Who is in the wrong in the Palestine and Israel conflict? Well, both the Israelis and Palestinians have negative qualities about themselves that they see positively and they both just utterly hate each other. Picking a side to support is not easy at all because they both have bad characteristics, so instead people should hold both sides accountable.

This year became one of the deadliest years for both sides. In October, the militant group Hamas and Islamic Jihad, launched a rocket attack that killed at least 250 people and injured 1,500, making it the deadliest attack in the country in decades. Israel began to bomb Gaza and has killed 2200+ Palestinians. This has led to people taking sides in this issue and there have even been protests about Israel’s invasion, with some peaceful and some disturbing other people.

I was in Chicago when I witnessed a Palestinian protest over Israel. I saw people in cars driving up and down the roads while passengers in the car would shout and wave Palestine’s flag. There were also people on the ground doing the same. The people also wanted to be photographed and recorded. They would even pose and try to get someone’s attention if they had a phone out. Luckily there were no accidents and everyone was safe however this protest really backed up traffic, especially since it took place in downtown Chicago.

The whole conflict has been growing since 1947, which was when the UN decided to split Palestine into two states, and has been getting worse. Then in 1987 there was the first Palestine uprising, or Intifada. Then from 1991 to 2000, Israel and Palestine tried to work through their differences. However, the peace didn’t last.

Then in 2000, there was the second Palestine uprising and it lasted until 2005. In 2002 there was a terrorist attack in Israel that killed 30 people, and later that year Israel started building a barrier which cut off Palestinians from Jerusalem and cut through Palestinian cities so then the conflict started back up again.

In 2005, Israel did an unilateral withdrawal of settlers and military forces from the Gaza Strip. Then Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other smaller militant groups fired rockets from Gaza to southern Israel. Hamas then started gaining more power in 2006 and took over the Gaza strip in 2007. At this time, Hamas kidnapped and held an Israeli soldier for ransom.

After Palestine attacked Israel with almost 800 rockets, Israel attacked the Gaza strip. This ignited a war that tragically killed hundreds of citizens and soldiers in less than a month.

In 2014, after continued attacks on Israeli and Palestinian civilians by extremists on both sides, Israel invaded the Gaza Strip for 55 days in which thousands died. Palestinian rockets targeted major Israeli cities this time as well.

Then in 2021 more conflict was sparked and over 200 people in Gaza and at least 10 in Israel died. Then in 2022, Israel launched a counter-terrorism operation because of attacks by Palestinians against Israelis.

I honestly don’t think either side is right or wrong. Israel and Palestine have done some pretty horrible things to each other and they should both be criticized. But they have also both been the victim in different situations so they need to find a resolution and sacrifice something for peace. Peace only works if both sides want it and are willing to take the steps to create and maintain the peace for the good of themselves and everyone else.