An Idiot's Guide to the Middle East

The wife was asking me to explain all of thie "Hamas" and "Gaza" and, "Who is Israel going to fight?" and "Why?"...etc...



I'm going to try to keep it short.



Proto-Arabs have Israel.

David comes along and takes it back.

Muslims take Israel/Jerusalem.

The Crusades.

WWI

WWII

Israel was created after WWII in an attempt (I think) to give the Jews a bonafide homeland and in a lame attempt to apoligze for that whole Holocaust thing.

Arabs and/or Muslims don't like this.

Wars ensue.

Israel seems to be quite bad ass.

Bush the 2nd invades Iraq, balance of power is upset.

ISIS sees an opportunity to make Iraq a new Iran.





So, is this fighting spreading to Syria? Is that what their civil war is about?

Are Hamas and ISIS linked?

What exactly is the deal with the West Bank, Gaza, and the PLO and what exactly is Palestine and what is the interplay between all these nations, states, people, power brokers, orginizations...etc...?



I truly don't know! (And I like to give my wife a solid answer.)



Yes, I know I can Google all of this to death...but...I'd much prefer a give and take as opposed reading upon reading...

via JREF Forum http://ift.tt/1nchNAX