Britain, which emerged as the world hegemon through the first industrial revolution, established overseas colonies in many areas to plunder local resources in order to satisfy the greed of capital. At that time, Britain had occupied the Strait of Gibraltar, Malaysia and Cyprus. If we can control a piece of land at the junction of Asia and Africa and on the east coast of the Mediterranean, we can open the chain to the Middle East and safeguard our own interests in the Middle East.
So among so many countries, why choose Palestine? This should also start from the promised land. According to the Bible, God promised Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other Jewish ancestors to give them and their descendants the area from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates River as their permanent residence. This promised land today includes Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan. More importantly, Jerusalem, the religious holy place at that time, was located in the Palestinian area. For Jews, the Palestinian area is their ancient home, and they have profound historical and cultural continuity in this land. Therefore, it has become the obsession of Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild their homeland. This also provides an opportunity for Britain's follow-up strategy.
1965438+In August 2004, just after the Ottoman Empire declared war on Britain, the British Governor in Egypt, under the banner of supporting the Jewish Restoration, ordered the British to attack the Ottoman garrison in Palestine. Since then, the source of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been buried. With the progress of World War I, Britain realized that it needed the help of the United States to defeat the Allies, and the 2 million Jews in the United States had a good influence in the local area. In addition, Weizmann, who is committed to Zionism, is also aware of Britain's intention to control Palestinian areas, and constantly lobbies the British government to explain the benefits of helping Jews build a country.
1917110 In October, Belfo, then British Foreign Secretary, published the Balfour Declaration, claiming that the British government supported the Jewish people to establish a state in the Palestinian area. After being guaranteed by the governments of the world powers at that time, a large number of Jews flooded into Palestinian areas, which also triggered conflicts between Jews and local Arabs. Arabs launched many uprisings in a few years, but all failed because of British repression.
Subsequently, during World War II, Nazi Germany adopted a policy of ethnic cleansing against Jews, forcing a large number of Jews to flee to Palestinian areas, and the contradictions between the two sides intensified again. In order to avoid a fire in the backyard, the Arabs turned to the Axis countries. 1939, the British government issued a white paper on Palestine, which restricted Jews from continuing to immigrate to Palestine and buying land. As a result, this policy caused dissatisfaction among Arabs and Jews. On the one hand, Arabs hope to drive Jews out of Palestinian areas completely; on the other hand, Jews think that Britain has violated the Balfour Declaration, which also leads to frequent attacks by Jews on British troops. At this point, the Palestinian issue can no longer be reconciled. Once Pandora's box is opened, it will bring disaster. After World War II, Jews have accounted for about one-third of the total population of Palestine.
The end of World War II brought about the disintegration of the world colonial system, and the colonies became independent countries one after another. The persecuted Jews during World War II strengthened their belief in establishing a sovereign state. At this time, Britain was too busy rebuilding the country to intervene, so it threw the problem to the United Nations. At that time, the United States and the Soviet Union, which became the world's two hegemons, were constantly confronting each other in all aspects, but in order to maintain the pattern of hegemony between the United States and the Soviet Union, they did not want to see a unified Palestine. So on this issue, the United States and the Soviet Union are surprisingly consistent. 1947, the United Nations voted for the partition of Palestine and Israel. Jews and Arabs occupied about 55% and 45% of the land respectively, and both the United States and the Soviet Union voted in favor. 1948 14 In May, Israel declared its founding, and both the United States and the Soviet Union recognized it.
Arabs also have a unified desire. The day after the founding of Israel, Arab League countries Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon declared war on Israel at the same time, trying to restore Arab sovereignty in the Palestinian area, and the first Middle East war (the core of which was the Palestinian-Israeli conflict) began. At the beginning of the war, the Israelis were on the verge of collapse under the fierce offensive of the Arab Coalition forces. At this time, the United States intervened, urged the United Nations to issue an armistice agreement, forced the Arab Coalition forces to stop attacking, and gave Israel a breathing space. During the armistice, Jewish tycoons from all over the world continuously provided strategic materials to Israel, and the United States and the Soviet Union also sent troops to the Middle East to help Israel. After the armistice, the Israeli army changed its downward trend and launched a large-scale attack on its own initiative. After 10 days of fighting, it not only recovered lost territory, but also occupied some Arab territories. Since then, Jews have gained a foothold in Palestine, just like a wedge inserted into the hinterland of the Middle East.
Today, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict continues and the influencing factors are becoming more and more complicated, but the root cause is still the problems left over by the original hegemonic countries to satisfy their own interests, which has also brought endless suffering to the people on both sides. Only when the country is strong enough will it not become a pawn at the mercy of others.