In the Past two weeks a wave of violence has stormed through the 140 square miles that is the Gaza Strip. With a population just over 1.5 million people it remains one of the most violent regions in the world. Conflict continues to batter the city as Palestinian militants and IDF (Israeli defense force) soldiers trade rockets across the thin borders.
The recent escalation in Gaza is derived from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to establish 3,000 new homes in an illegal settlement that is on contested land. Despite Israel’s infamous iron dome defense system Palestinian insurgents were able to launch numerous rocket strikes, determined to be above 150 rockets in the month of November alone. However Israel usually responded swiftly to attacks sending air strikes of their own into the city of Gaza striking militants with ease. Members of the UN had exclaimed that the recent surge of violence in Gaza would make it hard to grant President Abbas of Palestine a non member observer state membership with the United Nations that he has been seeking for the past two years, but it did not affect the decision, as it was granted. All and all the United Nations as well as Amnesty International’s first priority is civilian safety and right now that priority is not being met on either side of the fight. UN members called for an immediate cease fire two weeks ago as a requirement for Palestine to be recognized as an observer state. With Abbas`s compliance they were granted a historical membership for which many political analysts believe will change nothing on the ground. Also recently Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that despite the US as well as the UK advising them not to build the 3,000 new houses on contested land, he will indeed build them. This could very well prove to be the start of a falling, once prosperous friendship between the United States and Israel. Israel’s defiance will prove to be a test for the United Nations as well as a further test for Amnesty International in trying to control the human rights blunder that has developed in Palestine as well as much of the Middle East. Although this week President Abbas of Palestine declared that for the first time ever, he would create a defense ministry in Gaza to fight the illegal actions of Israel.
The conflict in the past year between the two countries has taken a toll on neighboring regions (primarily Egypt). Egypt has shown growing frustration with both sides in the past year as they are often times caught up in the crossfire between the two sides. Many had believed that once the current president of Egypt Mohamed Morsy was elected the regime would firmly back the need for a legitimate Palestinian state since he ran with under the Muslim Brotherhood party. However Morsy has been more than fair regarding the situation, to the relief of many Western countries. Many humanitarian workers believe that Morsy could be a vital tool for creating peace in the region. The escalation has also been attributed to recent violence in Jordan between Christians and Muslims.
