Israel waged 15 wars against Gaza in the last 75 years, and all failed to resolve the core issues, says former French diplomat Jean-Pierre Filiu, professor of Middle East Studies at Sciences Po.
Filiu tells host Steve Clemons that Gaza’s rich history as a trading post connecting Africa and Asia goes back 4,000 years. The way Israel has cut it off from the world “goes against its history and the nature of its people”.
He says Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s heritage sites – ancient mosques, churches, museums – means that “the memory of humanity is being erased before our eyes.”
4000-year old culture? This area has been controlled by more different groups in the last 4000 years than the average person has had sexual partners.
Let’s use The Great Mosque of Gaza as an example.
It used to be a Christian basilica for a couple hundred years until the Muslim’s conquerored the area in the 7th century and built a mosque, but before the basilica it was a Philistine temple for an unknown period of time.
Then the Christian’s recaptured it in the 12th century.
Then Muslims destroyed it and built a new mosque in the 13th century.
Then the mongols destroyed it, and it was rebuilt. Then an earthquake destroyed it, and it was rebuilt.
Then it got damaged a few more times and was rebuilt by the Byzantines.
Then it got taken by Israel, until Egypt invaded and formed Gaza when they got mostly pushed out.
The history in this area is war, shit getting knocked down, and rebuilding.
Israel is just adding to the history, not destroying it.
Your version of history is all over the place
You’re talking about Jarusalem and most of what you say is true, but it isn’t true of Gaza. Gaza has a known history going back 4,000 years starting as a Caananite settlement. Yes various different powers have controlled the region, it has been repeatedly fought over. But the geographic distinction has long been there and maintained some degree of cultural uniformity through numerous wars and other mass migrations.