In the years that followed the end of WWI there was a rise in pan-arabism in the Middle East. The Ottoman Empire was on free fall and many Middle Eastern states including Egypt, Syria and Iraq started calling for an Arab movement that would lead to independence from the rule of Great Britain. The jews who settled in Palestine were following the news with fear and confusion. The first real riot happened in April 1920 where 4 jews and 5 arabs were killed. In May 1921 Arabs attacked the jewish settles in Jaffa. In the meanwhile, a Muslim scholar by the name Izz ad-Din Abd al-Qadar Ibn Mustafa Ibn Yusuf Ibn Muhammad al-Qassam started preaching Islamic Jihad in Palestine. He called for an armed revolution against the British and the Zionists in Palestine. The response of the Zionist movement was the establishment of the Haganah. Haganah would later become the core of the Israeli Defence Forces. The atrocities that were committed by both Qassamites and Haganah in the great Arab revolt of 1936-1939 are unspeakable.
It was pretty clear by 1939 that all dreams of organic introduction of Jews in the Middle East are dead. Arab nationalists endorsed the direction of Hitler and Mussolini. Copies of Arabic translation of “Mein Kampf” were being sold in Cairo to Baghdad. In 1941 the Muslims of Baghdad rose against the Iraqi Jews in what is called the “Farhud”. In a surreal medieval scene Muslims were chasing after Jews in the streets of Baghdad with swords. Iraq would lose all its Jewish population by 1950. A similar fate awaited the Egyptian Jews and Nasser effectively drove all of them out of Egypt after the 1956 war.
The situation in Europe was much darker for the jews. By the time WWII is concluded, the jewish population would shrink by one third. In 29 November 1947 the United Nations adopted the Partition Plan for Palestine, which planned to divide Palestine into an Arab state, a Jewish state, and the Special International Regime encompassing the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In May 1948 a war would break out between Israel and several Arab states. The result of that was was the defeat of Arab forces and the expulsion of more than 700,000 native Palestinians creating the current refugee crises. What was done to the Palestinians was horrible and unjustified. There was mass slaughter and forced displacement but the international community could not do anything simply because the memory of the holocaust was just too fresh. No one dared confront the Israelis with the atrocities they were committing. The survivors of the holocaust became the perpetrators and replicated what has happened to them in Europe in the Middle East. In 1967 Israel would launch a full scale war and become an occupying force. Israel went on and built the Dimona nuclear plant and is the only country in the Middle East to possess nuclear weapons. This is driving a nuclear race in the region with Iran leading in the front.
Until now the West bank of Palestine, Golan Heights of Syria and the Jordan Valley are still under Israeli occupation. Palestinians have been living in suffering and misery for more than 50 years. The far right has been on the rise in Israel and Israel has become just like its neighbors: a racist, radical and regressive society.
The tragic story of Palestine is, as seen in the Middle East, the manifesto of Western Imperialism. All Jihad movements from Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Al-Mujahidon revolve around the Palestinian case. To be honest I do not see any viable solution to the Israeli/Palestinian crises. Both states are fueled by hatred and racism. Many Israelis see Arabs as animals and barbarians. Many Arabs see Israelis as monsters and blood thirsty. You put all those elements together and realize that no one is innocent in the Middle East.
For what it is worth I strongly suggest for you to read the book “My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel” by Ari Shavit. This books gives a deep, balanced and comprehensive view of the Israeli/Palestinian crisis.
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