The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict in the Levant that dates back to the end of the nineteenth century. The conflict began in 1947 when the United Nations adopted Resolution 181, 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 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.

The current Israeli-Palestinian status quo began following Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Six-Day War, known as the Palestinian territories. The conflict has its roots 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 conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced many millions of people. The latest violence began with Israeli attacks on sites in the Gaza Strip, which its military said was in response to threats from a militant group called Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The conflict has seen multiple wars and fighting in the following decades, with each side blaming the other. Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank say they are suffering because of Israeli actions and restrictions.