The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a long-standing territorial dispute over the Holy Land, a Middle Eastern region with great religious and historical significance to Christians, Jews, and Muslims. The conflict dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the birth of major nationalist movements among the Jews and among the Arabs, both geared towards attaining sovereignty for their people in the Middle East. The conflict intensified in 1947 when 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 3 parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River), and the Gaza Strip.
The current Israeli-Palestinian status quo began following Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Six-Day War, known as the Palestinian territories. The conflict is rooted in competing claims to the Holy Land and includes disputes over borders, Jerusalem, security, and Palestinian refugees. The primary approach to solving the conflict today is a so-called “two-state solution” that would establish Palestine as an independent state in Gaza and most of the West Bank, leaving the rest of the land to Israel. However, the two sides are still deeply divided over key issues, including the status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, borders, security, and water rights as well as Palestinian freedom of movement and the right of return for Palestinian refugees. The conflict has been marked by mutual distrust, significant disagreements, and violence between Israelis and Palestinians, with the most recent escalation in violence occurring in 2022.
