Israel-Gaza: 'Confrontation has lasted 100 years'

Reducing the hostilities between Israel and Palestinian militants to a story about Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas does not do the situation justice, the head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK has said.

“This isn’t a confrontation between Netanyahu and Hamas, this as a confrontation that has lasted for 100 years, between Israel and the people of Palestine,” Husam Zomlot told BBC Hardtalk.

The confrontation has primarily been based on negation, he said, adding the negation started with the 1917 Balfour Declaration which “promised our land to others without consulting us".

At least 219 people, including almost 100 women and children, have been killed in Gaza so far, according to its health ministry. In Israel 12 people, including two children, have been killed, its medical service has said.

Watch the full interview on Wednesday 19 May 2021 on BBC World News or watch again on BBC iPlayer (UK only)