A short introduction to the decades long unrest in the Middle East

The conflict in the middle east began in the early 1900s prior to World War 1. As a result, the ottoman empire collapsed and formed individual nations each having their own disputes, this and the aftermath of the horrific battle put together marked the beginning of the instability and unrest that haunts the region to this day. Following WW1, the Arab spring; the Israel-Palestine conflict and the domination of terrorism are the biggest contributors to the decades long suffering.

The ottoman empire

From the early 1800s the British and French empire conquered several parts of the ottoman empire causing its slow decline. When WW1 broke out the empire saw it as an opportunity to free itself from their hold, and as its position on the global platform was not strong, this was an excellent strategy to gain international recognition and power within a European dominated system, allying with Germany was the short-term solution for survival and a long term one for independence and security as Germany was expected to win.

However, Germany was defeated in WW1 causing a complete collapse of the empire, this led the separation and forming of new states. Unfortunately, the war disrupted trade and transport routes leading to food shortages, famine, displaced people and war-torn regions and eventually overall economic decline. Due to these devastating consequences of the war, development in the middle east was miniscule. As the middle east was built on this foundation, it explains the situation today.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict

In 1947, the United Nations divided the British mandate of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. The Arab nations, being against this decision, invaded former Palestinian territory following the announcement of the independent state. This led to the first Arab- Israeli war. Although the area of religious significance, Jerusalem, was not declared a part of any country and would remain under the control of the UN, Arabs were against the arrangement and began attacking Jewish cities. Israel fought alone against 5 countries with powerful militaries for 9 months and emerged victorious, occupying parts of Jordan. After a six-day war, on June 9th the Arab nations surrendered and Israel had occupied the west bank and Gaza strip proving it was the region's prominent superpower.

Religious and Historical aspect

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is deeply rooted in the historical and cultural connections both Israelis and Palestinians have to the land. For Jews, Israel is the biblical homeland, a place central to their religious and cultural identity for over 3,000 years. For Palestinians, the land is equally significant, with a long history of Arab presence dating back centuries. These competing national identities and attachments to the land have fueled tensions, especially as Jewish migration to the area increased in the early 20th century, leading to clashes with the Arab population. The creation of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent displacement of many Palestinians further deepened these divisions.

Terrorism

Terrorism has traumatized the middle east since the mid 20th century. Since the Israeli-Palestinian conflict started prominent organizations like Hamas and Al-Qaeda have terrorized the Levant region. The 3-part complex civil war in Syria between the Bashar Assad government which is backed by Russia and Iran, the Turkish forces backed by US and the ongoing battle with the Islamic state has caused more than half a million deaths since 2011. Although the US forces have demolished most of ISIS, terrorist organizations continue to devastate MENA to this day with acts of extreme violence and brutality.

Conflict resolutions and peace can only prevail when misrepresentation of extreme religious beliefs for personal gain can be curtailed. Only revolt to the false narrative will pave the path for progress.