The conflict between Israel and Palestine has a long history 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 has its roots in the competing claims of Jews and Palestinians to the same land. 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.

Over the following years, tensions rose in the region, particularly between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Following the 1956 Suez Crisis and Israels invasion of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria signed mutual defense pacts in anticipation of a possible mobilization of Israeli troops. In June 1967, following a series of maneuvers by Egyptian President Abdel Gamal Nasser, Israel preemptively attacked Egyptian and Syrian air forces, starting the Six-Day War. Israel has occupied the West Bank, Arab East Jerusalem, which it captured from Jordan, and Syrias Golan Heights ever since.

The conflict has been characterized by violence, displacement, and political instability. The Palestinians seek to establish their own independent state in at least a part of historic Palestine, while Israel demands security in what it has long regarded as a hostile region. The conflict has drawn in outside powers and destabilized the wider Middle East.