www.cafod.org.uk
Autumn 2014
Background to conflict in
Gaza
The Holy Land is
precious to many faiths.
To Jewish people, it is
the Promised Land to
which Moses led their
ancestors.
To Muslims, Jerusalem
is the third most Holy
City after Mecca and
Medina.
To Christians, it is the
land where Jesus lived,
died and rose again.
Before 1948, the region known
as Palestine was governed by
Britain.
The British had promised to
create a land for Jewish people
within Palestine. This was
supposed to be achieved
without infringing the rights of
the people who already lived
there.
It proved impossible to satisfy
both peoples. Many Jews and
Palestinians began to fight
each other, and the British.
In 1948 the United Nations
tried to divide the territory
peacefully between Jews and
Arabs, but a war broke out.
The new state of Israel
emerged with about three
quarters of the land. In 1967
Israel occupied the rest: the
West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Strip is home today
to more than 1.8 million
Palestinians.
In 2007, Hamas seized
control of the Gaza Strip.
Though viewed internationally
as a terrorist organisation,
most Palestinians support
Hamas because it strongly
opposes Israeli occupation.
From 2008, Israel set up an
intensive blockade of Gaza,
severely restricting the
movement of goods and
people to prevent Hamas
obtaining weapons. But this
causes massive hardship to
ordinary Gazans.
In June 2014 three Israeli
teenagers were kidnapped in
the West Bank and killed.
Israel blamed Hamas and
sent troops into Palestinian
residential areas, wrecking
homes, arresting hundreds
and killing five people.
Hamas retaliated by firing
rockets from Gaza into Israel.
In early July, Israel began
bombing Gaza. The conflict
continued for seven weeks.
More than 2,000 Gazans
were killed and 10,000
injured, mostly civilians.
1000 injured children are
likely to have a
permanent disability.
71 Israelis were killed,
mostly soldiers.
Thousands of homes,
schools and health
facilities in Gaza were
destroyed or severely
damaged.
CAFOD works with
Islamic Relief, Catholic
Relief Services and
Caritas Jerusalem to help
families in the Gaza strip
– particularly vulnerable
women and children.
CAFOD and its partners are committed to supporting the
post-conflict recovery in Gaza.
We are also pushing for a solution that enables everyone
in Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security.
Picture credits:
CAFOD; CIDSE; CRS;
Islamic Relief Worldwide;
Secours Catholique
cafod.org.uk/secondary