November 2nd, 1917. British Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour wrote a letter addressed to British Jew Lionel Walter Rothschild. A letter of only 67 words. But the impact of that was like an earthquake for the Palestinians and the Middle East, which is still felt today time after time.

The Balfour Declaration promised to establish a 'national home' for the Jews in the land of Palestine. But the articulation of Balfour's declaration was ambiguous. Presumably, its language was kept vague quite deliberately. It clearly mentions a 'national homeland' rather than a clear mention of the creation of a Jewish state. The Balfour Declaration was the first recognition of the idea of ​​an independent state for the Jews on someone else’s land. 100 years after the Balfour Declaration, 78 percent of historic Palestine is occupied by Israel today. The remaining 22 percent is occupied by the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.

Thousands of people have lost their lives in the ongoing conflict over the past 75 years to establish the state of Israel. More than 7 hundred thousands Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes.

On October 7, 2023 an unprecedented attack by the armed Palestinian resistant group Hamas virtually collapsed Israel's long-standing defenses. Israel immediately declared war on the Gaza Strip. The whole world is worried about this situation, what is going to happen in Gaza, what awaits the fate of the Palestinians. What will happen to Israel?

Which way the situation will go depends largely on the outcome of Israel's response. The US and its friend Israel want to compare Saturday's attack by Hamas to the 9/11 attacks. In that case, global public opinion against Hamas as a terrorist group can be established easily. A large part of the world media will join this propaganda. Many unproven things will be blamed on Hamas. More than 1,000 Israelis were killed in the attack by Hamas, which was also published in different media. It is certainly sad. But the images from Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya and Palestine itself were no less terrifying. Two decades of Western-Israeli war in the Middle East has killed not thousands, but millions of Arabs and Palestinians. Who will take that responsibility? Why did Hamas attack Israel? Why did they still attack despite knowing the risk? They’re aware of Israel’s strength and capabilities very well?

In order to find answers to these questions, we must first know why Hamas took this step. Various reasons have been cited by them. However, there are some visible motives behind this attack as well as some underlying goals. First of all, Hamas named this as 'Operation Al Aqsa Flood'. The name itself gives an idea of ​​the primary cause. Hamas conducted the mission keeping the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque in front.

After forming the most right-wing government in Israel's history, Netanyahu openly revealed his secret desire to annex the West Bank. At the same time a minister from Netanyahu's coalition (Itamar Ben-Gavir) visited the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Because of which all Palestinians are very upset. Although, nothing major had happened in the immediate aftermath, it was likely that the Palestinians will never forget the incident. Because even before this, the second intifada movement was started in the context of the visit of the Temple Mount by an Israeli leader, Ariel Sharon, around 2000. Hamas has exploited this issue. They know that through this they will gain the support of the entire Arab and Muslim world at large.

Second, the normalization of Israel's relations with Arab countries has been accelerating in recent years. Israel's relationship with Saudi Arabia was progressing well, especially with the mediation of the United States. Saudi Arabia and Israel were on the verge of a treaty. If the deal had gone through, it would have weakened the Palestinian statehood claim. As Netanyahu has made clear in his public statements, he prioritizes improving relations with Arab states over the Palestinians.

Thirdly, Hamas's relationship with Iran is better than ever, which has given them courage. Apart from that, Iran-backed Hezbollah has worked to improve relations with Iran and Syria. An influential Hezbollah leader said he was personally involved in improving relations between Hamas and Damascus. This combination of Hamas-Hezbollah and Iran has added a new dimension to Middle Eastern politics.

It is not yet clear where the conflict between Israel and Hamas is moving. It is not clear whether or not Hamas will find any support in the face of Israel's resistance, or what role it will play. However, Lebanon's Hezbollah has already attacked Israel. But how seriously Hezbollah-Hamas engages will depend on its patron Iran.

Iran has denied direct involvement in Hamas operations but has expressed support for them. However, this does not mean that the country will immediately go to war with Israel. What Hezbollah is trying to do is to somewhat deter the Israeli army from retaliating against Hamas in Gaza.

Although Hamas and Fatah are in opposition, the Lion's Den may react in this situation. The Israeli-occupied Palestinian armed group "Lions Den" may attack Israel. Jewish Israelis may also face resistance from Arab Israelis living in Israel.

Discussions are ongoing as to what Hamas's next move might be. Hamas says it aims to end "Israeli aggression", secure the release of Palestinian prisoners and "strongly push back on the demand for the establishment of a Palestinian state". In this situation, Hamas may succeed in securing a prisoner exchange agreement with Israel. In the past, however, Israel has a history of re-arresting people after being released from Israeli prisons. However, even if the Palestinian prisoners are released in exchange for the release of the hostages, the process will be quite long.

In fact, it can be said that Hamas has succeeded in what it wanted to achieve through this mission. Given the mood of the public in the Arab world following this attack, the Saudi-Israeli deal will be impossible to implement. The impact will spread not only to Saudi, but to the Arab world. Hamas wants to bring back the languishing demand for an independent Palestinian state on the table.

It has become clear in the past few days, just how harsh Israel can be against Hamas. There was no doubt that Israel would respond back. Because this attack shook the very existence of Israel. They have already blocked the Gaza Strip. Forcefully starving 2 million people of Gaza which is a heinous war crime itself. On October 13, the Israeli military ordered 1.1 million people in northern Gaza, including all civilians in Gaza City, to move south within 24 hours in preparation for the ground offensive. Israel's objective is to eliminate Hamas. In the words of Netanyahu, this counter-attack "will be remembered by generations of Gazans". With Netanyahu's hand, Gaza may become another Hiroshima. But how far can they go?

The main obstacle to Israeli action against Gaza is the unknown number of Israeli citizens kidnapped by Hamas. Israel will send special forces if it receives intelligence about their location. Israeli forces are already massed along the Gaza border to launch a ground offensive against Hamas. But in that case, it should also be remembered that this fight will be very difficult in the urban environment of Gaza.

The Israeli army must conduct counterattacks within Gaza's maze of towering buildings. Along with this will be the hidden hideouts of Hamas and boobytraps spread everywhere. On every floor of every building in the city, threats to the Israeli army can be hidden. And not only are Hamas soldiers hiding in several miles of underground tunnels in the city, they are also carrying an unknown number of Israeli hostages.

Since Hamas has planned this attack for a long time, they must have thought something about each attack. According to various sources, the intelligence agencies of Jordan and Egypt have already warned Israel about a counter attack on Gaza. Agents of the two countries inside Gaza said Hamas had prepared improvised explosive devices, anti-tank weapons and other defenses at the entrances to Gaza.

If Israel continues to recklessly kill ordinary Palestinians in its pursuit of Hamas, crucial Western support for them could be undermined. Already, ordinary people in the West have begun to question Israel's role. Moreover, overdoing it will increase security risks for Israel in the future. Hezbollah and Iran can also enter the field in that case.

The famous Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darbis once said, I am a Palestinian, and that is enough for me to be a poet. How will you rebuke a small group of people in the face of a powerful opponent with a strong desire to be independent? Hasn't the world forced them, can't they say, we are Palestinians, and that is enough for us to be fighters?

For decades, US-backed Israel has sought to wipe Palestine off the political map. Over the past few days, the Palestinians have proven once again that they will not easily relinquish their claim to the land and sovereignty that was stolen from them. Maybe the Palestinians are weak, they don't have advanced technology, weapons, they don't have strong friends like Europe and America. But it is also true, the love that Palestinians have for their country, for Al-Aqsa, can never be suffocated.