The Israel-Palestine conflict has a long and complex history that dates back to the end of the nineteenth century. The conflict pits Israeli demands for security in what it has long regarded as a hostile region against Palestinian aspirations for a state of their own. Here are some key events that led to the current conflict:

• 1947-1949: 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.

• 1967: Israel launched what it said was a pre-emptive defensive war against Jordan, Egypt, and Syria, as they appeared to be preparing to invade. The attack caught Arab governments by surprise and saw Israel achieve rapid victories including seizing the Sinai peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan. The six-day war was a spectacular military success for Israel. Its capture of all of Jerusalem and newly acquired control over the biblical lands called Judea and Samaria in Israel opened the way to the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which became central to the conflict.

• 1987: The first Palestinian Intifada erupted in the Gaza Strip after four Palestinians were killed when an Israeli truck collided with two vans carrying Palestinian workers. Protests spread rapidly to the West Bank with young Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli army tanks and soldiers. It also led to the establishment of the Hamas movement, an Islamist group that has controlled Gaza since 2006.

• 2023: In early October 2023, war broke out between Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist group that has controlled Gaza since 2006. The conflict has claimed thousands of lives and displaced many people.

It is important to note that this is a simplified overview of a very complex and multifaceted conflict. The roots of the conflict are deep and involve issues such as land ownership, statehood, refugees, and religious significance of certain areas.