The history of the 19th century is composed of military occupations, wars, civil wars and the conquest of the world by colonial powers. During the 20th century, humanity experienced two devastating world wars. After World War I, during which 40 million people lost their lives, the world order turned upside down.

Even though most of the oldest struggles have ended, the Israeli-Palestinian war has proven to be one of the world’s most enduring conflicts. At the end of World War I, the sacred lands of Palestine were colonized by the United Kingdom. After the British withdrawal from the Middle East in the late 1940s, colonial rule was replaced with an inevitable competition between two emerging states, Israel and Palestine.

In this column, I would like to explain why the Israeli-Palestinian war became one of the world’s most enduring conflicts. It is possible to address this question from different perspectives.

According to a prevalent perspective, the Israeli state aims to monopolize the Palestinian lands by destroying the Palestinian people as a whole. Even if Israeli bureaucrats had such a secret agenda, this goal is impracticable and unachievable. For centuries, European states persecuted the Jewish people to the point that the Nazi regime attempted to eliminate them entirely during the Holocaust, one of the most tragic events in human history. Yet, the Jewish people succeeded in overcoming these disastrous times, at the end of which they established their state in their sacred lands. Following the historical example of the Jewish people, it is also plausible that the Palestinian people will establish their own state in Palestine in the near future.

According to a more realistic perspective, only first-generation people who founded the Israeli state back the idea of Israel totally dominating Palestine. Today it is very likely that liberal and leftist Jewish people prefer to live in a peaceful country rather than embracing the aggressive, expansionist ideology of Zionism.

From an international perspective, it is argued that the United States supports Israel as an outpost for maintaining and advancing American interests. In contrast, Muslim countries support Palestine due to their regional interests. Even though it is crucial to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through an international perceptive, regional and global dynamics are too complex and unstable to distill into rigid West versus East contention. The balance of power and dynamics of alliances constantly change in the Middle East.

‘Eternal enemy’

Finally, it is fitting to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by concentrating on Israel’s domestic politics. Israel’s constant and bloody attacks on Palestinian civilians, sacred spaces and material and spiritual values demonstrate that the Israeli state feels insecure in the face of its own people. Israel was founded by a mixed population, made up of Jewish people from different parts of the world. To ensure internal unity among the Jewish people, the Israeli state seems to require a constant war against an eternal enemy.

At first glance, Judaism serves as a glue that unites and holds together the Jewish people, who came from different parts of the world. However, it seems that one of the greatest obstacles to the consolidation of Israeli statehood is also Judaism. As a religious state, Israel hosts hundreds of religious groups, some of whom are radical, while others are tolerant. These religious cleavages exacerbate the emergence of new social conflicts. During pride parades, for example, conflicts between demonstrators and religious groups concluded with the deaths of tens of civilians.

Being unable to resolve these religious and social conflicts, the Israeli state appealed to two different instruments: Making use of the political experience of the Western states and waging a constant war against Palestine. Even though Israeli politicians and bureaucrats succeeded in uniting Israel via its war on the Palestinian people, this costly and unjust strategy is doomed to fail in the long run. The Israeli oppression ignites and fuels the Palestinian resistance. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be resolved with mutual understanding and respect.