In the backdrop of Israel’s open genocide in Gaza over the past two years, and amid worldwide condemnation and protests against it, some Western countries, including the UK and France, recognized the State of Palestine last month. Thus, four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council with veto power – China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom – have now recognized it, leaving only the USA. The independence of the State of Palestine was declared in exile in Algiers in 1988 by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), under the leadership of Yasser Arafat. Today, 157 countries recognize the sovereignty of the Palestinian homeland.
But where is this State of Palestine? Theoretically, it comprises Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem – three disconnected areas that together make up around 22% of the total land of historical Palestine. However, in reality, Palestinians exercise limited self-rule over only about 5% of the land, which is now better known as Israel. To understand how the Palestinians ended up in this situation, a brief recapitulation of history is in order.
Palestine was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for roughly 400 years, until the end of World War I in 1918. After the Ottoman defeat, Britain gained control of Palestine under a League of Nations mandate. The mandate incorporated the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which Britain pledged to establish “a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.
After World War II, Britain began withdrawing from its colonies, and in February 1947 it notified the United Nations of its intention to give up the Mandate for Palestine. In November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to divide Palestine into two states: one Jewish and one Arab. The city of Jerusalem was to be placed under international governance. The Jews were allocated 55% of the land, while the Arabs were given 45%. Jewish authorities accepted the plan, but Arab leadership rejected it. The land allocation was undoubtedly a gross injustice, given that the Jewish population made up only one-third of the total. However, the Arabs did not primarily object to the disproportionate division of land, but to the very creation of a Jewish state.
In December 1947, Britain set 15 May 1948 as the date for ending the Mandate and completing its withdrawal from Palestine. On 14 May, Israel declared independence. The United States instantly recognized the new state, while Arab armies from several countries – including Egypt, Syria, and Jordan – launched an attack. Jordan annexed the West Bank, and Egypt took control of Gaza. However, Israel emerged from the war holding more land than was allocated under the UN partition plan. Neither Egypt nor Jordan granted the Palestinians sovereignty over the territories they occupied. Meanwhile, about 75% of the Palestinian population was expelled from their land by the Israeli military and became refugees. That was indeed the Nakba – the Arabic word meaning “catastrophe.” Palestinians commemorate 15 May as Nakba Day.
Was the war launched against Israel by the Arab states in 1948 a strategic mistake – a failure of Arab leadership to assess and comprehend the reality on the ground and the geopolitical ramifications following the Allied victory in World War II?
In 1967, another Arab-Israeli war broke out. The Arab forces, primarily from Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, were again defeated, and Israel occupied additional territory, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Today, both Egypt and Jordan not only recognize Israel but also maintain full diplomatic relations with it. The Palestinians, however, remain politically marginalized, divided, and subject to decisions made by Arab states. For them, the Nakba never truly ended.
Ironically, the Palestinians – who in 1948 were offered 45% of Palestine but rejected the two-state solution – are now struggling for a state comprising only 22% of the land. Conversely, Israel, which accepted the two-state solution at that time, now rejects it. Before October 7, 2023, about 5.6 million Palestinians lived in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. Israel now seeks to remove them through genocide, torture, starvation, eviction from their homes, and other means.
On September 18, the United States vetoed, for the sixth time, a draft resolution at the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Then, on September 29, US President Donald Trump unveiled his 20-point peace plan for Gaza, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing beside him. The President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, along with leaders in Arab, European, and Islamic countries, welcomed the plan as one that would establish a “credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.” However, shortly afterward, Netanyahu said in a video statement that he absolutely does not agree to a Palestinian state and that such a provision is not written into the agreement. It is also unlikely that Hamas would accept the plan, as it poses an existential dilemma for them. Thus, it seems the Nakba is not going to end anytime soon for the Palestinians.
This article was published in the Daily Sun on October 6, 2025. Here is the link: https://www.daily-sun.com/printversion/details/830653