Israeli Warplanes Strike Gaza

As fighting in the Gaza Strip continues into its third week, the United Nations Security Council passed a ceasefire resolution in an attempt to bring a halt to the violence. The vote was passed 14-0-1 with the US abstaining. Unfortunately, the cease fire agreement makes no sense for either party, reiterating their inability to truly understand the Middle East conflict.

On the Israeli side of the conflict, the ceasefire resolution inadequately addresses Israel’s security concerns. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reiterated that Israel “has never agreed to let an external body decide its right to protect the security of its citizens,” and that the proposed ceasefire agreement is simply “unworkable.”

The ceasefire agreement calls for a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and for monitors to deploy along the Philadelphia Corridor to ensure Hamas does not continue to smuggle weapons from Egypt. It’s pretty obvious why Israel finds this resolution “inadequate.”
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Before I jump into the current conflict and escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas-ruled Gaza, some background information and history of the Gaza Strip will help paint the picture a little better. Although brief, it will certainly help make clear how the recent conflict came to be. I’ll also discuss various responses to the recent incidents from Canada and other countries.

The Gaza Strip is a coastal territory along the Mediterranean Sea bordering Egypt to the South West and Israel to the East and North. It is home to approximately 1.5 million people in a total area of just 360 square kilometers, making it one of the most densely populated regions in the world. Throughout Israel’s existence, the Gaza Strip has remained a controversial issue in the Middle East conflict and has been under the control of various groups in its history.

Starting in 1517, the area was controlled by the Ottoman Empire up until the First World War. In 1917, control of the strip shifted to the British, becoming part of the British Mandate of Palestine and under the authority of the League of Nations. British rule of the strip ended following the Israeli War of Independence in 1948, when Israel became a sovereign Jewish state. Following Israel’s independence, control of the strip was placed into the hands of the Egyptians. In 1967, during the 6 Day War, Israel invaded the Gaza Strip occupying it for 27 years until 1994 when the Oslo Accords were signed. The signing of the Oslo Accords transferred governmental control of the strip from Israel to the Palestinian Authority under the leadership of Yasser Arafat.
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