Monica Duffy Toft in The Conversation:
The ongoing horrors unfolding in Israel and Gaza have deep-rooted origins that stem from a complex and contested question: Who has rights to the same territory?
I am a scholar of international affairs, as well as territory and nationalism. Territory has been a central cause of conflict throughout history.
Today, Israelis and Palestinians both claim the same swath of land as their own. Each group has its own historical narratives, its own names for the territory – Israel or Palestine, depending on whom you ask – and many people from each group believe strongly that sharing the land is impossible.
Palestinians and Israelis also look to this same land as a way to define their identities and protect their futures.
More here.