A Tale Of Double Standard And Displacement
The Israel-Palestine conflict is a deeply rooted struggle marked by historical ironies and contemporary injustices that perpetuate a cycle of violence and displacement. This essay examines four key themes: the historical role of Palestine in providing refuge to Jewish immigrants fleeing Nazi persecution, only to face displacement themselves; the use of terrorism by Zionist paramilitaries and later by Israel while labeling others as terrorists; the human rights norms that enabled Israel’s creation but are now violated against Palestinians; and the unfairness of the 1947 UN Partition Plan followed by Israel’s illegal expansion. These themes reveal a pattern of double standards, moral contradictions, and legal violations that continue to undermine Palestinian rights and highlight the need for a just resolution.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Nazi Germany expelled Jews, stripping
them of citizenship under the Nuremberg Laws (1935) and escalating
persecution after the 1938 Anschluss. The Évian Conference of July 1938,
initiated by Franklin D.
Roosevelt, failed to provide refuge: 32 countries attended, but only the
Dominican Republic and Costa Rica offered to accept significant numbers
(100,000 and 200 families, respectively), while the U.S. and Britain
refused to increase quotas. With few options, many Jews turned to
Mandatory Palestine, where the British Mandate facilitated immigration
under the Balfour Declaration (1917). Between 1933 and 1939, over
120,000 Jews arrived, and by 1947, the Jewish population reached 33%
(600,000 out of 1.9 million). In this context, Palestine took in and
saved Jewish refugees when much of the world turned them away.
Today, this history is inverted by the Zionist narrative that “no country wants to take Palestinians.” Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza, 1.9 million Palestinians (out of 2.1 million) have been displaced, according to UN estimates. Human Rights Watch (HRW) documents these actions as forcible transfer, a war crime under the Geneva Conventions, involving evacuation orders, attacks on safe zones, and the destruction of 70% of Gaza’s housing. Israeli officials, like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have suggested “voluntary migration” for Gazans, implying their displacement would resolve the conflict. This narrative ignores the 6-million-strong Palestinian diaspora in countries like Jordan, Chile, and Germany, and the fact that Israel’s blockade and control over Gaza’s borders (e.g., Rafah crossing) prevent Palestinians from leaving, not a lack of international willingness. The irony is clear: Israel, built in part by refugees who found refuge in Palestine, now forcibly displaces Palestinians while claiming no one else will take them, violating their right to remain in their homeland under international law (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 13).
Zionist paramilitaries Irgun and Lehi used tactics during the British
Mandate that would be classified as terrorism today, aiming to expel the
British and secure a Jewish state. Irgun, led by Menachem Begin, bombed
the King David Hotel in 1946, killing 91 people (41 Arabs, 28 British,
17 Jews). The 1948 Deir Yassin massacre by Irgun and Lehi killed over
100 Palestinian villagers, triggering mass flight and intensifying the
Nakba. Other acts included the 1947 hanging of off-duty British
Sergeants Clifford Martin and Mervyn Paice, bombings of Arab markets,
and international attacks like the 1946 British Embassy bombing in Rome.
Lehi assassinated Lord Moyne in 1944 and UN mediator Folke Bernadotte in
1948, the latter possibly with Israeli state involvement.
These acts—targeting civilians, instilling fear, and pursuing political
goals—fit modern definitions of terrorism (UN General Assembly
Resolution 49/60, 1994). Begin, with a £10,000 MI5 bounty on his head,
later became Israel’s Prime Minister (1977–1983), founding the Likud
party, which Benjamin Netanyahu leads today.
Israel has since engaged in acts that mirror this violence, often
framed as self-defense but criticized as terrorism or violations of
international law.
In 2006, Israel bombed Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport,
targeting civilian infrastructure and stranding thousands, drawing
condemnation from HRW for lacking military necessity. In 1973, Israel
shot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114, killing 108 of 113 people, an
act the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) deemed illegal.
Israel also destroyed Gaza’s Yasser Arafat International Airport in
2001–2002, symbolizing broader restrictions on Palestinian movement
under the 2007 blockade. Yet, Israel labels Hamas leaders as terrorists,
targeting them for assassination—e.g., Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran (July
2024) and Yahya Sinwar in Rafah (October 2024)—while ignoring its own
history. Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the U.S. and EU, has
attacked Israeli civilians, but its political role in Gaza and shifts in
rhetoric (e.g., the 2017 charter) are overlooked, denying it the
legitimacy Begin achieved. This double standard—excusing Zionist and
Israeli violence while condemning Palestinian resistance—perpetuates the
cycle of conflict.
Human rights norms that constrained the British during the Mandate enabled Israel’s creation, but those same norms are now violated by Israel against Palestinians. The British Mandate tasked Britain with “safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine,” reflecting early human rights principles. Facing Irgun and Lehi’s insurgency, the British response was restrained: Operation Shark (1946) involved arrests and curfews, and captured militants were deported to camps in Eritrea, Kenya, and Cyprus, avoiding mass destruction. Post-World War II exhaustion, international pressure (especially from the U.S. after the Holocaust), and emerging human rights norms limited the use of disproportionate force. A more brutal response—akin to Israel’s in Gaza—might have crushed the Zionist movement, preventing Israel’s establishment in 1948.
Today, Israel violates these norms in its treatment of Palestinians. Since October 2023, Israel’s campaign in Gaza has displaced 1.9 million people, killed over 43,000, and destroyed 70% of housing, actions HRW labels as forcible transfer, a war crime. The 2007 blockade constitutes collective punishment, prohibited under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, restricting access to essentials. Targeted assassinations in third countries, like Haniyeh’s killing in Iran, violate sovereignty and raise concerns about extrajudicial killings under international human rights law. The irony is profound: the norms that protected the Jewish population in the 1940s are now disregarded, as Israel’s actions undermine Palestinian rights to life, movement, and self-determination.
The 1947 UN Partition Plan (Resolution 181) was inherently unfair, allocating 56% of Mandatory Palestine (14,100 km²) to a Jewish state for a minority population (33%, 600,000 people) that owned 7% of the land, while the Arab majority (67%, 1.3 million) received 43% (11,500 km²). Jerusalem was to be an international city. The Jewish leadership accepted the plan as a step toward statehood, while the Arab leadership rejected it, arguing it violated self-determination. The ensuing 1947–1948 civil war and 1948 Arab-Israeli War saw Israel expand to 78% of Palestine (20,770 km²), displacing 750,000 Palestinians (the Nakba), with massacres like Deir Yassin fueling the exodus.
This 56% was not enough for Israel, which has since illegally
expanded through occupation, settlements, and annexation. The 1967
Six-Day War saw Israel occupy the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and
the Golan Heights. The 2024 ICJ Advisory Opinion declares this
occupation unlawful, citing violations of Palestinian self-determination
through over 700,000 settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,
illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 49).
Palestinians face routine evictions, such as in Sheikh Jarrah, to make
way for settlers. Israel’s 1980 annexation of East Jerusalem as its
“undivided capital” is illegal, as reaffirmed by UN Resolution
A/RES/ES-10/24 (2024), which also condemns settlements and the
separation wall. These actions entrench Israel’s control, creating
“irreversible effects” that amount to annexation, further displacing
Palestinians and contradicting the principles of fairness in the
partition plan.
The Israel-Palestine conflict is marked by historical ironies and contemporary injustices that reveal profound double standards. Palestine provided refuge to Jewish immigrants when the world turned them away, yet now Israel displaces Palestinians while claiming no one will take them, ignoring its role in their plight. Zionist paramilitaries used terrorism to build a state, and Israel later engaged in similar acts—bombing airports, shooting down airliners—while labeling Hamas as terrorists, despite Begin’s own terrorist past. Human rights norms that enabled Israel’s creation are now violated against Palestinians, as seen in Gaza’s forcible transfer and blockade. The unfair 1947 partition, followed by Israel’s illegal expansion through settlements and annexation, continues this pattern of displacement, violating international law and Palestinian rights. These contradictions underscore the urgent need for accountability and a resolution that respects Palestinian self-determination, addressing the historical grievances and contemporary injustices at the heart of this conflict.