Security is a very complicated issue because both the Israelis and Palestinians see each other as a threat. Jerusalem is another towering problem
The families of the 243 persons on board heaved a deep sigh of relief after Nepal's flag carrier landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport at midnight last Wednesday. It was a great moment for the relatives of those who were trapped in strife-torn Israel.
Unfortunately, ten of them could not have this pleasure as they had already departed to their heavenly abode after being shot by the marauders. An equal number of Nepalis are still awaiting to get back to the country, and the government is seeking to address their problem soon.
The sudden attack by Hamas, surprisingly unknown to the otherwise unfailing Israeli security, now appears to be heading for a full-fledged war. Islamic states have already shown their solidarity with the Palestinians by staging demonstrations in their countries, such as in Pakistan and several others, as against 84 other states in support of Israel spearheaded by the United States. This war is going to hit the poor hard as with the Ukrainian Russian mili-tary confrontation.
The Israeli-Palestine conflict is portrayed as a wicked problem as something not having a solution. Its ancient history begins from the pre-Christian era at about the time of the birth of the Buddha in Nepal. It is dominated by strife between the Jews and the Arabs.
It later led to a bilateral confrontation between the Jews and Christians and then to a triangular one, including the Muslims, often depriving the Jews of a homeland.
It was in the year 1917 when Chandra Shumsher was ruling in Nepal that Britain made a commitment for a home for the Jewish people in Palestine, which was then under the Ottoman Empire. After the Second World War, it came under British rule, following which many Jewish people came to Palestine particularly after their persecution by Hitler. It triggered clashes regularly between the Israeli and Arabs.
A division was made into three parts – the Jewish state, the Arab State and Jerusalem under the UN.
This, however, was not accepted by the Palestinians.
The event took an uglycourse after Israel declared independence in 1948 as it led to direct Israeli-Arab confrontation. Many Palestinians fled making it one of the largest exodus in the world.
Following the Six-Day war of 1967, Israel captured Palestinian areas of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, Sinai Peninsula and the Syrian Golan Heights.
Until then, the Gaza stripand West Bank – two Palestinian territories – were controlled by Egypt and Jordan, respectively.
In 1987, Palestinians staged an uprising, and subsequently Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat signed an Oslo accord which recognised the right of Israel to exist in peace as well as PLO as the representative of Palestine.
Despite this, there wasyet another uprising in 2005 by the Palestinians extending control on the Western Bank and Gaza strip. Israel withdrew from the Gaza strip, and later Hamas that wants to see the destruction of Israel came onto the scene by winning the election, exiting the PLO. This led to a blockade by Israel, which created a time of depravity for Palestine.Since then there have been clashes between the two. Israel afterwards mounted three military operations, known as Operation Cast Lead for 22 days, Pillar of Defense for eight days and the Protective Edge operation in 2008, 2012 and 2014, respectively.
The latest attack by Hamas, which led to the death of 1,200 people, including 10 Nepalis, is the offshoot of the aforementioned reality.
Several attempts havebeen made to bring this conflict to a peaceful resolution.
However, all of them have been a fiasco. For this, four core issues have been recognised as stumbling blocks on the way. These are borders, security, Jerusalem and the refugees.
The border has been difficult to delineate between the two sides because both claim the same territory as their own. The problem has been more intricate because the Palestinians claim the whole land when they are in control of only 22 per cent at the moment.
The other issue is security, which is also very complicated because both the Israelis and Palestinians see each other as a threat. Jerusalem is another towering problem because both the sides want to own it. The holiest site for the Jews, the Temple Mount, is situated here, and it is also the place where Prophet Mohammed departed for heaven.
Palestinians, who have been living in neighbouring countries as refugees since the 1948 war, want to return to their homeland. Israel, however, feels threatened with the arrival of the refugees from the surrounding countries. Thus, the lack of a spirit of compromise between the two conflicting sides has been a deterrent towards arriving to an amicable settlement.
As a result, several efforts made to bring a lasting peace have been utter failures.
The United Nations Security Council Resolutions, the 1991 Madrid Conference, the Oslo Spirit, the Camp David Summit or the Deal of the Century recently proposed by President Trump, all have proved to be a non-starter.
In fact, the government should not have allowed Nepalis to go for foreign jobs nor for study in such a troubled place. But the people are encouraged for the sake of the remittance, which has kept the country economically afloat so far.
Some 4,500 Nepali nationals are said to be still in Israel.
The government has managed to bring 243 people back to the country amidst such a difficult situation, for which it deserves a lot of appreciation. Such a facility should be available to the remaining Nepali nationals in Israel. The government has certainly reached the base camp, but it has yet to scale the towering summit in the front.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 17, 2023, of The Himalayan Times