Daily Junction.mobi portalHuman rights groups (Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, B'Tselem) call this apartheid — a system of domination and oppression based on ethnicity.
Israel rejects this, saying the situation is temporary (pending a peace deal) and necessary for security.
The UK supports:
But the UK has limited influence, and its position is often seen as pro-Israel (the UK sells arms to Israel and has close intelligence ties).
The conflict stems from competing claims to the same land: Jews claim historical/religious ties (ancient Israel 1000 BCE), Palestinians claim continuous habitation for centuries. Israel was created in 1948 after UN partition, leading to war and 700,000 Palestinian refugees (Nakba), with Israel controlling 78% of historic Palestine. The West Bank and Gaza (22% of historic Palestine) have been occupied by Israel since 1967, with 700,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank making two-state solution harder. Hamas controls Gaza (2 million people) and has fired 20,000+ rockets at Israel since 2001, while Israel has blockaded Gaza since 2007, creating humanitarian crisis. The two-state solution (Israel and Palestine side-by-side) is supported by most countries but blocked by Israeli settlements, Hamas violence, and lack of political will. The Israel-Palestine conflict is one of the world's most intractable, with no end in sight. Both sides have legitimate grievances, both have committed atrocities, and both are trapped in a cycle of violence and mistrust. Peace requires compromise, but extremists on both sides oppose it, and the international community has failed to force a solution. Until leaders on both sides prioritise peace over power, the conflict will continue, and more people will die.