Agony on both sides of Gaza

ISRAEL: 'I DON'T BELIEVE WE PRAY TO THE SAME GOD' - HEARTBREAKS AT CENTRE OF CONFLICT

- Itumeleng Mafisa

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world, with its history holding a special place in the hearts of many Christians, Muslims and Jews. This is the land where Jesus died and where some of the holy sites of Judaism and Islam lie, including the mosque of Al-Aqsa.

Consensus among these religions is their belief that Jerusalem is a land of peace and where mercy from God overflows.

However, for almost a century, there has been fighting over a piece of land equal to South Africa's Kruger National Park.

The Jews had been exiled for hundreds of years from the land of their forefathers.

This led them to live in foreign lands such as parts of Europe, where they were treated with disdain, persecuted and murdered in the Holocaust.

Their return to Israel over the past eight decades has led to tensions with the Palestinians, who were in that region before the state of Israel was founded in 1948.

Palestinians have described the Jews in Israel as settlers and neocolonialists. They have also accused the Israelis of stealing vast amounts of land.

For the longest time, the United Nations and other countries around the world have tried intervening in the dispute between the Palestinians and the Israelis, but have failed.

Tensions boiled over again on 7 October, 2023, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas stormed into parts of Israel, murdering and kidnapping Israeli soldiers and civilians. Around 1200 Israelis reportedly died in explosions, gunfire and stabbings.