Geopolitics and Markets Review – 9th October 2023

Israel and Palestine: The 2000-Year History

Contents

1. Introduction

2. The History of Israel vs Palestine

3. Post World War Two

4. Concluding Remarks

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I went to a wedding this weekend of a man who I’ve grown up with for over two decades. It was a truly wonderful day filled with joy, happiness, and love.

At the same time, the terror/political organisation Hamas launched an attack on Israel from its concentrated territory in the Gaza Strip and areas of the West Bank. They stormed into people’s homes, executing entire families. Attacking a festival that was promoting peace. The cruelty on display was one of the most awful displays I’ve seen. Many of these families have been shattered, and their lives will never be the same again.

A scroll through X (Twitter) shows the shocking devastation that humanity is capable of through these attacks, and has now also been seen in Israel’s retaliation.

The stark contrast between the lives of many of us who exist around the world in intense suffering such as this is unimaginable, so we often don’t bother to consider it. Those of us who are inclined to think of the world through a deeper lens than others need to consider such events as events that affect us all.

Our states send their money, which often comes in the form of military aid, reinforcing the escalatory circle of violence and war while boosting capitalism and the military-industrial complex back home. Lockheed Martin's price rising sharply higher today says it all. We occupy our protected knowledge cocoons in the West: If it doesn’t affect us, it doesn’t hurt us, right?

One thing is clear from this conflict. This hurts. This deadly violence and hate stems from a deep history surrounding Israel, Palestine, and their neighbours.

With a topic as deep and complicated as that of Israel and Palestine, I believe it’s better to say less than more and be wholly confident that what you’re stating is true, and delivered in an unbiased way to maximise understanding of the whole picture. It’s from this principle that I’ll write this piece and the series of pieces that will follow over the coming weeks. Today I’ll dive into the history of the conflict, which will help set us up for a deeper geopolitical dive over the coming weeks as the events unfold in real time.