Understanding historical context: The Israel and Palestine conflict
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- The decades-long battle over land came to a head on October 7 when Hamas launched the first attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip.
WCBI had the opportunity to discuss the geographical and historical context behind the conflict with Mississippi State University archaeologist Jimmy Hardin, who has close ties with the region.
Hardin has a professional connection with Israel.
“I do Iron Age Israel and Bronze Age Canaan. The formation of states in this area. The secondary states formation. How do we understand the past through biblical sources? Through contemporary historical records,” said Hardin.
He also has a personal relationship with the Israeli nation.
“I’ve been working on this since 1986. You get to know the local people. My wife has family in Tel Aviv. Some are very good friends of mine who live on the other side of the fence in Palestine or Arab-Muslim. So, you get to know the people at least in my case. You start to know their lives. How they live. The things that they struggle with,” said Hardin.
The Six-Day War in 1967 marked the beginning of a new conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
“The area of Palestine and Gaza Strip which is partially shown on this map and the Gaza Strip was part of other states until 1967. In 1967 when Israel fought a war with its neighbor Egypt, Jordan, and then Syria, it gained Golan Heights to the north. It gained this area that had previously been controlled by Jordan. The city of Jerusalem was part of that as well. It was a split city. West Jerusalem was Jewish and East Jerusalem was Palestinian or Arab,” said Hardin.
Hardin said Israel’s control of its territories including all of Jerusalem has been a stumbling block for peace.
“In 2005, it was agreed that they would rule themselves autonomously while Israel still controlled this border. So, it kind of controlled things from the outside when the local Palestinians controlled it from the inside,” he said.
Hamas gained control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
More than 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, including 27 Americans, and over 1,400 have been killed in Gaza, according to CBS News.
“Israel is about a fifth of the size of Mississippi. Somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 Hamas [people] poured across the border and tried to do as much damage as they could in these territories here,” said Hardin.
Hardin expects a tactical response from the Israelis.
“There is going to be a ground war where Israel is going in to make sure this doesn’t happen again. So, where are the missiles? What is the capability for this kind of thing to happen again? How can we root out Hamas and anybody else who can potentially attack Israel in the future,” he asked.
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