The Creation of Israel and the Origins of Hamas: A Historical Timeline
Part 1: How was Israel created?

The Nakba, or "catastrophe" in Arabic, refers to the displacement of approximately 700,000 Palestinian Arabs during the 1947-1949 Arab-Israeli conflict. This event is central to the Palestinian narrative of the conflict [1].
Key Events:

1882: Edmond James de Rothschild, a supporter of Zionism, begins purchasing land in Palestine. In 1924, he establishes the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (PICA), which acquires over 125,000 acres of land [2].

1896: Theodor Herzl publishes "Der Judenstaat" ("The Jewish State"), a foundational text of modern political Zionism. Herzl argues for the establishment of a Jewish state as a solution to persistent antisemitism in Europe [3].

1915: Chaim Weizmann, a biochemist and Zionist leader, develops the "Weizmann process" for producing acetone, crucial for the British war industry. This helps him establish connections with the British government [4].

1917: The Balfour Declaration is issued, pledging British support for a Jewish national home in Palestine. While economic factors played a role, the primary motivations were political and ideological [5].

1922: The British Mandate over Palestine is established by the League of Nations. The Mandate aims to prepare Palestine for self-rule while facilitating Jewish immigration and land purchases [6].

1936-1939: The Great Arab Revolt occurs, coinciding with increased Jewish immigration. The Jewish population in Palestine grows from 57,000 in 1917 to approximately 450,000 by 1939 [7].

1947: The United Nations votes to partition Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. The plan allocates approximately 55% of the land to the proposed Jewish state, despite Jews making up only about 33% of the population and owning about 7% of the land. This imbalance contributes to Arab rejection of the plan [8].

1948: Israel declares independence on May 14. The subsequent war results in the displacement of 700,000 to 750,000 Palestinians (the Nakba) and the immigration of about 700,000 Jews from Arab and Muslim countries to Israel over the following years [9].
Key Military Operations and Incidents:

    Plan Dalet (March 1948): A military strategy aimed at securing Jewish-controlled areas. Some historians argue it included the expulsion of Palestinians, while others contend it was purely defensive [10].

    Deir Yassin Massacre (April 9, 1948): Irgun and Lehi paramilitary groups attack the village of Deir Yassin, killing over 100 people, mostly civilians. This event contributes to Palestinian exodus [11].

    Plan Gimel or Plan C: Implemented after Israel's declaration of independence, this plan involves the destruction of evacuated Palestinian villages. An estimated 350,000 Palestinians are displaced during this period [12].

By the end of 1948, a significant majority of Palestinian Arabs had been displaced from what became Israel. Estimates of Palestinian casualties during this period vary widely, from tens of thousands to potentially higher numbers, though exact figures remain disputed [13].
Part 2: Where did Hamas come from?

The origins of Hamas are complex and rooted in the broader context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:

1970s-1980s: Israel sees the rise of Palestinian Islamist groups as a potential counterweight to the secular Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Fatah party. Some Israeli officials provide limited support to these groups [14].

1987: Hamas is officially founded during the First Intifada. It emerges from the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood [15].

The relationship between Israel and early Islamist groups was complex. While Israel did provide some support to these groups as a counterweight to the PLO, it's an oversimplification to say that Israel directly created Hamas. The organization evolved from broader Islamist movements in the region [16].

Fatah, founded in the late 1950s, was once the cornerstone of the Palestinian national cause. Initially promoting armed struggle, it later recognized Israel's right to exist as part of the Oslo Accords in 1993 [17].

By the time Hamas gained significant power (winning Palestinian legislative elections in 2006), the Palestinian territories had been under Israeli occupation for nearly 40 years [18].
Sources:

[1] Pappé, I. (2006). The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Oneworld Publications.

[2] Schama, S. (2017). Belonging: The Story of the Jews 1492–1900. Bodley Head.

[3] Herzl, T. (1896). Der Judenstaat.

[4] Reinharz, J. (1993). Chaim Weizmann: The Making of a Statesman. Oxford University Press.

[5] Schneer, J. (2010). The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Random House.

[6] Kattan, V. (2009). From Coexistence to Conquest: International Law and the Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1891-1949. Pluto Press.

[7] Khalidi, R. (2006). The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood. Beacon Press.

[8] United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 (1947).

[9] Morris, B. (2008). 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War. Yale University Press.

[10] Khalidi, W. (1988). Plan Dalet: Master Plan for the Conquest of Palestine. Journal of Palestine Studies, 18(1), 4-33.

[11] McGowan, D. & Ellis, M. (1998). Remembering Deir Yassin: The Future of Israel and Palestine. Olive Branch Press.

[12] Pappé, I. (2006). The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Oneworld Publications.

[13] Kadman, N. (2015). Erased from Space and Consciousness: Israel and the Depopulated Palestinian Villages of 1948. Indiana University Press.

[14] Higgins, A. (2009). "How Israel Helped to Spawn Hamas." The Wall Street Journal.

[15] Mishal, S. & Sela, A. (2006). The Palestinian Hamas: Vision, Violence, and Coexistence. Columbia University Press.

[16] Milton-Edwards, B. & Farrell, S. (2010). Hamas: The Islamic Resistance Movement. Polity.

[17] Shlaim, A. (2005). "The Rise and Fall of the Oslo Peace Process." In International Relations of the Middle East, ed. L. Fawcett. Oxford University Press.

[18] Caridi, P. (2012). Hamas: From Resistance to Government. Seven Stories Press.