Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Israeli-Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing dispute between Israelis and Palestinians , an enduring and explosive conflict. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the majority Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or British rule. It forms part of the wider, and generally earlier, Arab–Israeli conflict . The remaining key issues are: mutual recognition, borders, security, water rights, control of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements , Palestinian freedom of movement and legalities concerning refugees. The violence resulting from the conflict has prompted international actions, as well as other security and human rights concerns, both within and between both sides, and internationally. Many attempts have been made to broker a two-state solution , which would entail the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside an independent Jewish state or next to the State of Israel (after Israel's establishment in 1948). As recently as 2007, a majority of both Israelis and Palestinians, according to a number of polls, prefer the two-state solution over any other solution as a means of resolving the conflict. Moreover, a considerable majority of the Jewish public sees the Palestinians' demand for an independent state as just, and thinks Israel can agree to the establishment of such a state. A majority of Palestinians and Israelis view the West Bank and Gaza Strip as an acceptable location of the hypothetical Palestinian state in a two-state solution. However, there are significant areas of disagreement over the shape of any final agreement and also regarding the level of credibility each side sees in the other in upholding basic commitments. An alternative is the one-state or binational solution , whereby all of Israel, the Gaza Strip, and West Bank would become a bi-national state with equal rights for all. Within Israeli and Palestinian society, the conflict generates a wide variety of views and opinions . This highlights the deep divisions which exist not only between Israelis and Palestinians, but also within each society. A hallmark of the conflict has been the level of violence witnessed for virtually its entire duration. Fighting has been conducted by regular armies, paramilitary groups, terror cells and individuals. Casualties have not been restricted to the military, with a large number of fatalities in civilian population on both sides. There are prominent international actors involved in the conflict. The two parties engaged in direct negotiation are the Israeli government , currently led by Benjamin Netanyahu , and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), currently headed by Mahmoud Abbas . The official negotiations are mediated by an international contingent known as the Quartet on the Middle East (the Quartet ) represented by a special envoy that consists of the United States , Russia , the European Union , and the United Nations . The Arab League is another important actor, which has proposed an alternative peace plan . Egypt , a founding member of the Arab League, has historically been a key participant . Since 2003, the Palestinian side has been fractured by conflict between the two major factions : Fatah , the traditionally dominant party, and its later electoral challenger, Hamas . Following Hamas' seizure of power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007 , the territory controlled by the Palestinian National Authority (the Palestinian interim government) is split between Fatah in the West Bank, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The division of governance between the parties has effectively resulted in the collapse of bipartisan governance of the Palestinian National Authority (PA). A round of peace negotiations began at Annapolis , Maryland , United States, in November 2007. These talks were aimed at having a final resolution by the end of 2008. The parties agree there are six core, or 'final status,' issues which need to be resolved. A History of Conflict:introduction , BBC "Canadian Policy on Key Issues in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" . Currently, freedom of movement and access for Palestinians within the West Bank is the exception rather than the norm contrary to the commitments undertaken in a number of Agreements between GOI and the PA. The source of the Jewish public's scepticism — and even pessimism — is apparently the widespread belief that a peace agreement based on the "two states for two peoples" formula would not lead the Palestinians to end their conflict with Israel. " ( Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, Article V, Section 3 , Oslo, September 13, 1993) " In furtherance of the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, we agree to immediately launch good-faith bilateral negotiations in order to conclude a peace treaty, resolving all outstanding issues, including all core issues without exception, as specified in previous agreements. " ( Joint Understanding Read by President Bush at Annapolis Conference , Annapolis, November 27, 2007) " As President Bush said, Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas have agreed to an ambitious work plan to negotiate and resolve all outstanding issues, including all core issues, without exception, as specified in previous agreements, by the end of next year. These issues include borders, refugees, security, water, settlements, and Jerusalem.

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict ( al-Niza'a al'Filastini al 'Israili ; Ha'Sikhsukh Ha'Yisraeli-Falestini ) is the ongoing struggle between Israelis and Palestinians that began in the mid-20th century. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is sometimes also used in reference to the earlier sectarian conflict in Mandatory Palestine , between the Jewish yishuv and the Arab population under British rule. The Israeli–Palestinian conflict has formed the core part of the wider Arab–Israeli conflict . It has been referred to as the world's "most intractable conflict". Despite a long-term peace process and the general reconciliation of Israel with Egypt and Jordan, Israelis and Palestinians have failed to reach a final peace agreement. The remaining key issues are: mutual recognition, borders, security, water rights, control of Jerusalem , Israeli settlements , Palestinian freedom of movement , and resolving Palestinian claims of a right of return for their refugees . The violence of the conflict, in a region rich in sites of historic, cultural and religious interest worldwide, has been the object of numerous international conferences dealing with historic rights, security issues and human rights, and has been a factor hampering tourism in and general access to areas that are hotly contested. Many attempts have been made to broker a two-state solution , involving the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel (after Israel's establishment in 1948). In 2007, the majority of both Israelis and Palestinians, according to a number of polls, preferred the two-state solution over any other solution as a means of resolving the conflict. Moreover, a majority of Jews see the Palestinians' demand for an independent state as just, and thinks Israel can agree to the establishment of such a state. The majority of Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have expressed a preference for a two-state solution. Mutual distrust and significant disagreements are deep over basic issues, as is the reciprocal scepticism about the other side's commitment to upholding obligations in an eventual agreement. Within Israeli and Palestinian society, the conflict generates a wide variety of views and opinions . This highlights the deep divisions which exist not only between Israelis and Palestinians, but also within each society. A hallmark of the conflict has been the level of violence witnessed for virtually its entire duration. Fighting has been conducted by regular armies, paramilitary groups, terror cells, and individuals. Casualties have not been restricted to the military, with a large number of fatalities in civilian population on both sides. There are prominent international actors involved in the conflict. The two parties engaged in direct negotiation are the Israeli government , currently led by Benjamin Netanyahu , and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), currently headed by Mahmoud Abbas . The official negotiations are mediated by an international contingent known as the Quartet on the Middle East (the Quartet ) represented by a special envoy , that consists of the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations. The Arab League is another important actor, which has proposed an alternative peace plan . Egypt, a founding member of the Arab League, has historically been a key participant . Since 2006, the Palestinian side has been fractured by conflict between the two major factions : Fatah , the traditionally dominant party, and its later electoral challenger, Hamas . After Hamas's electoral victory in 2006, the Quartet (United States, Russia, United Nations, and European Union) conditioned future foreign assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) on the future government's commitment to non-violence, recognition of the State of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements. Hamas rejected these demands, which resulted in the Quartet's suspension of its foreign assistance program, and the imposition of economic sanctions by the Israelis. A year later, following Hamas's seizure of power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007 , the territory officially recognized as the State of Palestine (former Palestinian National Authority – the Palestinian interim governing body) was split between Fatah in the West Bank, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip . The division of governance between the parties had effectively resulted in the collapse of bipartisan governance of the Palestinian National Authority (PA). However, in 2014, a Palestinian Unity Government , composed of both Fatah and Hamas, was formed. The latest round of peace negotiations began in July 2013 and was suspended in 2014. Background Main article: Sectarian conflict in Mandatory Palestine The Israeli–Palestinian conflict has its roots in 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 collision between those two forces in southern Levant and the emergence of Palestinian nationalism in the 1920s eventually escalated into the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 1947, and expanded into the wider Arab-Israeli conflict later on. With the outcome of the First World War, the relations between Zionism and the Arab national movement seemed to be potentially friendly, and the Faisal–Weizmann Agreement created a framework for both aspirations to coexist on former Ottoman Empire's territories. However, with the defeat and dissolution of the Arab Kingdom of Syria in July 1920 following the Franco-Syrian War , a crisis fell upon the Damascus-based Arab national movement. The return of several hard-line Palestinian Arab nationalists, under the emerging leadership of Haj Amin al-Husseini , from Damascus to Mandatory Palestine marked the beginning of Palestinian Arab nationalist struggle towards establishment of a national home for Arabs of Palestine . Amin al-Husseini, the architect of the Palestinian Arab national movement, immediately marked Jewish national movement and Jewish immigration to Palestine as the sole enemy to his cause, initiating large-scale riots against the Jews as early as 1920 in Jerusalem and in 1921 in Jaffa . Among the results of the violence was the establishment of Jewish paramilitary force of Haganah . In 1929, a series of violent anti-Jewish riots was initiated by the Arab leadership. The riots resulted in massive Jewish casualties in Hebron and Safed , and the evacuation of Jews from Hebron and Gaza. The Arab revolt of 1936–39 in Palestine, motivated by opposition to mass Jewish immigration . In the early 1930s, the Arab national struggle in Palestine had drawn many Arab nationalist militants from across the Middle East, most notably Sheikh Izaddin al-Qassam from Syria, who established the Black Hand militant group and had prepared the grounds for the 1936 Arab revolt. Following, the death of al-Qassam at the hands of the British in late 1935, the tensions erupted in 1936 into the Arab general strike and general boycott. The strike soon deteriorated into violence and the bloody revolt against the British and the Jews. In the first wave of organized violence, lasting until early 1937, much of the Arab gangs were defeated by the British and a forced expulsion of much of the Arab leadership was performed. The revolt led to the establishment of the Peel Commission towards partitioning of Palestine, though was subsequently rejected by the Palestinian Arabs. The two main Jewish leaders, Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion , accepted the recommendations but some secondary Jewish leaders did not like it. The renewed violence, which had sporadically lasted until the beginning of WWII, ended with around 5,000 casualties, mostly from the Arab side. With the eruption of World War II, the situation in Mandatory Palestine calmed down. It allowed a shift towards a more moderate stance among Palestinian Arabs, under the leadership of the Nashashibi clan and even the establishment of the Jewish–Arab Palestine Regiment under British command, fighting Germans in North Africa. The more radical exiled faction of al-Husseini however tended to cooperation with Nazi Germany, and participated in the establishment of pro-Nazi propaganda machine throughout the Arab world. Defeat of Arab nationalists in Iraq and subsequent relocation of al-Husseini to Nazi-occupied Europe tied his hands regarding field operations in Palestine, though he regularly demanded the Italians and the Germans to bomb Tel Aviv. By the end of World War II, a crisis over the fate of the Holocaust survivors from Europe led to renewed tensions between the Yishuv and the Palestinian Arab leadership. Immigration quotas were established by the British, while on the other hand illegal immigration and Zionist insurgency against the British was increasing. Land in the lighter shade represents territory within the borders of Israel at the conclusion of the 1948 war . This land is internationally recognized as belonging to Israel. On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Resolution 181(II) recommending the adoption and implementation of a plan to partition Palestine into an Arab state, a Jewish state and the City of Jerusalem. On the next day, Palestine was already swept by violence, with Arab and Jewish militias executing attacks. The Arab League supported the Arab struggle by forming the volunteer based Arab Liberation Army , supporting the Palestinian Arab Army of the Holy War , under the leadership of Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni and Hasan Salama . On the Jewish side, the civil war was managed by the major underground militias – the Haganah , Irgun and Lehi , strengthened by numerous Jewish veterans of World War II and foreign volunteers. By spring 1948, it was already clear that the Arab forces were nearing a total collapse, while Yishuv forces gained more and more territory, creating a large scale refugee problem of Palestinian Arabs. Popular support for the Palestinian Arabs throughout the Arab world led to sporadic violence against Jewish communities of Middle East and North Africa, creating an opposite refugee wave . A History of Conflict . Major Episodes of Political Violence 1946-2012 . Updated 12 June 2013 [2] Chris Rice , quoted in Munayer Salim J, Loden Lisa, Through My Enemy's Eyes: Envisioning Reconciliation in Israel-Palestine , quote: "The Palestinian-Israeli divide may be the most intractable conflict of our time." Virginia Page Fortna , Peace Time: Cease-fire Agreements and the Durability of Peace , page 67, "Britain's contradictory promises to Arabs and Jews during World War I sowed the seeds of what would become the international community's most intractable conflict later in the century." Avner Falk, Fratricide in the Holy Land: A Psychoanalytic View of the Arab-Israeli Conflict , Chapter 1, page 8, "Most experts agree that the Arab-Israeli conflict is the most intractable conflict in our world, yet very few scholars have produced any psychological explanation—let alone a satisfactory one—of this conflict's intractability" "Canadian Policy on Key Issues in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" . Currently, freedom of movement and access for Palestinians within the West Bank is the exception rather than the norm contrary to the commitments undertaken in a number of Agreements between GOI and the PA. In particular, both the Oslo Accords and the Road Map were based on the principle that normal Palestinian economic and social life would be unimpeded by restrictions Edward Wright, 'Tourism Curbed in Palestinians Areas,' Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2000. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005 Yaar & Hermann 2007 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFYaarHermann2007 ( help ) : "The source of the Jewish public's skepticism – and even pessimism – is apparently the widespread belief that a peace agreement based on the 'two states for two peoples' formula would not lead the Palestinians to end their conflict with Israel." CRS Report for Congress, 27 June 2006, U.S. The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East . He promoted the Muslim character of Jerusalem and ... injected a religious character into the struggle against Zionism . This was the backdrop to his agitation concerning Jewish rights at the Western (Wailing) Wall that led to the bloody riots of August 1929...[H]e was the chief organizer of the riots of 1936 and the rebellion from 1937, as well as of the mounting internal terror against Arab opponents." Louis, William Roger (2006). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited .

Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process , with only partial success, as at the end of 2019. The origins to the conflict can be traced back to Jewish immigration and sectarian conflict in Mandatory Palestine between Jews and Arabs. It has been referred to as the world's "most intractable conflict," with the ongoing Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip reaching 59 years. Despite a long-term peace process and the general reconciliation of Israel with Egypt and Jordan, Israelis and Palestinians have failed to reach a final peace agreement. The key issues are mutual recognition and security, borders, water rights, control of Jerusalem , Israeli settlements , Palestinian freedom of movement , and Palestinian right of return . The violence of the conflict, in a region rich in sites of historic, cultural and religious interest worldwide, has been the subject of numerous international conferences dealing with historic rights, security issues and human rights, and has been a factor hampering tourism in and general access to areas that are hotly contested. Many attempts have been made to broker a two-state solution , involving the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel (after Israel's establishment in 1948). In 2007, the majority of both Israelis and Palestinians, according to a number of polls, preferred the two-state solution over any other solution as a means of resolving the conflict. Within Israeli and Palestinian society, the conflict generates a wide variety of views and opinions . This highlights the deep divisions which exist not only between Israelis and Palestinians, but also within each society. A hallmark of the conflict has been the level of violence witnessed for virtually its entire duration. Fighting has been conducted by regular armies, paramilitary groups, terror cells, and individuals. Casualties have not been restricted to the military, with a large number of fatalities in civilian population on both sides. There are prominent international actors involved in the conflict. A majority of Jews see the Palestinians' demand for an independent state as just, and thinks Israel can agree to the establishment of such a state. The majority of Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have expressed a preference for a two-state solution. Mutual distrust and significant disagreements are deep over basic issues, as is the reciprocal skepticism about the other side's commitment to upholding obligations in an eventual agreement. The two parties currently engaged in direct negotiation are the Israeli government , led by Benjamin Netanyahu , and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), headed by Mahmoud Abbas . The official negotiations are mediated by an international contingent known as the Quartet on the Middle East (the Quartet ) represented by a special envoy , that consists of the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations. The Arab League is another important actor, which has proposed an alternative peace plan . Egypt, a founding member of the Arab League, has historically been a key participant . Jordan, having relinquished its claim to the West Bank in 1988 and holding a special role in the Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem, has also been a key participant. Since 2006, the Palestinian side has been fractured by conflict between two major factions : Fatah , the traditionally dominant party, and its later electoral challenger, Hamas , which also operates as a militant organization. After Hamas's electoral victory in 2006, the Quartet conditioned future foreign assistance to the Palestinian National Authority (PA) on the future government's commitment to non-violence, recognition of the State of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements. Hamas rejected these demands, which resulted in the Quartet's suspension of its foreign assistance program, and the imposition of economic sanctions by the Israelis. A year later, following Hamas's seizure of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 , the territory officially recognized as the PA was split between Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip . The division of governance between the parties had effectively resulted in the collapse of bipartisan governance of the PA. However, in 2014, a Palestinian Unity Government , composed of both Fatah and Hamas, was formed. The latest round of peace negotiations began in July 2013 and was suspended in 2014. Major Episodes of Political Violence 1946-2012 . A History of Conflict . Currently, freedom of movement and access for Palestinians within the West Bank is the exception rather than the norm contrary to the commitments undertaken in a number of Agreements between GOI and the PA. In particular, both the Oslo Accords and the Road Map were based on the principle that normal Palestinian economic and social life would be unimpeded by restrictions Edward Wright, 'Tourism Curbed in Palestinians Areas,' Los Angeles Times , 28 May 2000. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005 Yaar & Hermann 2007 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFYaarHermann2007 ( help ) : "The source of the Jewish public's skepticism – and even pessimism – is apparently the widespread belief that a peace agreement based on the 'two states for two peoples' formula would not lead the Palestinians to end their conflict with Israel." CRS Report for Congress, 27 June 2006, U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians Spangler, Eve (2015).

Ongoing military and political conflict in the Levant Not to be confused with Arab–Israeli conflict , the broader conflict between Israel and the Arab world as a whole. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process , alongside other efforts to resolve the broader Arab–Israeli conflict . Public declarations of claims to a Jewish homeland in Palestine , including the First Zionist Congress of 1897 and the Balfour Declaration of 1917, created early tensions in the region after waves of Jewish immigration . Following World War I , the Mandate for Palestine included a binding obligation for the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people". Tensions grew into open sectarian conflict between Jews and Arabs . The 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was never implemented and provoked the 1947–1949 Palestine War . 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 . Progress was made towards a two-state solution with the Oslo Accords of 1993–1995. Final status issues include the status of Jerusalem , Israeli settlements , borders, security and water rights as well as Palestinian freedom of movement and the Palestinian right of return . The violence of the conflict in the region—rich in sites of historic, cultural, and religious interest worldwide—has been the subject of numerous international conferences dealing with historic rights, security issues, and human rights; and has been a factor hampering tourism in, and general access to, areas that are hotly contested. The majority of peace efforts have been centred around the two-state solution, which involves the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. However, public support for a two-state solution, which formerly enjoyed support from both Israeli Jews and Palestinians , has dwindled in recent years. Within Israeli and Palestinian society, the conflict generates a wide variety of views and opinions. Since its inception , the conflict's casualties have not been restricted to combatants, with a large number of civilian fatalities on both sides. A minority of Jewish Israelis (32 percent) support a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Israeli Jews are divided along ideological lines, and many favor maintaining the status quo. Approximately 60 percent of Palestinians (77% in the Gaza Strip and 46% in the West Bank), support armed attacks against Israelis within Israel as a means of ending the occupation, while 70% believe that a two-state solution is no longer practical or possible as a result of the expansion of Israeli settlements. More than two-thirds of Israeli Jews say that if the West Bank was annexed by Israel, Palestinians resident there should not be permitted to vote. Mutual distrust and significant disagreements are deep over basic issues, as is the reciprocal skepticism about the other side's 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 . Attempts to remedy this have been repeated and continuing. Since 2019, the Israeli side has also been experiencing political upheaval , with four inconclusive legislative elections having been held over a span of two years. The latest round of peace negotiations began in July 2013 but were suspended in 2014. Since 2006, Hamas and Israel have fought four wars , the most recent in 2021 . The two parties that engage in direct negotiation are the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Official negotiations are mediated by the Quartet on the Middle East , which consists of the United Nations , the United States , Russia , and the European Union . The Arab League , which has proposed the Arab Peace Initiative , is another important actor. Egypt , a founding member of the Arab League, has historically been a key participant in the Arab–Israeli conflict and related negotiations, more so since the Egypt–Israel peace treaty . Another equally key participant is Jordan , which annexed the West Bank in 1950 and held it until 1967, relinquishing its territorial claim over it to the Palestinians in 1988. An Israel–Jordan peace treaty was signed in 1994. The Jordanian royal Hashemites are responsible for custodianship over Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem . Major Episodes of Political Violence 1946–2012 . A History of Conflict . Currently, freedom of movement and access for Palestinians within the West Bank is the exception rather than the norm contrary to the commitments undertaken in a number of Agreements between GOI and the PA. In particular, both the Oslo Accords and the Road Map were based on the principle that normal Palestinian economic and social life would be unimpeded by restrictions "Archives" . A Long Decline in Support" . The Israel Democracy Institute . "Israeli poll finds majority would be in favour of 'apartheid' policies" . the Guardian . 23 October 2012. The source of the Jewish public's skepticism – and even pessimism – is apparently the widespread belief that a peace agreement based on the 'two states for two peoples' formula would not lead the Palestinians to end their conflict with Israel. The Times of Israel .

Ongoing military and political conflict in the Levant For the current phase of the conflict beginning in October 2023, see Gaza war . As of 20 March 2025 , at least 63,617+ Palestinians and 1,985+ Israelis killed in the Gaza war with a further 1,900,000 Palestinians displaced within Gaza and 135,000 Israeli evacuees. Indirect deaths likely to be several times higher than those killed by violence, with estimates for total Palestinian deaths in the Gaza war are between 186,000 – 335,500 The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine . Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip , the status of Jerusalem , Israeli settlements , borders, security, water rights, the permit regime in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip , Palestinian freedom of movement , and the Palestinian right of return . The conflict has its origins in the rise of Zionism in the late 19th century in Europe, a movement which aimed to establish a Jewish state through the colonization of Palestine , synchronously with the first arrival of Jewish settlers to Ottoman Palestine in 1882. The Zionist movement garnered the support of an imperial power in the 1917 Balfour Declaration issued by Britain, which promised to support the creation of a " Jewish homeland " in Palestine. Following British occupation of the formerly Ottoman region during World War I , Mandatory Palestine was established as a British mandate . Increasing Jewish immigration led to tensions between Jews and Arabs which grew into intercommunal conflict . In 1936, an Arab revolt erupted demanding independence and an end to British support for Zionism, which was suppressed by the British. Eventually tensions led to the United Nations adopting a partition plan in 1947, triggering a civil war . During the ensuing 1948 Palestine war , more than half of the mandate's predominantly Palestinian Arab population fled or were expelled by Israeli forces. By the end of the war, Israel was established on most of the former mandate's territory, and the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were controlled by Egypt and Jordan respectively. Since the 1967 Six-Day War , Israel has been occupying the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, known collectively as the Palestinian territories . Two Palestinian uprisings against Israel and its occupation erupted in 1987 and 2000, the first and second intifadas respectively. Israel's occupation resulted in Israel constructing illegal settlements there, creating a system of institutionalized discrimination against Palestinians under its occupation called Israeli apartheid . This discrimination includes Israel's denial of Palestinian refugees from their right of return and right to their lost properties . Israel has also drawn international condemnation for violating the human rights of the Palestinians . The international community, with the exception of the United States and Israel, has been in consensus since the 1980s regarding a settlement of the conflict on the basis of a two-state solution along the 1967 borders and a just resolution for Palestinian refugees. The United States and Israel have instead preferred bilateral negotiations rather than a resolution of the conflict on the basis of international law . In recent years, public support for a two-state solution has decreased, with Israeli policy reflecting an interest in maintaining the occupation rather than seeking a permanent resolution to the conflict. In 2007, Israel tightened its blockade of the Gaza Strip and made official its policy of isolating it from the West Bank. Since then, Israel has framed its relationship with Gaza in terms of the laws of war rather than in terms of its status as an occupying power . In a July 2024 ruling , the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rebuffed Israel's stance, determining that the Palestinian territories constitute one political unit and that Israel continues to illegally occupy the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The ICJ also determined that Israeli policies violate the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination . Since 2006, Hamas and Israel have fought several wars . Attacks by Hamas-led armed groups in October 2023 in Israel were followed by another war . Israel's actions in Gaza since the start of the war have been described by international law experts, genocide scholars and human rights organizations as genocidal . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ). Council on Foreign Relations . UNRWA put the figure at 413 000 Dumper, Michael (1997). The Politics of Jerusalem Since 1967 . Encyclopedia of the Palestinians . In Newman, David; Peters, Joel (eds.). Routledge Handbook on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict . "Fatalities since the outbreak of the second intifada and until operation "Cast Lead" " . "Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in the Gaza Strip, before Operation "Cast Lead" " . "Confirmed figures reveal the true extent of the destruction inflicted upon the Gaza Strip; Israel's offensive resulted in 1,417 dead, including 926 civilians, 255 police officers, and 236 fighters" . "Report of the detailed findings of the independent commission of inquiry established pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution S-21/1" . "2021 was the deadliest year since 2014, Israel killed 319 Palestinians in oPt 5-year record in house demolitions: 895 Palestinians lost their homes" . United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – occupied Palestinian territory . 3 February 2025. "Israel military says 2 civilians killed for every Hamas militant is a 'tremendously positive' ratio given combat challenges" . When considering the total 'excess mortality,' we need to add the Palestinians who have died because of the blockade in combination with the IDF's destruction of health and sanitation and food infrastructure. The Israel-Palestine Conflict: A History (4th ed.). A History of Conflict . Currently, freedom of movement and access for Palestinians within the West Bank is the exception rather than the norm contrary to the commitments undertaken in a number of Agreements between GOI and the PA. In particular, both the Oslo Accords and the Road Map were based on the principle that normal Palestinian economic and social life would be unimpeded by restrictions Khalidi 2020 . The Roots of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: 1882–1914 . A high proportion of the Arab casualties included the most experienced military cadres and enterprising fighters.6 By the end of the revolt, most of the top Arab political leaders and thousands of other cadres, militants, and fighters were imprisoned, interned by the British in the Seychelles, in exile, or dead. The British also confiscated large quantities of arms and ammunition from the Arabs during the revolt, and continued to do so during later years. By the end of the revolt, existing political divisions within the Palestinian polity had become envenomed, leading to profound rifts between the majority supporting the revolt and a minority that had become alienated from the leadership: the consequence was assassinations, infighting, and further weakening of the Palestinian position. The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine . Last Lectures on the Prevention and Intervention of Genocide . Routledge Studies in Genocide and Crimes against Humanity. In Dumper, Michael; Badran, Amneh (eds.). Routledge Handbook on Palestine (1st ed.). In this context we should not overlook the latest turning point in the history of Palestine – the attack by Hamas on 7th October 2023 on Israeli settlements adjacent to Gaza and the subsequent genocidal war that the state of Israel has carried out in the Gaza strip Speri, Alice (20 December 2024). Reexamining the question, a year later" . This report focuses on the Israeli authorities' policies and actions in Gaza as part of the military offensive they launched in the wake of the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023 while situating them within the broader context of Israel's unlawful occupation, and system of apartheid against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. It assesses allegations of violations and crimes under international law by Israel in Gaza within the framework of genocide under international law, concluding that there is sufficient evidence to believe that Israel's conduct in Gaza following 7 October 2023 amounts to genocide. The only normative definition we have, codified at the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948, accurately describes the current situation in Palestine ... describes exactly what is happening in Gaza today