All Quotes
“The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people is
one of the longest-running and most violent disputes in the world. Its origins
go back more than a century.
There have been a series of wars between Israel and Arab
nations. Uprisings - called intifadas - against Israeli occupation, and
reprisals and crackdowns by Israel have also taken place.
The consequences of the historic dispute over issues
including land, borders and rights are still being felt, and include the latest
war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
What was Israel before 1948 and how was it created?
Britain took control of the area known as Palestine in World
War One, following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled that part
of the Middle East.
An Arab majority and a Jewish minority lived there, as well
as other ethnic groups.
Tensions between the Jewish and Arab populations deepened
when the UK agreed in principle to the establishment of a "national
home" in Palestine for Jewish people - a pledge known as the Balfour
Declaration.
Jews had historical links to the land, but Palestinian Arabs
also had a claim dating back centuries and opposed the move. The British said
the rights of Palestinian Arabs already living there had to be protected.
Between the 1920s and 1940s the number of Jews arriving
grew, with many fleeing persecution in Europe. The murder of six million Jews
during the Holocaust gave added urgency to demands for a safe haven.
The Jewish population reached 630,000, just over 30% of the
population, by 1947.
In 1947, against a backdrop of growing violence between Jews
and Arabs - and against British rule - the United Nations (UN) voted for
Palestine to be split into separate Jewish and Arab states. Jerusalem would
become an international city.
No Arab nations supported this. They argued the plan gave
the Jews more of the land, even though their population was smaller.
Britain abstained. It decided to withdraw and to hand the
problem to the UN at the end of 14 May 1948.
Jewish leaders in Palestine declared an independent state
known as Israel hours before British rule ended. Israel was recognised by the
UN the following year.
What was the 1948 Arab-Israeli war?
The day after Israel declared independence, it was attacked
and surrounded by the armies of five Arab nations.
By the time the fighting ended with an armistice in 1949,
Israel controlled most of the territory.
Agreements left Egypt occupying the Gaza Strip, Jordan
occupying the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Israel occupying West
Jerusalem.
About 750,000 Palestinians fled, or were forced from, their
homes on land which became Israel and ended up as refugees.
The event is known in Arabic as the Nakba (Catastrophe).
In the years that followed, hundreds of thousands of Jews
left, or were expelled from, Muslim majority countries across the Middle East
and North Africa, with many going to Israel.
What was the 1967 Middle East war?
What is known as the Six-Day War changed boundaries in the
Middle East and had major consequences for Palestinians.
The war saw Israel fight Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
It started when Israel, fearing an attack by Egypt and
Syria, launched a strike on Egypt's air force.
By the time the fighting ended, Israel had captured the
Sinai Peninsula and Gaza from Egypt, most of the Golan Heights from Syria, and
East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan.
About a million Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and East
Jerusalem came under Israel's control.
Israel's occupation of these areas has lasted until this
day.
Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979 and returned
the Sinai.
It annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, making them
part of Israel, although this has not been recognized by most of the
international community.
What is the status of the West Bank now?
The West Bank - land between Israel and the River Jordan -
is home to an estimated three million Palestinians.
Along with East Jerusalem and Gaza, it is part of what are
widely known as the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The Palestinians have always opposed Israel's presence in
these areas and want them to be part of a future independent state, something
backed by the vast majority of the international community.
Israel still has overall control of the West Bank, but since
the 1990s, a Palestinian government - known as the Palestinian Authority - has
run most of its towns and cities.
There are about 160 Israeli settlements, housing about
700,000 Jews, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Palestinians want all Israeli settlements to be removed and
they are considered illegal under international law.
However, Israel's government disputes this. It says the
biggest settlements at the very least are permanent and that all settlements
are rooted in its historical rights.
It does not recognize the right of the Palestinians to have
their own state and argues that the West Bank is part of the Israeli homeland.
The Israeli government announced plans to expand settlements
after coming to power in 2022. It says the creation of a Palestinian state
would be a threat to Israeli security.
In July 2024, the top court of the UN, the International
Court of Justice (ICJ), said that Israel's continued presence in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories is illegal. It said that Israel should withdraw all
settlers and that it was in breach of international agreements on racism and
apartheid.
There has been a sharp escalation in attacks by settlers
against Palestinian villages since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
According to a report by the UN Office for Humanitarian
Affairs, there were 2,208 attacks by settlers against Palestinians resulting in
casualties or property damage between January 2024 and June 2025.
What is the dispute over Jerusalem?
Israel and the Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their
capital.
Israel, which already controlled West Jerusalem, occupied
East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and later declared the entire city its permanent
capital. It says Jerusalem cannot be divided.
The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a
future Palestinian state.
Most of the population of East Jerusalem is Palestinian,
only a small minority of whom have chosen to become Israeli citizens.
Holy sites in Jerusalem are at the centre of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The most sacred site - known to Muslims as Al
Aqsa Mosque compound, or Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), and to Jews as
Temple Mount - lies in East Jerusalem.
The UN considers East Jerusalem to be Palestinian land
occupied by Israel.
What has happened in the Gaza Strip?
The Gaza Strip is a stretch of land surrounded by Israel,
Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. It is 41km (25 miles) long and 10km wide.
Home to about 2.1 million people, it is one of the most
densely populated places on Earth.
Even before the latest war between Israel and Hamas, Gaza
had one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. Many people were living
below the poverty line and depending on food aid to survive.
Gaza's boundaries were drawn up as a result of the 1948
Middle East war, when it was occupied by Egypt.
Egypt was driven out of Gaza in the 1967 war and the Strip
was occupied by Israel, which built settlements and placed Gaza's Palestinian
population under military rule.
In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew its troops and
settlers from Gaza, though it retained control of its shared border, airspace
and shoreline, giving it effective control of the movement of people and goods.
The UN still regards Gaza as Israeli-occupied territory
because of the level of control Israel has.
Hamas won Palestinian elections in 2006, and ejected its
rivals from the territory after intense fighting the following year.
Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade in response, with Israel
controlling most of what was allowed into the territory.
In the years that followed, Hamas and Israel fought several
major conflicts - including those in 2008-09, 2012 and 2014. A major conflict
between the two sides in May 2021 ended in a ceasefire after 11 days.
Every round of fighting has seen people killed on both
sides, the vast majority of them Palestinians in Gaza.
Which countries recognize a Palestinian state?
The State of Palestine is currently recognized by 147 of the
UN's 193 member states.
Known as the State of Palestine at the UN, it has an
official status of "Permanent Observer State", which gives it a seat
but not a vote.
Some countries, including the US, do not recognize a
Palestinian state and have said they will only do so as part of a long-term
political solution to the conflict in the Middle East.
However, France, Belgium, Australia and Canada have all made
announcements in support of recognizing a Palestinian state at September's
United Nations General Assembly.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it would also
recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes
"substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza".
What is the two-state solution?
The "two-state solution" is an internationally
backed formula for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
It proposes an independent Palestinian state in the West
Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital. It would exist alongside
Israel.
Israel rejects a two-state solution. It says any final
settlement must be the result of negotiations with the Palestinians, and
statehood should not be a precondition.”
Can prayers save Gaza from insanity of genocidal Netanyahu,
enemy of Israelis and Palestinians?
