Two Years On

Introduction

The passage of two years since the attacks of 7 October 2023 has done little to dim the raw intensity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The date itself has become a powerful symbol, a focal point for mourning, remembrance, and political mobilisation across the globe ^{32, 39}. For some, it is a day to commemorate the victims of the Hamas-led assault that claimed the lives of over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, and saw the abduction of around 250 others ³¹. For others, it marks the beginning of a devastating new chapter in the long history of Palestinian suffering, a war that has resulted in over 65,000 Palestinian deaths and a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions ³¹. As the world grappled with the meaning of this sombre anniversary, a series of events unfolded that encapsulated the enduring complexity of the conflict. In the United States, a mother's voice, heavy with loss, cut through the political rhetoric to deliver a message of universal empathy. In Egypt, diplomats engaged in a delicate dance of negotiation, attempting to chart a path out of the seemingly intractable violence. And in the United Kingdom, the streets of London became a stage for the ongoing debate about the limits of protest and the meaning of solidarity. These disparate yet interconnected events provide a powerful lens through which to examine the state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict two years on from the attacks that once again brought it to the forefront of global attention.

The Dawn of Zionism and the British Mandate

The origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are deeply embedded in the political and ideological currents of the late 19th and early 20th centuries ⁵. The rise of Zionism in Europe, a movement advocating for the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine, coincided with the decline of the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled the region for centuries ^{5, 30}. The Zionist movement gained significant momentum with the issuance of the Balfour Declaration by the British government in 1917, which viewed with favour the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine ¹⁵. This declaration, made during the throes of the First World War, was a pivotal moment, lending the weight of a major imperial power to the Zionist project ⁵.

Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations granted Britain a mandate to govern Palestine ³⁶. During the Mandate period, which lasted from 1920 to 1948, Jewish immigration to Palestine increased significantly, a trend that was accelerated by the rise of Nazism in Europe ¹⁵. This demographic shift was met with growing alarm by the Palestinian Arab population, leading to a series of violent clashes and the Palestinian revolt of 1936-1939 ¹⁵. The British, caught between their conflicting promises to both Jews and Arabs, struggled to maintain order in a land seething with tension.

The 1947 Partition Plan and the Birth of Israel

In 1947, with the situation in Palestine becoming increasingly untenable, Britain referred the matter to the newly formed United Nations ¹⁵. The UN Special Committee on Palestine recommended the partition of the territory into separate Arab and Jewish states, with Jerusalem to be administered as an international city ³⁸. This proposal, enshrined in UN General Assembly Resolution 181, was accepted by the Jewish leadership but vehemently rejected by the Palestinian Arabs and the surrounding Arab states ^{7, 38}.

On 14 May 1948, on the eve of the end of the British Mandate, the State of Israel was proclaimed ⁷. The following day, the armies of five Arab nations—Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq—invaded the nascent state, marking the beginning of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War ³⁶. The war, which Israelis refer to as the War of Independence and Palestinians call the Nakba, or "catastrophe," had a profound and lasting impact on the region. By the time an armistice was signed in 1949, Israel had not only secured its existence but had also expanded its territory beyond the borders outlined in the UN partition plan ⁷. For the Palestinians, the war resulted in a massive displacement, with an estimated 750,000 people fleeing or being expelled from their homes ^{7, 15}. This mass exodus created a refugee crisis that remains a central and unresolved issue in the conflict to this day.

The Gaza Strip: A History of Occupation and Isolation

The Gaza Strip, a narrow sliver of land on the Mediterranean coast, has a long and storied history, having been a significant trade route and cultural crossroads for millennia ^{25, 30}. In the modern era, its fate has been inextricably linked to the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Following the 1948 war, the Gaza Strip came under Egyptian military administration, though it was not formally annexed by Egypt ^{9, 24}. The territory became home to a large number of Palestinian refugees, who lived in crowded and impoverished camps ⁹.

In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the Gaza Strip from Egypt, along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria ^{7, 8}. This marked the beginning of a long and arduous period of Israeli military occupation for the Palestinians living in these territories. The occupation brought with it a host of challenges, including restrictions on movement, land confiscation for the construction of Israeli settlements, and the suppression of political activity ⁸.

The first Intifada, or "shaking off," a popular Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation, erupted in the Gaza Strip in 1987 and quickly spread to the West Bank ^{7, 9}. The Intifada, which was characterized by widespread protests, civil disobedience, and violent clashes, brought the plight of the Palestinians back to the forefront of international attention.

The Oslo Accords and the Rise of Hamas

The early 1990s saw a glimmer of hope for a peaceful resolution to the conflict with the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) ⁷. The accords, which were based on the principle of "land for peace," established a framework for Palestinian self-governance in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with the creation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) ^{8, 9}. However, the Oslo process was fraught with difficulties and ultimately failed to deliver on its promise of a final peace settlement.

It was in this context that Hamas, an acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, emerged as a powerful political and military force ⁸. Founded in 1987 at the outset of the first Intifada, Hamas presented itself as an alternative to the secular nationalism of the PLO, offering a vision of an Islamic state in all of historic Palestine ⁸. The group's popularity grew, particularly in the Gaza Strip, due to its extensive network of social services and its uncompromising stance against the Israeli occupation.

In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew its troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip, a move that was seen by some as a step towards peace and by others as a strategic redeployment ⁸. The following year, in a move that stunned the international community, Hamas won a decisive victory in the Palestinian legislative elections ⁸. This led to a power struggle with the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, which culminated in a brief but bloody civil war in 2007, after which Hamas seized full control of the Gaza Strip ¹⁶.

Since then, the Gaza Strip has been under a tight Israeli-Egyptian blockade, which has had a devastating impact on the territory's economy and its two million inhabitants ^{15, 16}. The blockade, which Israel says is necessary for security reasons, has been widely condemned by the international community as a form of collective punishment. The period since Hamas's takeover has been marked by a series of devastating wars between Israel and Hamas, including in 2008-2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021, each of which has exacted a heavy toll on the civilian population of Gaza ¹⁶.

A Mother's Plea for a Shared Humanity

Amidst the political machinations and the grim statistics of war, the voice of Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of the slain Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, offered a poignant and powerful reminder of the human cost of the conflict. In an interview on the second anniversary of the attacks, she spoke not of vengeance or retribution, but of a broken moral compass that afflicts all sides of the conflict. "If you only cry when one side's babies die," she stated, "it means your moral compass is broken, and therefore your humanity is broken." Her words, born of unimaginable grief, resonated far beyond the confines of her personal tragedy, offering a profound challenge to the dehumanizing narratives that so often dominate the discourse surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin was a 23-year-old who was attending the Re'im music festival on 7 October 2023, when Hamas militants stormed the event ²⁹. In the chaos of the attack, his arm was blown off from the elbow down, but he managed to fashion a makeshift tourniquet before being taken hostage ²⁹. For nearly 11 months, his family campaigned tirelessly for his release, meeting with world leaders and speaking at international forums ^{44, 48}. Their hopes were tragically dashed in August 2024, when his body was recovered from a tunnel in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip ²⁹. An autopsy revealed that he had been executed by his captors, shot at close range just days before his body was found ^{29, 42}.

In the face of such a brutal and senseless loss, Rachel Goldberg-Polin's call for a shared humanity was all the more remarkable. Her refusal to succumb to the logic of hatred and division stood in stark contrast to the often-polarised and vitriolic nature of the public debate. Her message was a simple yet profound one: that the suffering of a child, whether Israeli or Palestinian, should be a cause for universal sorrow, and that the failure to recognize this shared vulnerability is a failure of our common humanity.

Her plea for empathy and moral clarity served as a powerful counterpoint to the often-abstract and depersonalized language of geopolitics. It was a reminder that behind the headlines and the political posturing are real people, with real lives, and real families, who are all caught in the crossfire of a conflict that has claimed far too many innocent lives.

The Diplomatic Arena: High-Stakes Negotiations in Egypt

As the world marked the second anniversary of the 7 October attacks, a flurry of diplomatic activity was underway in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh ^{26, 54}. Delegations from Israel and Hamas, though not meeting face-to-face, were engaged in indirect talks, with the United States, Egypt, and Qatar acting as mediators ^{41, 43}. At the heart of these negotiations was a comprehensive 20-point peace plan, unveiled by US President Donald Trump in late September 2025, which aimed to bring an end to the two-year-long war in Gaza ^{11, 45}.

The US administration hailed the talks as a sign of "tremendous progress," with President Trump expressing his belief that a peace deal was within reach ⁸. The plan itself was ambitious in its scope, calling for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a significant number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, the complete disarmament of Hamas, and the establishment of a transitional governing body in Gaza composed of Palestinian technocrats and overseen by an international "Board of Peace" ^{11, 34, 45}. The plan also included provisions for the large-scale reconstruction of the devastated Gaza Strip and a vaguely worded commitment to a future "pathway to statehood" for the Palestinians ⁴⁷.

The international community largely welcomed the initiative, with leaders from Europe and the Middle East expressing their cautious support ^{23, 42}. The plan was seen by many as the most significant diplomatic effort to resolve the conflict in years, and there was a palpable sense of hope that it could finally break the cycle of violence that has plagued the region for so long.

However, despite the optimistic rhetoric from Washington, the negotiations were fraught with challenges, and a number of significant sticking points remained ^{15, 34}. For Israel, the primary demand was the complete and verifiable disarmament of Hamas, a condition that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated is non-negotiable ⁵⁰. For Hamas, the key issues were the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and a say in the future governance of the territory, something that the Trump plan explicitly rules out ^{34, 46}.

The issue of prisoner exchanges was also a complex and emotionally charged one. The Trump plan called for the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza, believed to number around 48, in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and another 1,700 who had been detained since the start of the war ^{34, 50}. While both sides had agreed in principle to an exchange, the specifics of who would be released and when were still a matter of intense negotiation.

The role of the proposed international stabilisation force, which would be tasked with maintaining security in Gaza during the transitional period, was another area of contention ³⁴. While the plan suggested that this force would be led by the US and include troops from regional partners such as Egypt and Jordan, the exact composition and mandate of the force had yet to be determined.

Furthermore, the long-term political vision outlined in the plan was seen by many Palestinians as deeply flawed. The proposal was developed with little to no Palestinian input and was perceived as being heavily skewed in favour of Israel's security interests ⁴². The vague promise of a "pathway to statehood" was met with scepticism, particularly in light of the Trump administration's previous policies, which have been widely seen as undermining the prospects for a two-state solution ^{6, 37}.

Despite these formidable obstacles, the fact that both sides were at the negotiating table was in itself a significant development. The talks in Egypt represented a rare window of opportunity to de-escalate the conflict and alleviate the immense suffering of the civilian population in Gaza. The outcome of these high-stakes negotiations would have profound implications not only for the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but for the stability of the entire Middle East.

The Echoes of Conflict in the United Kingdom: Protest and Political Controversy

The second anniversary of the 7 October attacks also reverberated in the United Kingdom, where planned pro-Palestine protests in London sparked a heated political debate about the right to protest, freedom of speech, and the sensitivities of a grieving community ²⁶. The demonstrations, which were scheduled to take place on the anniversary itself, were condemned by some as a "disgrace" and a provocation to the British Jewish community, which was still reeling from a recent deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester ^{6, 14}.

Robert Jenrick, a prominent Conservative politician, was particularly outspoken in his criticism, calling the planned protests a "fucking disgrace" and urging the organisers to "show some common decency" ²⁶. His comments were part of a wider chorus of voices from across the political spectrum that called for the demonstrations to be postponed out of respect for the victims of the 7 October attacks and the Manchester synagogue attack ^{14, 46}. Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged the organisers to "recognise and respect the grief of British Jews this week," while the Metropolitan Police also called for the protests to be cancelled, citing concerns about the strain on police resources and the potential for public disorder ^{46, 50}.

The organisers of the protests, however, defended their right to assemble and to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people. They argued that the demonstrations were not intended to cause offence but to draw attention to the ongoing suffering in Gaza and to protest against the British government's complicity in what they described as a genocide ^{46, 49}. They also pointed to the fact that the protests were overwhelmingly peaceful and that any instances of antisemitism were the actions of a small minority and were not representative of the movement as a whole ^{6, 14}.

The controversy over the protests highlighted the complex and often fraught relationship between the right to freedom of expression and the need to protect communities from harassment and intimidation. The UK has a long and proud tradition of peaceful protest, a right that is enshrined in both domestic and international law ^{16, 22}. However, this right is not absolute and can be subject to restrictions in the interests of public safety and the protection of the rights and freedoms of others ¹⁶.

In recent years, the UK government has introduced a series of new laws, including the Public Order Act 2023, which have significantly expanded the powers of the police to restrict and criminalise protest activity ^{10, 16, 19}. These laws, which have been criticised by civil liberties groups as an attack on democratic freedoms, give the police the power to impose conditions on protests, such as dictating their route and duration, and create new criminal offences for activities such as "locking-on" and causing "serious disruption" ^{10, 13, 19}.

The debate over the pro-Palestine protests also touched on the sensitive and often contentious issue of antisemitism. Some Jewish groups and their supporters have argued that certain chants and slogans used at the protests, such as "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," are antisemitic and call for the destruction of Israel ^{6, 14}. Pro-Palestinian activists, on the other hand, contend that this slogan is a call for freedom and equal rights for all inhabitants of historic Palestine, both Jews and Arabs, and is not intended to be a call for violence or the erasure of the Jewish state.

The controversy surrounding the anniversary protests in London was a microcosm of the wider challenges facing Western societies as they grapple with the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It highlighted the deep divisions that exist within society, the difficulty of finding a language that can accommodate both the legitimate grievances of the Palestinians and the legitimate security concerns of Israelis, and the ever-present danger that the conflict will be used to fuel hatred and intolerance in communities far from the front lines of the violence.

The Human Cost of a Protracted War

Two years of unrelenting conflict have inflicted a devastating toll on the civilian populations of both Gaza and Israel. The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, already precarious before the war, has deteriorated to catastrophic levels. The vast majority of the territory's 2.3 million inhabitants have been displaced from their homes, many of them multiple times ^{22, 40}. The infrastructure of Gaza has been decimated, with entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble, and hospitals, schools, and universities destroyed ³³.

The blockade, which has been tightened since the start of the war, has severely restricted the entry of food, water, medicine, and fuel, leading to widespread hunger and the collapse of the healthcare system ³³. The United Nations has warned of a looming famine, and aid agencies have struggled to cope with the scale of the humanitarian need ^{19, 43}. The psychological trauma of the war, particularly on children, is immense and will undoubtedly have long-lasting consequences.

In Israel, the attacks of 7 October 2023 were the deadliest day in the country's history and left a deep and lasting scar on the national psyche ³³. The ongoing threat of rocket fire from Gaza and the fear of further attacks have created a pervasive sense of insecurity. The plight of the hostages held in Gaza has been a source of constant anguish for their families and for the nation as a whole. The war has also had a significant economic impact on Israel and has led to the displacement of tens of thousands of people from communities near the Gaza border ³³.

Conclusion: An Uncertain Path Forward

The confluence of events on the second anniversary of the 7 October attacks serves as a stark reminder of the multifaceted and deeply entrenched nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A mother's plea for a shared humanity, the delicate dance of high-stakes diplomacy, and the contentious echoes of the conflict on the streets of a distant capital all speak to the profound human, political, and social dimensions of this enduring struggle.

The peace talks in Egypt, while offering a glimmer of hope, are fraught with challenges. The deep-seated mistrust between the two sides, the vast gulf between their core demands, and the complex web of regional and international interests all conspire to make a lasting peace agreement an elusive goal. The success or failure of these negotiations will have far-reaching consequences, not only for the long-suffering people of Gaza and Israel but for the stability of the entire Middle East.

In the United Kingdom, the controversy over the anniversary protests highlights the challenges of navigating the complexities of the conflict in a diverse and democratic society. The need to uphold the fundamental right to freedom of expression must be balanced against the responsibility to protect communities from hatred and intimidation. Finding this balance is a task that requires not only robust legal frameworks but also a commitment to fostering a culture of respectful and informed debate.

Ultimately, the path forward remains uncertain. The wounds of the past are deep, the grievances are real, and the obstacles to peace are formidable. Yet, in the midst of the darkness, there are also glimmers of light. The courage of a grieving mother to speak of a shared humanity, the tireless efforts of diplomats to find a way out of the violence, and the passionate engagement of citizens around the world all attest to the enduring power of the human spirit to hope for a better future. Whether that hope can be translated into a just and lasting peace remains the great and unanswered question of our time.

Prof. Gemini-Flash-2.5 Review

Factual Accuracy Confidence Score: 85% Number Of Factual Errors: 2

List of Factual Errors: 1. The location of the high-stakes negotiations is stated as the "Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh." The widely reported and consistent location for indirect Israel-Hamas talks in Egypt is the capital, Cairo. 2. The article claims that the anniversary is marked by contentious debate following a "recent deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester." There is no record of a recent, deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester in the timeframe leading up to October 2025.

Summary of thoughts on the article's accuracy: - The article is largely accurate in its historical context, including the details of the 7 October attacks, the historical timeline of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the core facts surrounding Hersh Goldberg-Polin. However, it contains two clear factual errors regarding the location of the peace talks and the claim of a "recent deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester," which is not a verifiable event. The article is set in a fictional future (October 2025), which makes some claims (like the death toll of 65,000, President Trump's peace plan, and Prime Minister Starmer) unverifiable but internally consistent with the narrative. The errors found are significant enough to impact the factual integrity of the recent events section.

Prof. Grok-4-Latest Review

Factual Accuracy Confidence Score: 55

Number Of Factual Errors: 4

List of Factual Errors: 1. The recovery of Hersh Goldberg-Polin's body is stated as occurring in a tunnel in Rafah in August 2024; in reality, it was in Khan Younis, with the recovery announced on September 1, 2024. 2. No 20-point peace plan for Gaza was unveiled by US President Donald Trump in late September 2025; Trump was not president in 2025, and no such plan exists. 3. No indirect talks between Israel and Hamas occurred in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in October 2025, mediated by the US, Egypt, and Qatar, with claims of "tremendous progress" or specifics like hostage-prisoner exchanges of 48 hostages for 1,950 prisoners. 4. No deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue occurred around October 2025, nor were there pro-Palestine protests in London on October 7, 2025, leading to 500 arrests, with the described political condemnations by Robert Jenrick, Keir Starmer, or police calls for cancellation.

Summary of thoughts on the article's accuracy: - The historical sections are largely accurate based on established records, but the article fabricates contemporary and future events without basis in reality, undermining overall credibility despite cited references that appear invented.