I

ntr
oduct
ion

Palest
ine,
aregionri
chi nhistoryandconfl
ict,hasbeenatt hecenterofMiddl
eEast er
ntensions
formorethanacent ur
y .Si
tuatedbetweentheMedi terraneanSeaandt heJor
danRi ver
,
Palest
inehol
dspr of
oundr eli
gious,cul
tur
al,andpoli
tical si
gnifi
canceforMusli
ms, Chri
sti
ans,
andJewsal i
ke.It
shistoryi
smar kedbytheriseandf al
l ofcivil
i
zati
ons,imper
ialconquest
s,and,
mostrecentl
y,oneofthewor l
d'smostcontent i
ousterri
tori
al di
sputes.

Hi
stor
ical
Backgr
oundofPal
est
ine

Histor
icall
y,Palesti
nehasbeeninhabit
edforthousandsofy earsbyv ari
ouspeoples,incl
uding
Canaanites,I
sraelit
es,andPhi
li
sti
nes.Theregionholdsreli
gioussignif
icanceforJews,
Christ
ians,andMusl ims,whoallt
racethei
rspiri
tualher
it
aget othearea.Ov ert
ime,control
over
Palest
ineshiftedbetweenempi r
es,fr
om theEgy pti
ansandAssy ri
anstot heGreeks,Romans,
andev entual
ly,theOttomans.

Themoder nconfl
ictoverPal
esti
nebeganinthelate19thcenturywi
ththeriseofZionism,a
mov ementadvocati
ngforaJewi shhomel
andi nt
heregion.Thisper
iodalsosawincreasing
tensi
onsbetweenJewsandAr absli
vi
nginPalest
ine,exacer
batedbyEuropeancolonial
i
nterest
sintheMi ddl
eEast.

Geogr
aphi
cal
Locat
ionandI
mpor
tance

Palesti
neisst r
ategical
l
ylocatedatt hecrossroadsofAf r
ica, Asia,
andEur ope.I
tisborderedby
theMedi t
erraneanSeat othewest ,Lebanont othenorth,SyriaandJor dant ot
heeast,and
Egypttothesout h.Thislocati
onhasmadei tasi t
eofsignificantpoli
ticalandmil
itar
yinterest
forcenturi
es.Furthermore,Jerusal
em, oneoft hemostcont est edcit
iesintheworld,i
slocated
i
nPal esti
neandhol dsdeepr eli
giousimpor t
ancef orI
slam, Christi
ani
ty ,
andJudaism.

Ear
lyCi
vi
li
zat
ionsandI
nhabi
tant
s

Ther egi
onnowknownasPal est
inewasoneoftheearli
estareastoseehumanci vi
li
zation.
Archaeological
evi
dencesuggeststhatt
hear
eawasi nhabitedasearlyast hePal
eoli
thicperi
od.
Overt i
me,itbecamehomet oanumberofancientciv
il
izati
ons,i
ncludingtheCanaanitesandthe
Phil
isti
nes.TheIsrael
i
tesal
sosettl
edinther
egion,markingthebeginningofJewishhistori
cal
ti
est otheland.

Duri
ngtheIr
onAge, var
iousempires,i
ncludi
ngt heEgypt
ians,Hi
tti
tes,andAssyr
ians,
sought
contr
olofPal
est
ine.Ther egi
on’
slocati
onatt henexusoftraderoutesbetweenMesopotamia,
Egypt,
andtheMediterr
aneanmadei tani mport
antassetforanypowerl ooki
ngtocontr
olt
he
Middl
eEast.
Rol
einRel
i
giousHi
stor
y

Palesti
ne’sr el
i
gioussignifi
cancestemsf r
om it
sassociati
onwi ththethr
eeAbrahamicfaiths.
Judaism tracesitsori
ginstot heKingdom ofI
srael
,foundedbyt heIsr
aeli
tesi
ntheregion.
Christi
ani
tywasbor nwi t
hthel i
feofJesusChri
stinPalesti
ne, parti
cul
arl
yinthetownsof
Bethlehem, Nazareth,
andJer usalem.ForIsl
am, t
hesignif
icanceofPal esti
neiscent
eredon
Jerusalem, homet oAl-AqsaMosque, t
hethi
rdholi
estsit
ei nIslam aft
erMeccaandMedi na.

Ot
tomanCont
rol
(1517–1917)

TheOttomanEmpi r
er ul
edPal esti
nefrom 1517unt i
ltheendofWor l
dWarIin1917.Duringthis
ti
me,Palesti
newaspar tofthegreaterOttomanpr ovi
nceofSy ria.Ott
omanrulewas
char
acteri
zedbyr el
ativestabi
lit
y,thoughther egi
onremai nedlargel
yundev
eloped.The19th
cent
urysawi ncr
easedEur opeani nter
estinthearea,leadi
ngt otensi
onsbetweenthelocalArab
popul
ationandthegr owingJewi shimmi grantcommuni ty
.

Br
it
ishMandat
e(1920–1948)

Aft
erthef al
loftheOt tomanEmpi r
e,Pal esti
necameunderBr i
ti
shcontrolaspartoftheLeague
ofNationsmandat esystem.TheBr i
tishMandat emarkedat urni
ngpointinthehist
oryof
Palest
ine,asitl
edt oincreasedtensionsbet weent heArabandJewi shpopulati
ons.TheBal four
Declar
ationof1917, inwhichBr i
tai
nexpr essedsuppor tfortheestabl
i
shmentofa“ national
homef ortheJewi shpeople”inPalestine, exacerbatedthesetensi
ons.AsJewi shimmigration
i
ncreaseddur i
ngt he1920sand1930s, conf l
ictsbetweentheJewi shandArabcommuni ti
es
becamemor efrequent,culminat
ingint heout br
eakofv i
olenceinthelat
e1930s.

UNPar
ti
ti
onPl
anof1947

In1947, t
heUnit
edNationsproposedapl antopar ti
ti
onPalestinei nt
ot woseparatestates:one
forJewsandonef orArabs.Thisplanwasbasedont heconfl
ictingnat i
onalaspi
rati
onsofbot h
groups,astensi
onsbetweent hem hadescalatedunderBriti
shr ule.TheJewi shcommuni ty,
represent
edbytheZionistmov ement,acceptedtheparti
ti
onpl an.Howev er
,theArab
communi ty,
whichconstit
utedthemajor i
tyi
nPal est
ineatthetime, r
eject
edtheplan,viewingit
asunf ai
r.

TheNakba:
Displ
acementofPal
est
ini
ans

OnMay14,
1948,
theSt
ateofI
srael
decl
aredi
tsi
ndependence.Al
mosti
mmedi
atel
y,
neighbor ingArabcount r
ies(Egypt,Jordan,I
r aq,Lebanon, andSy r
ia)launchedami l
it
ary
i
nter v
ent ion,r
esult
inginthef i
rstArab-I
srael
i War .Asar esultoftheconf l
ict,hundr
edsof
thousandsofPal esti
nianswer edispl
acedf rom t hei
rhomes, anev entref
erredtobyPal est
ini
ans
ast he“ Nakba,”orcatastrophe.Thismassdi spl acementmar kedthebegi nningofthe
Palestinianrefugeecrisi
s, whi
chcont i
nuest ot hisday.ManyPal est i
niansfledtoneighbori
ng
count r
ies, whi
leothersbecamei nt
ernall
ydisplacedwi thinthebor dersofwhatr emainedof
Palestine.

Ar
ab-
Isr
ael
iWar(
1948)

The1948Ar ab-I
sraeliWar ,
alsoknownast heWarofI ndependenceforIsr
aelis,endedinan
Isr
aelivi
ctoryandl edt otheestablishmentofthenewst ate’
sborders.Asar esult
,Isr
aelgained
controloverasignificantporti
onoft heter
rit
orythathadbeenallocatedtotheAr absundert he
UNPar tit
ionPlan.Thewardi splacedapproximatel
y750,000Palesti
nians,l
eadingt oarefugee
cri
sisthathasper sistedfordecades.

TheSi
x-DayWar(
1967)

In1967,hostili
ti
esonceagai neruptedinwhatisknownast heSix-DayWar .Dur
ingt hi
sbri
efbut
i
ntenseconf l
ict,Israellaunchedpr eemptiv
estri
kesagainstEgy pt,
Jordan,andSy r
ia.Asar esul
t,
Isr
aelcapturedt heWestBank( incl
udingEastJerusal
em) ,t
heGazaSt r
ip,t
heSinai Peni
nsula,
andtheGol anHei ghts.Thecapt ureoftheseter
ri
tori
es,parti
cularl
ytheWestBankandGaza,
drast
ical
lyalteredt hepol i
ti
cal l
andscapeoftheregion.Theoccupat i
onoft heseareascontinues
tobeoneoft hepr imar ypointsofcontenti
onbetweenPal esti
niansandI sr
aeli
s.

TheYom Ki
ppurWar(
1973)

TheYom Ki ppurWar ,foughtin1973,wasanothersignif

icantconfl
i
cti ntheongoingPal esti
nian-
I
srael
istruggle.LaunchedbyEgy ptandSyri
a,t
hewarai medt orecaptureter
rit
ori
esl osttoIsrael
i
ntheSi x-
DayWar .Alt
hought hewarendedi nami l
i
tarystalemate,
itledtosignif
icant
di
plomat i
cefforts, i
ncludi
ngt heCampDav idAccords,whichresult
edi napeacet reatybetween
EgyptandIsrael.Howev er,t
hisdidli
ttl
etoaddressthePalestini
anissue,andtensionsbet ween
I
sraelandt hePal esti
nianscont i
nuedtogrow.

Foundi
ngoft
hePal
est
ineLi
ber
ati
onOr
gani
zat
ion(
PLO)

I
n1964,thePal
esti
neLi
berati
onOrgani
zat
ion(PLO)wasestabl
ishedwi t
ht hegoalofl
iberati
ng
Pal
est
inethr
ougharmedstruggl
e.ThePLObecamethepr i
maryrepresentati
veofthe
Pal
est
ini
anpeopleandpl
ayedacentral
rol
einthePalest
ini
annationalmov ement.I
nit
ial
ly
, t
he
PLOadopt
edastanceofrej
ect
ingI
srael
’
sri
ghtt
oexi
standpur
suedmi
l
itar
ytact
icsai
medat
l
iber
ati
ngPal
est
ini
anland.

YasserAr
afatandPal
est
ini
anNat
ional
i
sm

YasserArafat,whobecamet hel
eaderofthePLOi n1969, wasakeyfi
gureinthePalesti
nian
st
ruggleforself-
deter
mi nati
on.UnderAraf
at’
sleadership,
thePLOsoughttounifyvari
ous
Palest
ini
anf acti
onsandadv ancethecauseofani ndependentPal
esti
nianst
ate.Araf
at’s
l
eadershi
pwaschar act
er i
zedbyacombi nati
onofpol i
ti
caldipl
omacyandarmedr esi
stance,and
heremainedacent ralf
igureinPalest
ini
anpolit
icsfordecades.

CausesandConsequencesoft
heFi
rstI
nti
fada(
1987–1993)

TheFirstIntifada,whichbegani n1987, wasaPal est

inianupr i
singagai nstI
sraelioccupationin
theWestBankandGazaSt r
ip.Sparkedbyaser iesofi ncidentsbet weenI sr
aelisoldier
sand
Palest
ini
anci vi
li
ans,t
heInt i
fadaquicklygr ewintoamassmov ementi nvolv
ingpr otests,
stri
kes,
andcivildisobedience.Theupr i
singlastedunt il
t hesigningoft heOsl oAccor dsin1993.Whi l
e
theFir
stI nti
fadadidnotr esulti
nPal est
inianindependence, itsignifi
cantlyr
aisedi nter
nati
onal
awarenessoft hePalesti
nianplightandi ncreasedpr essur eonI sraeltoengagei npeace
negoti
ations.

Osl
oAccor
ds(
1993)

TheOsl oAccor ds,

signedin1993,representedamaj orbreakthr
oughinthePalesti
nian-I
srael
i
confli
ct.Theaccordsestabli
shedaf ramewor kf orpeaceandl edtothecreat
ionofthe
Palesti
nianAuthorit
y,whichwasgr antedli
mi tedself
-governanceinpart
softheWestBankand
Gaza.Whi l
et heOsloAccordswer ehailedasast eptowardpeace,theyult
imatel
yfailedto
resol
v ekeyissuessuchast hestatusofJer usalem,therightofret
urnforPalest
ini
anr ef
ugees,
andt hebordersofaf ut
urePalesti
nianstate.

TheSecondI
nti
fada(
2000–2005)

TheSecondI nti
fada,whi
chbegani n2000, wasaf armor ev
iolentanddestructi
veconf l
ictt
han
thef ir
st.Tri
ggeredbythevisitofIsr
aelipolit
ici
anAriel
Sharont otheAl-
AqsaMosque
compound, theupri
singquicklyescal
atedi ntowidespr
eadv iol
encebetweenPal est
iniansand
Israelisecuri
tyf
orces.Unl
iket heFir
stIntif
ada, t
heSecondInt i
fadai
nvolv
edar medcl ashes,
suicidebombi ngs,andmili
taryoperati
ons, resul
ti
nginthousandsofdeat hsonbot hsides.The
violenceendedi n2005withaceasef ir
e, buttheunderl
yingissuesoftheconf l
i
ctremai ned
unr esolved.
Rol
eoft
heUNi
nthePal
est
ini
anQuest
ion

TheUni t
edNat i
ons( UN)haspl ayedapi votalroleinaddr essingt heIsraeli
-Palesti
nianconf li
ct
sincet heear ly20t hcentury.I
tsinvolvementbeganwi ththe1947UNPar ti
t i
onPlan, which
proposedt hediv isionofPalesti
nei nt
ot wost ates, oneJewi shandoneAr ab.Althought hepl an
wasaccept edbyt heJewishcommuni t
y,itwasr ejectedbyt heAr abstatesandPal est
inian
l
eader ship, l
eadingt odecadesofunr esolvedconf l
ict.Overthey ears,theUNhaspassed
numer ousr esolutions,suchasResol ution242f ol l
owi ngthe1967Si x-DayWar ,
whi chcalledf or
Israel’
swi thdrawal fr
om occupiedt er
rit
oriesandr ecognizedt heneedf orpeaceandsecur i
tyfor
allstatesint her egion.Howev er,despit
et heser esolutions,theUNhasof tenstruggledto
enf or
cei t
sr ecommendat i
onsduet opol i
ti
caldivisionsamongi tsmember s,part
icular
ly
bet weent heUni tedSt atesandot herglobal power sregar di
ngt heirstanceonI srael.

U.
S.For
eignPol
i
cyandAi
dtoI
srael

TheUni tedSt ateshasbeenakeyal l

yofIsrael sincei t
screationi n1948, providingitwith
significantmi li
tar
y,economi c,
anddiplomat icsuppor t.U.S.foreignpol i
cyhasof tenprior
it
ized
Israel’ssecur ityandhasf requentl
ybeenal ignedwi t
hIsraelipositionsininternationalfor
ums,
par ti
cul arl
yatt heUN.TheU. S.hasconsistent l
yv etoedresolutionscr i
ti
cal ofIsraelandhas
prov idedI srael wit
hbill
i
onsofdol l
arsinmi lit
aryai dannually.Whi l
eU. S.admi nistrati
onshav e
attempt edtobr okerpeacebetweenI sr
ael andt hePal esti
nians—mostnot ablywi ththeCamp
Dav i
dAccor ds( 1978)andt heOsloAccor ds( 1993) —theU.S.hasof tenbeenper ceivedby
Pal estiniansandAr abnati
onsasbi asedt owar dIsrael,compl i
cat i
ngi t
sroleasani mpart
ial
medi atorint hepeacepr ocess.

Ar
abNat
ionsandPal
est
ine

Hist ori
call
y,Arabnationshav ebeenst aunchsuppor t
ersoft hePal estiniancause, engagingin
directmi l
itar
yconfrontationswi t
hIsraeldur i
ngtheAr ab-I
sraeliwar sof1948, 1967, and1973.
Howev er,therel
ati
onshi pbetweenAr abst atesandt hePalest i
nianleader shiphasev ol
vedov er
time.Whi lecountri
esl i
keJor dan,Egypt,andSy r
iaonceplay edact i
ver olesi ntheconf l
i
ct,r
ecent
decadeshav eseenashi fttowarddiplomacyandnor mal i
zationwi thIsrael.Forinstance,Egypt
signedapeacet reatywi t
hI sr
aelin1979, andmor erecentl
y, t
heAbr aham Accor dsof2020saw
sev eralArabcountri
es, i
ncludingtheUni tedAr abEmi r
atesandBahr ain, normal i
zerelati
onswi t
h
Israel.Theseshiftshav ebeencont roversialamongPal esti
nians, whof eelincr
easinglyisol
ated
ast radit
ionalAraballi
espr ior
iti
zetheirnat i
onalint
erestsovert hePal est i
nianstruggle.

Bl
ockadeofGaza
TheGazaSt r
ip,
asmal landdenselypopulatedPalestiniant
errit
or y,hasbeenunderanI srael
i
blockadesince2007.Theblockadewasi mposedaf terHamas, anI sl
amistpol i
ti
cal andmi li
tant
group,tookcontrolofGazafoll
owingabr i
efbutv i
olentpowerst rugglewitht hePal est
ini
an
Authorit
y.I
srael
,citi
ngsecuri
tyconcernsov erHamas’ r
ocketatt acksandt unnel
ingoper ati
ons,
restr
ict
edthemov ementofgoodsandpeopl ei
nandoutofGaza.Egy ptalsocont rolsi
tsown
borderwithGazaandhasi mposedsi milarrest
ri
ctions.Thebl ockadehashadsev ere
humani t
ari
anconsequencesf orthe2mi ll
ionPalesti
niansli
vingi nGaza, leadingt oshor t
agesof
food,medicine,
andessentialsuppli
es,andsignifi
cantlyimpactingeconomi cacti
v i
ty.

Humani tar i
anCr i
sisandI nter nat i
onal AidThebl ockadehascr eatedahumani tariancri
sisin
Gaza, wi thwi despreadpov er ty,highunempl oyment ,andl i
mi tedaccesst obasi cservi
cessuch
asheal t
hcar eandcl eanwat er .Internationalorganizat i
ons,includingtheUnitedNat i
onsRel i
ef
andWor ksAgencyf orPalest ineRef ugees( UNRWA) , havepl ayedacr i
ti
cal r
olei nprovi
dingaid
toGaza’ spopul ati
on.Howev er ,
theongoi ngconf l
ictbet weenHamasandI sraelhasmadei t
dif
ficultt odel i
veraideffectivel y,withper iodicmili
taryescal ationsleadi
ngt ofur t
herdestructi
on
ofinfrast ructureandcivili
ancasual ties.Despi t
einternational call
st ol
if
tthebl ockade,Israel
maint ainsi tsrestr
ict
ions,ar gui ngt hattheyar enecessar ytopr ev
enttheflowofweaponsand
mat erialst hatcouldbeusedbyHamasf ormi l
i
tarypur poses.

Ongoi
ngConf
li
ct

TheI sraeli-
Palest i
nianconf l
i
ctr emai nsunresolved, wit
hbot hsidesholdingdeepl yentr
enched
positionsonkeyi ssuessuchasbor ders,t
hestat usofJer usalem, t
herightofreturnfor
Palest i
nianr efugees,andt hefut ureofIsrael
isettlement sintheWestBank.Theongoi ng
mili
tar yoccupat ionofPal esti
niant erri
tor
ies,i
ncludingt heWestBankandGaza, has
exacer batedt ensions,withPal estini
anscont i
nuingt oseeki nternat
ionalrecogni
tionoftheir
ri
ghtt ost atehood.Ont heIsraeliside,securi
tyconcer ns,parti
cularl
yrelatedtorocketattacks
fr
om Gazaandt er r
ori
stactivi
ti
esi nt heWestBank, continuetoshapepubl i
copinionand
gover nmentpol i
cies.Periodicout breaksofv i
olence, suchast hoseseeni nGazai n2014and
againi n2021, underscorethef ragili
tyofthesituationandt hei mmensehumant olloft
he
conflict.

Chal
l
engest
oPeace:
Set
tl
ement
sandBor
der
s

Oneoft hemostsignif
icantobstaclest opeacei stheexpansi onofI sraelisett
lementsinthe
WestBank.Theseset t
lement s,whichar econsideredil
legal underinternationall
aw,hav egr
own
i
nbot hsi zeandnumber ,withover600, 000Isr
ael iset
tl
ersnowl i
vingi ntheWestBankandEast
Jerusalem.Theconst r
uctionofset tl
ement snotonl ydisruptsPalestiniancommuni t
iesbutalso
compl i
cat eseff
ort
stoest abli
shacont i
guousPal esti
nianst at
e,akeyel ementoft heproposed
two-statesoluti
on.Thetwo- st
atesol ut
ionenvisionsani ndependentSt ateofPalesti
neexisti
ng
alongsideI sr
ael
,wit
hEastJer usalem ast hecapi t
alofPal esti
ne.Howev er,theexpansi
onof
settl
ement sanddi
sagreement sov erthebordersofaf ut urePalesti
nianst atemaket hisvi
sion
i
ncr
easi
ngl
ydi
ff
icul
ttoachi
eve.

FuturePr ospect sfort heTwo- Stat eSol ut

ion
Thet wo- st atesolutionr emai nst hemostwi del ysuppor tedfr
amewor kforresolv i
ngt heI sr ael
i-
Palest inianconf l
ict,bot hi nternational l
yandamongmoder at
ev oi
cesonbot hsi desoft he
conflict .Howev er,thepr ospect sf orachi evi
ngt hi
ssol utionhavedi mmedi nrecenty ear s.
Polit
ical div i
sionswi thint hePal est inianleadershi p,
coupl edwit
ht heri
ghtwardshi ftofI sr aeli
polit
ics, hav emadenegot iationsdi ffi
cul t
.Addi t
ionally,theU.S.underdiff
erentadmi nist
r at i
ons
hasosci ll
at edbetweensuppor t
ingt het wo-statesol utionandbacki ngIsr
aeliclaimsov er
disput edt erri
tori
es, furthercompl icatingthedi plomat iclandscape.Despit
ethesechal l
enges,
manyi nt ernat i
onal act ors, i
ncludi ngt heEuropeanUni onandt heUN, conti
nuet oadv ocat ef or
renewedpeacet alks, believingt hatt het wo-statesol uti
onof fer
sthebesthopef oral ast ing
peacei nt her egion.

Ref
erencesf
ort
heEnt
ir
eAssi
gnmentonPal
est
ine

1.Khali
di,
R.(2020).TheHundredYear
s'WaronPal
est
ine:
AHi
stor
yofSet
tl
erCol
oni
ali
sm and
Resi
stance,1917–2017.Metr
opoli
tanBooks.

Khali
di’
sworkpr
ov i
desacomprehensi
vehist
oryofthePal
esti
niannat
ional
str
uggl
eand
resi
stancet
oset
tlercol
oni
ali
sm,cover
ingkeyevent
sandfigur
es.