The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict in the Levant that dates back to the late 19th century when Zionists sought to establish a homeland for the Jewish people in Ottoman-controlled Palestine. The conflict intensified after the United Nations adopted Resolution 181 in 1947, 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.

Since then, the conflict has persisted, with numerous clashes between Palestinian militants and Israel. The roots of the conflict can be traced to the rise of national movements, including Zionism and Arab nationalism, and the establishment of Israel, which led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who became refugees. The Palestinians seek to establish their own independent state in at least a part of historic Palestine.

The conflict has been marked 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. Attempts to remedy this have been repeated and continuing. The conflict has also been complicated by the fractured nature of the Palestinian side, with conflict between Fatah and Hamas, a militant Islamist group that gained control of the Gaza Strip in 2006.