Why is the Israel-Palestine war happening?

Husam Zomlot said in this video:

This is really a sort of snapshot of this situation. Palestinian-Israeli conflict was not caused by Hamas or any other group. It's 100 years of conflict it's the conflict that caused and created all these Palestinian political and militant groups all through our history and perhaps the world needs to, particularly the US, go straight to the root cause of all this which is the illegal military occupation this is not an issue between Arabs and Arabs or Palestinians and Palestinians this is an issue with Israel's 56 years of occupation and 75 years of Nakba and ethnic cleansing and that's why you have the situation we have today and we need to go straightaway to the root cause.

Norman Finkelstein said in this video:

What did you expect the people of Gaza to do after being incarcerated in a concentration camp for 20 years? I know what you wanted them to do. You wanted them to just languish and die but did you not really expect that if they had the opportunity or made the opportunity that they would attempt to do something. Then there's the logic, if you look at World War 2, everytime the partisans, the resistance, killed a major Nazi officer, the Nazis retaliated in very bloody ways. The most famous of the killings was when the Czech partisans killed Reinhard Heydrich. What did the Nazis do? they went into the village of Lidice and flattened it and killed every male above the age of 14. There come Jack Tapper from radio berlin and he says What did you expect the Nazis to do? They killed Reinhard Heydrich! What did you expect them to do? The logic of his argument is the people of Gaza should do nothing. Because if they do anything, Israel is going to retaliate. What did you expect them to do?

The people of Gaza in the beginning of March 30th 2018, they tried nonviolence. They marched non-violently to the fence. What did Israel do? It targeted children, targeted Medics, targeted journalists, targeted people with physical disabilities, people on crutches and in wheelchairs and then comes Jake Tapper, well they were approaching the fence in Gaza, what did you expect the Israelis to do? That's his logic. The logic is, they should do nothing. They should just languish and die because if they do anything, what do you expect Israel to do!

Short: The Hamas charter explicitly states that their war is against Zionism, the occupation, and the settler colonial project, not the Jewish people. The claim that "Hamas wants to kill all Jews" is misleading and pits together two unrelated concepts. Hamas is fighting for the liberation of the Palestinian people and an end to the occupation, not the eradication of Jews. They have also agreed to a two-state solution, which Israel rejected. The narrative suggesting otherwise is used for political gain and to justify genocide under the claim of eradicating a 'terrorist' group.

Long: The Hamas charter explicitly states that they have no problem with the Jewish people. They also clearly state that their war is against Zionism, the occupation, and the settler colonial project. It’s also important to understand that settler-colonialism is a dynamic of power and resources, and is the reality of the situation, not just a justification being used by Hamas to ‘kill all the Jews’. Israel is a settler colony because its creation necessitated the violent displacement of the land's inhabitants and in order to exist, it must perpetually police and populate stolen homes to maintain power, as well as eradicate those that stand in their way.

The “Hamas wants to kill all Jews” argument is also similar to the one that states it is anti-semitic to be anti-zionist, in that it is falsely equating two unrelated concepts. Hamas wanting liberation for the Palestinian people, and the end to the occupation so they can live freely and rightfully on their own land, is not equivalent to calling for the death of all Jews - in theory nor in their own writings. Hamas has also agreed to a two-state solution, which Israel rejected. This narrative is perpetuated for political gain, and to justify genocide in the name of eradicating a ‘terrorist’ group.

Video: See this same question answered by a Jew

Sources:

@k.w.bogen

@agelender

This answer is taken from the document Palestine: in Conversation Document.