The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a long-standing dispute over competing claims to the Holy Land, which includes disputes over borders, Jerusalem, security, and Palestinian refugees. The conflict dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries when major nationalist movements among Jews and Arabs emerged, both seeking sovereignty for their people in the Middle East. In 1947, the United Nations adopted Resolution 181, known as the Partition Plan, which sought to divide the British Mandate of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was created, sparking the first Arab-Israeli War. The war ended in 1949 with Israel’s victory, but 750,000 Palestinians were displaced, and the territory was divided into three parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River), and the Gaza Strip.
The conflict has been characterized by mutual distrust and significant disagreements over basic issues, as well as reciprocal skepticism about the other sides commitment to upholding obligations in an eventual bilateral agreement. Since 2006, the Palestinian side has been fractured by conflict between Fatah, the traditionally dominant party, and its later electoral challenger, Hamas, a militant Islamist group that gained control of the Gaza Strip. Violence between Israelis and Palestinians has reached levels not seen since the last Palestinian uprising ended in 2005.
The conflict has resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and human rights organizations have accused Israel of committing war crimes and violating international law. The outlook for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is bleak, with divisions between the two sides remaining deep over basic issues.
