The Holy Land, or Israel, is a revered location for many faiths, especially Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Israel is called the Holy Land because it is the site of divine encounters between man and God and the land where Jesus lived, died, and rose again. Israelis and Palestinians have clashed over claims to the Holy Land for decades, a conflict that has long been one of the world’s most intractable. Multiple U.S. administrations have proposed road maps for a peace process that would result in two states, one Israeli and one Palestinian.
On September 13, 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization Negotiator Mahmoud Abbas signed a Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, commonly referred to as the “Oslo Accord,” at the White House. The “Oslo Accord” was an agreement between the Israeli and Palestinian leadership that saw each side and recognized the other for the first time. Both sides also pledged to end their decade-long conflict. Israel accepted it as the representative of the Palestinians, and then renounced terrorism, and recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace. Both sides agreed that a Palestinian authority would be established and assume governing responsibilities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip over a five-year period. However, both sides began to start violating their prior agreements and it has been an unsteady coexistence for the past 30 years.
Regarding the current conflict which started on October 7th, US officials have urged Israel to take every possible precaution not to harm civilians. The U.S. has previously said it has sent military advisers to help Israel in its war on the terrorist group Hamas. The US has also sent special forces to Israel to assist in finding hundreds of hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip by Hamas. This was said in Pentagon senior special operations policy official’s statement claiming their objective to, “identify hostages, including American hostages.”
Due to this conflict between Palestine and Israel and the involvement of the United States’ government and military, there have been protests occurring in the U.S. For example, in New York City, a protest broke out between the Palestinians and Israelis near the United Nations compound after a large group of Palestinian supporters had rallied in Times Square. There also was some Palestinian Americans protesting outside the Israeli consulates in Atlanta, GA and Chicago, IL. There was another protest as well in San Francisco led by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She led a Jewish community gathering to support Israel at a synagogue. In an interview Pelosi stated that, “there’s a strong support for Israeli assistance to Israel,” and that she seeks to support Israelis residing in the United States. While the vast majority of both Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress support Israel, some House members like Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar have condemned US aid to Israel as well as Israel’s response which has killed an estimated 10,000 Palestinians.
As the war in the middle east continues, many protests continue to occur in the United States in solidarity with both Palestine and Israel. As said by one protestor, “There is only one solution right now: a cease fire.” Though the war in the Middle East continues, American political figures continue to voice their concerns on the issue. Citizens of the United States, supporting both Palestine and Israel also continue to protest in hope of a ceasefire and peace for civilians in the Middle East.
Sources:
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1993-2000/oslo#:~:text=Israel%20accepted%20the%20PLO%20as,over%20a%20five%2Dyear%20period.Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | Global Conflict Tracker
Israel kills at least 10 Palestinians in occupied West Bank
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-special-forces-said-deployed-to-help-israel-track-down-hostages-held-in-gaza/#:~:text=Senior%20Pentagon%20official%20says%20commandos,including%20Americans%2C’%20NY%20Times%20reports&text=The%20US%20has%20sent%20special,Pentagon%20official%20reportedly%20said%20Tuesday.
https://www.kqed.org/news/11964329/nancy-pelosi-on-israel-and-the-house-speaker-fight
. https://www.ktvu.com/news/gaza-war-protestors-chain-themselves-to-pelosis-sf-office-building
