The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a century-long territorial dispute over the Holy Land, a Middle Eastern region with great religious and historical significance to Christians, Jews, and Muslims. The conflict began 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 United Nations adopted Resolution 181 in 1947, known as the Partition Plan, 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 Israels 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 included disputes over borders, Jerusalem, security, and Palestinian refugees.

The conflict has continually flared into conflict, including multistate wars, armed uprisings (intifadas), and terrorist acts. The Israeli-Palestinian dispute has continually flared into conflict, including multistate wars, armed uprisings (intifadas), and terrorist acts. In 1967, the Six-Day War culminated in Israels occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 242, which called for Israel to withdraw from occupied lands to secure and recognize borders in exchange for peace.

In recent years, there have been several military confrontations between the Israeli military and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, in the Gaza Strip. The conflict has also been marked by human rights abuses, with Amnesty International accusing Israel of committing war crimes and maintaining an oppressive and discriminatory system of governing Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The outlook for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is bleak, with divisions between the two sides.