Understanding the Problem that is Gaza
As we have looked each week at the pages of our annals of history, we have noticed that it is often difficult to separate the secular pages of history from the sacred pages of history. While we may speak of the separation of church and state, often the two are woven together to form a tapestry of culture and society. Today, we want to pause to consider a page from the history books as the problem that is Gaza unfolds before our very eyes.
Gaza | Dateline – February 5, 2025
In a stunning proposal given during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, United States President Donald Trump announced that the United States could seize control of the Gaza Strip, orchestrate the relocation of nearly 2 million Palestinians, and build for all the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Trump said, “We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and weapons, and we will level the destroyed buildings. We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal.”
Interestingly, Jewish politicians around the world have either embraced the idea or expressed openness to it. Israeli newspaper columns praised it audacity. The pronouncement of a plan by the world’s most powerful leader has sparked enthusiasm and conversation about an area that is a battleground.
Reactions from both sides of the aisle and from groups around the world have been impassioned and volatile. Set aside political conversation about whether it could or should be done for a moment. While we have heard of the term “Gaza Strip” for ages, what do you know of its history? Why is this piece of land so crucial to the on-going conflict between Israelis and Palestinians?
Gaza | Dateline – October 7, 2023
Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated efforts from the Gaza Strip into about 119 locations into southern Israel, an area known as the Gaza Envelope. The attacks were the first invasion into Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The attacks when coincided with the Jewish religious holiday Simchat Torah results in over 1,100 deaths.
You are probably most familiar with the deaths of 364 civilians who were attending the Nova music festival. Along with hundreds of wounded, about 250 hostages were taken to the Gaza Strip with the purpose of forcing Israel to exchange them for imprisoned Palestinians. Instead of negotiating for an exchange, Israel responded with their own show of force.
The Gaza Strip wedges itself between Israel and Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea. It is roughly about 25 miles long and a little less than 5 miles wide. Gaza is the smaller of two areas that are predominantly occupied by Palestinians.
The other area occupied by Palestinians became known as the West Bank. The name is a bit confusing because the West Bank is actually east of Gaza and east of part of Israel. The area forms the west bank of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. It includes the familiar New Testament cities of Bethlehem, Jericho, and Hebron as well as much of it identifies as Samaria.
1948 to 1949
Before the war surrounding Israel’s establishment in 1948, present-day Gaza was a part of the Middle East that was under British colonial rule. After Israel defeated an army of Arab states, the Egyptian army assumed control of a small strip of land wedged between Israel, Egypt, and the Mediterranean.
As Israel was given its independence by the United Nations, some 700,000 Palestinians – those who were known as Samaritans in the New Testament – either fled or were forced from their homes in the newly created nation of Israel. Tens of thousands of Palestinians settled in the Gaza strip.
Under Egyptian rule, the Palestinian refugees were often homeless and stateless. Egypt didn’t consider them citizens. Israel refused to let them return to their homes. Even then, many young Palestinian males became “fedayeen” – fighters who conducted raids into Israel.
1967 through 1993
The Palestinians remained displaced people under Egyptian control until 1967 and the Mideast war. During the fighting, Israel seized control of Gaza and the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel built more than 20 Jewish settlements in Gaza during this time. It was during this time that Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt, a pact bartered by President Jimmy Carter.
For five years leading to 1993, violent uprisings exploded in Gaza protesting Israel’s occupation of the strip of land. During this time the Islamic militant group known as Hamas established itself in Gaza.
Whose land is this, anyway? Next week, we will continue our examination of the history of the Gaza Strip.
