| |||||
| Decades: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| See also: | History of Palestine · Timeline of Palestinian history · List of years in Palestine | ||||
Events in the year 2018 in Palestine .
| |||||
| Decades: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| See also: | History of Palestine · Timeline of Palestinian history · List of years in Palestine | ||||
Events in the year 2018 in Palestine .
State of Palestine (UN observer non-member State)
Gaza Strip (Hamas administration unrecognized by the United Nations)
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. Inhabited by mostly Palestinian refugees and their descendants, Gaza is one of the most densely populated territories in the world. An end of 2024 estimate puts the population of the Strip at 2.1 million. Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in the southern Levant region of West Asia recognized by 146 out of 193 UN member states. It encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, collectively known as the occupied Palestinian territories, within the broader geographic and historical Palestine region. Palestine shares most of its borders with Israel, and it borders Jordan to the east and Egypt to the southwest. It has a total land area of 6,020 square kilometres (2,320 sq mi) while its population exceeds five million people. Its proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, while Ramallah serves as its administrative center. Gaza City was its largest city prior to evacuations in 2023.
The Arab–Israeli conflict is the phenomenon involving political tension, military conflicts, and other disputes between various Arab countries and Israel, which escalated during the 20th century. The roots of the Arab–Israeli conflict have been attributed to the support by Arab League member countries for the Palestinians, a fellow League member, in the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict; this in turn has been attributed to the simultaneous rise of Zionism and Arab nationalism towards the end of the 19th century, though the two national movements had not clashed until the 1920s.
Hamas is a Palestinian nationalist and Islamic fundamentalist socio-political organization with an associated paramilitary force, the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades. Hamas (حماس) Ḥamās is an acronym of حركة المقاومة الاسلامية Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamat al-Islāmiyyah, meaning "Islamic Resistance Movement".
The Gaza–Israel conflict is a localized part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict beginning in 1948, when about 200,000 of the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes settled in the Gaza Strip as refugees. Since then, Israel has been involved in about 15 wars involving organizations in the Gaza Strip. The number of Palestinians killed in the ongoing 2023–2024 war (41,000) is higher than the death toll of all other wars in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict combined.
Jabalia Camp is a Palestinian refugee camp established in 1948 by the United Nations to house those displaced by the 1948 Palestinian expulsion. Located 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) north of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip, it is the largest refugee camp in Palestinian territory, with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Due to Israeli attacks during the Israel–Hamas war, the refugee camp was described as "destroyed".
The restrictions on movement and goods in Gaza imposed by Israel date to the early 1990s. After Hamas took over in 2007, Israel significantly intensified existing movement restrictions and imposed a complete blockade on the movement of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip. In the same year, Egypt closed the Rafah crossing point. The blockade's current stated aim is to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza; previously stated motivations have included exerting economic pressure on Hamas. Human rights groups have called the blockade illegal and a form of collective punishment, as it restricts the flow of essential goods, contributes to economic hardship, and limits Gazans' freedom of movement. The blockade and its effects have led to the territory being called an "open-air prison".
Lifeline 3, officially Viva Palestina — a lifeline to Gaza, 3 was a convoy carrying humanitarian aid, solidarity, and a political message. It was led by George Galloway and Viva Palestina, a British charity. It travelled from the United Kingdom to the Gaza Strip during the winter of 2009–10, collecting volunteers and vehicles from other countries along the way, notably Turkey, due to the IHH organisation. The Gaza Strip has been blockaded by Israel and Egypt since 2007, when Hamas took power in the territory following its victory in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election.
China–Palestine relations, also referred to as Sino–Palestinian relations, encompass the long bilateral relationship between China and Palestine dating back from the early years of the Cold War.
Events in the year 2011 in Palestine.
Egypt–Palestine relations are the bilateral relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Palestine. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser was a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause and he favored self-determination for the Palestinians. Although the Egyptian government has maintained a good relationship with Israel since the Camp David Accords, most Egyptians strongly resent Israel, and disapprove of the close relationship between the Israeli and Egyptian governments.
Relations between Indonesia and Palestine have been very close and friendly. Indonesia has refused to recognize the State of Israel until a peace agreement is reached between Israel and the State of Palestine. Indonesia has strongly stood up for the rights and freedoms of the Palestinians and has supported the struggles of the Palestinians.
In November 2012, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation Pillar of Defense, which was an eight-day campaign in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip, beginning on 14 November 2012 with the killing of Ahmed Jabari, chief of the Gaza military wing of Hamas, by an Israeli airstrike.
The alliance between Algeria and Palestine is strong and enduring. Algeria is a supporter of the Middle East peace process and it has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
Events in the year 2013 in Palestine.
Reactions to the 2014 Gaza War came from around the world.
On December 6, 2017, the United States of America officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital city of the State of Israel. American president Donald Trump, who signed the presidential proclamation, also ordered the relocation of the American diplomatic mission to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, constituting what is now the Embassy of the United States in Jerusalem, which was established on the grounds of the former Consulate General of the United States in Jerusalem. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the decision and praised the announcement by the Trump administration. On December 8, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson clarified that Trump's statement "did not indicate any final status for Jerusalem" and "was very clear that the final status, including the borders, would be left to the two parties to negotiate and decide" in reference to the recognition's impact on the Israeli–Palestinian peace process.
The 2018–2019 Gaza border protests, also known as the Great March of Return, were a series of demonstrations held each Friday in the Gaza Strip near the Gaza-Israel border from 30 March 2018 until 27 December 2019, in which Israeli forces killed a total of 223 Palestinians. The demonstrators demanded that the Palestinian refugees must be allowed to return to lands they were displaced from in what is now Israel. They protested against Israel's land, air and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip and the United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel.
Gaza-Israel clashes began on 11 November 2018, when a botched Israeli covert operation carried out in the Khan Yunis area of the southern Gaza Strip killed seven Palestinian militants and one Israeli soldier. Exchanges of fire lasted for two more days, until a cease fire was achieved with Egyptian mediation. Some minor incidents and protests followed some two weeks after the cease fire, with decreasing intensity.
