Jews and Palestinians and their ancestors have been struggling for control of a small strip of land on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea for thousands of years. One side or the other has held the upper hand, sometimes for centuries. Christians have also participated in this tragedy via the Crusades and later through the British Empire's Palestinian mandate.
Jewish Zionists have been dreaming of a homeland for the Jews since 1897. In the waning years of the Ottoman Empire, Zionists began settling within the historic boundaries of Israel. This process culminated in 1948 with the formation of the present state in a reaction to the Holocaust. The Palestinians in many cases were dispossessed by an influx of Jewish settlers. Crammed into the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, generations of these refugees have seethed with resentment as the Israelis built a modern, prosperous state.
All the ingredients for the present conflict have been in place for more than 70 years. Unless and until the two sides come to an understanding, the conflict will continue. Oh, and did I mention Christian prophecies of the end times which feature a war starting in the Middle east? Stay tuned...
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