Daily Junction.mobi portalWorld · July 12, 2026 · Liam Chen · 8 min
The Israel-Palestine conflict has killed 30,000+ since 2000 — here's the history, what both sides want, and why a two-state solution remains elusive.
The Israel-Palestine conflict is one of the world's longest-running and most intractable conflicts, with roots going back over a century. It is a dispute over land, identity, and sovereignty between Israelis (mostly Jewish) and Palestinians (mostly Arab Muslims and Christians), both of whom claim the same territory. Since 2000, the conflict has killed over 30,000 people (mostly Palestinians), displaced millions, and defied countless peace efforts. The two-state solution (Israel and Palestine side-by-side) is supported by most countries but remains elusive due to Israeli settlements, Hamas violence, and lack of political will. Here is everything you need to know about the Israel-Palestine conflict — the history, what both sides want, and why peace seems impossible.
The conflict is about competing claims to the same land — the territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, known historically as Palestine (to Arabs) and the Land of Israel (to Jews).
Israelis (mostly Jewish) claim:
Palestinians (mostly Arab Muslims and Christians) claim:
Historic Palestine (pre-1948): The territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, including modern-day Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
Israel (1948–present): 78% of historic Palestine, established in 1948 after UN partition and war.
West Bank and Gaza (1967–present): 22% of historic Palestine, occupied by Israel since 1967. Palestinians want these territories for a future state.
Israeli settlements: 700,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank (illegal under international law), making a two-state solution harder.
The region was part of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years. The population was mostly Arab (Muslim and Christian), with a small Jewish minority.
After World War I, Britain took control of Palestine under a League of Nations mandate. Britain promised to support a "Jewish national home" (Balfour Declaration, 1917) while also promising to protect Arab rights.
Jewish immigration increased (fleeing persecution in Europe), and tensions between Jews and Arabs grew. Violence erupted in the 1920s–1940s.
After World War II and the Holocaust, the UN proposed partitioning Palestine into a Jewish state (56% of the land) and an Arab state (44%), with Jerusalem under international control.
Jews accepted the plan. Arabs rejected it (they were 67% of the population but were allocated 44% of the land).
On 14 May 1948, Israel declared independence. The next day, five Arab armies (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq) invaded. Israel won the war and expanded its territory to 78% of historic Palestine.
700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled (the Nakba, or "catastrophe"). They became refugees in neighbouring countries (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, West Bank).
750,000 Jews from Arab countries fled or were expelled to Israel (often forgotten in the narrative).
In 1967, Israel fought Egypt, Jordan, and Syria and won in six days. Israel captured:
Israel has occupied the West Bank and Gaza since 1967 (57 years). The occupation is illegal under international law.
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza launched a popular uprising (the First Intifada) against Israeli occupation, using protests, strikes, and stone-throwing. Israel responded with force, killing 1,000+ Palestinians.
The Intifada led to the Oslo Accords (1993), which created the Palestinian Authority (PA) to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza, and promised a two-state solution within five years. The deadline passed, and no state was created.
The Second Intifada was more violent, with Palestinian suicide bombings and Israeli military operations. 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis were killed.
Israel built a separation barrier (wall/fence) in the West Bank, which reduced suicide bombings but also annexed Palestinian land.
Israel withdrew all settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005, ending the occupation. But Israel retained control of Gaza's borders, airspace, and coastline (a blockade).
In 2006, Hamas (an Islamist militant group) won Palestinian elections. In 2007, Hamas violently took control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority.
Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza (restricting movement of people and goods), which remains in place. Gaza is effectively an open-air prison with 2 million people.
Israel and Hamas have fought five major wars in Gaza:
Hamas has fired 20,000+ rockets at Israel since 2001. Israel has bombed Gaza repeatedly, destroying homes, schools, and hospitals.
Palestinians want: The West Bank and Gaza (22% of historic Palestine) for a Palestinian state, with borders based on the 1967 lines (before Israel occupied the territories).
Israel wants: To keep major settlement blocs in the West Bank (10–15% of the territory) and annex the Jordan Valley (for security).
Problem: Israel has built 700,000 settlers in the West Bank, making it difficult to create a contiguous Palestinian state.
Palestinians want: East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state (including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam).
Israel wants: All of Jerusalem as its capital (including the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism).
Problem: Both sides claim Jerusalem, and neither will compromise.
Palestinians want: The right of return for 5 million Palestinian refugees (descendants of the 700,000 who fled in 1948) to their ancestral homes in Israel.
Israel rejects this: Allowing 5 million Palestinians to return would end Israel's Jewish majority and destroy Israel as a Jewish state.
Problem: This is the most intractable issue. Palestinians see the right of return as a fundamental right. Israel sees it as an existential threat.
Israel wants: Security guarantees (demilitarised Palestinian state, Israeli control of borders, no Palestinian army).
Palestinians want: Full sovereignty (control of borders, airspace, no Israeli military presence).
Problem: Israel does not trust Palestinians to prevent terrorism. Palestinians do not trust Israel to end the occupation.
Israel has built 700,000 settlers in the West Bank (illegal under international law). Settlements fragment Palestinian territory and make a two-state solution harder.
Palestinians want: All settlements dismantled.
Israel wants: To keep major settlement blocs (10–15% of the West Bank).
Problem: Dismantling settlements is politically impossible in Israel (settlers are a powerful lobby), but keeping them makes a Palestinian state unviable.
The two-state solution (Israel and Palestine side-by-side) is the international consensus, supported by:
What it would look like:
Why it has not happened:
Many analysts say the two-state solution is dead because Israeli settlements have made it impossible to create a viable Palestinian state. The reality is a one-state situation:
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