加沙：由此开始

GAZA:AND SO IT BEGINSJEAN-PIERRE FILIUSEPTEMBER 10,2014COMMENTARYLast month,Gaza was at the center of a struggle between Israel and Palestine that was watched by the entire world.A century ago,however,Gaza was the main battlefield between the British and Ottoman empires in a merciless struggleover the Middle East that was distinctly overshadowed by the war in France and Belgium.The Middle East may havebeen a secondary theater then,but the conquest of Gaza in 1917 meant the demise of centuries of Ottoman rule andthe British takeover of Palestine,which set the stage for todays conflict.I discuss these important events in my newbook,Gaza:A History.The boundary between the two empires was made official only in 1906.That year,plenipotentiaries representing theOttoman Empire and Egypt(under British tutelage since 1882)met at the frontier town of Rafah.It was agreed thatthe administrative border would run right through the town in order to appease the local tribes,since trading andsmuggling across the two territories was their main activity.Today,Rafah remains the crossing point between Egyptand Gaza.This position of Rafah as a neutral ground for both Palestinians and Egyptians was preser