The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are two Palestinian territories that were part of Mandate Palestine and were captured by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967. The Gaza Strip is a 140 sq miles area of land located in the southwest corner of Israel, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and it also shares a border with Egypt to the south. The West Bank is another area of land located within the country of Israel, but it is much larger than the Gaza Strip at 2,173 sq miles. The West Bank stretches across the eastern border of Israel along the west banks of the Jordan River and most of the Dead Sea, thus how it received its name. The holy city of Jerusalem is considered by international law as part of the West Bank, with East Jerusalem being claimed as the capital by both Israelis and Palestinians.

The Gaza Strip and the West Bank had been occupied by Egypt and Jordan, respectively, since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War until the Six-Day War of 1967. Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1967 and has since maintained control. In 1980, Israel officially absorbed East Jerusalem and proclaimed the whole of the city to be its capital. Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but it continues to be designated the occupying power in the Gaza Strip by the United Nations, the United States, and various human rights organizations.

The conflict over the specific territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank has been ongoing for over a hundred years, dating back even before Israel became a country. Since the Six-Day War, the tension between Israelis and Palestinians living in these territories has increased.