Palestine – Origins and Numbers

Disclaimer: I do not claim to know everything about the Israel-Palestine ‘conflict.’ This is a small overview, and there are many things to learn about the situation in Palestine, including the humanitarian crisis and conditions of living, International Law regarding the ‘war,’ the efforts being made by external forces, and the information the media has been spreading. This article will focus mainly on the origins of the ‘conflict’ and the quantitative data on both sides of the equation. I will include references, mostly from news sites, in which I will include both numbers as footnotes and a reference list at the end.

Since October 7th, 2023, there has been a flood of information about Palestine and Israel on social media, and although I am grateful that the “trend” has not ceased, it is disappointing that this is what drove the conversation.

On October 7th, Palestine’s militant team known as Hamas launched an attack on Israel. The media deemed this a terrorist attack from a Muslim nation on a Jewish nation, when religion honestly has nothing to do with it.

There are many issues around this ‘conflict’ and although I do not know everything, and do not claim to, I will try to fill in some gaps.

This conflict did not start on October 7th.

Hamas’ attack on Israel on the 7th was Palestine’s first real attack on Israel. However, Israel has been committing war crimes against Palestine for years before Hamas was ever organized.

The conflict began in the late 1940’s. At the time, the area that we know to be Israel and Palestine existed only as Palestinian land. The people that would become Israelis originally moved to the area as refugees looking to escape the Holocaust and Nazi Germany.

Overtime, the area was divided (forcefully by occupation) into Israel and Palestine, and then eventually Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.

The map above shows the gradual disappearance of Palestine overtime, as settlers began to take over the land and refer to it as Israel. The Partition Plan in the second block was a plan proposed by the UN Special Committee on Palestine, according to un.org. It suggested splitting Palestine into three parts: Israel, Palestine, and Jerusalem (2). This proposal was really about making peace between the two groups, even though it would mean that Palestine would be approximately half its original size. Obviously, this was not enough for Israel.

In the third block, you can see that after the proposed plan, Palestine was further reduced to two areas: Gaza (the small strip on the left side) and the West Bank (the larger area on the right). The population in the West Bank has reduced greatly as Israel pushed forced occupation of the area.

Hamas’ attack was a means of defense, not a terrorist attack.

The media started off very concerned about Hamas and the “terrorism” it supposedly promoted, along with the injury and death toll in Israel. In complete honesty, they are focused on the wrong side.

The conflict started in 1948, and yet the media is only focusing on what has happened in 2023. To get a brief overview (sourced from the UN) of the casualties and injuries resulting from the conflict, on both sides, from 2008 to 2020, take a look at the graph below.

The Palestinian toll has been exponentially worse than that of Israel, with 5,590 Palestinian deaths from 2008-2020 as compared to 251 Israeli deaths. This has been going on for a long time, likely since before your parents were born. The October 7th attack was not the beginning, and was far from a terrorist act.

Amy Teibel published an article on the PBS NewsHour website on October 22nd to give us an update on the death toll in Palestine. The numbers are insane, for any period of time, however the article refers to the conflict as a “two-week-old war,” implying that their numbers only reflect what has happened since October 7th.

“More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since the war began, mostly civilians killed in the initial Hamas assault. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says over 4,300 Palestinians have been killed.” (4)

I will not invalidate the fact that 1,400 Israelis have been killed. It is a large number, and I am sad for the innocent civilians that have suffered in Israel. However, to look at the numbers, you cannot argue that Palestine is the only one at fault, let alone the enemy. 4,300 Palestinians to 1,400 Israelis. That’s over 3 times the Palestinian deaths per Israeli. And that is just in the past two weeks. If we look back to the graph overview of 2008-2020, with 5,590 Palestinian deaths and 251 Israeli deaths, that’s just over 22 Palestinians per 1 Israeli.

The aggressor here is not Palestine, in any sense. The numbers speak for themselves. With the amount of control that Israel has over Palestine – over their food, their water, electricity, medical supplies, and their border crossings – there is no argument here that Israel is the victim. There are currently innocent people being killed on both ends of the spectrum, but Israel is ultimately the bigger power, with a more aggressive approach, and a goal to exterminate, not to defend.

Thank you for reading to the end of the article. I encourage that you please continue to educate yourself on the subject, and share what information you can.

Where to Donate

The MATW Project is a great organization with aid on the ground in many different areas including Palestine, Morocco, Afghanistan, and others. The funds from their Palestine Appeal are currently helping to provide food, water, medical care, and shelter to those in need. You can donate here. You can also find them on Instagram @matw_project.

Islamic Relief Canada also has many emergency fundraisers currently accepting donations, including Palestine, Afghanistan, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Syria, and others. You can donate to their Palestine Emergency Appeal here. You can also find them on Instagram @islamicreliefcanada.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims has a lot of great resources. You can make donations to Palestine on their website, as well as report any hate crimes or incidents against Muslims in Canada. They also have a list of posts regarding sending protest letters to the Canadian Parliament. You can donate to their Palestinian fundraiser here. You can also find them on Instagram @nccm_community.

References

(1) Image – “Palestinian Loss of Land 1947 to Present.” The Left in the European Parliament. https://left.eu/eu-denunciation-not-enough-to-stop-israeli-annexation-drive/

(2) “History of the Question of Palestine.” United Nations. https://www.un.org/unispal/history/#:~:text=Palestine%20Partition%20Map%20Majority%20Proposal&text=The%20plan%20envisages%20the%20division,Lake%20Success)%2C%20New%20York.

(3) Image – “The Human Cost of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” Statista. https://www.statista.com/chart/16516/israeli-palestinian-casualties-by-in-gaza-and-the-west-bank/

(4) Teibel, Amy. “West Bank death toll climbs as Israel pursues Palestinian militants.” PBS NewsHour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/west-bank-death-toll-climbs-as-israel-pursues-palestinian-militants#:~:text=More%20than%201%2C400%20people%20have,4%2C300%20Palestinians%20have%20been%20killed