The Middle East, a region of ancient cultures and profound historical significance, has been shaped over the last hundred years by persistent conflict. The wars we witness today are not random; they are deeply connected to a legacy of foreign intervention, the creation of unstable modern states, and the clash of national identities.
Foundations in the 20th Century
The contemporary map and many of its tensions were established after World War I. The fall of the Ottoman Empire allowed European powers, Britain and France, to arbitrarily redraw borders through agreements like Sykes-Picot. These new borders often ignored ethnic and religious landscapes, creating inherent instability.
A pivotal moment was the 1917 Balfour Declaration, where Britain expressed support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. This pledge, made when the population was predominantly Arab, laid the groundwork for the central, enduring conflict between Zionist and Palestinian national aspirations.
The Enduring Israeli-Palestinian Struggle
This core conflict has evolved through key wars and failed peace efforts:
1948 Arab-Israeli War: Following the UN partition plan and Israel’s declaration of statehood, neighboring Arab states intervened. Israel’s victory secured its independence, but resulted in the displacement of approximately 750,000 Palestinians—an event known as the Nakba (Catastrophe).
1967 Six-Day War: Israel’s preemptive victory led to the ongoing occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. The fate of these territories remains the primary point of contention.
The Search for Peace: Subsequent decades saw treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and the hopeful Oslo Accords in the 1990s. However, the collapse of final-status talks, continued Israeli settlement expansion, and the 2007 takeover of Gaza by Hamas led to a cycle of blockade and recurrent warfare, culminating in the devastating war that began in October 2023.
A Region of Interconnected Rivalries
The Israeli-Palestinian issue is intertwined with broader regional power struggles, most notably between Saudi Arabia and Iran. This rivalry has turned civil wars into proxy conflicts:
Syrian Civil War (2011-2024): Beginning as an uprising, it devolved into a brutal multi-party war. It became a proxy battleground with Iran and Russia backing the regime, and other states supporting opposing factions. The conflict fueled the rise of ISIS and caused catastrophic loss of life, with estimates exceeding 650,000 deaths.
Yemen’s Civil War (2014-Present): The Houthi movement’s seizure of power prompted a military campaign by a Saudi-led coalition, with Riyadh viewing the Houthis as an Iranian proxy. The war has sparked one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Furthermore, Iran has cultivated a network of allied groups—often called the “Axis of Resistance”—including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. This network means that escalation in one area, like Gaza, can quickly trigger violence along other fronts, such as the Israeli-Lebanese border.
A Perilous Present and Uncertain Future
The region now lives with the consequences: immense humanitarian suffering in Gaza, Yemen, and Syria; the empowerment of non-state militias; and a landscape where miscalculation could lead to wider war. While diplomatic efforts like the 2023 China-brokered Saudi-Iran détente offer hope, achieving a lasting peace requires confronting a century of compounded grievances and geopolitical interventions that continue to define the modern Middle East.