photo.newsweek.com/content/photo/2009/1/photos-gazas-history-ofviolence.html.com/content/photo/2009/1/photos-gazas-history-of-violence.html 1.

A small piece of land's epic history of conflict By Katie Paul and Barrett Sheridan At its most distant point, the Gaza Strip is 25 miles long and seven miles wide. Its total area is only about twice the size of Washington, D.C. But, as the most recent eruption of violence there has made clear, its size belies its capacity to stir the fiercest emotions of billions of people around the world. Once again, the perennial question returns: why has so much blood been shed over such a small stretch of land? Here, focusing specifically on Gaza, NEWSWEEK constructs a chronology of the land's transformation from ancient citystate to present-day battle zone, to make more sense of its recent decent into the madness of yet another Israeli-Palestinian war. P 2. Gaza the City For centuries, the city of Gaza has been a gateway for travel between Egypt and the rest of Palestine, drawing traders, armies, and, with the rise of Islam, pilgrims making the hajj. Like much of the region, Gaza's economy flourishes with trade in spices, olive oil, gold, silk, frankincense and more. In the 14th century, Syrian scholar al-Dimashqi calls it 'a city so rich in trees it looks like a cloth of brocade spread out upon the land.' The city falls to the Ottomans in 1516 and remains under their control for 400 years. In this 1839 depiction, 'Holy Land,' a British painter juxtaposes images of the biblical past with Gaza's contemporary quiet seaside existence. 3. Third Battle of Gaza (1917) Pushing into Palestine from their stronghold in Egypt, the British break through Turkish defenses in Gaza. Taking the city allows the British to capture Jerusalem within two months, marking a major turning point in the war and ending four centuries of Ottoman rule in Palestine. Following the war, the former Ottoman Empire is divided into administrative units under the control of various Allied powers. All of Palestine falls under the British Mandate, including Gaza, which becomes an administrative district. 4. Palestine Riots (1929-1939) Tensions resulting from British rule and increasing Jewish immigration erupt into sporadic outbursts of violence throughout Palestine, most notably in 1929 and 1936. In 1929, clashes over Jerusalem's Western Wall leave hundreds dead on both sides, as Arab rioters attack Jewish settlements in Hebron, Safed, Jerusalem, and beyond. In 1936, another revolt launches three more years of sustained fighting between Arab groups, Jewish groups, and British authorities. Here, a soldier stands amid the ruins of a Jewish hospital in Hebron, located in the present-day West Bank. 5. Partition Plan & Arab-Israeli War (1947) In 1947, the newly-created United Nations steps in with a partition plan to split the territory into two states, one Arab and one Jewish, along with an internationally governed Jerusalem. The intended divisions are shown in the map on the left. But once the British

withdraw in 1948, both Arab and Jewish leaders reject the plan and launch military landgrabs. Two simultaneous wars ensue: a civil war at the local level and a regional war between the newly proclaimed State of Israel and its Arab neighbors, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq. When the dust settles, the sliver of land still held by Egypt becomes the Gaza Strip, as shown in the map on the right. 6. 'Al-Nakba' (1948) At the same time, Arab residents of Palestine begin a massive exodus from what would become Israel. The departure becomes known throughout the Arab world as 'al-nakba,' or 'the catastrophe.' Precisely why they leave is disputed; many say Jewish groups terrorize Arabs into fleeing, while others say Arab officials instruct them to leave. Either way, more than 700,000 Palestinians depart the new state of Israel, bound for refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza. Some 200,000 refugees arrive in the Gaza Strip alone, where only 80,000 people had lived. Here, members of the Haganah, the Jewish militia group that would become the Israeli Defense Forces, escort Arab civilians out after capturing the city of Haifa. 7. Suez Crisis (1956) Following Egypt's nationalization of the Suez Canal three months earlier, Israel, helped by France and Britain, invades the Sinai Peninsula, including the Gaza Strip, in October 1956. On the left, Israeli soldiers watch over Palestinians in Gaza's main square. The United States and the United Nations condemn the attacks and call for the withdrawal of the troops from Egypt. Israel withdraws from most of the territory, but maintains its hold on the Gaza Strip, claiming it had never been part of Egypt. To settle the matter, the United Nations sends in its own troops, who are cheered by Gaza residents (right). U.N. control is shortlived, however; a week later, Egypt names a governor to administrate the province of Gaza. 8. Six Day War (1967) As the temperature increases in the early summer months of 1967, so too do the tensions between Israel and its neighbors. By May, Egypt amasses hundreds of tanks and tens of thousands of soldiers along the border. Previous skirmishes with Jordan and Syria had already resulted in a military buildup along those borders. On June 5, Israel launches a preemptive attack, obliterating much of Egypt's air force while it sat on the tarmac. The rest of the war is equally lopsided. By the time of the June 10 ceasefire, Israel has gained control of the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and Gaza. Here, Israeli troops guard captured Egyptian troops and Palestinians on the first day of war. 9. Gaza Settlements (1970s-2005) Some 21 Jewish settlements are founded throughout Gaza in the aftermath of the Six Day War, starting in the mid-1970s. Although the settlements are considered illegal under international law, they are expanded during the 1980s and 1990s, morphing from strategic military outposts into heavily fortified upscale suburbs. Here, two settlers tend their radish farm patch in the settlement of Neve Dekalim in 1991. Ultimately, by 2005, the settlements and military outposts host more than 8,000 people and occupy somewhere between 15 and 40 percent of the Gaza Strip. About 1.4 million Palestinians live in the remaining territory. 10. Oslo Accords (1993)

The 1993 Oslo Accords are a milestone in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For the first time, a Palestinian leader (Yasir Arafat, shown here returning to Gaza) and an Israeli one (Yitzhak Rabin) negotiate face-to-face. The resulting agreement establishes the right for Palestinians to govern themselves and creates the Palestinian Authority. More importantly, it calls for Israel to withdraw from most of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, progress on implementing the accords proves mixed, with both Israelis and Palestinians claiming the other side has failed to live up to the bargain. 11. The Second Intifada (2000) With the failure of the Camp David Accords fresh in mind, a provocative sightseeing stop on Sept. 28, 2000 sets off a bloody period of Middle Eastern conflict, which soon becomes known as the Second Intifada. On this September day, hawkish Israeli politician Ariel Sharon visits the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism but also the third-holiest site to Muslims, who refer to it as the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Tensions tip over into rioting and stone-throwing. Suicide bombings become commonplace, and Israel installs checkpoints throughout Gaza and the other occupied territories, severely limiting movement. Here, Israeli soldiers shoot at young Gazan stone-throwers. With three-quarters of Gaza's population under the age of 30, some worry that the Second Intifada has radicalized an entire generation of Palestinians. 12. 'Disengagement' (2005) When Isreali soldiers enter Gadid, an Israeli settlement in Gaza, they are greeted by burning pickup trucks and protesters. The soldiers' arrival is the culmination of years of debate over the fate of the settlements, some of which have been in place since the 1970s. In 2003, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announces his intention to remove all 8,000 Israeli settlers from Gaza, as their presence is politically combustible and causes too great a strain on IDF resources. Despite the hostile welcome in Gadid, the withdrawal process goes forward relatively peaceably, although Israeli soldiers and policemen are forced to carry away the most recalcitrant settlers, such as this young man from the Neve Dekalim settlement. 13. Operation Summer Rains (2006) Palestinian militants use the Gaza withdrawal as an excuse to launch rocket attacks on Israel. According to the Israeli government, nearly 800 rockets are fired from Gaza between the withdrawal and mid-2006. The IDF responds with mortar shells of its own, and the tit-for-tat quickly escalates. On June 9, an Israeli shell hits a busy Gaza beach, killing eight civilians. Then a cross-border raid by Hamas in late June culminates in a shootout at an Israeli military outpost, where Gilad Shalit, a 19-year-old IDF soldier, is taken hostage. Israel commences Operation Summer Rains, a major ground invasion, soon afterward, and foot soldiers such as those shown here scour Gaza for Shalit. Israel withdraws in late November after negotiating a ceasefire with Hamas, although both sides continue occasional shelling in the months that follow. Shalit is believed to still be held by Hamas. 14. Hamas Seizure of Gaza (2007) Gaza and the West Bank hold elections for the first time in January 2006 and give a majority of their votes to Hamas. Fatah, the party of Yassir Arafat, who died in 2004, wins the second-

largest vote share, but refuses to concede power. That leads to what some call the Palestinian Civil War, with gunfights between party loyalists breaking out all across Gaza. In mid-2007, after a political battle for control of the Palestinian security forces, Hamas wages a street war, overtaking several Fatah strongholds and effectively taking control of Gaza's streets. To isolate Hamas, Israel and Egypt shut down crossings and impose a blockade, effectively sealing Gaza in on all sides. Here, Hamas militants celebrate victory at a captured Fatah building. 15. Blockades and Sanctions (2007-2008) By January 2008, a six-month blockade paralyzes Gaza's economy, leaving its residents teetering on a humanitarian crisis, and causing tensions to mount. Only humanitarian supplies are allowed in, while virtually all exports are cut off. On Jan. 17, Israel seals the borders completely, citing a rise in Hamas rocket attacks. Without fuel, Gaza's only power plant shuts down within days. Sewage treatment, waste collection, water supply and medical facilities falter. In an area where most of the population is already vulnerable, the blockade's impact is especially strong. Nearly 1 million people in Gaza are U.N.-registered refugees, out of a total population of 1.4 million. More than 80 percent live below the poverty level. 16. Rafah (January 2008) On Jan. 23, 2008, militants blow several openings in the border wall with Egypt near the town of Rafah. Originally constructed during the Palestinian uprisings of the early 2000s, the wall is made mostly of corrugated sheet metal, concrete, and barbed wire. Tens of thousands of Palestinians stream through the opening in a shopping spree for essential supplies. Israel demands that Egypt stem the tide, concerned that Hamas fighters will smuggle in arms, but Egyptian officials hold off to allow Gazans to stock up. By the end of January, the United Nations estimates that more than half of Gaza's 1.4 million people have crossed into Egypt. Even after the Rafah crossing is patched up, Gazans burrow underground, constructing an elaborate tunnel system to smuggle in both arms and essential supplies. 17. Collapse of Ceasefire (December 2008) Israel and Hamas agree to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire in June, 2008, but it begins to disintegrate even before the Dec.19, 2008, end date. Both sides blame the other for the collapse of the accord. Hamas steps up its rocket attacks, ostensibly in response to the blockades and deaths of 11 militants, but fails to inflict any casualties. Nonetheless, Israel launches a wave of air strikes at the end of December, followed by a ground invasion on Jan. 3, 2009. Hundreds have died, all but a few Palestinian. The United Nations estimates roughly a quarter of the dead are civilians.