The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has its roots in a colonial act carried out more than a century ago. The conflict began in the mid-20th century and is one of the worlds longest continuing conflicts. The conflict is between Israel and Palestine, with both sides claiming the same land. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced many millions of people. Key events in the conflict include:

• 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.

• 1967: Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as most of the Syrian Golan Heights, Gaza, and the Egyptian Sinai peninsula.

• 2014: A military confrontation between the Israeli military and Hamas in which Hamas fired nearly three thousand rockets at Israel, and Israel retaliated with a major offensive in Gaza. The skirmish ended in late August 2014 with a cease-fire deal brokered by Egypt, but only after 73 Israelis and 2,251 Palestinians were killed.

• 2023: In response to rocket fire from Gaza, Israel launched a bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 500 Palestinians. It has mobilized troops along the border with Gaza, and Israeli forces battled to regain control of towns near the border with Gaza.

The main issues that Israel and Palestine cannot agree on include the status of Palestinian refugees and whether Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank should stay or be removed. The conflict has resulted in a continuing oppressive and discriminatory system of governing Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which constitutes a system of apartheid, and Israeli officials committed the crime of apartheid under international law.