The Hamas attack on Israel was the latest and one of the bloodiest episodes in a long history of war between Arabs and the Jewish state. 

UP political scientist Herman Kraft tells Howie Severino that the tensions began in 1948 when, backed by the United Nations but opposed by Arab states, Israel established itself as a state in what was then the territory of Palestine. As Israel, mostly a nation of European immigrants, won wars and became a military and economic power, Arab states sought peace, sidelining the nationalist interests of their Palestinian allies. 

As Israel prepares for a bloody occupation of Gaza, Kraft advises Filipinos to postpone any travels to Israel, even pilgrimages to Jerusalem, as the war could widen and drag on.

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