Dr. Muhammad Mahtab Hossain Mazed

Today is Holy Jumaba 29 November Solidarity Day for Palestinians 2024. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly adopted 29 November as the International Palestine Solidarity Day to express solidarity with the Palestinian people. Exactly 10 years later, on November 29, 1987, the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was approved. Since then, this day has been celebrated all over the world as 'International Palestinian Solidarity Day'. In view of this, in 2012, Palestine was given observer state status for the first time in the United Nations General Assembly. The International Palestine Solidarity Day is celebrated every year to inspire the Palestinian people to stand up in the world by resisting all the conspiracies and overcoming their weaknesses to gain the status of an independent state. Palestine is a war-torn country in chains of subjugation.

Those who are constantly fighting to save their country from Jewish imperialism. The history of Palestine reveals that the state was once known as Palestine. Its population was around 1 million then. Two-thirds of this population were Arabs or Muslims, and one-half were Jews.In the British-ruled country run by the mandate of the League of Nations, after the Second World War, the Jewish plot to establish a British state was made, but after the World War, based on the report of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine in 1947, the Palestinian city of Jerusalem was given the status of an international cityIt was decided to divide the land of 'Palestine' into two Arab and Jewish states.But as a result of this plot, a Jewish state called Israel was established in a part of Palestine. On the other hand, the formation of a separate state for the Palestinian people is far from the case, they continue to be expelled from their original homes. Since then, the beginning of the Arab-Jewish conflict in the Palestinian territory has now taken the form of a global crisis.

> How was Israel born?
Israel was born largely from the Balfour Declaration. On November 2, 1917, then British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour wrote a letter addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a member of the British Jewish community and leader of the agitation. The letter was only 67 words long. The letter stated the British government's commitment to 'establish a home in Palestine for the Jewish population' and to facilitate its achievement. The letter is known as the 'Balfour Declaration'.

That is, a European power promised the Zionist movement a country in which Palestinian Arabs were more than 90 percent in number. A British Mandate was created on the issue in 1923 which lasted until 1948. Jews were fleeing Nazism in Europe, and the British at the time heavily supported Jewish immigration to Palestine.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians were concerned about Jewish settlers in their country. In 1936 they formed the Arab National Committee. They declared an all-out blockade against growing Jewish settlements and called for boycotts of Jewish-produced goods.

However, the British colonial rulers extended their support to the Jewish settlers in every possible way. Britain also supported the formation of Jewish paramilitary forces. In the three years between 1937 and 1939, at least 5,000 Palestinians died in fighting between Arabs and Jewish armed fighters. 15,000 to 20,000 Palestinians were injured and 5,500 were imprisoned.

By 1947, Jews occupied six percent of Palestine. Their total population stands at 33 percent of Palestine. At that time, 67 percent of the Arab population owned 94 percent of the country's land.

> Where did the conflict begin?
On one side of this conflict is the desire to establish a Palestinian state, on the other side is Israel's security claim. On May 14, 1948, Israel's founder, David Ben Gurion, announced the establishment of a 'safe haven' for Jews in the region. Jews fleeing persecution, torture and persecution in different parts of the world came to Israel hoping to find safety.

After the announcement of the establishment of Israel, the war that started in Palestine under the British rule, about 750,000 Arabs left their homes and took refuge in neighboring Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Many were displaced and settled in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. At least 15,000 Palestinians were killed. Jews occupied 78 percent of the country. The remaining 22 percent were various areas scattered within it.

Israel, a close ally of the United States, claimed at the time that five Arab countries attacked them the day after the declaration of statehood, and that so many people were displaced because of these attacks.

Although the war came to a temporary halt in 1949 due to an armistice, the conflict never really stopped. Palestinians mark the start of the war on May 15, 1948, as Naqaba Day, or Day of Catastrophe, every year.

The Arab-Palestinians still living in Fonkar, in the gap between Israeli settlements, are being fought by different movement groups. Palestinians now make up about 20 percent of Israel's population.

> What are the main battles?
In 1967, Israel attacked Egypt and Syria for the first time after 1949 and according to pre-planned. It is known as the 'Six Day War' or 'Naqsa' in Arabic. In this war, Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem controlled by Jordan and the Syrian Golan Heights.

In 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israeli installations along the Suez Canal and the Golan Heights. The Yom Kippur War begins. However, Israel defeated the forces of both countries within three weeks.

In 1982, Israeli forces invaded Lebanon. The 10-week conflict forced thousands of fighters under Yasser Arafat's (former Palestinian leader) control to flee. In 2006, Lebanon's Hezbollah group captured two Israeli soldiers, sparking another conflict between the two countries.

Israel left the Gaza Strip in 2005, which was seized from Egypt in 1967. But the Hamas group, which controls Gaza, occasionally fires rockets, followed by Israeli airstrikes. As a result of such disputes, major Israeli attacks have occurred in 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021.

Beyond these wars, two 'intifadas', or 'Islamic awakenings' as Palestinians call them, from 1987 to 1993 and from 2000 to 2005 saw a wave of Hamas suicide bombings against Israelis and major conflicts. Intifada was defined as solidarity gatherings, mass protests, civil disobedience, strikes. According to human rights organizations, more than 1,000 Palestinians were killed and nearly two-quarters of a million arrested during the first intifada.

> What steps have been taken to establish peace?
A peace treaty was signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979, ending three decades of hostility between the two countries.

In 1993, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and then Israeli Prime Minister Isaac Rabin agreed to the Oslo Accords on Palestinian self-determination.

A peace treaty was signed between Israel and Jordan in 1994.

In 2000, US President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestine's Yasser Arafat negotiated the Camp David Conference, but the peace process failed.

In 2002, Arab countries offered Israel to withdraw all troops and return to the pre-1967 map, in exchange for normal relations with Israel and the rest of the Arab states. The fact that Israel did not agree to this did not change the fate of the Palestinians who became refugees in their own country.

In 2014, an initiative was taken for peace talks between Israel and Palestine in Washington, USA, but it was not successful.

Later, the Palestinians were not interested in participating in any further negotiations as the Donald Trump administration remained steadfast in its rejection of the traditional two-state policy of the United States.

Rockets fired at Israel from Gaza continue despite intense attacks (Image: Al Jazeera)

> What is the status of the peace process now?
The US Joe Biden administration is trying to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.However, as a result of the newly created conflict in the Palestinian territories, the international media believe that the countries in the Middle East that have peace agreements with Israel or are in the process of improving relations are in an embarrassing situation.

> What is the main conflict between Israel and Palestine?
The two-state solution, Israeli settlements, control of Jerusalem, the refugee problem—these are the core issues of the age-old conflict.

Two-state solution — This refers to the creation of a state for the Palestinians along with Israel and the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, Hamas has rejected this two-state solution. They are steadfast in their vow to destroy Israel. And Israel says a Palestinian state must be disarmed so that they do not pose a threat to Israel.

Settlements - Jewish settlements built on lands occupied by Israel in 1967 are considered illegal by most countries in the world. Israel's claim to the land, however, is historical and biblical. Their continued expansion is one of the most controversial issues not only with Palestine, but also in the international community.

JERUSALEM — Palestine wants to take over East Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, important buildings for the Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities. They want to establish the capital of their state here. However, Israel says that Jerusalem will remain its "indivisible and eternal" capital. Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem is not recognized by the international community. But former US President Donald Trump backed their claim without specifying the extent of Israeli jurisdiction over the disputed city and moved the US embassy there in 2018.

Refugees - About 5.6 million Palestinians are currently living as refugees or refugees. They have been living in Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria since 1948. About half of the registered refugees are living in Ghinji refugee camps. Palestinian leaders have been demanding for years that these refugees be allowed to return to their homeland. But Israel's answer is that any Palestinian settlement must be outside their borders.

Why the conflict in Palestine?
The international community recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization under the leadership of Yasser Arafat. But Hamas, founded during the first intifada in 1987, is considered by many to be an 'armed terrorist group'. They came to power in the Gaza Strip in 2007, promising to overthrow Israel. However, Fatah, the main political party of West Bank and Palestine, did not have a good relationship with them.

PLO and Fatah leader Yasser Arafat died in 2004, and a year later the Second Intifada ended. A year later, Palestinians voted in general elections for the first time. Fatah-Hamas civil war started when Hamas won majority in the elections. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the months-long conflict.

Hamas later expelled Fatah from the Gaza Strip. Fatah began to control parts of the West Bank. Sources: Reuters and Al Jazeera.

> Historical context
After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, Britain took control of Palestine, then an area with a Jewish minority and an Arab majority. The international community tasked Britain with creating a Jewish homeland in Palestine, raising tensions between Muslim groups.

Between the 1920s and 1940s, Jews from Europe began moving to Palestine in droves and their numbers continued to grow. After the persecution of Jews in Europe and Hitler's terrible extermination of Jews in World War II, they fled from there and dreamed of creating a new homeland. In Palestine, there was a great violence between Jews and Arabs. At the same time violence against the British rule was increasing.

In 1947, a vote at the United Nations called for the creation of separate Jewish and Arab states in Palestine, with Jerusalem as an international city. The Jewish leaders accepted the offer, but the Arab leaders rejected it.

Failing to resolve the issue, the British left Palestine in 1948 and Jewish leaders then announced the establishment of the State of Israel. The war started when many Palestinians protested. Thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee their homes. Palestinians call this event 'Al Nakba' or 'The Great Catastrophe'.

The war ended in an armistice the following year. At that time, most of the Palestinian territories were occupied by Israel. Another Arab-Israeli war in 1967 saw the Palestinians occupy several territories, including East Jerusalem. Israel now claims the entire city of Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinians, on the other hand, want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. A handful of countries, including the United States, recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

For the past 50 years, Israel has been establishing Jewish settlements in these occupied territories. More than six million Jews now live in these areas. Palestinians say these are illegal settlements under international law and an obstacle to peace. But Israel doesn't think so.

> Who is Hamas?
Hamas is the largest radical Islamist organization in Palestine. Hamas was formed in 1987 after the start of the 'Intifada' or Palestinian uprising to demand an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. According to the organization's charter, they are committed to the destruction of Israel. Their goal is a single Islamic state consisting of present-day Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

What is in the hadith about the Palestinian-Israeli war?
Israel is the only Jewish state in the world. Currently they are fighting with the Muslims of Palestine. In the meantime, the death toll on both sides has exceeded 2,000. The Holy Prophet (S.He prophesied the war of Muslims with these Jews. In a hadith, Hazrat Abu Hurairah (R.A.) narrates that Rasulullah (S.A.W.) said, "The Hour will not be organized until the Muslims fight the Jews." Muslims will kill them. As a result, they will hide behind rocks or trees. Then the stone or tree will say - O Muslim, O servant of God! This is the Jew behind me. Come on, kill him. But the 'garkad' tree will not say this. Because this is the tree of the Jews. (Sahih Muslim: 7075)

The misdeeds and punishments of the Jews throughout the ages are described in the Holy Qur'an. It has been said that they have transgressed all limits of disobedience to Allah. The Holy Qur'an declares that the Jews are a nation of chaos. 'Whenever they kindle the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it, and they try to cause mischief and disorder in the land. Allah does not love those who create chaos.' (Surah Al-Ma'ida: 64) '...They were disobedient and transgressors.' (Surah Baqarah: 61)

When the prophets warned them, they started killing those prophets. (Tafseer Bayanul Qur'an: 2/367-368)

When Hazrat Yahya (A.S.) opposed the obscene activities of the Jews, they cut him in two and killed him. Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Masood (RA)According to sources, Bani Israel killed 300 Prophets of God. (Tafseer Ibn Abi Hatim: 1/126)The history of international media and world politics shows that the Jews were expelled from Europe and after the extermination of Jews in World War II, they fled Europe between 1920 and 1940 and settled in Palestine. To establish a Jewish state there, Muslims are constantly occupying land and illegally building structures. In this way they form the state by occupying the territory. They have been torturing innocent Palestinians for 75 years to sustain their aggression.

But Rasul (pbuh)According to its prophecies, the Jewish nation must be defeated by the Muslims before the Day of Judgment. (Musnad Ahmad: 26343)

The land of Masjid al-Aqsa and Palestine is very prestigious for Muslims. Palestine is the holy land of many prophets. In the Qur'an, the name of this region is Bilad Ash-Sham. Present-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the whole of Palestine belonged to the ancient land of Syria. For Muslims, Baitul Muqaddas is the holiest place after Mecca and Medina. (Sahih Bukhari: 1115) Also, Baytul Muqaddas was the Qibla of the Muslims during the Prophet's (PBUH) revelation of his love and prophethood. (Surah Baqarah: 142-151) The Holy Prophet (PBUH) traveled to Meraj from Baytul Muqaddas. (Surah Bani Israel: 1)

But now the Jews have occupied this mosque. After the establishment of the illegal state of Israel in Palestine through the Balfour Declaration on May 15, 1948, Baitul Muqaddas was displaced by Muslims. Baitul Moqaddas has been in their possession since then. Although they also look at this place with dignity. To them it is the holy land known as 'Temple Mount' or 'House of God'. But they began to crack down on Baitul Muqaddas on various pretexts, imposed restrictions and even made Muslims bloody by shooting in mosques.

Hadith Sharif says, all this will end one day. A group of Muslims will fight them and be victorious. On the authority of Hazrat Abu Umama (R.A.), Rasulullah (S.A.W.) said, 'A group of my Ummah will prevail over the truth. Mighty will be in the mind of the enemy. No opposition can do anything to them without famine. They will remain like this until the command of Allah and the doomsday. The Companions asked, O Messenger of Allah, where will they stay? Rasul (pbuh) said, "They will be in Baitul Maqdis and its surroundings." (Musnad Ahmad: 21286). Because there is no alternative. The more the Ummah's relationship with Allah increases, the more Allah will extend His blessings to us. Now we have nothing to do except dua to Allah. At the same time, we sit in our distant country and build a strong protest and movement against Israel's aggressionAnd for the oppressed brothers and sisters of freedom-seeking Palestine, we try to do the above as much as possible. May Allah help us.

The writer is a, columnist & researcher Founder and Chairman,Jatiya Rogi Kallyan Society