https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/13/explosions-in-gaza-after-israeli-air-raids
Earlier on Monday, several air strikes were fired from the Israelis on the Gaza Strip. The strikes were reported to have hit an underground complex responsible for mining the raw materials required fro the manufacturing of rockets. These rockets, were quoted to have been sent to the Hamas terrorist organization. The army, when questioned about the strikes, responded by claiming it was in retaliation to the rocket launch sent from Gaza to Israel on Saturday. The Palestinians, and the President of Palestine claims that these “lethal assaults” from Israel are only worsening tensions between the Palestinians and the Israelis within the West Bank region.
The tensions within the West Bank have been ever-present since 1967, after the Six-Day War. Israel has occupied the area, and Palestinians have declared multiple regions as their own, but have only been met with hostility and denouncement from the Israeli government. While the tensions have lasted quite a long time, I believe that it is only inevitable that one side or the other will eventually take action in a more extreme way. These repeated attacks from each side only really strengthen my belief. Within the past year, there have been 42 deaths on the Palestinian side, and 10 on the Israeli side.
These tensions that have been repeatedly seen from both sides of this conflict are a perfect example of the unstable factor that follows with any shatterbelt region. Palestine, not officially recognized as a member state, rather a de jure sovereignty, has and continues to have troubles in officially cementing both the political and geological factors that are required to make up an official state. Currently, the shatterbelt region that the “state” is located in makes it extremely difficult when compared to other regions because of its constant shift in power and influence. Until these conflicts die down, I think that until the non-member state gets more direct help from other countries, or the Israeli government quits on their campaign, the Palestinians will continue to face hardships in helping define what land is their own.