![]() ![]() Approximately 5.1 million people live in the Palestinian territories ( 3 million in the West Bank and 2.1 million in the Gaza Strip). The remaining are Sunni and a small Ahmadiyya amount. Out of those Palestinians, a small percentage of Christians (about 1.9%) have over ten denominations. Among them, 73% are Jewish, 18.1% are Muslim, 1.6% are Druze, and 4.9% are other minorities (such as the Circassians and Bahaí). Omitting the dizzyingly multifaceted demographic situation drives polarized opinions further apart. ![]() That ID and citizenship assignment will directly affect the privileges, freedoms, opportunities, and legal protections (or lack thereof) one will experience from cradle to grave. The same era within the Palestinian collective memory harbors painful recollections of displacement, dispossession, and dispute.Įvery newborn blessed enough to grow up learns the words “Independence” or “Nakba.” However, before that vocabulary enters their lexicon in either Hebrew or Arabic, they are assigned one of four IDs and integrated into a complex caste system of citizenship brokered by another country altogether. In the immediate aftermath of this date, the former recalls dashed euphoria as post-WWII-refuge was met by invasion by not one but five entities: Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt. This day is known to Israel as the Day of Independence and as Nakba (or “great catastrophe”) to the Palestinian people. This misnomer becomes even more apparent when considering how heavily stratified this ecosystem is.Īlthough tensions began after the first wave of Aliyah– the immigration of Jews to the Holy Land – in the 1880s, for many, the conflict was officially born on the 15th of May of 1948. ![]() Despite politicians’ efforts to mold the latest turmoil into something binary, leaning on oversimplified identity politics is grossly counterproductive to mitigating conflict. ![]()
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