Middle East conflict: Israel's blockade meets Palestinians in the Gaza Strip!

Middle East conflict: Israel's blockade meets Palestinians in the Gaza Strip!

Gazastreifen, Palästina - The Middle East conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has shaped the region for decades and still remains a central topic of international politics today. Disputes regularly lead to great suffering and tighten the humanitarian situation, especially in the occupied areas. Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967, and since then the Palestinians have used these areas for an independent state with Eastern Jerusalem as the capital. Currently, more than two million people in the Gaza Strip live under extremely poor conditions, which, according to the UN, is due to the constant blockade, which is also supported by Egypt. In addition, Hamas, which took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, is classified internationally as a terrorist organization.

The situation recently escalated through the terrorist attack of Hamas and the following Gaza War, which led to the conflict again. Around 14.5 million Palestinians live worldwide, of which around 5.5 million live in occupied areas. It is 2.2 million in the Gaza strip, while the West Bank has around 3.3 million Palestinians. In Israel, around 1.7 million Palestinians have Israeli citizenship, but even in East Jerusalem, where 370,000 Palestinians live, many have only one tolerated status.

The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip

The living conditions in the Gaza Strip have been severely restricted by an Israeli shutdown since 2006, which leads to a desolate humanitarian situation. In the West Bank, the Palestinians are severely restricted by the Israeli occupation and the growing settler population. Racist attacks and violence against Palestinians have increased since October 7, 2023. While the Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are both authoritarian regime, Palestinians in Jordan have comparatively better living conditions, while discrimination and restricted rights prevail in Lebanon.

On October 7, 2023, there was a massive terrorist attack in which militant Palestinians fired dozens of rockets on Israel. This incident was also connected to the Jewish festival Simchat Tora and led to a serious security conflict. Germany's and EU countries express their support for Israel, while Iran continues to support Palestinian fighters. Since September 24, 2023, Israel has carried out air strikes on military destinations in the Gaza Strip, in response to terror.

political perspectives and constant conflicts

Demographic questions are politically explosive because they affect the majority of the population in Israel and the Palestinian areas. Calculations show that around 7.1 million Jews and Arabs have been living in this region since the end of 2022. Israel defines itself as a Jewish state, which makes the composition of the population a central topic. To date, there is no final two -state solution that has been discussed for decades. In the past, the United States has tried to find a sustainable solution, but without success.

To shed light on the current state of affairs: Next week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet former US President Donald Trump. This visit could possibly give new impulses in the stuck conflict and result in further diplomatic developments. The situation remains tense and the international community observes the events with great concern.