “get on the right side of history”. There was a lot of anger and very little listening which, regardless of what your opinions are, is not a good starting point when trying to compute anything, let alone a conflict that’s older than most of us.

Within all that noise there were some people who genuinely wanted to know, beyond the catchy slogans, why after so many years there still isn't peace in the Middle East. Some of them looked to me for answers because as someone who was born in Israel they thought I might know something they didn’t.

After all, Israel is where I grew up, where my family still lives and where we visit every Passover, so surely I should have an idea as to why the things are so grim and what can be done about it, right?

Unfortunately it’s not that simple.

I wanted to take the time to try and figure out the conflict so I've been reading a lot about it. I didn’t want to post anything until I knew exactly what I wanted to say. Some people were disappointed I chose to take my time to research a topic many (very long) books have been written about. They accused me of not caring, of being a hypocrite, of not doing my job etc… But to be honest, this isn’t really about me, plus I don’t owe anyone anything so hopefully they got over it.

This conflict is far more than a social media “trend” and as such it deserves an in-depth consideration, and that’s what I hope I’ve given it for the sake of those who truly want to see the whole picture.

For my entire life I've known Israel to be in turbulence. I sat in a sealed room wearing a gas mask during the Gulf War with Iraq, I knew people who were killed by suicide bombings, I remember when the Palestinian Authority was established in 1994 etc and all I can tell you as someone who's lived in the shadow of the Middle East conflict for years, is that there is nothing I want more than peace in the area, not just for my people, but for everyone.

It’s important to note that many don't like calling it a 'conflict'. They feel it doesn't describe what it is. I've heard the words "war", "colonisation", "ethnic cleansing" and even "genocide" used as alternatives. If anyone would like a follow up piece explaining the definitions of these terms, why they are being used, and why some of them are misleading - please do let me know in the comments and I will gladly consider writing a ‘part two’.

For now, I am going to stick to the word "conflict" for the purpose of this article because it's neutral, whereas some of the other terms not only provoke an emotional response, but are also in dispute.

You will soon find out that much is 'in dispute' when it comes to the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict and even when you try to stick to the main narrative, it's very easy to get distracted when every turn you make in this story opens up more points that need to be discussed.

As an Israeli, I was completely aware of the possibility I only knew one side of the story.

This is what usually happens in any conflict. Those who are in the middle rarely see the other side's point of view. And as I dug deeper and deeper I realised that what I already knew to be a complicated situation, is even more complex than what I could ever imagine, with far more sides to consider than just two.

Many don’t like the conflict being described as "complicated".

They argue the story is simple - one people had a land, another people took it away and the first people want it back, and while some elements in that simplistic description are true, it does not tell the whole tale.

But these days what we want are fast answers. We want to know who is right and who is wrong just by reading a headline so that we can take a side and roll with it. I can’t tell you the full story without criticizing this approach. You see, this approach is like a mirror of the conflict itself. And while we want there to be one truth, one hero, one villain, and one clear narrative, sadly there isn’t.

I am telling you this upfront because I'd like to prepare you. This is your chance to say that you already know everything there is to know and stick to whatever opinion/narrative you’ve got going. But for the sake of those who, like me, want to explore this a little further, I will continue.

By the way, my husband asked me why I was even bothering writing this. I'm not sure. I think I just wanted to know the truth, or at least as close as anyone can ever get to the truth. After all, the truth is subjective, and this I know now for a fact. Even history is written in many different ways. One word can make a massive difference so I have tried my best not to use explosive language when describing the events that led to the most recent fighting, and to what is known as the Israeli Palestinian Conflict.

I can’t guarantee I’ve succeeded.

One last disclaimer before we dive in - I am not a journalist, nor am I a historian. I have access to the information available to the average person. I have not studied the conflict for years, and my opinions should not be taken as “expert opinions” because they are not. What I have tried to do is make sense of the mess, clear up a few inquiries and bring you another voice to consider.

I encourage you to fact check everything.

So where do we even start?

I was going to begin by explaining what sparked the most recent exchange of violence between Hamas and the Israeli military. You may have picked up on the dispute between Jews and Muslims over a neighborhood in Jerusalem called Sheikh Jarrah?

But if I'm being honest, it would be a waste of time getting into all of that, and not because it's not important, but because often what sparks these exchanges of force (which happen regularly and are not new things), are merely an excuse, and focusing on them distracts from what is truly at the heart of this long battle which is - who is the rightful owner of the land, the million dollar question which takes us all the way back to 1948.

We will get into the history in a minute but I will give you a little spoiler here - after we go back in time and explore who was there first, who expelled who, who deserves what etc... you might reach the same conclusion I reached which is - none of that actually matters.

You see, there is a temptation to focus on the past when trying to resolve issues in the present and there is a lot of logic to that. If we want to find the truth we have to go back to where it all started. But often, too much time has passed and you simply can't go back.

Sometimes all you can do is move forward.

It's not easy doing that. There is nothing harder than letting go of something you believe in, and especially when you think you are "right", it feels very unfair, but (and here comes the cold reality check) - it happens all the time.

Throughout history in fact, in many places in the world where two people lived and fought, eventually compromises (by both sides) had to be made.

These compromises came with a massive and painful price and often felt unjust but it's not as if it's never happened before.

And the only reason I am saying this is because it's 2021, and it's been 73 years. That's how long this conflict has been going on for. It’s not long if you compare it to other conflicts in the world, but it’s still nearly three generations. And if we are really being honest here, even if we did explore history and conclude that the story is in fact a simple story of one people taking the land of another people, can we really turn back the hands of time and change it?

What are people actually suggesting?

Over the past few weeks I've heard people chant "from the river to sea, Palestine will be free". I am guessing some of them don't know that the slogan effectively means going back to a time when Israel, a country that is recognised by the United Nations, did not exist.

It would mean removing millions of Jews, (Christians and Muslims) out of their homes and the land they were born in.

And while some know exactly what the slogan means and would be happy if there were no Israel - after all there are plenty who deny the sheer existence of the state of Israel, some might even think it would be poetic justice, I think most reasonable people would agree that this solution is not practical.

And if you are looking for ‘justice’ let’s recognise that justice isn’t always ‘an eye for an eye’. Sometimes getting justice is not about rectifying a wrong with another wrong. Sometimes it’s about finding a way to repay/compensate for past wrongs and move forward.

Also, many people, on both sides of the conflict, understand that compromises have to be made and the details are what they stumble on.

A Two State Solution is an example for a compromise with the details TBC. This is a solution that was suggested a few times throughout history, in 1936, 1947, 2000 and 2008.

The idea is to have TWO countries, for two people. Is it a perfect solution? no. Each side would have to give up the dream of owning ALL the land.

But that’s the definition of ‘compromise’.

The reason this solution was suggested in the first place (over 70 years ago) was because the Jews and the Arabs who lived in original Palestine didn't always get along. These were two people who have a history of mutual dislike, neither of them wanted to be ‘ruled’ by the other, so it made sense they would each have their own land.

The first two proposals favoured the Arabs in terms of the amount of land offered to them because they were a majority in the area, this is not in dispute, in fact they were a majority for many, many years, during the days the Otaman Empire ruled over the reign, and well into the British Mandate. But as the Jewish population grew over the years (especially after WW2), that portion of land started shrinking.

There have also been wars that changed these borders, some areas are currently occupied and it gets even messier after 1967 (I will get into that in a bit), but for now the point I am trying to make is that the idea that these two people, who have a history of not liking each other and therefore each need a land of their own, is not so unheard of.

Of course not everyone wants there to be two countries and there are plenty who would rather throw all the Jews in the sea, just as there are plenty of people who want to throw all the Palestinians in the sea. But these opinions are extreme and I’d like to believe that they do not reflect the majority.

Why am I saying all of this? Because over the past two weeks, people jumping on the bandwagon and lashing out at, not only those who didn't support the Palestinian cause but also those who didn't do it fiercely enough, hasn't helped find a reasonable middle ground.

All it did was widen the gaps, amplify extreme voices, encourage antisemitism and incite hate.

Social media plays a massive part in this extreme, dividing outtake on life. It is known that their algorithms thrives on people hating each other. Having two opposing sides with absolutely no shades of gray in the middle is how Facebook, Twitter and the rest of them make money, so if all you got on your feed and timeline was one side of the story (and it could have been either side), don’t be so surprised.

The reality is that the formula that everyone can live with has yet to be found. It's taking a long time and people are suffering and that should not be taken lightly, however the hijacking of the Palestinian cause as an excuse to spread hate, or merely as a way to ease people's social guilt and make them feel better about themselves because they marched for a cause they know nothing about and chanted a cool slogan, hasn't helped those who are suffering either.

Think about it, demonstrations in large cities around the world took place prompted by outrage at Palestinian suffering in Gaza and elsewhere, but beyond that - what did it actually mean?

The same happened on social media.

One minute I was watching heartfelt videos by Palestinians living in the US and UK talking about their dream to be able to return to a land they see as their home, and two minutes later I watched people yell out of a car "rape your Jewish daughters".

While I know that most Palestinian supporters did not yell those obscenities, and that this does not represent the Palestinian cause, it does show that the protesters are diverse in their opinions and intentions, and while outrage might be what unites them, they are not effective because the messaging is not clear and in some cases it gives validation to other agendas (like antisemitism).

What can we do to help?

The first thing people who want to get involved need to ask themselves is - what do they stand for? Peace - which after 73 years can realistically only be achieved by compromise OR getting rid of the state Israel/Palestine?

Because getting rid of the state of Israel is an option many people would opt for (judging by social media over the past few weeks), it's impossible to have a conversation about the Israeli Palestinian conflict without taking a moment to talk about antisemitism.

Believe me, I really wanted to avoid it because I think it distracts from the Palestinian cause, which is a worthy cause that demands our urgent attention, but I have no choice.

I will start by saying that criticising Israel is not antisemetic by itself, but what the past few weeks have proven is that in many cases, criticising Israel is used as a front for antisemitism and the fact that the global community and the masses on the internet are not outraged in the same way they were over BLM that Jews all over the world, (even those who have no impact on Israel's policies), are afraid - says it all.

Jews living outside of Israel who are not tax payers, not voters and/or not even citizens of the country and have nothing to do with Israel’s decisions or actions are under attack and are afraid. Is it really because people can’t seporate between the two things (Israel and Jews), or is it an excuse to hate on the Jews by using the socially acceptable Anti-Zionist argument?

I suspect it’s a bit of both.

The truth of the matter is that antisemitism DOES link to the Israel/Palestinian conflict.

Given WHY the state of Israel was formed in the first place after World War II, and in light of the rising antisemitism and violence against Jews over the past few weeks, it's clear that a country for the Jewish people is something that is still very much needed, even in 2021.

Many criticise this notion of the Jews needing a Jewish country, they say it's a racist concept and I get why it's problematic, I truly do. But like any other minority group that has been the target of hate and violence (and make no mistake, Jews ARE a minority), I myself sleep a little bit better knowing that if shit ever hits the fan again in Europe, I have a place I can escape to.

Let's pause on the 'minority' point for a moment, only because it's another thing that's 'in dispute'. Even the idea that antisemitism is a form of racism is 'in dispute'. Ironically, the arguments used are often antisemitic themselves. Like ‘the Jews own all the money in the world so how can they possibly be discriminated against?’ Factually untrue (I looked it up).

But the main argument is always that Jews pass as white, if that’s their skin tone, and therefore on physical first impressions carry the privileges associated with appearing to be part of the powerful majority. This is true in many cases. However, not all Jews are physically white, only those who originally came from Europe. My family for example came from Iraq and all have dark skin. There is also a big Jewish community that originated from Ethiopia who are all black. And finally, many Jews wear traditional Jewish clothing and elements like yarmulkahs giving away their religion immediately, and many Jewish last names give that information away too.

But the bottom line is that Jews are subjected to antisemitism every day — and have been subjected to mass murder on the basis of their ethnicity and/or religion. It's not a philosophical question, it's a fact.

So the point is that the reason why the Jews needed a land is clear, and why they still need a land has been made clear over the past few weeks. And just to add one last thing here - it’s been made clear, not just by the loud and blatant hatred of some, but also by the defending silence of many others.

Let's get back to the conflict now...

With regards to that elusive formula that has yet to be found, here's another spoiler - even when it is found it will still take a few generations before the deep wounds heal and there is a chance they never will.

Look at other countries as an example.

Many nations have a peaceful, yet hateful, relationship because of a violent history between them. People forget how 'young' this conflict is compared to older conflicts in the world. And while this is not meant by any means as an excuse for anyone's suffering, it should serve as a reminder to address the conflict in a practical way, rather than emotional.

This usually gets the response "but people are dying, of course we're going to be emotional" and that's very true. Many people, on both sides, have died throughout the years as a result of this conflict. Innocent civilians, including children, and there is no bigger tragedy than that.

But that is EXACTLY why what we need to ask ourselves is - what can actually be done to make things better?

I don't have the answer, but I would think it has to start with communication.

These past few weeks people have taken to social media and the streets to voice their outrage over many aspects of the conflict (mainly Israel's use of force in Gaza, the occupied territories, the Nakba, Palestinians’ right to return etc), but there was no pressure put, on either side, to sit down and talk.

Everyone wants it to stop, which totally makes sense, but then what?

I'll tell you what - nothing.

As someone who lived in Israel for 30 years and still has family there, I am telling you from experience that we've been to this rodeo before. It's not as if this latest exchange of force was a new thing, it's been going on for years and from the looks of it will continue well after this recent interest blows off. You

know why? Because the focus is wrong.

Free Palestine is a catchy phrase that makes a fabulous T shirt, but what does it actually mean?

Most people probably watched a Tik Tok video made by a white guy who's never been to the Middle East or read any type of expert opinion on it, but spoke at that level the masses with no attention span understand, and after they watched it they felt like they were equipped with all the knowledge they needed to demand freedom for the Palestinians.

Most of them don't even know where or what Palestine is or was.

For example - did you know that the original Palestine was not a country? This is not a political statement, it's a very simple fact.

A 'country' is defined as "an area of land that has its own government, army, etc" all of which original Palestine did not have. Today, both Gaza and the West Bank are self-governing entities, and on 29 November 2012 the United Nations granted modern day Palestine a 'Non-member Observer State' Status.

But original Palestine was simply a geographic region in Western Asia which included what is today modern day Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and parts of Western Jordan. People who called this territory home have been known as 'Palestinians' since the early 20th century.

They included Muslims, Christians and Jews.

This is where most people drop off because no one likes listening to the details, but a little lesson in history is needed. Why? not so we can change history (we can’t) but rather because if we want to fight for a cause we need to at least get our terminology right, otherwise our voices will make no difference.

So what's the story of Palestine?

Throughout history, original Palestine was ruled by numerous groups, including the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Fatimids, Seljuk Turks, Crusaders, Egyptians and Mamelukes.

Then from about 1517 to 1917, the Ottoman Empire ruled much of the region. During that time Palestine had a majority of Muslims and a minority of Jews and then when World War I ended in 1918, the British took control of Palestine.

Jewish immigration to Palestine grew over the first decades of the 20th century, especially during the 1930s and well into the 1940s, but even with this trend, in 1948 there was still a majority of Muslims in original Palestine.

Many of the Muslim Palestinians were either expelled or left the area when war broke out in 1948. However some stayed. Those who stayed within the territories that later became Israel, are now known as 'Israeli Arabs' while those who stayed in territories that were not considered the state of Israel, continued to be referred to as 'Palestinian'. The Palestinian Jews (and Christians) who stayed in the territory that later became the state of Israel were from that point onwards called 'Israelis'.

I've kept it super simple, obviously there's more to it, but the reason I am pointing all of this out is because if people want to understand what the Palestinians want, they first need to understand that there are at least three groups of Palestinians (refugees/displaced, those living in modern day Palestine, sraeli Arabs). The circumstances of these groups are very different and they don't necessarily all want the same thing.

Even within the Palestinians living in modern day Palestine there are at least two groups.

Without getting into all the details, what's important to note is that at present there are two separate administrations ruling over modern day Palestine – the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and a rival Hamas government in the Gaza Strip.

Why does this matter? Because not having one leadership to represent ALL the Palestinians themselves, has had a massive impact on the peace process and finding that magical formula everyone can live with.

It's absolutely NOT the only reason why the sides are still fighting, but it certainly hasn't helped.

The fact that Gaza is ruled by Hamas (a terrorist organisation who does not recognise Israel as a country, and according to their charter, wants all the Jews dead, with its revised version from 2017 stating they don't mean all the Jewish people, only the Zionists), doesn't help either.

Leadership on the Israeli side in the past decade at least has also been one of the reasons why the peace talks have effectively come to a halt. Israel has had four or five elections (I’ve lost track) in the space of two years which should tell you a lot about how unstable the politics in the country is.

The closest the sides have ever come to finding a compromise was in 2000 and 2008, but sadly it didn't happen.

I can go into why, what was offered and who said no but that would mean opening a door to yet another long and windy road, and to be quite frank - after spending the past few weeks researching this topic and writing about it, I recognise the fact that not every corner of the conflict can be covered in one go.

Let's go back to our history lesson and find out what happened to the original Palestine.

Over the past few weeks I have heard many people say things like "the Jews just came to Palestine and took over" - this is not accurate.

Yes, the Jews were a minority in the area, and yes they did come in massive numbers throughout the 30s and 40s, but they didn’t do it all by themselves.

As mentioned, there were already a minority of Jews living in original Palestine, but more importantly - it was the international community who gave Britain the task of establishing a "national home" in Palestine for the Jewish people.

In fact, In 1917 British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour submitted a letter of intent supporting the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

There are many reasons for this, some are political, some financial, and one of the main reasons was because the Jews had no official country.

Jews up to that point lived in different countries around the world and had been persecuted in most of those countries throughout history which led the international community to the conclusion that the Jewish people needed a land of their own.

My point is - it was not a mastermind cunning plan by the Jews as many antisemitic memes on Twitter have implied, this was something other countries decided on.

You might be wondering - but why Palestine?

For the Jews, Palestine was their ancestral home with links from Bible times with Abraham and his son Isaac and later with the Jewish people settling in Canaan (which today would have been Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, and the southern portions of Syria and Lebanon).

In other words, some might say it was a bad choice, but it certainly wasn't a random one.

HOWEVER, the Muslims living in the original Palestine obviously also had a historical claim, first of all because they were physically inhabiting the land for centuries as the majority, but also because many of their holy places were located there.

So there is no argument that there were more Muslims living in the territory pre 1948, and that they had been there for many many years.

Just as there is no denying why the Jews needed a country.

World War II and the Holocaust made this even clearer with the systematic murdering of Jews in Europe. Many Jews fled from Europe and found refuge in Palestine.

In 1947 the United Nations approved a plan to partition Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state with a Special International Regime for the city of Jerusalem.

This was a TWO STATE SOLUTION plan.

The resolution was adopted after a vote and the plan was accepted by the Jewish Agency for Palestine. However Arab leaders and governments rejected it arguing the Jews did not have a right to as much land as they were offered because they were a minority in the area.

I am not sure if they refused to recognise Israel completely or was it just a matter of borders. But the bottom line was that they said 'no' to the proposed plan. This didn't stop things moving ahead and so immediately after adoption of the Resolution by the General Assembly, war broke out and the plan was not implemented.

Instead what happened was that only one country was established within the borders that were suggested, and that country was Israel.

Hundreds of thousands of Jews left and/or were forcibly expelled from Arab countries, two-thirds of them settled in Israel, and the other third elsewhere. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims (numbers vary depending on the source but it's anything between 600,000 to 900,000) who were living in Palestine left and/or were forcibly expelled from their homes (this is known as the 'Nakba').

The Israeli cabinet endorsed a policy of barring a return of Palestinians who left the area, arguing that a mass return would mortally threaten the state's existence.

These Palestinians are known as the 'Palestinian refugees' and/or the 'Displaced Palestinians' and is also what people mean when they say 'ethnical cleansing' (because the term also includes mass expelling of a group from a geographic area).

This last chain of events marks the official beginning of what is known as the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and I have tried to keep it as simple as possible but obviously there is far more to it.

Unfortunately, things don't end there...

Through the years the borders of Israel have changed due to wars and I won't bore you with the details but since borders are a major sticking point in the conflict, you need to know a few more things to get a better picture of how we got here.

As mentioned, war broke out following the announcement of an independent Israel, with five Arab nations—Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon—immediately invading the region in what became known as the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

A ceasefire agreement was reached in 1949, and as part of the temporary agreement, the West Bank became part of Jordan, and the Gaza Strip became Egyptian territory.

Numerous wars and acts of violence have ensued since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, some of which impacted on borders, with the most important one being The Six Day War in 1967.

A surprise attack on Israel resulted in Israel defeating Egypt, Jordan and Syria taking control of the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and Golan Heights.

These areas are what people refer to when saying "the occupied territories".

The occupied territories have also changed through the years - in 1981 for example, Israel annexed the Golan Heights, but Syria continued to claim it as their territory. On May 24th 2000, Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon. In 1994, Israel withdrew from Jericho and other areas in the West Bank. And since 1982, the Sinai Peninsula has not been regarded as an occupied territory.

In 2005 Israel withdrew from Gaza (the status changed again after Hamas took over, Israel now controls the airspace and one of the borders, the other border is ruled by Egypt).

There are still territories that are considered occupied, these include areas in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip (because of the airspace and border), and East Jerusalem.

Apart from territories, which is one of the main issues in this conflict, there is also the question of the refugees and displaced Palestinians, many of which still live in refugee camps in various places in the region, and some of which live in other places in the world, like Europe and America.

There is no doubt that the future of those who live in refugee camps needs to be high on the property list when talking about trying to find a compromise, as do the living conditions, the future and freedom of the people of Gaza.

The right to return has been a massive sticking point and in 2000 during the Camp David talks, compensation packages worth $30 billion were offered, and even that didn't work- so there is no doubt this is a major stumbling block in the conflict that needs to be worked out.

But all of that can only be done if and when the sides sit down to talk, when there is united and strong leadership that can make decisions on behalf of the sides, and when doing that - the whole picture needs to be taken into account, not just little parts of it.

The past few weeks we have all seen shocking images emerge from Gaza of buildings being flattened by Israeli air strikes and children being pulled out of the rubble, and I don't think it matters what side of the conflict you normally sit on, you'd have to be a monster to think that's okay.

The international community and the public have every right to question Israel's use of force (there are YouTube tutorials explaining how to do this without being antisemitic), especially as it has the stronger side militarily to the conflict (something that is not in dispute you'll be happy to know).

But at the same time - what Hamas are doing (or not doing) to protect and help their own people also needs to be taken into consideration.

When Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, it had no idea that in 2007 Hamas would take over from the Palestinian Authority. Many things changed after that because of Hamas' terrorist nature and what their goals are, broadly speaking - it's not the thriving of the Palestinians people living under their rule that they have invested their efforts in.

It's to destroy Israel and kill all the jews (according to their own chartar), and that's a problem (speaking mildly).

Israeli civilians' security must also be taken into account. The fact that less civilians on the Israeli side have died compared to the Palestinians' side doesn't make that aspect of the conversation any less important. I could explain the obvious - that the only reason less people have died from Hamas missiles is because Israel has a good defence system and not because of Hamas' lack of trying, but I'm sure whoever is still reading wants me to get to the bottom line.

What I will say is that the word ‘terror’ was totally dropped when discussing the conflict over the past month. This is odd given how big of a role it plays. Security is one of the main issues the sides need to address. Some think it’s impossible to reach an agreement on that front because of the lack of trust between the sides. But others, including myself, choose to be more optimistic and believe that we can get there.

Less than a month ago fighting within Israel between Arab Israelis and Jewish Israelis made everyone question if there can ever be an end to it? The country was on the verge of a civil war, and even areas where Arabs and Jews have lived together, side by side, for years, got caught up in the fighting.

It was grim and depressing.

Then a few days ago Israeli opposition parties reached an agreement to form a new government that would end Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year tenure as prime minister. This is the first time an Israeli Arab party has joined a governing coalition. It might not sound like much for people outside of Israel, but it’s massive and the fact it’s come so soon after frictions between the Arabs and Jews nearly led to civil war only proves even more how dynamic and changeable the whole region is.

I don’t know how long this government will last, it’s so fragile it’s very likely it won’t last long, but what I do know is that for the first time in many, many years there is a little glimpse of hope.

A door has opened, one that has never been open before, it might not sound like much, but when you’ve had a ‘conflict’ that’s over 70 years old, it’s at least something.

Last few thoughts...

I wish I could sum everything up for you at this point in a few sentences, but even with everything I've put in this article so far, I've only just touched the surface.

People wanted me to ‘pick a side’ but I don’t see there being sides to this and more importunely I don’t think ‘picking sides’ will help anyone.

I see it as an intricate situation with many facets, there is an urgency, but there are also genuine, factual, historical, and physical obstacles. There are legitimate arguments on both sides, none of which bring us any closer to resolving matters.

Because really, it’s not a question of who is "right".

My main intention, apart from giving some background on the basics elements of the story, is to also encourage those who want to help focus their efforts.

I would assume most reasonable people want to find a way for everyone to live together, to thrive, have security and freedom.

People forget how little Israel is - literally the size of Wales or New Jersey. The options as to how to split this tiny piece of land everyone is fighting over are limited, and what is needed is strong leadership who can put ego, hate and the past behind them and really focus on doing what’s best for the people.

And while putting pressure on Israel to stop the airstrikes was understandable in the short term, putting the pressure on ALL sides to sit down and TALK - is the only thing that will have any kind of long term impact.

I think the fact that the world sees this as important is a positive thing after years of the Middle East conflict being overlooked, but the lack of accurate information, the ignorance of the masses and in some cases - the use of the Palestinian cause as a front for antisemitism are harming what should be the holy grail of this all, and that is reaching PEACE.

For everyone.